31 years ago, the Los Angeles area was rocked by a 6.7 magnitude earthquake leading to 57 deaths. This is live FOX News national video as aired on WTTG-TV on that day.
Friday, January 17, 2025
Friday Morning in the Blogosphere
Ancient House in liquidation - Print Week
Are readers sensitive to graphic war photography? - E&P Magazine
Generative AI guidelines for the classroom: A balanced approach - Journalism UK
The Changing Face of Commercial Printing: Who Are We in 2025? - Printing Impressions
Apple is pulling its AI-generated notifications for news after generating fake headlines - CNN
Newspaper ABCs: Daily Mail avoids month-on-month print drop in December - Press Gazette
Universities are mapping where local news outlets are still thriving — and where gaps persist - NL
Important Events From This day in History January 17
1991 Operation Desert Storm
1991 : Operation Desert Storm begins when aircraft from British, American, Kuwait, French and Saudi bomb military and strategic targets in Iraq, including an oil refinery and Baghdad airport.
1949 Volkswagen Beetle
1949 : The first Volkswagen Beetle ( The Peoples Car ) in the U.S. arrived from Germany, designed by Ferdinand Porsche at the request of Adolf Hitler.
More about the Creation of Volkswagen
1995 Japan Earthquake
A Powerful Earthquake measuring 7.2 magnitude on the Richter scale hits the Japanese port of Kobe where hundreds of people are feared dead and thousands injured. Whole buildings, apartment blocks and an elevated highway collapse killing at least 200 people and injuring some 13,000. ( The Kobe earthquake was one of the worst to hit Japan which is prone to earthquakes and left 6,433 dead, Nearly 27,000 injured, and more than 45,000 homes destroyed.
1983 England Breakfast TV
The BBC launches a Breakfast Television Program featuring Frank Bough, Nick Ross and former ITN news reader Selina Scott. The BBC has launched this prior to the new TV-AM franchise due to launch a breakfast television program in February. ( Newspaper Critics said there was no need for breakfast Television possibly because they were concerned re newspaper sales ) By 1984 TV-am's "Good Morning Britain" and the BBC's "Breakfast Time" were bringing in 1.5 million viewers per day .
1953 - Women's Fashions
As in the rest of the world around this time, a slight shift is made in the styles of clothing worn. Women in particular still wanted to dress nice during this time, but yet were wearing more practical clothing.
One of the items that were considered to be made more comfortable during this time was shoes. Many women were looking for pairs with lower heels-ones that help them live out their current active lifestyle.
It was during this time in Canadian history as well as in other areas of the world when size did not matter. Women used to want to try to fit their feet into smaller shoes, when really they should be wearing at least a half a size larger.
Therefore, since women were feeling less self-conscious about size in general-including for shoes-the shoes they wore fit much better. The same was for all the other clothing women wore during this time.
1924 Surplus War Material
US surplus war material was being sold to the Mexican government, as approved by President Coolidge. In fact, the first shipment of such had already arrived before this news bit was reported.
Members of both the House and the Senate from both Political parties had opposed this action. In fact, some members advocated that a ruling should be made that would establish the selling of arms and war goods to foreign countries illegal permanently.
1938 Carnegie Hall
The first jazz concert is performed at Carnegie Hall. Benny Goodman and his orchestra performed at this iconic New York City venue and the event included guests like Count Basie and other popular names of the day. It gave the genre credibility as a legitimate musical preference.
1942 US Sinks Japanese Ships
1942 : The U.S. Asiatic fleet had sunk three Japanese enemy ships. This happened as the U.S. headed towards Japanese supply lines in the Pacific.
This victorious operation was performed by the Far Eastern Fleet. In all, this fleet had sunk a total of 29 Japanese ships since the beginning of the war.
1945 Warsaw Freed
The Germans were defeated by the Soviet army in Warsaw, Poland. This capital of Poland was then freed from the German army.
1950 Brinks Robbery
1950 : The Great Brinks Robbery ( Boston ) A team of 11 thieves, steal more than $2 million from the Brinks Armored Car depot in Boston.
1961 Eisenhower
1961 Eisenhower gives his last speech as president of the United States. In his speech he expresses his hopes of the future, as well as his concerns.
He warns against what he called the "military-industrial complex" and strongly urged people to seek peace. He also used the words such as "diplomacy," "compassion," and "restraint" in reference to future dealings with the Soviet Union.
Eisenhower also expressed sadness that at that time there was no peace. He then ended his speech with a closing prayer.
1966 H-Bomb lost
An H-Bomb was lost in the Mediterranean after a B-52 bomber had made impact with a KC-135 jet. Two other bombs were dropped near Palomores, a small town in Spain.
1973 Chrysler
The Chrysler Corporation had announced a recall the day before on certain automobiles. Up to 5,512 vehicles cars with steering system defects were to be returned, as well as 751 vehicles with miss-assembled transmissions.
