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Thaddeus McCotter

The Thaddeus McCotter 2012 presidential campaign began when McCotter filed papers on July 1, 2011, to run for the Republican Party's 2012 nomination for President of the United States. He officially announced his candidacy the next day at a rock festival near Detroit. McCotter, a congressman from Michigan since 2003, was first mentioned as a potential candidate on an April 2011 episode of the Fox News show Red Eye. During his campaign, he focused on reform of government and Wall Street. Commentators noted that McCotter's lack of name recognition hindered his chances; he regularly received less than one percent support in Republican presidential preference polls. Following a last-place finish in the Ames Straw Poll and the lack of any invitation to presidential debates, he dropped his candidacy on September 22, 2011, and endorsed Mitt Romney. He resigned from Congress in July 2012 amid a fraud investigation surrounding his congressional re-election campaign. (Full article...)

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Snowy plover with chicks

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... that when Bob and Dave Barney won multiple intramural swimming races, their university recruiter reportedly did not realize they were twins?
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... that during World War II, Leonard K. Carson led an air combat school within his fighter unit, called "Clobber College"?
... that a Hawaii TV station's switch from Japanese-language programming to home shopping stirred viewer outcry?
... that in 2023, Tshering Tshomo was the only woman elected to serve in the National Council of Bhutan?
... that according to local legend, the St. Nicholas Church in Dubliany, Rivne Oblast, was built there by accident following a clerical error?
... that NYPD officers stabbed and stomped on Barney the Dinosaur to cheers from a massive crowd?

In the news

Henry Kissinger

Former U.S. secretary of state Henry Kissinger (pictured) dies at the age of 100.
All 41 workers trapped in a road tunnel collapse in Uttarakhand, India, are rescued after 17 days underground.
In motorcycle racing, Francesco Bagnaia wins the MotoGP World Championship.
The novel Prophet Song by Paul Lynch wins the Booker Prize.
Somalia is admitted as the eighth member of the East African Community.

On this day

December 3

Christiaan Barnard

1283 – During the First Mongol invasion of Burma, the fort at Ngasaunggyan was overrun after a two-month siege.
1927 – Putting Pants on Philip, the first official film featuring the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy, was released.
1967 – Cardiac surgeon Christiaan Barnard (pictured) performed the first successful human heart transplant on Louis Washkansky at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa.
1979 – As per the results of a two-day referendum, the current Constitution of Iran was adopted.
1990 – Mary Robinson was inaugurated as the first female President of Ireland.

Daniel Seghers (b. 1590)
Octavia Hill (b. 1838)
Mary Bell (b. 1903)
Kui Lee (d. 1966)

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Today's featured picture

Mullus barbatus, commonly known as the red mullet, is a species of goatfish found in the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea and the northeastern and central eastern Atlantic Ocean, where its range extends from Scandinavia southwards to Senegal, including Canary Islands, Azores and Madeira. It is a demersal fish and occurs at depths ranging from 10 to 328 m (30 to 1,000 ft) over muddy, sandy or gravel bottoms. It can grow to a standard length of 30 cm (12 in), but it is more commonly around 15 cm (6 in) long. Its snout is short and steep and there are no spines on the operculum. The upper jaw is toothless, but there are teeth on the roof of the mouth and on the lower jaw. A pair of moderately long barbels on the chin do not exceed the pectoral fins in length. This fish is rose-pink, without distinctive markings on its fins. This M. barbatus individual was photographed in the Arrábida Natural Park, Portugal.

Photograph credit: Diego Delso

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