This day in history

[November 17, 2008]  (AP)  Today is Monday, Nov. 17, the 322nd day of 2008. There are 44 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Nov. 17, 1968, the NBC television network outraged football fans by cutting away from the closing minutes of a New York Jets-Oakland Raiders game to begin a special presentation of "Heidi" on schedule. (Home viewers were prevented from seeing the Raiders come from behind to beat the Jets 43-32.)

On this date:

In 1558, Elizabeth I acceded to the English throne upon the death of Queen Mary.

In 1800, Congress held its first session in Washington in the partially completed Capitol building.

In 1869, the Suez Canal opened in Egypt.

In 1917, sculptor Auguste Rodin died in Meudon, France, at age 77.

In 1934, Lyndon Baines Johnson married Claudia Alta Taylor, better known as "Lady Bird," in San Antonio, Texas.

In 1962, Washington's Dulles International Airport was dedicated by President Kennedy.

In 1970, the Soviet Union landed an unmanned, remote-controlled vehicle on the moon, the Lunokhod 1.

In 1973, President Nixon told Associated Press managing editors meeting in Orlando, Fla.: "People have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook."

In 1987, a federal jury in Denver convicted two neo-Nazis and acquitted two others of civil rights violations in the 1984 slaying of radio talk show host Alan Berg.

In 1997, 62 people, most of them foreign tourists, were killed when six militants opened fire at the Temple of Hatshepsut in Luxor, Egypt; the attackers were killed by police.

Ten years ago: The public got to hear Monica Lewinsky's voice for the first time as the House Judiciary Committee released 22 hours of tape recordings secretly made by Linda Tripp. Israel's parliament overwhelmingly approved the Wye River land-for-peace accord with the Palestinians. Actress Esther Rolle died in Culver City, Calif., at age 78.

Five years ago: John Allen Muhammad was convicted of two counts of capital murder in the Washington-area sniper shootings. Arnold Schwarzenegger was sworn in as the 38th governor of California. Rush Limbaugh returned to radio after five weeks of rehabilitation for a painkiller addiction. Texas Rangers shortstop Alex Rodriguez won the American League Most Valuable Player award.

One year ago: U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte delivered a blunt message to Pakistan's military ruler, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, telling him emergency rule had to be lifted and his opponents freed ahead of elections. A Nobel-winning U.N. scientific panel said in a landmark report that the Earth was hurtling toward a warmer climate at a quickening pace.

Today's birthdays: Rock musician Gerry McGee (The Ventures) is 71. Singer Gordon Lightfoot is 70. Movie director Martin Scorsese is 66. Actress Lauren Hutton is 65. Actor-director Danny DeVito is 64. "Saturday Night Live" producer Lorne Michaels is 64. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Tom Seaver is 64. Movie director Roland Joffe is 63. Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean is 60. Actor Stephen Root is 57. Rock musician Jim Babjak (The Smithereens) is 51. Actress Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is 50. Actor William Moses is 49. Entertainer RuPaul is 48. Actor Dylan Walsh is 45. Actress Sophie Marceau is 42. Actress-model Daisy Fuentes is 42. Rhythm-and-blues singer Ronnie DeVoe (New Edition; Bell Biv DeVoe) is 41. Rock musician Ben Wilson (Blues Traveler) is 41. Actress Leslie Bibb is 35. Actor Brandon Call is 32. Country singer Aaron Lines is 31. Actress Rachel McAdams is 30. Rock musician Isaac Hanson (Hanson) is 28. Actor Justin Cooper is 20. Actress Raquel Castro is 14.

Thought for today: "There's one thing that keeps surprising you about stormy old friends after they die -- their silence." -- Ben Hecht, American author and screenwriter (1893-1964)

[Associated Press]

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