1974 O.J. Simpson
O.J. Simpson won the Male Athlete of the Year Award for the previous year. This award was given the day before by the Associated Press.
At this time, Simpson was a running back for the Buffalo Bills. He had also won other awards in his career as well, such as the very much-coveted Heisman Trophy.
In 1994, O.J. Simpson had been accused of murdering his wife and another man (Ronald Goldman) who was suspected to be a lover, but there was no real proof of that. More importantly, after a long drawn out trial that took over a year, O.J. Simpson was found not guilty of murdering his wife and Mr. Goldman.
1977 Gary Gilmore
1977 : Gary Gilmore, convicted in the double murder of an elderly couple, is shot to death by a firing squad in Utah, becoming the first person to be executed in the United States since the death penalty was reinstated .
1994 Los Angeles Earthquake
An earthquake which measured 6.6 on the Richter scale shook up the city of Los Angeles on this day. This natural disaster killed 54 people and caused billions of dollars in damage. This was one of the largest earthquakes to have taken place in the United States.
Today in Labor History January 17th, 2025
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Radical labor organizer and anarchist Lucy Parsons leads hunger march in Chicago; IWW songwriter Ralph Chaplin wrote "Solidarity Forever" for the march - 1915
On January 17, 1950, 11 men steal more than $2 million ($29 million today) from the Brink's Armored Car depot in Boston, Massachusetts. It was the perfect crime—almost—as the culprits weren’t caught until January 1956, just days before the statute of limitations for the theft expired.
The robbery’s mastermind was Anthony “Fats” Pino, a career criminal who recruited a group of 10 other men to stake out the depot for 18 months to figure out when it held the most money. Pino’s men then managed to steal plans for the depot’s alarm system, returning them before anyone noticed they were gone.
Wearing navy blue coats and chauffeur’s caps–similar to the Brink's employee uniforms–with rubber Halloween masks, the thieves entered the depot with copied keys, surprising and tying up several employees inside the company’s counting room. Filling 14 canvas bags with cash, coins, checks and money orders—for a total weight of more than half a ton—the men were out and in their getaway car in about 30 minutes. Their haul? More than $2.7 million—the largest robbery in U.S. history up until that time.
No one was hurt in the robbery, and the thieves left virtually no clues, aside from the rope used to tie the employees and one of the chauffeur’s caps. The gang promised to stay out of trouble and not touch the money for six years in order for the statute of limitations to run out. They might have made it, but for the fact that one man, Joseph “Specs” O’Keefe, left his share with another member in order to serve a prison sentence for another burglary. While in jail, O’Keefe wrote bitterly to his cohorts demanding money and hinting he might talk. The group sent a hit man to kill O’Keefe, but he was caught before completing his task. The wounded O’Keefe made a deal with the FBI to testify against his fellow robbers.
Eight of the Brink's robbers were caught, convicted and given life sentences. Two more died before they could go to trial. Only a small part of the money was ever recovered; the rest is fabled to be hidden in the hills north of Grand Rapids, Minnesota. In 1978, the famous robbery was immortalized on film in The Brink's Job, starring Peter Falk.
President John F. Kennedy signs Executive Order 10988, guaranteeing federal workers the right to join unions and bargain collectively - 1962
On January 17, 1994, an earthquake rocks Los Angeles, California, killing 54 people and causing billions of dollars in damages. The Northridge quake (named after the San Fernando Valley community near the epicenter) was one of the most damaging in U.S. history.
It was 4:31 a.m. when the 6.7-magnitude quake struck the San Fernando Valley, a densely populated area of Los Angeles located 20 miles northeast of the city’s downtown. With an epicenter 12 miles beneath the earth’s surface, the earthquake caused the collapse of several apartment buildings. At the Northridge Meadows complex, 16 people died, all of whom lived on the first floor, when the weak stucco structure fell down on them as they slept.
Given the strength and location of the earthquake, it was fortunate that the death toll was not far higher. Two key factors were critical in reducing the casualties. First, the quake struck in the middle of the night while nearly everyone was at home in their beds. A mall parking lot in the Valley collapsed, but no one was killed because it was entirely empty. Several highways also suffered critical failures, but only one police officer died, when his vehicle plunged off an overpass. The other key factor was that the city’s building and safety codes were strengthened following the 1971 Sylmar quake that collapsed the San Fernando Veterans Hospital. Every building constructed after the new regulations were implemented stayed intact.
Thursday, January 16, 2025
Thursday Morning in the Blogosphere
A bill in Idaho (HB 10) has just been introduced to
ban pride flags from public school classrooms.
