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.

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 U.S. President George 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 of Representatives 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 innocent as his trial opened in Chesapeake, Va. The trial overlapped that of the other suspect, John Muhammad, in Virginia Beach, Va.

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

Also in 2004, an Israeli parliamentary committee approved a bill prohibiting pensions to families of suicide bombers.

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

In 2006, the head of Britain's MI5 counter-terrorism agency said there were 30 "mass casualty" terror plots being planned in the country.

Also in 2006, Mexico City lawmakers officially recognized same-sex civil unions, subject to approval by the mayor.

In 2007, Bank of America, CitiGroup and JPMorgan Chase, the nation's three biggest banks, agreed to a simplified structure for a reported $75 billion fund designed to stabilize U.S. credit markets.

This is Veterans Day in the United States.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include 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; comedian Jonathan Winters in 1925 (age 83); jazz musician Mose Allison in 1927 (age 81); golfer Frank "Fuzzy" Zoeller in 1951 (age 57); and actors Demi Moore in 1962 (age 46); Philip McKeon and Calista Flockhart, both in 1964 (age 44) and Leonardo DiCaprio in 1974 (age 34).

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 two-day rampage.

In 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 reopened 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.

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.

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

In 2006, reports say medical care shortages may have led to the deaths of thousands of Iraqis despite the infusion of nearly $500,000. Sectarian violence, theft, corruption and mismanagement -- and the reported killings of hundreds of doctors -- were blamed.

Also in 2006, the United States vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution that condemned Israel's recent attacks in Gaza.

And, an anonymous tip led investigators to a mass grave in Bosnia containing more than 100 victims of the infamous Srebrenica massacre.

In 2007, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, under intense international pressure to end his emergency rule, said elections would be before Jan. 9.

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

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; U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun in 1908; singer Jo Stafford in 1917; 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 63); actress Megan Mullally in 1958 (age 50); Olympic gymnast Nadia Comaneci in 1961 (age 47); and baseball star Sammy Sosa in 1968 (age 40).

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. The Allegheny Athletic Association defeated the Pittsburgh Athletic Club, 4-0. (Touchdowns at the time were worth 4 points.)

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 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 imprisonment.

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 1997, 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.

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

In 2007, the U.S. attorney in San Francisco opened a criminal investigation into a shipping accident that dumped 58,000 gallons of oil into the bay after a fog-bound bridge collision.

Also in 2007, police in Jokela, Finland, said they believed a teenager who killed eight high school classmates may have had Internet contact with a Philadelphia youth who was arrested for planning a similar attack.

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

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 74); and actors Dack Rambo in 1941; Joe Mantegna in 1947 (age 61), Whoopi Goldberg in 1955 (age 53), Chris Noth in 1954 (age 54) and Tracy Scoggins in 1953 (age 55).

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 U.S. 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 Alberto 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 Bush and Russian leader Putin agreed to reduce stockpiles of nuclear weapons by about two-thirds.

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 six-day battle for Fallujah.

In 2006, as many as 150 people were reported kidnapped from Iraq's Ministry of Higher Education in Baghdad by about 80 gunmen in security services uniforms.

Also in 2006, nearly two dozen people were killed and thousands more displaced in massive flooding in northern Kenya.

In 2007, criticizing the U.S. Congress for what he saw as failure to honor a pledge of fiscal responsibility, U.S. President George Bush likened lawmakers to "a teenager with a new credit card."

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include Robert Fulton, inventor of the steamboat, in 1765; French Impressionist painter Claude Monet, in 1840; Indian statesman Jawaharlal Nehru in 1889; Mamie Doud Eisenhower, wife of U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower, in 1896; U.S. composer Aaron Copland in 1900; singers Morton Downey in 1901 and Johnny Desmond in 1920; actor/singer Dick Powell in 1904; U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy, R-Wis., in 1908; actress Veronica Lake in 1919; former U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali in 1922 (age 86); actors Brian Keith in 1921 and McLean Stevenson in 1927; astronaut Edward White, killed in the 1967 Apollo I launch pad fire, in 1930; King Hussein of Jordan in 1935; Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, in 1948 (age 60); New Age singer/songwriter Yanni in 1954 (age 54); and actress Laura San Giacomo in 1962 (age 46).

In 1666, the first blood transfusion took place in London. Blood from one dog was transfused into another.

In 1832, the first horse-drawn streetcar made its appearance in New York City.

In 1889, newspaper reporter Nellie Bly set off to break the fictional record of voyaging around the world in 80 days set by Jules Verne's character Phileas Fogg. She made the trip in 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes and 14 seconds.

