On this date in history:

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On this date in history:

Today is Sunday, Oct. 29, the 302nd day of 2006 with 63 to follow.

Daylight saving time ends in the United States at 2 a.m. (local time).

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Saturn and Mars. The evening stars are Venus, Mercury, Pluto, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include Scottish biographer James Boswell in 1740; singer/composer Daniel Decatur Emmett, who wrote the words and music for "Dixie," in 1815; comedian/singer Fanny Brice in 1891; Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels in 1897; political cartoonist Bill Mauldin in 1921; singer Melba Moore in 1945 (age 61); actor Richard Dreyfuss in 1947 (age 59); and actresses Kate Jackson in 1948 (age 58), Finola Hughes in 1960 (age 46), Joely Fisher in 1967 (age 39) and Winona Ryder in 1971 (age 35).


On this date in history:

In 1618, Sir Walter Raleigh was beheaded in London. He had been charged with plotting against King James I.

In 1901, Leon Czolgosz was electrocuted for the assassination of U.S. President William McKinley.

In 1923, the musical "Runnin' Wild," which introduced the Charleston, opened on Broadway.

In 1929, the sale of 16 million shares marked the collapse of the stock market, setting the stage for the Great Depression.

In 1969, the first connection on what would become the Internet was made when bits of data flowed between computers at UCLA and the Stanford Research Institute. This was the beginning of ARPANET, the forerunner to the Internet developed by the Department of Defense.

In 1991, in a first meeting between Soviet and Israeli heads of state, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and Israeli Prime Minister Yizhak Shamir conferred at the Soviet Embassy.

In 1992, Alger Hiss said Russia had cleared him of the charge of being a Communist spy that sent him to prison for four years and helped propel Richard Nixon's political career.

In 1994, a Colorado man was arrested after he sprayed the White House with bullets from an assault rifle. U.S. President Bill Clinton was inside at the time, but no one was injured.

In 1998, Sen. John Glenn, D-Ohio, who in 1962 became the first U.S. astronaut to orbit the Earth, returned to space aboard the shuttle Discovery. At 77, he was the oldest person to travel in space.

In 2001, the U.S. Justice Department issued a warning against new terrorist attacks, the second such warning in less than a month. Attorney General John Ashcroft said the intelligence leading up to the warning was credible but not specific.

In 2002, U.S. President George W. Bush, elected in a chaotic tableau of ballot mishaps and court challenges, signed legislation said to help reduce ballot-counting errors and ensure greater citizen participation in the election process.

In 2003, digging through more than 164 feet of rock, rescuers liberated 11 of 13 Russian miners trapped underground for six days after a methane gas explosion.

Also in 2003, the third-largest recorded solar blast slammed into the Earth causing a severe but short-lived geomagnetic storm.

In 2004, Osama bin Laden, in a videotape to the American people, admitted publicly that he ordered the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Also in 2004, in a poll of new voters taken a few days before the presidential election, 40 percent said they believed the United States was headed in the right direction.

And in 2004, EU leaders signed the European Union's first constitution.

In 2005, three deadly explosions in India's capital of New Delhi hit a bus and markets crowded with holiday shoppers, killing at least 65 people.

Also in 2005, a reported 102 people died in a train wreck in southern India, where heavy rains caused major flooding.


A thought for the day: Scottish biographer James Boswell wrote, "I think no innocent species of wit or pleasantry should be suppressed, and that a good pun may be admitted among the smaller excellencies of lively conversation."

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On this date in history:

Today is Monday, Oct. 30, the 303rd day of 2006 with 62 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Saturn and Mars. The evening stars are Venus, Mercury, Pluto, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include John Adams, second president of the United States, in 1735; French Impressionist painter Alfred Sisley in 1839; French poet Paul Valery in 1871; poet Ezra Pound in 1885; strongman Charles Atlas in 1894; actress Ruth Gordon in 1896; film director Louis Malle in 1932; rock singer Grace Slick in 1939 (age 67); actor/director Henry Winkler in 1945 (age 61); news correspondent Andrea Mitchell in 1946 (age 60); and actor Harry Hamlin in 1951 (age 55).


On this date in history:

In 1817, Simon Bolivar established the independent government of Venezuela.

In 1938, Orson Welles triggered a national panic with a realistic radio dramatization of a Martian invasion, based on H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds."

In 1941, more than a month before the United States entered World War II, an American destroyer, the Reuben James, was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine.

In 1975, as dictator Francisco Franco was near death, Prince Juan Carlos assumed power in Spain.

In 1983, the Rev. Jesse Jackson announced plans to become the first African-American to mount a full-scale campaign for the Democratic Party presidential nomination in the United States.

In 1991, the Middle East peace conference convened in Madrid, Spain with participants including Israel, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestinians from the Israeli-occupied territories.

In 1992, Muslim Slav, Croatian soldiers and civilians were driven from the strategic Bosnian town of Jajce in fierce street battles with Serbian forces.

In 1993, the U.N. Security Council condemned Haiti's military leaders for preventing the return of exiled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

In 1995, by a narrow margin, Quebec voters decided to remain a part of Canada.

In 2000, entertainer Steve Allen died at age 78. He emceed the original "Tonight Show" and composed more than 4,000 songs.

In 2001, terrorist strikes, coupled with the parade of bleak corporate news and a slew of layoff announcements since Sept. 11, slashed October's U.S. consumer confidence to its lowest level in more than seven years.

Also in 2001, Tropical Storm Allison, which caused $5 billion in damage, was the costliest storm in the nation's history at the time, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.

In 2002, Russia broke four days of official silence on the composition of gas used by special forces in the raid on a Moscow theater that killed more than 100 hostages and said an opiate had been used in the operation.

In 2003, the death toll in the Southern California wildfire outbreak was set at 20 with 2,605 homes destroyed and 657,000 acres seared.

Also in 2003, Israeli security officials said Palestinian terror organizations had the ability to carry out chemical attacks in Israel.

In 2004, Yasser Arafat's closest aides said the 75-year-old, long-time Palestinian leader had lost control of his mental faculties and could not communicate clearly. Arafat was flown to Paris for treatment of what was believed to be an acute blood disorder.

In 2005, Indian authorities sent army divers to look for people trapped in a derailed train near Veligonda, the result of massive flooding. Officials said 112 died in the train wreck while another 100 perished in the flood.