Direct Mail Revival - Printing Impressions
Is statehouse reporting set for a revival? - Nieman Lab
Political cartoons in a second Trump administration - E&P Magazine
UK university uses VR to train students in crime reporting - Journalism UK
How The Sun became biggest UK newspaper on Youtube with 6 million subscribers - PG
Important Events From This day in History January 16
2003 Space Shuttle Columbia
2003 : Space Shuttle Columbia was launched on its final mission featuring more than 80 experiments from around the world. Just a short time later Columbia exploded on re-entry killing all on board.
1953 Corvette
1953 : For the first time, the Corvette is brought to New York. The first corvette was presented at a car show that took place at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The body of these sports cars were made from fiberglass, giving this car a unique look.
1991 Operation Desert Storm
1991 : After midnight of this date, war was to be declared in the Persian Gulf if Iraq did not pull out of Kuwait. Since Iraq did not pull out voluntarily, the Pentagon had begun acting on its preparations to begin an offensive attack on the Iraqi army. By evening of this day, Operation Desert Storm had begun. The United States had begun the attack on Iraq on Kuwait's behalf. Operation Desert Storm was led by Norman Schwarzkopf and 32 nations total were involved-including Britain, France, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and of course, Kuwait.
1920 Budapest Food Shortage
A food shortage has caused the death of approximately 968 of every 1,000 babies that are born in the city of Vienna in the previous year (1919). Fortunately, help was sent to this area and the amount of babies dying had decreased by June of 1920.
1942 Panama Canal US Lends $20,000,000
The United States took two steps towards the defense of the Panama Canal and Central America on this day. One of the actions that the United States took to help the Panama and Central America area was that of lending them $20,000,000. The purpose of the money loaned to Central America/Panama was to help speed up the process of the Pan-American Highway that had been started. This highway is the piece of land that leads to the Canal. The second action taken by the United States was also financial. The U.S. had lent $500,000 to Costa Rica to help that country build an army of its own. Costa Rica was the first country to declare war on Japan after the attack of Pearl Harbor
1943 See See Rider
"See See Rider" hits #1 on Billboard's "Harlem Hit Parade" – the chart that would become the Billboard R&B chart. Wee Bea Booze is the jazz singer that made it #1 and many experts consider this version to be the definitive version of the song.
1958 U.S.A. Grasshopper Plague
A grasshopper plague causes serious damage across the state of Colorado and Neighboring states. This particular plague damaged farmer's crops, annoyed tourists, and cost millions of dollars.
1969 Vietnam Peace Talks
An agreement on this date was made to start peace talks. These were to take place in Paris, and representatives of countries such as Vietnam (both North and South Vietnam), the United States, and the National Liberation Front (NLF-an organization that advocated the freedom of South Vietnam). The representatives from these countries alone with the NLF sat in a special arrangement during this long-awaited peace negotiation meeting. The agreement is that representatives of these countries and the NLF would sit at a round table without name plates, flags, or any other identifiable markings. The original intention of the round table theory was that it would hopefully foster togetherness. However, there was even a long discussion about how the tables should be arranged. The resolution of that was to place a round table in between two square tables. One would not think the position of tables would matter. However, in a case as extreme as a war-peace talk it can make quite a bit of difference-especially in an extremely tense situation such as this.
1973 Attorney General
Chauncey Browning, Jr. returned as Attorney General, and was sworn in by Judge Thornton Berry. Browning had followed in his late father's footsteps-who was also Attorney General at one time. Edgar F. Heiskell III was sworn in as secretary of state on this day as well. He had followed John D. Rockefella. Inauguration was not only meaningful for those voting and running for office, but it was also profitable for businesses. Businesses experienced higher-than-normal sales for after the first of the year than in other years.
1974 Jack Tenet
1974 : Jack Tenet, Mountaineer Scholarship Fund representative at West Virginia University, is sent to Louisville, Kentucky. Tenet was offered a position as the University of Louisville's Athletic Director.
1979 The Shah of Iran
The Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the leader of Iran since 1941, is forced to flee the country when his army mutiny and violent demonstrations in the streets against his rule .
1981 Bernadette Devlin
Bernadette McAliskey formerly known as Bernadette Devlin, was shot by gunmen who burst into her home at Coalisland in County Tyrone. The injuries are serious, but not life-threatening
1995 India Avalanches
1995 : Avalanches following heavy rain sweep two buses off the highway between Srinagar and Jammu in Kashmir. Two more days of avalanches in the area eventually killed more than 200 people; 5,000 others had to be rescued.
2001 Galapagos Islands Ecological Disaster
The fuel supply tanker 'Jessica' has run aground on the Island of San Cristobal in the Galapagos Islands, marine biologists are warning of an ecological disaster to the Archipelago. ( the ship did leak 180,000 gallons of oil which caused an ecological disaster with up to 62% of the marine iguana population on one island killed off.
2006 Bird Flu Pandemic
The number of victims dying from the H5N1 strain of Bird Flu has increased this week with deaths reported in Indonesia and Turkey. The number of reported cases is increasing and many more countries are now affected spreading to Africa and Europe. Around the world where cases are reported governments are culling millions of chickens hoping to contain the spread of the disease.
