Today in history - Dec. 29

Today is Friday, Dec. 29, the 363rd day of 2006. There are two days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Dec. 29, 1916 (according to the New Style calendar; Dec. 16th by the Old Style), Grigory Rasputin, the so-called "Mad Monk" who had wielded great influence with Czar Nicholas II, was murdered by a group of Russian noblemen in St. Petersburg.

On this date:

In 1170, Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral in England.

In 1808, the 17th president of the United States, Andrew Johnson, was born in Raleigh, N.C.,[/q]