Also in 2005, an obscure radical Islamic group in India claimed responsibility for the bombings at two crowded New Delhi markets and on a bus that killed more than 60 people and injured close to 200.


A thought for the day: in a letter to Thomas Jefferson, John Adams said, "You and I ought not to die before we have explained ourselves to each other." (The two former presidents and political rivals died on the same day, July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Declaration of Independence.)

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On this date in history:

Today is Tuesday, Oct. 31, the 304th day of 2006 with 61 to follow.

This is Halloween.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Saturn and Mars. The evening stars are Venus, Mercury, Pluto, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include Dutch painter Jan Vermeer in 1632; English poet John Keats in 1795; Girl Scouts founder Juliette Gordon Low in 1860; Gen. Chiang Kai-Shek, the first leader of Nationalist China, in 1887; actress/singer Ethel Waters in 1900; actresses Dale Evans in 1912 and Barbara Bel Geddes in 1922; astronaut Michael Collins in 1930 (age 76); TV news anchorman Dan Rather in 1931 (age 75); actor/producer Michael Landon in 1936; folk singer/songwriter Tom Paxton in 1937 (age 69); actors David Ogden Stiers in 1942 (age 64) and Stephen Rea in 1946 (age 60); actress Deidre Hall in 1947 (age 59); comic actor John Candy in 1950; broadcaster Jane Pauley also in 1950 (age 56); comic actor Rob Schneider in 1963 (age 43); and rapper Vanilla Ice in 1968 (age 38).


On this date in history:

In 1517, Martin Luther began the Protestant Reformation by nailing a proclamation to the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany.

In 1864, Nevada was admitted to the Union as the 36th state.

In 1926, magician, illusionist and escape artist Harry Houdini died of peritonitis in a Detroit hospital following a blow to the abdomen.

In 1931, with the Great Depression in full swing, the U.S. Treasury Department announced that 827 banks had failed during the past two months.

In 1941, the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota -- consisting of the sculpted heads of U.S. Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt -- was completed.

In 1968, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson announced a halt to the bombing of North Vietnam.

In 1984, India's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by Sikh guards. Her son, Rajiv, succeeded her.

In 1985, salvage divers located the remains of the booty-laden pirate ship Whydah, which sank Feb. 17, 1717, off Cape Cod, Mass.

In 1988, former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos pleaded innocent to charges that she and her husband, deposed President Ferdinand Marcos, embezzled more than $100 million from the Philippine government.

In 1990, Egypt rebuffed a call by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev for a peaceful settlement to the Gulf crisis but a key Soviet diplomat said his government had not ruled out military force.

In 1992, more than 300 people were killed in renewed fighting as Angola slid back into civil war.

In 2001, U.S.-led forces resumed air strikes in Afghanistan, hitting Taliban positions in the northern part of the country and outside the capital, Kabul. The Taliban claimed 1,500 people were killed.

In 2002, Andrew Fastow, former Enron chief financial officer, was indicted on 78 counts of wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy in the collapse of the Houston energy trading company.

In 2003, a rebel group known to kidnap children and sell them in Sudan as slaves struck a village in northern Uganda, killing 18 and abducting many more.

In 2004, Iranian lawmakers chanted, "Death to America!" after a unanimous vote to allow their government to resume uranium enrichment activities.

Also in 2004, Japan confirmed a Japanese man taken hostage in Baghdad had been beheaded. The kidnappers had demanded Japan pull its troops out of Iraq.

In 2005, Samuel Alito, a 55-year-old conservative federal appeals judge, was nominated by U.S. President George Bush to the U.S. Supreme Court to succeed the retiring Sandra Day O'Connor.

Also in 2005, the U.N. Security Council, in a unanimous vote, warned Syria to stop obstructing the investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.


A thought for the day: English poet John Keats wrote, "If I should die, I have left no immortal work behind me -- nothing to make my friends proud of my memory -- but I have loved the principle of beauty in all things, and if I had had time I would have made myself remembered."

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On this date in history:

Today is Thursday, Nov. 2, the 306th day of 2006 with 59 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Saturn and Mars. The evening stars are Jupiter, Mercury, Pluto, Venus, Uranus and Neptune.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include (InquiringMind-ts4ms.com), frontiersman Daniel Boone in 1734; Marie Antoinette, queen of France, in 1755; U.S. President James Polk in 1795; U.S. President Warren G. Harding in 1865; astronomer Harlow Shapley, a pioneer in studies of the Milky Way, in 1885; trumpeter Bunny Berigan in 1908; actors Burt Lancaster in 1913 and Ray Walston in 1914; Australian tennis player Ken Rosewall in 1934 (age 72); columnist, commentator and presidential candidate Pat Buchanan in 1938 (age 68); author Shere Hite and actress Stefanie Powers, both in 1942 (age 64); actress Alfre Woodard in 1953 (age 53); and singer k.d. lang in 1961 (age 45).
On this date in history:

In 1889, North and South Dakota became the 39th and 40th states of the union.

In 1917, British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour proposed a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Israel became a reality 31 years later.

In 1920, in the first significant news broadcast, KDKA in Pittsburgh reported the U.S. presidential election results for Warren G. Harding and James Cox.

In 1947, Howard Hughes built and piloted the world's largest airplane, the 200-ton flying boat Spruce Goose, on its only flight, at Long Beach, Calif. The Goose remained airborne for just less than 1 mile.

In 1962, U.S. President John Kennedy announced that Soviet missile bases in Cuba were being dismantled.

In 1983, U.S. President Ronald Reagan signed the bill establishing a national holiday to mark the birthday anniversary of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

In 1986, U.S. hostage David Jacobsen was released in Beirut after 17 months. Later disclosures showed his freedom was a trade for U.S. arms sent to Iran.

In 1992, legendary filmmaker Hal Roach died at age 100. He was credited with discovering the comedy team of Laurel and Hardy and producing the "Our Gang" comedies.

Also in 1992, HIV-infected Earvin "Magic" Johnson retired from professional basketball "for good."

In 1993, a new series of wildfires swept along the Southern California coast, destroying more than 300 homes in the exclusive community of Malibu.

In 1995, the Justice Department indicted the Japanese-owned Daiwa Bank on conspiracy and fraud charges linked to an illegal bond-trading scheme.

In 1996, Britain announced a plan to ban ownership of large-caliber handguns.

