Today is Thursday, Dec. 4, the 339th day of 2008. There are 27 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Dec. 4, 1619, a group of settlers from Bristol, England, arrived at Berkeley Hundred in present-day Charles City County, Va., where they held a service thanking God for their safe arrival. (Some suggest this was the true first Thanksgiving in America, ahead of the Pilgrims’ arrival in Massachusetts.)

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Kevin Sussman is 38. Actress-model Tyra Banks is 35. Country singer Lila McCann is 27. Actress Lindsay Felton is 24. Actor Orlando Brown is 21.

Thought for Today: “There is always room at the top—after the investigation.”—Oliver Herford, American author (1863-1935).