The End Is Nigh

Today is Monday, Dec. 29, the 364th day of 2008. There are 2 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: Two hundred years ago, on Dec. 29, 1808, the 17th president of the United States, Andrew Johnson, was born in Raleigh, N.C. On this date: In 1170, Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral by knights loyal to King Henry II. In 1845, Texas was admitted as the 28th state. In 1851, the first American Young Men's Christian Association was organized, in Boston. In 1890, the Wounded Knee massacre took place in South Dakota as an estimated 300 Sioux Indians were killed by US troops sent to disarm them. In 1916, Grigory Rasputin, the so-called "Mad Monk" who'd wielded great influence with Czar Nicholas II, was murdered by a group of Russian noblemen in St. Petersburg. In 1934, Japan formally denounced the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. In 1940, during World War II, Germany dropped incendiary bombs on London, setting off what came to be known as "The Second Great Fire of London." In 1957, singers Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme were married in Las Vegas, Nevada. In 1975, a bomb exploded in the main terminal of New York's LaGuardia Airport, killing 11 people. In 1978, during the Gator Bowl, Ohio State University coach Woody Hayes punched Clemson player Charlie Bauman, who'd intercepted an Ohio pass. (Hayes was fired by Ohio State the next day.) Ten years ago: Two top Khmer Rouge leaders apologized for the deaths of as many as two million people during their regime in the 1970s, and asked Cambodians to forget the past. Five years ago: Monsignor Michael Courtney, Pope John Paul II's ambassador in Burundi, was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen. Actor Earl Hindman, who'd played the mostly unseen neighbor Wilson on "Home Improvement," died in Stamford, Conn., at age 61. One year ago: Australian David Hicks, the first person convicted at an American war crimes trial since World War II, was freed from prison in Adelaide after completing a US-imposed sentence. The New England Patriots ended their regular season with a remarkable 16-0 record following a thrilling 38-35 comeback victory over the New York Giants. (New England became the first NFL team since the 1972 Dolphins to win every game on the schedule.) Today's Birthdays: ABC newscaster Tom Jarriel is 74. Jockey Laffit Pincay Junior is 62. Thought for Today: "Ours is the age of substitutes: Instead of language we have jargon; instead of principles, slogans; and instead of genuine ideas, bright suggestions." -- Eric Bentley, British-born American author and educator. [No fucking shit. But what are we to do about it? — Ed.] — The Associated Press