Today in Labor History January 16th, 2025
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The 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, prohibiting the “manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes,” is ratified by the requisite number of states on January 16, 1919.
The movement for the prohibition of alcohol began in the early 19th century, when Americans concerned about the adverse effects of drinking began forming temperance societies. By the late 19th century, these groups had become a powerful political force, campaigning on the state level and calling for total national abstinence. In December 1917, the 18th Amendment, also known as the Prohibition Amendment, was passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification.
Nine months after Prohibition's ratification, Congress passed the Volstead Act, or National Prohibition Act, over President Woodrow Wilson's veto. The Volstead Act provided for the enforcement of prohibition, including the creation of a special unit of the Treasury Department. One year and a day after its ratification, prohibition went into effect—on January 17, 1920—and the nation became officially dry.
Despite a vigorous effort by law-enforcement agencies, the Volstead Act failed to prevent the large-scale distribution of alcoholic beverages, and organized crime flourished in America. In 1933, the 21st Amendment to the Constitution was passed and ratified, repealing prohibition.
The United States Civil Service Commission was established as the Pendleton Act went into effect - 1883
Thousands of Palmer Raids detainees win right to meet with lawyers and attorney representation at deportation hearings. "Palmer" was Alexander Mitchell Palmer, U.S. attorney general under Woodrow Wilson. Palmer believed Communism was "eating its way into the homes of the American workman," and Socialists were causing most of the country's social problems - 1920
Former UAW President Leonard Woodcock dies in Ann Arbor, Mich., at age 89. He had succeeded Walter Reuther and led the union from 1970 to 1977 - 2001
Wednesday, January 15, 2025
Declining revenues, news consumption trends lead The Gazette, Telegraph Herald to cut print publishing schedules
"Eventually, there won't be a print paper," estimates one Loras College professor, who says reducing print publication schedules is a "stopgap" for newspapers.
Wednesday Morning in the Blogosphere
Los Angeles City Hall under construction 1927
Today in Labor History January 15th, 2025
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Martin Luther King Jr
Wobbly Ralph Chaplin, in Chicago for a demonstration against hunger, completes the writing of the labor anthem “Solidarity Forever” on this date in 1915. He’d begun writing it in 1914 during a miners’ strike in Huntington, W. Va. The first verse:
When the union's inspiration through the workers' blood shall run,There can be no power greater anywhere beneath the sun;
Yet what force on earth is weaker than the feeble strength of one,
But the union makes us strong! – 1915
Seventeen workers in the area die when a large molasses storage tank in Boston’s North End neighborhood bursts, sending a 40-foot wave of molasses surging through the streets at an estimated 35 miles per hour. In all, 21 people died and 150 were injured. The incident is variously known as the Boston Molasses Disaster, the Great Molasses Flood and the Great Boston Molasses Tragedy. Some residents claim that on hot summer days, the area still smells of molasses - 1919
Martin Luther King Jr. born - 1929
(All Labor Has Dignity: Dr. King was every bit as committed to economic justice as he was to ending racial segregation. He fought throughout his life to connect the labor and civil rights movements, envisioning them as twin pillars for social reform. King's speeches on labor rights and economic justice underscore his relevance for today. They help us imagine King anew: as a human rights leader whose commitment to unions and an end to poverty was a crucial part of his civil rights agenda.)
The CIO miners' union in the Grass Valley area of California strikes for higher wages, union recognition, and the 8-hour day. The strike was defeated when vigilantes and law enforcement officials expelled 400 miners and their families from the area - 1938
The Pentagon, to this day the largest office building in the world, is dedicated just 16 months after groundbreaking. At times of peak employment 13,000 workers labored on the project – 1943
Some 174,000 members of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers union (UE) struck General Electric and Westinghouse after the power companies, with record-setting profits, offered just a half-cent per hour increase. After nine weeks, the strike was settled with an 18.5 cents hourly wage improvement - 1946
Tuesday, January 14, 2025
Tuesday Morning in the Blogosphere
How journalists and non-news experts can work together better - API
How the TikTok ban in the US could silence Gen Z’s newsrooms - Journalism UK
Beehiiv is the latest platform to try to lure independent journalists with perks - NL
Will the FCC’s ‘public interest’ standard limit broadcast free speech? - E&P Magazine
Philanthropic opportunities grow to address the complex challenges in the news industry - E&P
Trump’s reelection prompts record reader donations to The Guardian in new ‘Trump bump’ - CNN
Important Events From This day in History January 14th
1954 Marilyn Monroe
1954 : Marilyn Monroe's wedding took place. She had married Joe DeMaggio. Unfortunately, the marriage had only lasted nine months. She had married again before she had died from an overdose of barbiturates. Her first husband had sent her flowers to her grave every day until he died in the year 1999.