In 1997, French truck drivers began a weeklong strike, blockading major roads and ports.

In 2000, five days before the election, George W. Bush, the Republican nominee for president, admitted he had been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in 1976 near the family home in Maine.

In 2001, the Labor Department announced that October unemployment had jumped to 5.4 percent, highest in five years and that 415,000 non-farm jobs had been lost, highest monthly figure since 1980.

In 2002, new violence flared in Indian-administered Kashmir leaving several people dead, including a politician killed when his motorcade was ambushed.

In 2003, at least 13 U.S. soldiers were killed and about 20 wounded in Iraq when a missile downed a helicopter carrying members of the 82nd Airborne Division near Fallujah.

In 2004, U.S. President George W. Bush was re-elected in a close race with Democrat John Kerry.

Also in 2004, Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, who received death threats because of his film about violence against Islamic women, was slain as he rode his bicycle through an Amsterdam park.

In 2005, thousands of protesters gathered in Argentina near the site of an upcoming summit to denounce the imminent arrival of U.S. President Bush.

Also in 2005, the homeless population of South Florida soared with heavy rains collapsing roofs of more than 50,000 structures damaged by Hurricane Wilma.


A thought for the day: after winning the Masters tournament, golf "wunderkind" Tiger Woods said, "I'm definitely not a pioneer. That's for people like Jackie Robinson and Lee Elder. I'm just a product of their hard work."

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On this date in history:

Today is Friday, Nov. 3, the 307th day of 2006 with 58 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Saturn and Mars. The evening stars are Jupiter, Mercury, Pluto, Venus, Uranus and Neptune.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include early Texas leader Stephen Austin, for whom the state capital is named, in 1793; poet William Cullen Bryant in 1794; Chicago Bears legend Bronislaw "Bronko" Nagurski in 1908; film actor Charles Bronson in 1922; conductor/composer John Barry, entertainer Ken Berry and former Massachusetts governor and 1986 Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis, all in 1933 (age 73); comedian Roseanne Barr in 1952 (age 54); comedian Dennis Miller and actress Kate Capshaw, both in 1953 (age 53); and actress Kathy Kinney ("The Drew Carey Show") in 1954 (age 52).


On this date in history:

In 1783, with American independence established, Congress ordered the Continental Army demobilized.

In 1803, with the support of the U.S. government, Panama issued a declaration of independence from Colombia.

In 1928, Mickey Mouse appeared for the first time, with Walt Disney doing the squeaky voice of his soon-to-be-famous creation, in "Steamboat Willie," first fully synchronized sound cartoon produced.

In 1948, the Chicago Daily Tribune printed the famously premature (and incorrect) headline, "Dewey defeats Truman."

In 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first animal into space -- a dog named Laika -- aboard the Sputnik 2 spacecraft.

In 1964, Lyndon Johnson was elected U.S. president with a margin larger than in any previous presidential election, defeating Republican Barry Goldwater.

In 1976, former Democratic Gov. Jimmy Carter of Georgia was elected the 39th U.S. president, defeating Republican incumbent Gerald Ford.

In 1979, five members of the Communist Workers Party, participating in a "Death to the Klan" rally in Greensboro, N.C., were shot to death by a group of Klansmen and neo-Nazis. Seven others were wounded.

In 1984, the cremation of assassinated Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi drew world leaders to New Delhi.

In 1992, Democrat Bill Clinton, the governor of Arkansas, defeated incumbent Republican President George Bush.

In 1995, Typhoon Angela killed more than 700 people in the northern Philippines.

In 2001, Osama bin Laden, in a taped message, called the U.S.-led attack on Afghanistan a war against Islam.

Also in 2001, anthrax spores were confirmed in India and Pakistan and on additional postal equipment in the United States.

In 2002, North Korea was reported ready to negotiate its newly disclosed nuclear weapons program with the United States, including the dismantling of its uranium-enrichment facilities.

In 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the case of Alabama's Chief Justice Roy Moore who wanted to keep a Ten Commandments monument in that state's judicial building.

In 2004, California voters approved the creation of a $3 billion embryonic stem cell research effort over the next decade.

Also in 2004, Hamid Karzai was officially declared the winner in Afghanistan's first presidential election.

In 2005, former U.S. vice presidential aide Lewis Libby pleaded innocent to obstruction of justice, perjury and lying in the investigation into who disclosed the name of a covert CIA agent.


A thought for the day: in his second inaugural address, U.S. President Bill Clinton said: "Government is not the problem and government is not the solution. We, the American people, we are the solution."

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On this date in history:

Today is Saturday, Nov. 4, the 308th day of 2006 with 57 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Saturn and Mars. The evening stars are Jupiter, Mercury, Pluto, Venus, Uranus and Neptune.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include British King William III, known as William of Orange, in 1650; humorist Will Rogers in 1879; reporter Walter Cronkite in 1916 (age 90); actors Art Carney in 1918, Martin Balsam in 1919 and Loretta Swit in 1937 (age 69); U.S. first lady Laura Bush in 1946 (age 60); controversial photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in 1946; actors Markie Post in 1950 (age 56), Ralph Macchio ("The Karate Kid") in 1961 (age 45), and actor Matthew McConaughey and singer/actor/songwriter Sean "Puffy" Combs, both in 1969 (age 35).


On this date in history:

In 1922, British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the tomb of ancient Egypt's child-king, Tutankhamen.

In 1952, Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected president, ending 20 years of Democratic administrations.

In 1956, Soviet forces entered Budapest to crush the anti-communist revolt in Hungary.

In 1979, Iranian militants seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking some 90 people hostage, 63 of them Americans.

In 1980, Republican Ronald Reagan was elected the 40th U.S. president in a landslide victory over incumbent Jimmy Carter.

In 1990, renowned singer/actress Mary Martin died at age 76.

In 1991, Imelda Marcos, former first lady of the Philippines, returned home, ending more than five years of exile in the United States.

In 1993, Canadian Liberal Party leader Jean Chretien was sworn in as prime minister.

In 1994, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to withdraw the remaining 17,000 U.N. troops from Somalia by mid-March 1995.

In 1995, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, 73, was assassinated by a Jewish extremist following a peace rally in Tel Aviv.

In 2001, intense bombing by U.S.-led forces pounded the Afghan capital of Kabul while U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, on a tour of the region, told reporters that strikes on Taliban targets were showing "measurable progress."