In 1926, the NBC radio network made its debut.

In 1940, German planes bombed Coventry, England, destroying or damaging 69,000 buildings.

In 1972, for the first time in its 76-year history, the Dow Jones industrial average closed above 1,000.

In 1984, former Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon went to court in New York with a $50 million libel suit against Time magazine. He lost after a two-month trial.

In 1986, the White House acknowledged the CIA role in secretly shipping weapons to Iran.

In 1988, the PLO proclaimed an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, endorsing a renunciation of terrorism and an implicit recognition of Israel.

In 1990, a gunman in Dunedin, New Zealand, killed 11 neighbors, then was killed by police in the nation's worst mass slaying at that time. A 12th victim died later.

In 1991, U.S. and British officials accused two Libyan agents in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in which 270 people died.

In 1993, in a referendum, residents of Puerto Rico voted in favor of continuing their U.S. commonwealth status.

In 1994, the 31-mile Chunnel Tunnel under the English Channel opened to passenger traffic between England and France.

In 2002, Iraq told the United Nations it accepted -- without condition or special requests -- the U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing the return of weapons inspectors to Baghdad.

In 2003, an Alabama jury ordered Exxon Mobil to pay the state $11.8 billion in damages relating to gas royalties for offshore drilling projects. The jury also awarded compensatory damages of $63.6 million.

In 2005, private U.S. donations to victims of Hurricane Katrina were reported to be near the $2.7 billion mark in 11 weeks, close to the record $2.8 billion said to have gone to Sept. 11, 2001, charities.

Also in 2005, North Korea reportedly proposed a five-step plan to give up its nuclear weapons program but officials said the plan appeared to depend on certain aid demands.

In 2006, all of the hostages seized from the Ministry of Higher Education in Baghdad were reported released in a series of police raids.

Also in 2006, a German chemist went on trial in Mannheim, Germany, on charges of denying the World War II Holocaust killed millions of Jews and others in Auschwitz gas chambers. Germar Rudolf called the Holocaust "a giant fraud." Holocaust denial is a crime in Germany.

In 2007, former football star O.J. Simpson faced trial for allegedly robbing two memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a Las Vegas hotel room. A judge ruled there was adequate evidence for trial on a dozen counts, including kidnapping.

Also in 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a military spending bill that authorized $50 billion of the $200 billion sought by U.S. President George Bush for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and proposed dates for troop withdrawal.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include British statesman William Pitt ("the elder") in 1708; British astronomer William Herschel, discoverer of the planet Uranus, in 1738; Nobel Prize-winning physiologist August Krogh of Denmark in 1874; artist Georgia O'Keeffe in 1887; jurist Felix Frankfurter in 1882; diplomat W. Averell Harriman and World War II German Gen. Erwin Rommel, both in 1891; Annunzio Mantovani, orchestra leader, in 1905; U.S. Air Force Gen. Curtis LeMay in 1906; TV personality and retired Judge Joseph Wapner in 1919 (age 89); actor Edward Asner in 1929 (age 79); pop singer Petula Clark in 1932 (age 76); actors Yaphet Kotto in 1937 (age 71) and Sam Waterston in 1940 (age 68); conductor Daniel Barenboim in 1942 (age 66); actress Beverly D'Angelo in 1951 (age 57); and "Tonight Show" band leader Kevin Eubanks in 1957 (age 51).

In 1864, Union Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman began his Civil War march from Atlanta to the sea.

In 1920, the first assembly of the League of Nations was called to order in Geneva, Switzerland.

In 1943, Heinrich Himmler ordered Gypsies be placed in Nazi concentration camps.

In 1960, Hollywood king Clark Gable, best remembered as Rhett Butler in "Gone With The Wind," died of a heart attack at the age of 59.

In 1969, 250,000 people demonstrated in Washington against the Vietnam War.

In 1984, 5-week-old Baby Fae died after her body rejected the baboon heart she had lived with for 20 days at California's Loma Linda University Medical Center.

In 1987, 27 people were killed when a Continental Airlines DC-9 jet crashed in a snowstorm during takeoff from Denver.

In 1989, tornadoes struck six Southern states, killing 17 people and injuring 463, causing at least $100 million in damage in Huntsville, Ala.

In 1990, members of the so-called Keating Five -- Sens. Alan Cranston, D-Calif.; Dennis DeConcini, D-Ariz.; John Glenn, D-Ohio; John McCain, R-Ariz.; and Donald Riegle, D-Mich. -- were accused of influence peddling on behalf of savings and loan kingpin Charles Keating.