1942 Executive Order 9066
A reluctant but resigned Roosevelt signed the War Department's blanket Executive Order 9066, which authorized the physical removal of all Japanese Americans into internment camps.
1934 Loch Ness Monster
1934 : More reports are coming in from Loch Ness in Scotland where they make the strongest Whisky on earth from tourists and locals of sightings of the Loch Ness Monster. It is described as a sea serpent estimated at over 50 ft long and the secretary of state for Scotland has forbidden the capture or shooting of the creature.
1907 Jamaica Earthquake
1907 : Kingston in Jamaica was hit by a major earthquake leaving more than 800 people dead and nearly 100,000 homeless
1924 Lettuce Grown Indoors
A local Iowa newspaper announced the possibility of growing lettuce indoors. This lettuce grown would be produced in "simple greenhouse-like buildings that do not cost very much to construct.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture was all for this project at this time. The U.S. government appeared to be confident that good crops of lettuce would be able to be produced in this way.
1930 Homeless Families
A highway patrol man has been reported on this day to soon be giving a group of about 200 families an "eviction notice". These homeless families were camping along a Missouri highway near Sikeston.
1936 U.S.A. Ozzie Nelson Band
A prominent member of the Ozzie Nelson Band - Harriet Hillard - sings "Get The Behind Me Satan" for the movie "Follow the Fleet." The song was originally written by Irving Berlin and was previously intended for Ginger Rogers to sing in the movie "Top Hat."
1936 U.S.A. Murder
1936 : A report was made in a paper 1936 regarding a courtroom murder that had taken the day before. A hotheaded defendant had shot at a judge, and then in the process the opposing lawyer was killed.
1943 Morocco U Boat Patrols
Roosevelt and Churchill meet in Casablanca to discuss the best to push forward an end to the war. Top priority was given to destroying German U-boat patrols in the Atlantic and launching combined bombing missions on Axis Power Countries. At the end of the meeting they also announced that the Allies would accept only unconditional surrender from the Axis powers.
1949 U.S.A. AT&T
The Department of Justice took action against AT&T, forcing the company to forfeit ownership of Western Electric. Western Electric was a manufacturing firm, and AT&T was established as a telecommunications company. Therefore, the Department of Justices became involved in this situation as an effort to stop AT&T from dominating the industry. As of 1959, AT&T agreed to narrow its scope of business-to only concentrate on running the national phone network and government jobs.
1952 Yugoslavia Spies
A total of seven spies were found guilty. Two of them were sentenced to death and five more were sent to prison. One of the persons condemned to death was Danil Doncic. He was a man who was president of the Yugoslavia People's Front at that time.
One of the reasons that Doncic was sentenced to death-among other reasons-was because he refused to remove the poster of Premier Tito from the front after the Cominform-Tito break (a Yugoslavian government regime split).
1952 "Today" Program Begins on NBC
1952 : NBC's "Today" program debuts on NBC hosted by Dave Garroway. The show was the first of it's kind and copied not only in the US but worldwide .
1959 Hudson and Nash - AMC
Hudson and Nash, two different car companies, become one on this day. They have become the AMC (American Motors Association).
1963 George Wallace - Segregation Forever
George Wallace takes over as governor of Alabama . His main motto for his campaign and the way he would run the state was, "Segregation Forever."
1969 Aircraft Carrier ship Enterprise exploded in Pearl Harbor
The U.S. Aircraft Carrier ship Enterprise exploded in Pearl Harbor. The cause of this explosion was the accidental detonation of a rocket, which destroyed 15 planes, injuring 300 people, and caused 27 deaths.
1969 Manchester United
Sir Matt Busby announces he will retire as manager of Manchester United at the end of the season - FA Cup final day on April 26th.
1980 U.S.A. Gold Price
1980 : Economic growth had taken place during the 1980s. During this time, gold prices had also skyrocketed, as of this day in 1980.
The price and value of gold had increased after it had been released from government control. It had cost as high as $800.00 per ounce during this time.
1980 Afghanistan Soviet Intervention
The UN General Assembly would not allow Soviet Intervention of Afghanistan. The final vote regarding this matter was 104 against to 18 for this action.
After the vote, the resolution of the General Assembly was to demand that all Soviet troops be removed from Afghanistan.
The outcome of this UN Assembly meeting was very much sparked by the 1979 Soviet invasion along with the installation of a pro-communist puppet regime. In other words, the UN fought against an attempt to allow the Soviets to spread its communist ideologies to Afghanistan.
1981 IRAN Hostage Crisis Ends
Finally, this date was the end of a hostage crisis that started in the year 1979. University students who were backed by leaders of Iran's post-revolutionary regime (group of people in power after Iran was changed from a monarch to an Islamic republic). Originally, over 60 people had been held captive, 52 of which for a total of 444 days.
2002 Foot and Mouth
2002 : The UK Foot and Mouth outbreak is now clear after no new cases in the last 3 months, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has said.