In 2002, Roman Catholic Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston apologized for assigning priests who may have been sexually abusive to parishes where they continued to have access to children.

In 2003, the elevation of a gay Episcopal priest to bishop prompted worldwide opposition, including a remark from a Kenyan cleric: "The devil has clearly entered our church."

In 2004, medical sources in Paris confirmed that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was brain dead. However, doctors denied they had removed Arafat from life support.

Also in 2004, U.S. Army reservists and guardsmen in Iraq said they saw looters make off with truckload of explosives from al-Qaqaa after the fall of Baghdad.

In 2005, protests turned violent at the Summit of the Americas in Argentina where demonstrators hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails at security. However, thousands of protesters were peaceful during a meeting of 34 world leaders, including U.S. President George Bush.


A thought for the day: humorist Will Rogers said, "My forefathers didn't come over on the Mayflower, but they met the boat."

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On this date in history:

Today is Sunday, Nov. 5, the 309th day of 2006 with 56 to follow.

The moon is full. The morning stars are Saturn and Mars. The evening stars are Jupiter, Mercury, Pluto, Venus, Uranus and Neptune.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include Socialist presidential candidate Eugene V. Debs in 1855; historians Ida Tarbell in 1857 and Will Durant in 1885; inventor and industrialist Raymond Loewy, the "father of streamlining," in 1893; band leader Jan Garber in 1897; movie singing cowboy star Roy Rogers in 1911; musicians Ike Turner in 1931 (age 75) and Art Garfunkel in 1941 (age 65); actresses Vivien Leigh in 1913, Elke Sommer in 1940 (age 66) and Tatum O'Neal in 1963 (age 43); dramatist/actor Sam Shepard in 1943 (age 63); and pop singer/songwriter Bryan Adams in 1959 (age 47).


On this date in history:

In 1605, Guy Fawkes and fellow conspirators failed in their plot to blow up the English Parliament. They were beheaded.

In 1733, German-born publisher John Peter Zenger began printing The New York Weekly Journal in opposition to the British colonial administration.

In 1854, combined British-French forces scored a decisive victory over the Russians in the Crimea.

In 1930, the first commercial television broadcast was aired.

In 1940, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was re-elected to an unprecedented third term.

In 1990, an Egyptian-born gunman, apparently acting alone, assassinated Meir Kahane, the U.S. native who founded the militant Jewish Defense League.

Also in 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand an order requiring the U.S. Army to permit homosexuals to re-enlist.

In 1991, the body of British media mogul Robert Maxwell was found floating in the Atlantic Ocean off the Canary Islands.

Also in 1991, Kiichi Miyazawa was formally appointed premier of Japan, succeeding Toshiki Kaifu.

In 1992, former U.S. world chess champion Bobby Fischer triumphed in his $5 million rematch against Russian archrival Boris Spassky.

In 1996, U.S. President Bill Clinton was re-elected, defeating Republican challenger Bob Dole.

In 2002, Republicans seized control of the U.S. Senate and retained their hold on the House, giving President George W. Bush a historic victory in mid-term elections that traditionally go against the incumbent president.

In 2003, fearing a regional military imbalance, the United States supplied Thailand with air-to-air missiles.

In 2004, the Texas Board of Education approved middle school textbooks after publishers made changes defining marriage as being between a man and a woman.

Also in 2004, Saskatchewan became the seventh Canadian province to allow same-sex couples to marry.

In 2005, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said there was no doubt the United States had been given false information in order to support the war in Iraq.

Also in 2005, thousands of U.S. and Iraqi forces engaged in a fight against al-Qaida terrorists in Iraq near the Syrian border.


A thought for the day: inventor and industrialist Raymond Loewy said, "Between two products equal in price, function and quality, the better looking will out sell the other."

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On this date in history:

Today is Monday, Nov. 6, the 310th day of 2006 with 55 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Saturn and Mars. The evening stars are Jupiter, Mercury, Pluto, Venus, Uranus and Neptune.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include (SallyMagoo -ts4ms.com), (urple2-ts4ms.com),( travelguy-ts4ms.com),(al_in_va_2000); Belgian instrument-maker Adolphe Sax, inventor of the saxophone, in 1814; band leader and composer John Philip Sousa ("the march king") in 1854; Charles Henry Dow, co-founder of Dow Jones and Co. and first editor of The Wall Street Journal, in 1851; James Naismith, inventor of the game of basketball, in 1861; musician Ray Conniff in 1916; director Mike Nichols in 1931 (age 75); actress Sally Field in 1946 (age 60); singer/songwriter Glenn Frey in 1948 (age 58); TV journalist and California first lady Maria Shriver in 1955 (age 51); actors Lance Kerwin in 1960 (age 46) and Ethan Hawke in 1970 (age 36); and actress Rebecca Romijn-Stamos in 1972 (age 34).


On this date in history:

In 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected 16th president of the United States.

In 1869, in the first formal intercollegiate football game, Rutgers beat Princeton, 6-4.

In 1917, the Bolshevik revolution began in Russia. Because it took place under the old czarist calendar, it is known as the October Revolution.

In 1921, the cult of Rudolph Valentino was launched with the release of his silent film "The Sheik," which despite negative reviews immediately caught the attention of women across the country.

In 1952, the United States exploded the world's first hydrogen bomb at Eniwetok Atoll in the Pacific.

In 1968, Republican Richard Nixon was elected 37th president of the United States, defeating Democrat Hubert Humphrey.

In 1984, U.S. President Ronald Reagan was elected to a second term, winning 49 states.

In 1986, U.S. intelligence sources confirmed an earlier report that the United States had been secretly selling arms to Iran in an effort to secure the release of seven U.S. hostages held by pro-Iranian groups in Lebanon.

Also in 1986, U.S. President Ronald Reagan signed the landmark immigration reform bill, the first U.S. immigration law authorizing penalties for employers who hire illegal aliens.

In 1990, a gunman opened fire as Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev presided over the Revolution Day parade. Gorbachev was not hurt.

In 1991, Ukraine signed the Soviet economic-union treaty at the Kremlin.

In 1993, the ruling New Zealand National Party won a one-seat majority in general elections.

In 1995, numerous world leaders gathered in Jerusalem for the funeral of assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

In 2001, speaking at a Warsaw summit, U.S. President George W. Bush said for the first time that Osama Bin Laden was trying to get chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.