In 2001, U.S. commandos were on the ground in southern Afghanistan in the search for al-Qaida leaders and more than 250 U.S. and British special force troops landed north of Kabul.

In 2002, the White House and the FBI backed off from a warning that al-Qaida was plotting "spectacular" attacks against the United States after critics latched onto it to show progress in the war on terror was faltering.

In 2004, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell submitted his resignation.

Also in 2004, facing the possibility of U.N. sanctions, Iran announced it would suspend its uranium enrichment program.

In 2005, the official death toll from Hurricane Katrina stood at 972 with more bodies found as Louisiana residents returned home more than a month after the search for victims officially ended.

In 2006, a minor tsunami created by an 8.1 earthquake off northern Japan struck Crescent City on the northern California coast, damaging docks and boats. No injuries were reported. A small tsunami also hit Japan's northern and eastern coasts.

In 2007, Cyclone Sidr, with winds of more than 150 miles an hour, slammed into the southwestern Bangladesh coast, killing a reported more than 3,400 people. Authorities said tens of thousands were injured and 1 million people were homeless.

Also in 2007, most of the shots fired by the private U.S. security firm Blackwater killing 17 civilians in Baghdad Sept. 16 were unwarranted, a preliminary FBI report said.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include Tiberius, emperor of Rome, in 42 B.C.; composer W.C. Handy, known as the "Father of the Blues," in 1873; Broadway director and playwright George S. Kaufman in 1889; jazz guitarist and bandleader Eddie Condon in 1905; actors Burgess Meredith in 1909, Marg Helgenberger in 1958 (age 50) and Lisa Bonet in 1967 (age 41); and Olympic figure skater Oksana Baiul in 1977 (age 31).

In 1892, the University of Chicago, a founding member of the Big 10 Conference, won its first football game, beating Illinois, 10-4.

In 1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state admitted to the union.

In 1933, the United States established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union.

In 1984, the space shuttle Discovery returned to Earth with the first two satellites ever plucked from space.

In 1989, six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her teenage daughter were shot to death at their residence in San Salvador. Three years later, in 1991, U.S. House of Representatives Democrats reported that Salvadoran Defense Minister Gen. Rene Ponce had planned the killings.

In 1989, seven children were killed when a tornado struck an elementary school near Newburgh, N.Y.

In 1990, the Soviet Union indicated its approval of the use of military force to oust Iraq from Kuwait.

In 1997, 85 percent of voters in Hungary cast ballots in favor of joining NATO.

In 2001, a letter containing anthrax was found at the Capitol in Washington, addressed to Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

Also in 2001, U.S. officials said a bomb had killed Muhammad Atef, one of Osama bin Laden's oldest and closest strategists who was believed to have helped plan the Sept. 11 attacks.

In 2003, powerful explosions rocked Baghdad, while electric power went out in broad sections of the city as U.S. troops attacked suspected insurgent hideouts.

In 2004, Margaret Hassan, the kidnapped Iraqi CARE director, was believed to have been killed after al-Jazeera television received a video of a woman's slaying. The act drew widespread condemnation from world leaders.

In 2005, a secret White House document is said to confirm reports that oil company executives met with White House officials when the Bush administration was fashioning its 2001 energy policy.

In 2006, a U.S. Army specialist became the first of five suspects to plead guilty in the rape of a young Iraqi teenager and the killing of her and her family.

Also in 2006, Turkey severed military ties with France over a century-old dispute involving the deaths of some 1.2 million Armenians.

In 2007, in its last of four reports on climate change, the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned global warming of 1-3 degrees would lead to a rise in sea levels that would swallow up island nations, decimate one-quarter or more of the world's species, cause famine in Africa and spark increasingly violent hurricanes.

www.upi.com

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include 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; comedian Jonathan Winters in 1925 (age 83); jazz musician Mose Allison in 1927 (age 81); golfer Frank "Fuzzy" Zoeller in 1951 (age 57); and actors Demi Moore in 1962 (age 46); Philip McKeon and Calista Flockhart, both in 1964 (age 44) and Leonardo DiCaprio in 1974 (age 34).

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 two-day rampage.

In 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 reopened 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.

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.

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

In 2006, reports say medical care shortages may have led to the deaths of thousands of Iraqis despite the infusion of nearly $500,000. Sectarian violence, theft, corruption and mismanagement -- and the reported killings of hundreds of doctors -- were blamed.

Also in 2006, the United States vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution that condemned Israel's recent attacks in Gaza.

And, an anonymous tip led investigators to a mass grave in Bosnia containing more than 100 victims of the infamous Srebrenica massacre.

