Today in History

Today is Monday, Nov. 29, the 333rd day of 2021. There are 32 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 29, 2001, former Beatle George Harrison died in Los Angeles following a battle with cancer; he was 58.

On this date:

In 1864, a Colorado militia killed at least 150 peaceful Cheyenne Indians in the Sand Creek Massacre.

In 1910, British explorer Robert F. Scott's ship Terra Nova set sail from New Zealand, carrying Scott's expedition on its ultimately futile -- as well as fatal -- race to reach the South Pole first.

In 1929, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Richard E. Byrd, pilot Bernt Balchen, radio operator Harold June and photographer Ashley McKinney made the first airplane flight over the South Pole.

In 1947, the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution calling for the partitioning of Palestine between Arabs and Jews; 33 members, including the United States, voted in favor of the resolution, 13 voted against while 10 abstained. (The plan, rejected by the Arabs, was never implemented.)

In 1961, Enos the chimp was launched from Cape Canaveral aboard the Mercury-Atlas 5 spacecraft, which orbited earth twice before returning.

In 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson named a commission headed by Earl Warren to investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

In 1972, the coin-operated video arcade game Pong, created by Atari, made its debut at Andy Capp's Tavern in Sunnyvale, California.

In 1981, film star Natalie Wood drowned in a boating accident off Santa Catalina Island, California, at age 43.

In 1987, a Korean Air 707 jetliner en route from Abu Dhabi to Bangkok was destroyed by a bomb planted by North Korean agents with the loss of all 115 people aboard.

In 2000, bracing the public for more legal wrangling, Vice President Al Gore said in a series of TV interviews that he was prepared to contest the Florida presidential vote until "the middle of December."

In 2008, Indian commandos killed the last remaining gunmen holed up at a luxury Mumbai hotel, ending a 60-hour rampage through India's financial capital by suspected Pakistani-based militants that killed 166 people.

In 2017, "Today" host Matt Lauer was fired for what NBC called "inappropriate sexual behavior" with a colleague; a published report accused him of crude and habitual misconduct with women around the office. Garrison Keillor, who'd entertained public radio listeners for 40 years on "A Prairie Home Companion," was fired by Minnesota Public Radio following allegations of inappropriate workplace behavior.

Ten years ago: Eurozone ministers sent Greece an 8 billion-euro ($10.7 billion) Christmas rescue package to stem an immediate cash crisis. Hard-line Iranian protesters stormed British diplomatic compounds in what began as an apparent state-approved show of anger over the latest Western sanctions to punish Tehran for its nuclear program. American Airlines' parent company, AMR Corp., filed for bankruptcy protection, citing high labor and fuel costs and the weak economy. (American Airlines emerged from bankruptcy protection in December 2013 as it merged with US Airways.)

Five years ago: President-elect Donald Trump continued to fill out his Cabinet, choosing former Goldman Sachs executive Steven Mnuchin (mih-NOO'-shin) as secretary of the Treasury Department, Georgia Rep. Tom Price to oversee the nation's health care system, and Elaine Chao, a former labor secretary and the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, to lead the Department of Transportation. Regional leaders and tens of thousands of Cubans jammed the Plaza of the Revolution in Havana, celebrating the late Fidel Castro on the spot where he delivered fiery speeches to mammoth crowds in the years after he seized power.

One year ago: Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that New York City would reopen its school system to in-person learning, and increase the number of days a week many children attend class, even as the coronavirus pandemic intensified in the city. Nearly 1.2 million people went through U.S. airports, according to the Transportation Security Administration; it was the highest daily number since before the pandemic.

Today's Birthdays: Hall of Fame sportscaster Vin Scully is 94. Blues singer-musician John Mayall is 88. Actor Diane Ladd is 86. Songwriter Mark James is 81. Composer-musician Chuck Mangione is 81. Country singer Jody Miller is 80. Pop singer-musician Felix Cavaliere (The Rascals) is 79. Former Olympic skier Suzy Chaffee is 75. Actor Jeff Fahey is 69. Movie director Joel Coen is 67. Actor-comedian-celebrity judge Howie Mandel is 66. Former Homeland Security Director Janet Napolitano is 64. Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is 62. Actor Cathy Moriarty is 61. Actor Kim Delaney is 60. Actor Tom Sizemore is 60. Actor Andrew McCarthy is 59. Actor Don Cheadle is 57. Actor-producer Neill Barry is 56. Pop singer Jonathan Knight (New Kids on the Block) is 53. Rock musician Martin Carr (Boo Radleys) is 53. Actor Jennifer Elise Cox is 52. Baseball Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera is 52. Actor Larry Joe Campbell is 51. Rock musician Frank Delgado (Deftones) is 51. Actor Paola Turbay is 51. Contemporary Christian singer Crowder is 50. Actor Gena Lee Nolin is 50. Actor Brian Baumgartner is 49. Actor Julian Ovenden is 46. Actor Anna Faris is 45. Gospel singer James Fortune is 44. Actor Lauren German is 43. Rapper The Game is 42. Actor Janina Gavankar is 41. Rock musician Ringo Garza is 40. Actor-comedian John Milhiser is 40. Actor Lucas Black is 39. Actor Diego Boneta is 31. Actor Lovie Simone (TV: "Greenleaf") is 23.