In 2002, the U.N. Security Council began considering the revised U.S. draft resolution that would declare Iraq in continuing "material breach" of previous measures and warn Baghdad of "serious consequences" if it failed to cooperate with weapons inspectors.

In 2003, U.S. President George W. Bush responded to growing doubts about his Iraq policy by claiming that success in Iraq -- and the entire Middle East -- was inevitable.

In 2005, at least 23 people were killed and some 230 injured when a tornado swept through parts of Indiana and Kentucky.

Also in 2005, U.S. gasoline prices fell an average of 23 cents per gallon -- to pre-Hurricane Katrina levels. The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline was $2.43, about 20 cents lower than it had been a few days before Aug. 29 storm.


A thought for the day: John Maynard Keynes said, "Words ought to be a little wild for they are the assault of thought on the unthinking."

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On this date in history:

Today is Tuesday, Nov. 7, the 311th day of 2006 with 54 to follow.

This is Election Day.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Saturn and Mars. The evening stars are Jupiter, Mercury, Pluto, Venus, Uranus and Neptune.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include(DeeDee4105- ts4ms.com), Marie Curie, discoverer of radium, in 1867; band leader Phil Spitalny (known for his all-female orchestra) in 1890; Nazi leader Heinrich Himmler in 1900; actor Dean Jagger in 1903; musician/comic Red Ingle in 1907; French novelist Albert Camus in 1913; evangelist Billy Graham in 1918 (age 88); jazz trumpeter Al Hirt in 1922; Australian opera star Joan Sutherland in 1926 (age 80); singers Johnny Rivers in 1942 (age 64) and Joni Mitchell in 1943 (age 63).


On this date in history:

In 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition arrived at the Pacific Ocean.

In 1874, the first cartoon depicting the elephant as the symbol of the Republican Party was printed in Harper's Weekly.

In 1916, Republican Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

In 1917, the Bolsheviks overthrew the Russian government in St. Petersburg.

In 1940, only four months after its completion, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Washington state, the third longest suspension bridge in the world at the time, collapsed. No one was injured.

In 1944, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was re-elected to a fourth term in the midst of World War II but died the following April. Harry Truman, his vice president, succeeded him as president.

In 1972, Republican Richard Nixon was re-elected as president of the United States, defeating Democrat George McGovern.

In 1983, a bomb exploded in the U.S. Capitol, causing heavy damage just outside the Senate chamber but there were no injuries.

In 1985, Colombian troops ended a 27-hour siege of Bogota's Palace of Justice by 35 M-19 guerrillas. Eleven supreme court judges were among the 100 people killed.

In 1987, U.S. Supreme Court nominee Douglas Ginsburg withdrew his 9-day-old candidacy following criticism of his judicial ethics and his disclosure that he had used marijuana.

In 1989, Democrat David Dinkins was elected as the first black mayor of New York City. In Virginia, Democrat Douglas Wilder claimed victory in a razor-thin race to become the first black elected governor in the United States.

Also in 1989, "Night Stalker" Richard Ramirez was formally sentenced in Los Angeles to die in the gas chamber for 13 killings.

In 1991, basketball star Earvin "Magic" Johnson disclosed he was HIV-positive and announced he was retiring from the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers.

1995, three U.S. servicemen pleaded guilty in a courtroom on the Japanese island of Okinawa to conspiring to abduct and rape a 12-year-old girl.

In 2000, in one of the closest U.S. presidential elections ever, Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore wound up in almost a dead heat with Bush determined the winner more than a month later following considerable turmoil over the disputed Florida vote.

In 2001, U.S.-led jets resumed bombing in northern Afghanistan, targeting Taliban positions near the country's northeastern border with Tajikistan.

In 2002, British Prime Minister Tony Blair warned Saddam Hussein "action will follow" if the Iraqi leader fails to meet demands in a U.N. resolution regarding weapons inspectors.

In 2003, six U.S. soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash outside a U.S. military base near Tikrit, the hometown of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

In 2004, the Iraqi government declared a 60-day state of emergency in response to the escalation of violence by militants.

Also in 2004, in an overwhelming show of force, France put down a wave of anti-French violence in Ivory Coast, its former West African colony.

In 2005, Chilean police arrested former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori hours after he arrived in Santiago, on his way to Peru to run for president again. The 67-year-old politician was wanted for corruption and human rights abuses in his home country.

Also in 2005, major U.S. corporations were reported plotting strategies to cope with a possible bird flu pandemic that could restrict travel and decimate employee ranks.


A thought for the day: French novelist Albert Camus wrote, "The struggle to reach the top is itself enough to fulfill the heart of man."

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On this date in history:


Today is Wednesday, Nov. 8, the 312th day of 2006 with 53 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Saturn and Mars. The evening stars are Jupiter, Mercury, Pluto, Venus, Uranus and Neptune.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include (RichM –ts4ms.com)British astronomer Edmond Halley in 1656; author Margaret Mitchell ("Gone With the Wind") in 1900; actress June Havoc in 1916 (age 90); heart transplant pioneer Dr. Christiaan Barnard in 1922; TV journalist Morley Safer ("60 Minutes") in 1931 (age 75); singers Patti Page in 1927 (age 79), Minnie Riperton in 1947 and Bonnie Raitt in 1949 (age 57); TV personality Mary Hart in 1950 (age 56); actress Alfre Woodard in 1952 (age 54); singer Ricki Lee Jones in 1954 (age 52); and actresses Courtney Thorne-Smith in 1967 (age 39) and Parker Posey in 1968 (age 38).

On this date in history:

In 1793, the Louvre in Paris, now containing one of the world's richest art collections, became a public museum after two centuries as a royal palace.

In 1837, Mount Holyoke Seminary in Massachusetts became the first U.S. college founded exclusively for women.

In 1864, as the U.S. Civil War raged, Abraham Lincoln was elected to his second term as president. He was assassinated five months later.

In 1889, Montana was admitted to the union as the 41st state.

In 1895, physicist Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen discovered X-rays.

In 1942, as World War II raged on, more than 400,000 Allied soldiers invaded North Africa.

In 1982, a smoky fire set by a prisoner in a Biloxi, Miss., jail killed 28 people.

