It’s the 119th anniversary of the start of an epic journey that should have taken 80 days, but ended up taking just 72.

Good morning, it’s Wednesday, November 14th, the 318th day of 2007. There are 47 days left in the year. The forecast calls for sun with a few clouds, highs in the lower 80s and gusty winds.

It’s the 119th anniversary of an epic round-the-world journey by New York World reporter Nellie Bly. She proposed the nearly 25,000-mile trip to her editor as a real-life version of Jules Verne’s fictional “Around the World in Eighty Days.” She finished the trip in just 72 days, however, setting what was then a record for circling the earth. Her book about the trip was a bestseller.

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This month’s photo:

Children’s wagons filled with pumpkins greet visitors on Main Street in Salado at an annual fall fundraiser for St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church. The photo was taken by Fred Daschofsky of Gatesville and was selected for the 2007 KWTX Hometown Calendar. Click here for information about the 2008 KWTX Hometown Calendar.

What’s Going On Today
Click Here To Check The Community Calendar For Today’s Events In Central Texas

Today's Highlight in History:
On November 14, 1889, inspired by Jules Verne, New York World reporter Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane) set out to travel around the world in fewer than 80 days. (She made the trip in 72 days.)

On This Date:
In 1851, Herman Melville's novel "Moby-Dick" was first published in the United States.
In 1881, Charles J. Guiteau went on trial for assassinating President Garfield. (Guiteau was convicted and hanged the following year.)
In 1907, two renowned children's authors were born: William Steig ("Shrek") in New York, Astrid Lindgren ("Pippi Longstocking") near Vimmerby, Sweden.
In 1922, the British Broadcasting Corporation began its domestic radio service.
In 1935, King Hussein of Jordan was born in Amman.
In 1940, during World War II, German planes destroyed most of the English town of Coventry.
In 1969, Apollo 12 blasted off for the moon.
In 1970, a chartered Southern Airways DC9 crashed while trying to land in Huntington, West Virginia, killing all 75 on board, including the Marshall University football team and its coaching
staff.
In 1972, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above the 1,000 level for the first time, ending the day at 1,003.16.
In 1973, Britain's Princess Anne married Captain Mark Phillips in Westminster Abbey. (They divorced in 1992, and Anne re-married.)

Ten years ago:
A jury in Fairfax, Virginia, decided that Pakistani national Aimal Khan Kasi should get the death penalty for gunning down two CIA employees outside agency headquarters. (Kasi was sentenced to death in January 1998.) Sara Lister, assistant secretary of the Army for manpower and reserve affairs, resigned in the wake of political pressure after she had called Marines "extremists" and mocked their uniforms as "checkerboard fancy."

Five years ago:
Aimal Khan Kasi was put to death by injection at a prison in Jarratt, Virginia, for the slayings of two CIA employees in 1993. Pope John Paul II made a historic speech to Italy's parliament, urging Italians to work for world peace, uphold their Christian values and have more babies.
Actor-comedian Eddie Bracken died in Montclair, New Jersey, at age 87.

One year ago:
Gunmen kidnapped up to 200 staff and visitors in a raid on a Higher Education Ministry office in Baghdad, Iraq. President Bush left the White House on a state visit to Vietnam. Brandon Webb of the Arizona Diamondbacks won a wide-open race for the NL Cy Young Award.

Today's Birthdays:
Former U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali is 85. Actress Kathleen Hughes is 79. Jazz musician Ellis Marsalis is 73. Writer P.J. O'Rourke is 60. Zydeco singer-musician Buckwheat Zydeco is 60. Britain's Prince Charles is 59. Actor Robert Ginty is 59. Rock singer-musician James Young (Styx) is 58. Singer Stephen Bishop is 56. Blues musician Anson Funderburgh is 53. Pianist Yanni is 53. Actress Laura San Giacomo is 46. Actor D.B. Sweeney is 46. Rapper Reverend Run (Run-DMC) is 43. Actor Patrick Warburton is 43. Rock musician Nic Dalton is 43. Country singer Rockie Lynne is 43. Pop singer Jeanette Jurado (Expose) is 42. Rock musician Brian Yale is 39. Rock singer Butch Walker is 38. Actor Josh Duhamel is 35. Rock musician Travis Barker is 32. Contemporary Christian musician Robby Shaffer is 32. Rapper Shyheim is 30.

Thought for Today:
"Comfort, opportunity, number and size are not synonymous with civilization." -- Abraham Flexner, American educator and author (1866-1959).

(Source: Associated Press)

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