2005 U.S.A. Space Exploration
George W. Bush announced a program called Vision for Space Exploration. The news was made known to the public after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, which took place in Texas. The Columbia had disintegrated into the air over this state in 2003.
According to one source, one of the purposes of the Vision for Space Exploration was to re-ignite enthusiasm for space travel in the United States.
2008 Apple New MacBook Air notebook
Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs announces the Apple New MacBook Air notebook during the Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco.
2009 Consumer Spending
2009 : Consumer Spending and retail sales figures released in the U.S. for December ( Christmas Shopping Season ) follow other similar cuts in Europe showing that the current recession is deepening with consumers cutting back, partly due to fears over the economy and partly because of tightening credit. Calls for an economic stimulus package to boost the economy are gaining ground as the latest figures follow 6 months of falling spending.
2010 Reactions To Cyber attacks On Gmail Human Rights Activists
Following a series of Cyberattacks in China on Gmail accounts of human rights activists, Google is contemplating it's future as a Chinese Search Engine, A number of reasons have been cited including the Cyberattacks and China's demand's for censorship of the search results, as required by the Chinese government. The US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke has now made a statement that China must ensure a "secure" commercial environment for Google and other firms operating in the country. ( Just 2 months later on March 23rd Google did close Google.cn and re-directs to Google.com.hk based in Hong Kong and stopped filtering results of it's Search Engine ).
2010 Pakistan Uncertainty over Hakimullah Mehsud's death in a drone attack
The Pakistani Taleban have denied that their leader Hakimullah Mehsud was killed in a U.S. missile strike on one of the country's north-western provinces. About ten or more militants died when missiles were rained down on them. A Taleban spokesman has said that Mehsud was near the Afghan border, but left before the South Waziristani training camp was attacked. He is one of the key militant targets. The Taleban went on to say that hundreds of civilians have been killed in drone attacks since mid-2008.
2010 Improved airline protection measures are announced
2010 : The United States has started to take additional air security measures in the wake of December's failed aircraft bomb plot. The Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napolitano, has said that the measures will include enhanced random screening and more air-marshals on certain routes. Enhanced use of air-marshals and better screening are among the measures that follow from last week's intelligence review. Napolitano said that the U.S. was "taking an additional set of aviation security precautions to protect the American people."
2011 Floods and Mudslides in Brazil
Flooding and mudslides in the Rio de Janeiro region of Brazil killed over five hundred people and trapped many others. The devastation caused by these floods has surpassed that of mudslides in 1967, in which 430 people died.
2012 Taiwanese President Wins Second Term
Ma Ying-jeou, the president of Taiwan, won his second term after elections were held in the country. Ma Ying-jeou had run on his platform of successful improvement of the country's relationship with China, who does not recognize the island as sovereign.
2013 Former President Bush Released from Hospital
2013 : Former US president George H.W. Bush was released from the hospital after two months. Bush had been treated for bronchitis and a bacterial infection.
2014 New Jersey Governor Under Investigation
2014 : New Jersey Governor, and possible presidential hopeful, Chris Christie, was being investigated over suspicions that he misused Hurricane Sandy relief funds for his state. It was alleged that Christie used a portion of the funds for tourism advertising. The allegations come shortly after he was also accused of creating traffic issues on a bridge for political reasons.
Today in Labor History January 14th, 2025
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On January 14, 1784, the Continental Congress ratifies the Treaty of Paris, ending the War for Independence.
In the document, which was known as the Second Treaty of Paris because the Treaty of Paris was also the name of the agreement that had ended the Seven Years’ War in 1763, Britain officially agreed to recognize the independence of its 13 former colonies as the new United States of America.
In addition, the treaty settled the boundaries between the United States and what remained of British North America. U.S. fishermen won the right to fish in the Grand Banks, off the Newfoundland coast, and in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Both sides agreed to ensure payment to creditors in the other nation of debts incurred during the war and to release all prisoners of war. The United States promised to return land confiscated during the war to its British owners, to stop any further confiscation of British property and to honor the property left by the British army on U.S. shores, including Negroes or slaves. Both countries assumed perpetual rights to access the Mississippi River.
Despite the agreement, many of these issues remained points of contention between the two nations in the post-war years. The British did not abandon their western forts as promised and attempts by British merchants to collect outstanding debts from Americans were unsuccessful as American merchants were unable to collect from their customers, many of whom were struggling farmers.