In 2007, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, under intense international pressure to end his emergency rule, said elections would be before Jan. 9.

www.upi.com

Although he is known as a maverick and has an infamous temper, Meacham argues that there is a lot more to McCain than many realize. "It is easy to mistake McCain a rich septuagenarian with houses beyond number, who does not use e-mail or what President Bush once called 'the Internets,' and who hums 'Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran' to the tune of a Beach Boys cover of a song written the year Barack Obama was born ... But John McCain is an eager, cold-eyed politician who has sought the White House for a decade, compromised and reversed himself and believes he is an actor in a grand, unfolding saga. He is also more comfortable with shades of gray than he appears -- a sense of nuance rooted, it seems, in an early life in which he at once revered his father and felt sorry for him."

Despite the admiration for his father, McCain became aware of his father's shortcomings early on. "I became aware, I think when I was either in my very earliest teens or even before that, that my father had a struggle with alcohol. And I watched him fight and fight this sickness ... So I not only idolized him but I also understood that he had flaws like all of us, and probably his greatest was his struggle against alcoholism, which made him a very religious man. He prayed every night on his knees; he was very religious, because he saw hell combating [alcoholism, a struggle that] he knew he could not successfully win by himself." When asked if he ever worried about inheriting his father's vices, McCain says he never did. "I just didn't have the inclination. I could tell early on. I of course went to happy hour. I of course had drinks with my squadron mates, et cetera. But I never felt any particular appetite for alcohol ... I'm sure the example of my father may have had some kind of effect."

McCain's political and personal adaptability can be traced to how he viewed his father, but it is also rooted in his experience as the subject of scandal two decades ago. McCain and four other senators faced allegations that they had improperly lobbied for Charles Keating, the Arizona developer at the center of a savings and loan disaster. McCain was cleared, but believed his honor was under attack. "I never saw anybody work as hard as John McCain did to try and restore his reputation," says Bruce Merrill, an Arizona State professor. "John has always understood the media. He would drive an hour to Kingman, Arizona, for 10 minutes of radio time [to clear his name]. He was working so hard to overcome this." And in the long run, he did.

The cover package also includes:

Contributing Editor Ellis Cose writes that the Republican National Convention this week will be a showcase for dreams-and arguments about how to make them real. "The Republicans will do their best to match the Democrats' soaring rhetoric," Cose writes. This contest he adds, "is more about who is the best dream merchant. Make no mistake: both candidates, and both parties, have dreams to sell. Or, more accurately, they have different versions of the same dream -- the American Dream. In the end, the election is likely to go to the candidate who best argues his dream is the more authentic -- and his approach the most American."

Senior Writer and Political Correspondent Jonathan Darman writes that McCain "has finally assumed the leadership of the conservative movement by disavowing the same rebellious tradition he once cherished. To date, in his challenge to Barack Obama, he has run an entirely conventional conservative Republican campaign. But while the attacks may prove effective ... they hardly feel subversive, dramatic or new," Darman writes. "Even the choice of Sarah Palin, a reliable social conservative and tax-cutter," suggests John McCain "is less interested in being dramatic for the sake of principle than he is in being dramatic for drama's sake."

Editor-At-Large Evan Thomas and San Francisco Bureau Chief Karen Breslau profile Alaska Governor and newly selected running mate for John McCain, Sarah Palin. Although the choice of Palin was a shocker to some conservative pundits, choosing her is historic, although it undercuts McCain's attack on Obama as a greenhorn lacking in experience, especially abroad. Palin is going to have to essentially take a crash course in foreign affairs before the Oct. 2 vice presidential debate against Joe Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Senior Editor Jonathan Alter writes that McCain's selection of Gov. Palin as his running mate may prove to be irresponsible. He has "selected a potential leader of the free world who knows little or nothing about the major issues of the day beyond energy," Alter writes. He adds that although her acceptance speech suggests she could be a natural on the national stage, "politics, like all professions, isn't as easy as it looks. Palin's odds of emerging unscathed are slim. In fact, she's been all but set up for failure." Although it's "possible that Palin is so talented that she will prove to be the face of the GOP's future. More likely, this 'Hail Sarah' pass won't do much to help John McCain get into the end zone. He'll win or lose for other reasons," he writes.

GOP analyst and Contributor Karl Rove examines the 14 battleground states that will likely choose the next president. Rove also explains what each candidate will need to do to win.

Guest writer Michael Gerson writes that instead of a philosophy, "McCain has a code, combining a religious concern for the weak and the oppressed with a military conception of national honor-an almost Roman belief in personal integrity and sacrifice for country." He has often shown "a stubborn sense of decency and morality that should appeal broadly to Protestants, Roman Catholics, Jews and others who are concerned about social justice."

