On this day in 1954, Ellis Island, the gateway to America, shuts it doors after processing more than 12 million immigrants since opening in 1892. Today, an estimated 40 percent of all Americans can trace their roots through Ellis Island, located in New York Harbor off the New Jersey coast and named for merchant Samuel Ellis, who owned the land in the 1770s. Beginning in 1984, Ellis Island underwent a $160 million renovation, the largest historic restoration project in U.S. history. In September 1990, the Ellis Island Immigration Museum opened to the public and today is visited by almost 2 million people each year.Also-On November 12, 1892, William “Pudge” Heffelfinger becomes the first professional football player when Pittsburgh’s Allegheny Athletic Association pays him $500 to play as a ringer in a game against its rival Pittsburgh Athletic Club. Before Heffelfinger, players had traded their services on the field for expense money, “double expenses,” or trinkets that players could pawn back to the team–but no one had ever openly accepted a cash payment to play football. (Baseball, on the other hand, had been frankly professional for almost 25 years.) For his part, Heffelfinger never acknowledged that he’d taken the payment. He went on to become a prominent insurance executive and congressman from Minnesota.And-On this day in 1799, Andrew Ellicott Douglass, an early American astronomer born in Vermont, witnesses the Leonids meteor shower from a ship off the Florida Keys. Douglass, who later became an assistant to the famous astronomer Percival Lowell, wrote in his journal that the “whole heaven appeared as if illuminated with sky rockets, flying in an infinity of directions, and I was in constant expectation of some of them falling on the vessel. They continued until put out by the light of the sun after day break.” Douglass’ journal entry is the first known record of a meteor shower in North America. Singles Day seems to be a rather big day of sales for Alibaba. Wow. $BABA $BABA, Alibaba Group Holding Limited / H1 $UPS freight workers with a new contract. I have to thank them for passing the pick-up of my football helmets and shoulder pads on to a company who said that they would be there Wednesday between 8:00 am and 3:00 pm only to show up on Thursday at 4:30 pm. There is something to be said for arriving for pick-up when you say. $UPS, United Parcel Service, Inc. / H1 Not sure if Rocket Lab has stock that can be traded, but SpaceX does not. Would like to see the focus of stock reports be on stocks that are not Private, but maybe it's just me. This is the day The Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Ford "is open to working with foreign rivals" on self-driving services. In this time of Nationalism, I can't help but wonder if Ford will be punished for being open to working with foreign rivals. Strange days indeed. $F $F, Ford Motor Company / H1 PG&E getting the blame for the wildfires in CA? Seems strange for the media to focus on the "celebrities" who have evacuated. "Normal" folks are being affected too, I would think. Hope that the firefighters stay safe and Mother Nature lends a hand in putting these fires out. Where is Jon Corzine and will MF Global finally enter the space race? Where is Marissa Mayer and was Singles Day really her idea? Have a great day everyone. Stay safe, sage, and sane out there. Excelsior! Make your day a great one.via @deercreekvolsToday's Markets:Lumentum $LITE is down on an unnamed customer order cancellation. IT's APPLE. $AAPL. $LITE, Lumentum Holdings Inc. / H1