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There are 46 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
- On Nov. 15, 1806, explorer Zebulon Pike sighted the mountaintop now known as Pikes Peak in present-day Colorado.
On this date:
- In 1708, British statesman William Pitt (the Elder) was born in London.
- In 1777, the Second Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation, a precursor to the Constitution of the United States.
- In 1889, Brazil was proclaimed a republic as its emperor, Dom Pedro II, was overthrown.
- In 1908, China's Empress Dowager Cixi died two weeks short of her 73rd birthday.
- In 1939, President Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington.
- In 1948, William Lyon Mackenzie King retired as prime minister of Canada after 21 years; he was succeeded by Louis St. Laurent.
- In 1958, actor Tyrone Power died in Madrid, Spain, at age 44 while filming "Solomon and Sheba."
- In 1966, the flight of Gemini 12 ended successfully as astronauts James A. Lovell and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. splashed down safely in the Atlantic.
- In 1969, a quarter of a million protesters staged a peaceful demonstration in Washington against the Vietnam War.
- In 1988, the Soviet Union launched its first space shuttle, Buran, on an unmanned 3 1/2-hour flight.
Ten years ago:
- Kwame Ture, the civil rights activist formerly known as Stokely Carmichael, died in Guinea at age 57.
Five years ago:
- Two Black Hawk helicopters collided and crashed in Iraq; 17 U.S. troops were killed.
- Two synagogues were bombed in Istanbul; 29 people were killed.
- A gangway on the cruise ship RMS Queen Mary 2 collapsed in St. Nazaire, France, killing 15 people.
- Democrat Kathleen Blanco was elected the first female governor of Louisiana, defeating Republican Bobby Jindal in a runoff.
- Death claimed billionaire Laurence Tisch at age 80 and actress Dorothy Loudon at age 70.
One year ago:
- During a feisty Democratic debate in Las Vegas, Hillary Rodham Clinton accused her closest rivals, Barack Obama and John Edwards, of slinging mud "right out of the Republican playbook" and sharply criticized their records.
- Cyclone Sidr struck Bangladesh, killing more than 3,200 people and leaving millions homeless. Baseball player Barry Bonds was indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice, charged with lying when he told a federal grand jury that he did not knowingly use performance-enhancing drugs. (A revamped indictment was unsealed last May.)
- Actress Lindsay Lohan completed her jail sentence for drunken driving in a swift 84 minutes.
Today's Birthdays:
- Judge Joseph Wapner is 89.
- Statesman Howard H. Baker Jr. is 83.
- Actor Ed Asner is 79.
- Actor John Kerr is 77.
- Singer Petula Clark is 76.
- Comedian Jack Burns is 75.
- Actress Joanna Barnes is 74.
- Actor Sam Waterston is 68.
- Pop singer Frida (ABBA) is 63.
- Actor Bob Gunton is 63.
- Director-actor James Widdoes is 55.
- Rock singer-producer Mitch Easter is 54.
- Actress Beverly D'Angelo is 54.
- CNN anchor-reporter John Roberts is 52.
- "Tonight Show" bandleader Kevin Eubanks is 51.
- Comedian Judy Gold is 46.
- Rapper E-40 is 41.
- Actress Rachel True is 39.
- Country singer Jack Ingram is 38.
- Actor Jonny Lee Miller is 36.
- Actress Sydney Tamiia Poitier is 35.
- Christian rock musician David Carr (Third Day) is 34.
- Rock singer-musician Chad Kroeger is 34.
- Rock musician Jesse Sandoval is 34.
- Actress Virginie Ledoyen is 32.
- Pop singer Ace Young (TV: "American Idol") is 28.
- Golfer Lorena Ochoa is 27.
Thought for Today:
"What was once thought can never be unthought."
Friedrich Durrenmatt, Swiss author and playwright (1921-1990).
"Let's all be careful out there!"