    (Read the cover package at www.Newsweek.com )

    Cover: http://www.newsweek.com/id/156488
    Q/A: http://www.newsweek.com/id/156489
    Cose: http://www.newsweek.com/id/156357
    Conservatives: http://www.newsweek.com/id/156353
    Gov. Palin profile: http://www.newsweek.com/id/156472
    Alter: http://www.newsweek.com/id/156258
    Gerson: http://www.newsweek.com/id/156355

SOURCE Newsweek

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THE ESSENTIAL NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL CHRISTMAS! is a joint venture from EMI Music, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and the Zomba Group of labels. THE ESSENTIAL NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL CHRISTMAS! will be distributed by Universal Music Group.

    THE ESSENTIAL NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL CHRISTMAS!
    1. John Lennon and Yoko Ono   Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
    2. Elvis Presley              Blue Christmas
    3. Andy Williams              It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
    4. Dean Martin                Baby, It's Cold Outside
    5. Johnny Mathis              It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas
    6. Harry Simeone Chorale      The Little Drummer Boy
    7. Burl Ives                  A Holly Jolly Christmas
    8. Gene Autry                 Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
    9. The Beach Boys             Little Saint Nick
    10. The Chipmunks             The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)
    11. Jackson 5                 Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
    12. Chuck Berry               Run Rudolph Run
    13. Elmo & Patsy              Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer
    14. Brenda Lee                Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree
    15. Jose Feliciano            Feliz Navidad
    16. Donny Hathaway            This Christmas
    17. Paul McCartney            Wonderful Christmastime
    18. Elton John                Step Into Christmas
    19. Wham!                     Last Christmas
    20. Daryl Hall & John Oates   Jingle Bell Rock
    21. Carrie Underwood          Do You Hear What I Hear
    22. Amy Grant                 Breath Of Heaven
    23. Colbie Caillat            Mistletoe
    24. Ledisi                    This Christmas (Could Be The One)
    25. The Temptations           Silent Night

The NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL MUSIC! series debuted in the United States in 1998 after the NOW brand had been an enormous, multi-platinum international success for 15 years. With 70 volumes released to date in the U.K., the NOW series has generated sales of over 160 million albums worldwide, including over 70 million copies in the U.S. Every album in the NOW series has reached the Billboard Top 10, with NOW 3 the first non-soundtrack, multi-artist collection in history to reach #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Sales Chart.

    NOW 1 (October 1998, certified platinum)
    NOW 2 (July 1999, certified double platinum)
    NOW 3 (December 1999, certified double platinum)
    NOW 4 (July 2000, the first compilation ever to debut at #1 on the
     Billboard Top 200, certified double platinum)
    NOW 5 (November 2000, certified quadruple platinum)
    NOW 6 (April 2001, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200, certified
     triple platinum)
    NOW 7 (July 2001, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200, certified triple
     platinum)
    NOW 8 (November 2001, certified triple platinum)
    NOW 9 (April 2002, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200, certified
     double platinum)
    NOW 10 (July 2002, certified platinum)
    NOW 11 (November 2002, certified double platinum)
    NOW 12 (March 2003, certified platinum)
    NOW 13 (July 2003, certified platinum)
    NOW 14 (April 2004, certified triple platinum)
    NOW 15 (May 2004, certified double platinum)
    NOW 16 (July 2004, certified triple platinum)
    NOW 17 (November 2004, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200, certified
     triple platinum)
    NOW 18 (March 2005, certified platinum)
    NOW 19 (July 2005, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200, certified
     double platinum)
    NOW 20 (November 2005, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200, certified
     double platinum)
    NOW 21 (April 2006, debuted at #2 on the Billboard Top 200, certified
     platinum)
    NOW 22 (July 2006, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200, certified
     platinum)
    NOW 23 (November 2006, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200, certified
     platinum)
    NOW 24 (March 2007, debuted at #2 on the Billboard Top 200, certified
     platinum)
    NOW 25 (July 2007, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200, certified
     platinum)
    NOW 26 (November 2007, certified platinum)
    NOW 27 (March 2008, debuted at #2 on the Billboard Top 200, pending
     platinum certification)
    NOW 28 (June 2008, debuted at #2 on the Billboard Top 200, pending
     platinum certification)

    NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL CHRISTMAS! (October 2001, certified sextuple
     platinum)
    NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL CHRISTMAS! The Signature Collection (September
     2003, certified double platinum)
    NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL CHRISTMAS! 3 (October 2006, certified platinum)

SOURCE Universal Music Enterprises