Today in History: Nov. 17th - Significant Events Throughout the Years
Today is Monday, Nov. 17, 2025, marking the 321st day of the year with 44 days remaining. In historical events, on this day in 1968, a controversial decision by NBC to cut off the broadcast of an NFL game between the New York Jets and the Oakland Raiders in favor of the children's film "Heidi" sparked outrage among viewers. Congress convened for the first time in the partially completed U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., in 1800. The Suez Canal officially opened in Egypt in 1869. President Richard Nixon famously declared his innocence in the Watergate scandal during a press conference in 1973. The peaceful "Velvet Revolution" in Czechoslovakia began in 1989, leading to the downfall of the Communist Party. Tragedy struck in Luxor, Egypt, in 1997 when militants attacked the Temple of Hatshepsut, resulting in the deaths of 62 people. Arnold Schwarzenegger was inaugurated as the 38th governor of California in 2003. In 2020, President Donald Trump dismissed election security official Christopher Krebs for contradicting his claims of electoral fraud.