In 1985, a judge overturned Rubin "Hurricane" Carter's conviction for a 1966 triple murder in a Patterson, N.J., bar, freeing the former boxer after 19 years in prison.

In 1988, U.S. Vice President George Herbert Walker Bush was elected the 41st president of the United States.

In 1991, the European Community imposed an economic embargo on Yugoslavia in an effort to halt the civil war.

In 1994, in a stunning upset, Republican candidates swept the general election, regaining control of both chambers of the U.S. Congress. It marked the first time in 40 years the Republicans controlled both the House and the Senate.

In 2001, a top aide said U.S. President George Bush had "no plans" to meet with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat at the U.N. General Assembly because in the U.S. view Arafat had not done enough to stop the violence in Israel and the West Bank.

In 2002, the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a tough, new U.S.-British sponsored resolution authorizing the return of weapons inspectors to Iraq and "serious consequences" if Baghdad failed to cooperate.

Also in 2002, U.S. President George W. Bush assured a Muslim audience that the United States' war was against a network of terrorists and not against the Islamic religion or Muslim civilization.

In 2003, a suicide bomb attack on an Arab residential compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killed 18 and wounded 110.

In 2004, in a long-awaited offensive, thousands of U.S. troops attacked one of the toughest Sunni insurgent strongholds in Fallujah, Iraq.

Also in 2004, the U.S. government authorized the first airline to equip aircraft with electric stun guns as a security measure. Korean Air has 50 flights into the United States each week.

In 2005, a defense lawyer for one of deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's co-defendants was gunned down in Baghdad.

Also in 2005, French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin declared a state of emergency in a bid to quell the nation's worst rioting in decades.


A thought for the day: author George Sand wrote, "We cannot tear out a single page of our life, but we can throw the whole book in the fire."

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On this date in history:


Today is Thursday, Nov. 9, the 313th day of 2006 with 52 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Mercury, Saturn and Mars. The evening stars are Jupiter, Pluto, Venus, Uranus and Neptune.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include astronomer Benjamin Banneker in 1731; Russian author Ivan Turgenev in 1818; architect Stanford White in 1853; actor-comedian Ed Wynn in 1886; actresses Marie Dressler in 1869 and Hedy Lamarr in 1913; Sargent Shriver, first director of the Peace Corps, in 1915 (age 91); former Vice President Spiro T. Agnew in 1918; actress Dorothy Dandridge in 1923; astronomer Carl Sagan in 1934; singer Mary Travers (Peter, Paul and Mary) in 1937 (age 69); baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson in 1935 (age 71), and bodybuilder/actor Lou Ferrigno (TV's "Incredible Hulk") in 1951 (age 55).


On this date in history:

In 1918, German Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated as World War I drew to a close.

In 1933, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt set up the Civil Works Administration as an emergency depression agency to provide jobs for the unemployed.

In 1938, mobs of Germans attacked Jewish businesses and homes throughout Germany in what became known as Kristallnacht, or Crystal Night.

In 1953, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled major league baseball is not within the scope of federal anti-trust laws.

In 1965, a massive power failure left more than 30 million people in the dark in the northeastern United States and eastern Canada.

In 1984, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington was completed by the addition of the Frederick Hart statue called "Three Servicemen."

In 1985, Gary Kasparov, 22, became the youngest world chess champion, ending the 10-year reign of Anatoly Karpov in Moscow.

In 1989, East Germany announced free passage for its citizens through border checkpoints. The announcement rendered the Berlin Wall, the most reviled symbol of the Cold War, virtually irrelevant 28 years after its construction.

Also in 1989, aging Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping resigned from his last official position as chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission.

In 1991, Hong Kong reinitiated its controversial program of forced repatriation when it deported 59 Vietnamese refugees.

In 1992, violence escalated along the Israeli-Lebanese border one day before the resumption of Middle East peace talks in Washington.

In 1995, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat visited Israel for the first time to offer his personal condolences to the widow of slain Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

In 1997, the U.S. Congress approved a new charter for the Food and Drug Administration that allowed the agency to streamline and speed up its procedures for approving new drugs.

In 2002, the death toll from West Nile virus on this date was at least 148 in 2,796 cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

Also in 2002, James Kilgore, the final fugitive member of one of the most notorious radical organizations of the Vietnam era, the Symbionese Liberation Army, awaited extradition from South African to the United States to face 27-year-old bomb-possession and murder charges.

In 2003, Iran's foreign minister said his country wanted closer relations with the European Union and was stopping uranium enrichment.

In 2004, the Justice Department asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear arguments on whether federal anti-drug laws can block Oregon's assisted suicide law.

Also in 2004, subdued observations were held in Berlin to mark the 15th anniversary of the tearing down of the Cold War-era Berlin Wall.

In 2005, a series of explosions rocked three major hotels in the Jordanian capital of Amman, killing a reported 57 people. Blasts shook the Raddison SAS, Grand Hyatt and Days Inn hotels, injuring hundreds, broadcast reports said. Al-Qaida in Mesopotamia claimed responsibility.


A thought for the day: Edgar Watson Howe wrote, "What people say behind your back is your standing in the community."

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On this date in history:

Today is Friday, Nov. 10, the 314th day of 2006 with 51 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Mercury, Saturn and Mars. The evening stars are Jupiter, Pluto, Venus, Uranus and Neptune.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include Martin Luther, founder of Protestantism, in 1483; William Hogarth, English artist and engraver, in 1697; Irish author Oliver Goldsmith in 1730; actors Claude Rains in 1889, Richard Burton in 1925 and Roy Scheider in 1932 (age 74); singer Jane Froman in 1907; Billy May, bandleader/trumpet/arranger, in 1916; American Indian rights activist Russell Means in 1939 (age 67); lyricist Tim Rice in 1944 (age 62); country singer Donna Fargo in 1945 (age 61); actresses Ann Reinking in 1949 (age 57) and Mackenzie Phillips in 1959 (age 47); filmmaker Roland Emmerich ("Independence Day") in 1955 (age 51); and comedian Sinbad in 1956 (age 50).


On this date in history:

In 1775, the U.S. Marine Corps was formed by order of the Continental Congress.

In 1871, journalist Henry Stanley found missing Scottish missionary David Livingstone in a small African village. His famous comment: "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?"

In 1917, 41 women from 15 U.S. states were arrested outside the White House for suffragette demonstrations. U.S. women won the right to vote three years later.

