Historical Filler: 21 November

Today is Wednesday, November 21st, the 325th day of 2007. There are 40 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On November 21st, 1927, picketing strikers at the Columbine Mine in northern Colorado were fired on by state police; six miners were killed. [This is a "highlight?" — Ed.] On this date: In 1789, North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the US Constitution. In 1922, Rebecca L. Felton of Georgia was sworn in as the first woman to serve in the U.S. Senate. In 1934, the Cole Porter musical "Anything Goes," starring Ethel Merman as Reno Sweeney, opened in New York. In 1942, the Alaska Highway was formally opened. In 1967, President Johnson signed the Air Quality Act. In 1969, the Senate voted down the Supreme Court nomination of Clement F. Haynsworth, the first such rejection since 1930. In 1973, President Nixon's attorney, J. Fred Buzhardt, revealed the existence of an 18 1/2-minute gap in one of the White House tape recordings related to Watergate. In 1979, a mob attacked the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, killing two Americans. In 1980, 87 people died in a fire at the MGM Grand Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ten years ago: U.N. arms inspectors returned to Iraq after Saddam Hussein's three-week standoff with the United Nations over the presence of Americans on the team. President Clinton signed a law giving the FDA new powers to speed the approval of drugs to combat a host of killer diseases, including cancer and AIDS. Five years ago: In a historic eastward shift, NATO expanded its membership into the borders of the former Soviet Union as it invited seven former communist countries under its security umbrella. In Nigeria, deadly rioting erupted after a newspaper suggested Islam's founding prophet would have approved of the Miss World beauty pageant, scheduled to be held in the Nigerian capital, Abuja (the event was moved to London). Eleven bus passengers were killed in a suicide bombing in Jerusalem. One year ago: Kathryn Johnston, 92, was killed in a hail of bullets during a botched drug raid by Atlanta police. Lebanon's industry minister, Pierre Gemayel, scion of Lebanon's most prominent Christian family, was assassinated in a brazen daytime hit. A methane gas explosion at the Halemba coal mine in southern Poland killed 23 people. Justin Morneau won the American League's Most Valuable Player Award. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Stan Musial is 87. Actor Joseph Campanella is 80. Country singer Jean Shepard is 74. Actor Laurence Luckinbill is 73. Actress Marlo Thomas is 70. Actor Rick Lenz is 68. Singer Dr. John is 67. [Gris Gris Gumbo Ya Ya!— Ed.] Actress Juliet Mills is 66. Comedian-director Harold Ramis is 63. Television producer Marcy Carsey is 63. Actress Goldie Hawn is 62. Movie director Andrew Davis is 61. Rock musician Lonnie Jordan (War) is 59. Singer Livingston Taylor is 57. Actress-singer Lorna Luft is 55. Journalist Tina Brown is 54. Actress Cherry Jones is 51. Rock musician Brian Ritchie (The Violent Femmes) is 47. Actress Nicollette Sheridan is 44. Singer-actress Bjork is 42. Football player Troy Aikman is 41. Baseball player Ken Griffey Junior is 38. On November 21st, 1934, the Cole Porter musical "Anything Goes" opened in New York. In 1960, George Harrison was deported from Germany after The Beatles had moved to Hamburg to play clubs there. Authorities were tipped off that he was not yet 18 and was therefore not allowed to be in a nightclub after midnight. In 1974, the Kiss Army fan club officially formed in Terre Haute, Indiana. In 1980, an estimated 83 million TV viewers tuned in to the CBS prime-time soap opera "Dallas" to find out who shot J.R., played by Larry Hagman. It turned out to be Kristin Shephard, played by Mary Crosby. Also in 1980, singer Don Henley was arrested after a nude 16-year-old girl was found in his Los Angeles home suffering from a drug overdose. Henley was fined and given probation. In 1982, Liza Minelli, Willie Nelson, Smokey Robinson and Andrew Lloyd Webber were honored as the first group of Grammy Living Legends at a gala in Los Angeles. Also in 1982, singer Joni Mitchell married her bassist, Larry Klein, in Malibu, California. In 1987, actor Bruce Willis married actress Demi Moore in Las Vegas. They separated after ten years. In 1990, Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall were married after being together for 12 years. They have since divorced. In 1995, singer Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day was arrested for dropping his pants at a concert in Milwaukee. He was fined 141 dollars.