Other Notable Events, November 17

In 1734, John Peter Zenger, who founded America's first regularly published newspaper, was arrested for allegedly libeling the colonial governor of New York.

In 1800, the U.S. Congress convened in Washington for the first time.

In 1869, the Suez Canal in Egypt was opened, linking the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.

In 1881, Samuel Gompers organized the forerunner of the American Federation of Labor.

In 1969, strategic arms limitation talks began between the United States and the Soviet Union in Helsinki, Finland.

In 1989, riot police in Prague, Czechoslovakia, stormed into a crowd of more than 20,000 pro-democracy demonstrators, beating people with truncheons and firing tear gas.

In 1992, an appeals court in Washington ruled the Watergate tapes and Nixon presidential papers rightfully belonged to U.S. President Richard Nixon when he left office in 1974.

In 1993, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the North American Free Trade Agreement.

In 1997, 60 people were killed when six Islamic militants opened fire on a group of tourists at Luxor, Egypt.

In 2003, accused Washington sniper John Muhammad was convicted of capital murder by a jury in Virginia Beach, Va., and sentenced to die. He was executed Nov. 10, 2009.

In 2004, Pakistani authorities announced an Islamic militant wanted in connection with the killing of U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl had died in a shootout with police.

In 2005, U.S. Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, a decorated Vietnam veteran and ranking Democrat on the Defense Appropriations Committee who supported the 2003 invasion, called for immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

In 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved marketing of silicone gel-filled breast implants, ending a 14-year moratorium on the devices.

In 2007, at least 30 bodies wrapped in black plastic and dead for some time were found in a mass grave at a Sunni neighborhood in Baghdad.

In 2009, U.S. residents were almost evenly divided over efforts in Congress to reform the country's healthcare system with 48 percent for the changes and 49 percent against, a Washington Post-ABC News poll indicated.

In 2010, General Motors, the giant U.S. automaker aided by a controversial government bailout and after wading through bankruptcy, resumed stock market trading following an initial public offering raised more than $20 billion in common and preferred shares on stronger than expected investor demand.

In 2011, the number of Americans filing for their first week of unemployment benefits dipped for the third consecutive week, breaking another seven-month low. About 388,000 people filed for initial jobless t benefits in the week ended Nov. 12, the U.S. Labor Department said. It marked the lowest level since April 2.