In 1951, area codes were introduced in the United States, Canada and parts of the Caribbean, allowing direct-dialing of long-distance telephone calls. Prior to this, all such calls were operator-assisted.

In 1969, the long-running children's show "Sesame Street" premiered on PBS.

In 1975, the ore freighter Edmund Fitzgerald broke in two and sank during a storm on Lake Superior, killing all 29 crew members. It was the worst Great Lakes ship disaster of the decade.

In 1982, Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev died at age 75 after 18 years in power.

In 1983, Microsoft released its Windows computer operating system.

In 1989, Bulgaria's long-reigning, hard-line president Todor Zhivkov resigned as democratic reform continued to sweep the Eastern Bloc.

In 1994, the United States Washington announced it would no longer police the arms embargo on the Muslim-led government of Bosnia.

Also in 1994, the only privately owned manuscript of Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci was sold at auction at Christie's in New York for $30.8 million, the highest amount paid for a manuscript.

In 1996, a bomb at a Moscow cemetery killed 11 and injured one dozen other people.

In 2001, Taliban officials confirmed that the Northern Alliance had captured the Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif, while President George W. Bush told the U.N. General Assembly that the time had come for countries to take swift and decisive action against global terrorism.

In 2002, the U.S. House voted to allow U.S. President George Bush to take unilateral military action against Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq without conditions beyond Congress being informed almost immediately.

In 2003, Lee Malvo, one of two suspects in the rash of sniper shootings that terrorized the Washington area, pleaded not guilty as his trial opened in Chesapeake, Va. The trial overlapped that of the other suspect, John Muhammad, in Virginia Beach, Va.

In 2004, U.S. President George W. Bush announced he had selected White House General Counsel Alberto Gonzales to succeed the resigned John Ashcroft as attorney general.

Also in 2004, Shell Hydrogen opened the first hydrogen outlet at a retail gasoline station in Washington to service fuel cell vehicles from General Motors.

And, an Israeli parliamentary committee approved a bill prohibiting pensions to families of suicide bombers.

In 2005, a bomb explosion in a busy central Baghdad restaurant killed at least 34 people and wounded some 25 others.

Also in 2005, Palestinian Authority officials said rampant corruption and growing anarchy had security forces on the verge of collapse.


A thought for the day: Irish author Oliver Goldsmith said, "A book may be amusing with numerous errors, or it may be very dull without a single absurdity."

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On this date in history:

Today is Saturday, Nov. 11, the 315th day of 2006 with 50 to follow.

This is Veterans Day.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Mercury, Saturn and Mars. The evening stars are Jupiter, Pluto, Venus, Uranus and Neptune.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include (Senorak, ts4ms.com, Biography: Teacher/Mom of 3, Location: PA, Interests: reading, traveling) (rolands1- ts4ms.com)( TrickyD- ts4ms.com) –(nell – ts4ms.com, Location: Katy, TX) Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky in 1821; U.S. Army Gen. George Patton in 1885; actor Pat O'Brien in 1899; Alger Hiss, who was accused of being a communist spy in Washington in the late 1940s, in 1904; novelist Kurt Vonnegut Jr. in 1922 (age 84); comedian Jonathan Winters in 1925 (age 81); jazz musician Mose Allison in 1927 (age 79); golfer Frank "Fuzzy" Zoeller in 1951 (age 55); and actors Demi Moore in 1962 (age 44); Philip McKeon and Calista Flockhart, both in 1964 (age 42), and Leonardo DiCaprio in 1974 (age 32).

On this date in history:

In 1831, Nat Turner, who led fellow slaves on a bloody uprising in Virginia, was hanged. Turner, an educated minister, believed he was chosen by God to lead his people out of slavery. Some 60 whites were killed in the 2-day rampage.

1889, Washington was admitted to the union as the 42nd state.

In 1918, World War I ended with the signing of the Armistice.

In 1921, U.S. President Warren Harding dedicated the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

In 1938, Kate Smith first performed "God Bless America" on her weekly radio show. The song had been written for her by Irving Berlin.

In 1945, composer Jerome Kern, who wrote such memorable tunes as "Ol' Man River," "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" and "The Last Time I Saw Paris," died at the age of 60.

In 1982, the space shuttle Columbia blasted off on the first commercial space mission.

In 1987, U.S. President Ronald Reagan nominated Judge Anthony Kennedy to the U.S. Supreme Court after Judge Douglas Ginsburg withdrew his nomination and Judge Robert Bork was rejected by the Senate.

In 1989, an estimated 1 million East Germans poured into West Germany for a day of celebration, visiting and shopping. Most returned home.

In 1990, Stormie Jones, the Texas girl who underwent the world's first heart-liver transplant, died in Pittsburgh of a possible heart infection.

In 1992, the Church of England broke the tradition of a male-only clergy when it voted to allow the ordination of women as priests.

In 1994, Jimi Hendrix's stage outfit, John Lennon's "army" shirt and guitars from the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia and the Beach Boys were among the items sold at the first pop memorabilia and guitar sale at Christie's in New York.

In 2001, two months after the terrorist attacks, U.S. President George Bush and leaders from around the world stood in the shadow of the World Trade Center ruins and, in a colorful and solemn ceremony, honored the dead from more than 80 nations.

In 2002, as many as 34 people were killed by tornadoes and straight-line windstorms that swept across the U.S. South and the Ohio Valley.

And in 2002 sports, San Francisco Giants leftfielder Barry Bonds won his fifth Most Valuable Player award, surpassing his own major league record.

In 2003, an international study claimed that London was at greater risk of a terrorist attack by Islamic extremists than New York or Washington.

In 2004, Yasser Arafat, the longtime Palestinian leader whose colorful career ranged from terrorist to diplomat, a key figure in the forever smoldering Middle East, died in a Paris hospital after several days in a coma. He was 75.

Also in 2004, Delta Air Lines pilots accepted pay cuts worth more than $1 billion, helping the airline avert a bankruptcy filing. The airline also planned to cut 6,900 jobs.

In 2005, Harvard-educated Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, dubbed the "Iron Lady," claimed victory as the first woman president of Liberia.

Also in 2005, Ohio State University researchers said they found the skull of a sea-dwelling crocodile that lived 135 million years ago.


