Tuesday, November 28, 2006

 

Spotlight: Happy 44th birthday to comedian/talk show host Jon Stewart. Called "the most trusted man in fake news" thanks to his success as host of Comedy Central's The Daily Show, Stewart hosted MTV's first talk show, The Jon Stewart Show, which debuted in 1993. Stewart and The Daily Show have won numerous Emmys and two Peabody Awards, and Stewart's audio edition of America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction won a Grammy.

Quote: "If you want to compare your show to a comedy show, you're more than welcome to... You're on CNN. The show that leads into me is puppets making crank phone calls." — Jon Stewart to Tucker Carlson, on CNN's Crossfire

Today's News:

• Rudy Giuliani: ranks highest in poll of US voters' feelings for their political leaders, followed by Barack Obama and John McCain (story)
• spam: comprises over half of all email sent in the European Union (story)
• propranolol: "forgetfulness drug" may weaken lingering effects of trauma (story)
• Maggie Gyllenhaal: wins Best Actress for Sherrybaby at Stockholm International Film Festival

Today's History:

• Ferdinand Magellan: reached the Pacific from the Atlantic by sailing through the Strait of Magellan (1520)
• Albania: declared independence from the Ottoman Empire (1912)
• Mauritania: became independent from France (1960)

Today's Birthdays:

• William Blake: English poet (1757-1827)
• Randy Newman: singer, songwriter; Oscar-winner for "If I Didn't Have You" from Monsters, Inc. (63)
• Ed Harris: actor/director, Pollock (56)
• S. Epatha Merkerson: Law & Order 's Lt. Anita Van Buren (54)
• Anna Nicole Smith: actress/model (39)