Clinton-era OSHA issues confined spaces standard to prevent more than 50 deaths and 5,000 serious injuries annually for workers who enter confined spaces - 1993
Pennsylvania Superior Court rules bosses can fire workers for being gay - 1995
Some 14,000 General Electric employees strike for two days to protest the company's mid-contract decision to shift an average of $400 in additional health care co-payments onto each worker – 2003
A 15-month lockout by the Minnesota Orchestra against members of the Twin Cities Musicians' Union, Local 30-73 ends when the musicians agree to a 15 percent pay cut (management wanted up to 40 percent) and increased health care cost sharing. They did win a revenue-sharing deal based on performance of the Orchestra's endowments. It was the nation's longest-running contract dispute for a concert orchestra - 2014
Monday, January 13, 2025
LA Times owner regrets paper’s endorsement of Karen Bass for mayor
The owner of the Los Angeles Times, Dr Patrick Soon-Shiong, has criticised his paper’s decision to endorse Karen Bass for mayor.
Soon-Shiong’s endorsement of Bass for LA’s mayor came in 2022, with the doctor admitting it was a “mistake”. “We’ll accept some blame. At the LA Times, we endorsed Karen Bass. I think, right now, upfront, that’s a mistake, and we admit that,” he said. The owner’s comments came during an interview on 2WAY Interactive’s ‘The Morning Meeting’ podcast on Monday. Soon-Shiong’s comments follow a post he made to X last week, where he called out Bass for cutting the “LA Fire Department’s budget by $23M”.Monday Night in the Blogosphere
Building media literacy in the age of Zuck and Musk - Journalism UK
Important Events From This day in History January 13th
1968 Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison
1968 : Johnny Cash performs live for the second time at Folsom Prison in the prison cafeteria which was recorded as the album Johnny Cash at At Folsom Prison.
1957 Frisbee
1957 : Wham-O begins begins production of the Pluto Platters ( Changed Name to "Frisbee" in June 57 ). following the name change sales rocketed as the Frisbee took off as a sport rather than the original marketing as a toy, find examples of the Frisby and many other Vintage Toys in our Toys section showing 1,000's of examples from 1920 to 2000.
2012 Cruise Ship Costa Concordia Runs Aground
2012 : The cruise ship, Costa Concordia, ran aground after hitting a sandbar near the Italian island of Giglio. Most of the people on the ship were able to be evacuated but seventeen people had been found dead and several more were still missing after the accident. The Captain of the ship was being investigated for endangering passengers and leaving the ship for the last person had been evacuated.
1929 Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Earp dies in Los Angeles at the age of 80 best known for the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
1991 Lithuania Soviet Crackdown
The Soviet Union has cracked down on it's latest area in the Baltic republic looking for independence. Members of the Government supported independence and encouraged it, but Moscow sent troops to take control of the Television and Radio Centrex where 1,000 protesters had gathered to protect them. Soldiers then smashed through the glass windows of the station and overwhelmed defenders armed with sticks. The Soviet military then proceeded to take control of Government buildings. During the Soviet crackdown 14 civilians were killed and condemnation came from around the world on attacking a peaceful and democratically elected government. Later in the year in September the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia did gain full independence from the Soviet Union and were admitted into the United Nations.
1915 Italy Earthquake
1915: A massive earthquake that extended 300 miles across Italy killed many thousands. The town of Avezzano, which has a population of about 12,000, is completely destroyed.
1925 Child Labor Laws
1925 : Efforts were being made to improve working conditions. One of those was to create guidelines for child labor. Many people fought against the practice of overworking children in factories, fields, and so on. However, U.S. District Judge G.W. Mc Clintic had expressed a new concern. He had spoken out about child idleness, as in relation to the passing of the child labor amendment to the constitution.
1927 U.S.A. Communist Crackdown
1927 :Communist documents were presented in Washington, to Secretary Kellogg. This papers had on it records of various quotations made by Soviet leaders as well as Mexicans and Americans. Apparently, the claim was that Latin America and Mexico are to be used as bases for an attack on the "imperialistic" United States. The document presented to Kellogg was brought to the Senate, as it was holding a foreign relations committee meeting regarding dealings in Nicaragua.
1939 Australia Bush Fires Claims 70 Lives
Bush Fires covering more than 4,942,000 acres in Victoria, Australia destroys more than 1,000 homes and leaves towns entirely destroyed, the bush fires known as ( Black Friday fires ) claims over 70 Lives during what is thought to be the worst natural bush fires (wildfires) in the world.
1941 Glenn Miller Band
The four Modernaires joins the iconic Glenn Miller Band on a permanent basis. The four singers - Hal Dickinson, Chuck Goldstein, Bill conway and Ralph Brewster - enjoy many years of success as part of the band and as a separate group as well.
1942 Plastic Car
Wartime material shortages forced manufacturers to become very creative. Therefore, Ford Motor Company-one of the first leading manufacturers of mass-produced vehicles had registered for a patent on a plastic car. This was the date that the patent became official. The plastic that was used to make this particular model of car was derived from the soybean plant.
1942 Great Britain War Crimes
1942 : Representatives from nine German occupied countries meet in London to declare that all those found guilty of war crimes would be punished after the war ended,. Knowledge of German atrocities occurring in Poland and Russia where butchering of innocents including Jews, political dissidents, and clergy was taking place. At the end of the war a court was set up to try those who had committed the atrocities.