A thought for the day: upon formation of United Artists film corporation, Richard Rowland said, "The lunatics have taken charge of the asylum." (UA was founded by Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and D.W. Griffith.)

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On this date in history:

Today is Sunday, Nov. 12, the 316th day of 2006 with 49 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Mercury, Saturn and Mars. The evening stars are Jupiter, Pluto, Venus, Uranus and Neptune.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include French physicist Jacques Charles in 1746; women's suffrage activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton in 1815; Baha'u'llah (born Mirza Husayn Ali), founder-prophet of the Baha'i faith, in 1817; retired Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun in 1908; singer Jo Stafford in 1918; actress Kim Hunter in 1922; Princess Grace of Monaco, the former American movie star Grace Kelly, in 1929; rock musician Neil Young in 1945 (age 61); actress Megan Mullally in 1958 (age 48); Olympic gymnast Nadia Comaneci in 1961 (age 45); actor David Schwimmer ("Friends") in 1966 (age 40); and baseball star Sammy Sosa in 1968 (age 38).


On this date in history:

In 1799, the first North American meteor shower on record took place. Early American astronomer Andrew Ellicott Douglass said, "The whole heaven appeared as if illuminated with sky rockets."

In 1892, the first professional football game was played in Pittsburgh, between the Allegheny Athletic Association and the Pittsburgh Athletic Club.

In 1941, the German army's drive to take Moscow was halted on the city's outskirts in World War II.

In 1948, a war crimes tribunal in Japan sentenced former premier Hideki Tojo and six other World War II Japanese leaders to death by hanging.

In 1980, the Voyager 1 spacecraft passed Saturn and sent back some stunning pictures.

In 1981, the shuttle Columbia became the first spacecraft launched twice from Earth.

In 1982, former KGB chief Yuri Andropov succeeded the late Leonid Brezhnev as general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party.

Also in 1982, Polish authorities freed Solidarity founder Lech Walesa after 11 months of internment.

In 1990, Akihito was crowned the 125th emperor of Japan.

In 1991, about 50 people were killed when Indonesian troops opened fire on protesters in the province of Timor Leste.

In 1992, Volker Keith Meinhold became the first openly gay person on active duty in the U.S. military when, armed with a court order, he reported to work at Moffett Naval Air Station in Mountain View, Calif., for reinstatement as a chief petty officer.

In 1993, pop star Michael Jackson, hounded by allegations that he had molested a teenage boy, canceled the rest of his worldwide "Dangerous" tour, citing an addiction to painkillers.

In 1996, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago, two days before his death, joined a friend-of-court brief petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to reject assisted suicide.

In 1997, two defendants, Ramzi Ahmed and Eyad Ismoil, were convicted of involvement in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York. Four other men had been convicted in 1994.

In 2001, an American Airlines Airbus crashed shortly after takeoff from JFK Airport in New York. More than 260 people died in the crash.

In 2002, a tape surfaced from suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden in which he warned U.S. allies to be ready for the consequences of supporting Washington against his al-Qaida network.

In 2003, actor Art Carney, who won fame and Emmy Awards as sewer worker Ed Norton on the "Honeymooners" TV show in the 1950s and an Oscar in 1974 for "Harry and Tonto," died at age 85.

In 2004, the Palestinian people gave their leader Yasser Arafat an emotional, chaotic farewell, disrupting official burial plans in Ramallah on the West Bank.

Also in 2004, in a highly publicized case, a California jury found Scott Peterson guilty of the 2002 murders of his pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn son. Peterson was sentenced to death.

In 2005, two national polls gave U.S. President George Bush a low grade on job satisfaction. Newsweek and Fox News polls each gave the president a 36 percent approval rating.

Also in 2005, the al-Qaida terrorist network reportedly named Queen Elizabeth II of England "one of the severest enemies of Islam," said to be justification for July bombings in London.


A thought for the day: women's suffrage activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton said, "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal."

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On this date in history:

Today is Monday, Nov. 13, the 317th day of 2006 with 48 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Mercury, Saturn and Mars. The evening stars are Jupiter, Pluto, Venus, Uranus and Neptune.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include St. Augustine of Hippo, a theologian, in 354; King Edward III of England in 1312; Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson in 1850; U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis in 1856; actor Richard Mulligan in 1932; TV producer/director Garry Marshall in 1934 (age 72); and actors Dack Rambo in 1941; Joe Mantegna in 1947 (age 59), Whoopi Goldberg in 1955 (age 51), Chris Noth in 1954 (age 52) and Tracy Scoggins in 1953 (age 53).


On this date in history:

In 1927, the Holland Tunnel was opened under the Hudson River, linking New York City and New Jersey.

In 1933, the first recorded "sit-down" strike in the United States was staged by workers at the Hormel Packing Company in Austin, Minn.

In 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a case from Montgomery, Ala., that segregation on interstate buses was unconstitutional.

In 1967, Carl Stokes became the first black American mayor when he was elected in Cleveland.

In 1974, Yasser Arafat told the U.N. General Assembly that the goal of the Palestine Liberation Organization was to establish an independent state of Palestine.

In 1982, the Vietnam War Memorial was dedicated in Washington.

In 1985, a volcano erupted in Colombia, killing 25,000 people. It was the third-deadliest volcano disaster in history.

In 1992, a group of Peruvian military officers tried unsuccessfully to assassinate President Fujimori and overthrow the government.

In 1993, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Farooq Leghari was chosen president.

In 1997, Iraq expelled the U.S. members of the U.N. team that had been sent to verify Iraq's compliance with U.N. directives.

In 2001, U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian leader Putin agreed to reduce stockpiles of nuclear weapons by about two-thirds.

In 2003, a U.N. specialist said counter-terrorist legislation in the United States was having a negative impact on human rights.

In 2004, one day after Yasser Arafat's burial, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei called for the continuation of peace talks with Israel.

Also in 2004, an Iraqi national security adviser said up to 1,000 insurgents were killed in the 6-day battle for Fallujah.

In 2005, a U.S.-brokered meeting in Bahrain to promote democracy in Muslim countries reportedly achieved little except to approve funding for a new foundation.

Also in 2005, Jordanian King Abdullah II said the Iraqi al-Qaida bombers who struck three hotels this week were "insane" and vowed to take the fight to them.


A thought for the day: U.S. Army Gen. Douglas McArthur said, "In war there is no substitute for victory."