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The Almanac

By United Press International
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Today is Saturday, Nov. 22, the 326th day of 2003 with 39 to follow.

The moon is waning.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Sagittarius. They include French explorer of North America Rene Robert de la Salle in 1643; English novelist George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) in 1819; French statesman and military leader Charles de Gaulle in 1890; Wiley Post, the first pilot to fly solo around the world, in 1898; composers Hoagy Carmichael in 1899 and Benjamin Britten in 1913; comedian Rodney Dangerfield in 1921 (age 82); actress Geraldine Page in 1924; actors Robert Vaughn in 1932 (age 71) and Tom Conti in 1941 (age 62); writer/director Terry Gilliam in 1940 (age 63); Guion S. Bluford, Jr., the first black American astronaut in space, in 1942 (age 61); tennis player Billie Jean King in 1943 (age 60); actors Richard Kind in 1957 (age 46), Jamie Lee Curtis in 1958 (age 46) and Mariel Hemingway in 1961 (age 42); and tennis player Boris Becker in 1967 (age 36).

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On this date in history:

In 1718, Edward Teach, also known as the pirate Blackbeard, was killed off North Carolina's Outer Banks during a bloody battle with a British navy force.

In 1935, a Pan American Martin 130 "flying boat" called the China Clipper began regular trans-Pacific mail service. The flight from San Francisco to Manila, Philippines, took 59 hours and 48 minutes.

In 1950, a train wreck in New York City killed 79 people.

In 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas and Vice President Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as the nation's 36th chief executive. Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested and later named by the Warren Commission as the man who fired the fatal shots. But, Oswald also was slain before he could go to trial.

In 1972, the State Department ended a 22-year ban on U.S. travel to China.

In 1977, the Anglo-French supersonic Concorde jetliner began scheduled flights to New York from London and Paris.

In 1980, actress Mae West died at the age of 88.

In 1989, newly elected Lebanese President Rene Moawad died in bomb blast that also killed 17 other people in Syrian-patrolled Moslem West Beirut.

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Also in 1989, 12 U.S. Green Berets were evacuated from the San Salvador Sheraton. They were the last of nearly 100 people trapped when leftist rebels seized the hotel.

In 1990, Prime Minister Thatcher resigned after 11 years in office as England's longest-serving leader of this century.

In 1991, the State Department invited Israel and Arab negotiators to begin bilateral peace talks in Washington, D.C.

In 1992, at least 27 people died when tornadoes carved a path of destruction through the South and Midwest.

Also in 1992, 10 women who had worked for or with Sen. Bob Packwood reportedly accused the Oregon Republican of unwelcome sexual advances.

And in 1992, Woody Allen told "60 Minutes" that Mia Farrow vowed to do something "very nasty" to him before she charged him with sexually abusing their adopted seven-year-old daughter.

In 1993, Mexico's Senate approved the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Also in 1993, striking American Airline flight attendants agreed to return to work after President Clinton urged both sides in the labor dispute to seek arbitration.

In 1995, OPEC agreed to maintain its 1994 oil production quotas.

In 1996, Washington announced a review of airbag safety following reports of deaths caused by air bags during deployment.

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In 1997, New Zealanders Robert Hamill and Phil Stubbs arrive in Barbados from the Canary Islands in their boat, Kiwi Challenger, after 41 days, one hour and 55 minutes -- a new record for rowing across the Atlantic.

In 2000, while the nation waited to see who would be the next president, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that hand count of the state's presidential ballots could continue. The Republicans had sought to block the recount, brought on by ballot questions in some counties. The winner in Florida, based on national delegate numbers, would be the winner in one of the tightest presidential races in decades.

In 2002, Red Cross officials report at least 100 people died in riots in northern Nigeria sparked by a religious controversy over the Miss World beauty pageant.

Also in 2002, Indonesian police reported the capture of the prime suspect in last month's Bali bombings in which around 200 people were killed.


A thought for the day: President Kennedy said, "If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich."

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