1950 Soviet Storms Out Of UN
Soviet UN representative Jacob Malik stormed out of A Security Council meeting all in a "huff" on this day. He was angry that his proposal to expel the Nationalist Chinese representative was defeated. This is the second time in a week that Malik had left a meeting mad. The reason he was angry was because he felt that the communist People's Republic of China is the true Chinese government, therefore the PRC is the government that should be represented, and not the one of Nationalist China.
1964 India Religious Violence
Religious violence involving anti-Muslim rioting in the Indian city of Calcutta has left 100 dead, 438 injured and 7000 arrests with a 24 hour curfew in many areas of the city following arson and looting against Muslims causing 70,000 Muslims to flee their homes and businesses in the city.
1973 Women's Rights
1973 : A female West Virginia University student had filed a discrimination complaint through the West Virginia Human Rights Division. The reason for the complaint was that this female student was denied resident tuition prices because her husband was attending an out-of-state school.
The case was yet to be decided, but it appeared as of this date it was a good chance that it would be ruled that this woman was discriminated against. This is the second case like this that was filed within a few months.
1974 George Orwell
A commentary on George Orwell's Novel 1984 was printed in a local West Virginia newspaper by a real life predictive theorist who saw quite a bit of truth that has derived from this novel.
George Orwell's novel 1984 was published in 1948-a few years after World War II ended. It is considered a political science-fiction work, and contains quite a bit of references to economic ruin, dominating individuals by the power of a state, and the destruction of the world.
1982 U.S.A. Aircraft Crash
In Washington D.C., a Boeing 727 aircraft had crashed into the Potomac River, just two miles from the White House. In the process, 78 people were killed. This crash was caused by bad weather.
1985 Ethiopia Train Crash
1985 : A train full of passengers crashes into a ravine with no warning in Ethiopia killing nearly all passengers and crew on board ( Over 400 )
1993 Iraq Allied Bombing
American, British and French bombers have carried out a series of bombing raids over southern Iraq because Iraqis have repeatedly breached the "no-fly zone" set up after the Gulf War .
1997 Peru Hostages in Embassy
Left wing guerrillas who have been holding 72 hostages in the Japanese embassy in Lima, Peru started firing at security forces surrounding the embassy claiming the security forces had broken an agreement that they would stay at least 100 meters from the compound. ( Three months later government forces did storm the building killing all 14 Tupac Amaru guerrillas, and saving 71 of the 72 hostages that had been held ) .
2001 Salvador Earthquake
A major earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale has struck the south American city of San Salvador leaving over 1,000 dead .
2006 Iran Nuclear Program Will Continue Despite Sanctions
Iran's President Ahmadinejad has said Iran will not back down over Tehran's nuclear programme following it's reopening of Isfahan and Natanz Nuclear facilities, despite the threat sanctions and referral to the UN Security Council. Around the world Western leaders are deciding how to handle the latest announcement which could lead to Iran becoming a Nuclear Power within 5 to 6 years in an area of the world where tensions run high over Israel's Nuclear Capabilities.
2007 Crops Destroyed by Cold Snap
A cold snap lasting from January 13th to January 18th hit the West Coast and froze several crops throughout California, Oregon and Washington State. Often called the Western U.S. Freeze of 2007, this weather-related disaster claimed thousands of acres of citrus crops and even caused snow to fall in parts of Southern California..
2009 Israel - Gaza Attacks
2009 : The Israeli attacts and occupation of Gaza continues with 60 more targets bombed overnight, the Israeli offensive is now entering it's 3rd week and the number of bombings and the death toll in Gaza is approaching 1,000 with nearly 300 of the deaths being children. Israeli troops are now in Gaza City suburbs and are engaged in street fighting with Palestinian militants. The attacks and Israeli occupation are in retaliation for rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza on Israeli cities.
2010 U.S. Banking Sector Interrogated By Washington
The senior officers of the Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are answering questions in Washington on the financial crisis, where they will be facing the U.S. Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission's (F.C.I.C.'s) examination the causes of the 2008 U.S. financial meltdown. They have said that they underestimated the severity of the crisis, and apologized for the mistakes that occured. In the hearing they have faced questions over their role in it, which ended with their being bailed out with $360 billion of taxpayer's money and a 26-year high of unemployment. Barack Obama is preparing to unveil a plan for recouping some of the billions in bailout funds by imposing a fee on the banks. The bankers themselves have defended their levels of pay and bonuses.
2011 A German Tanker Capsizes on the Rhine River
A tanker carrying a large amount of sulfuric acid sunk on the Rhine river. Two crewmembers were rescued while two others were missing. There were no reports of leaks from the ship.
2013 Paris Rally Against Gay Marriage
Hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered to rally against gay marriage in Paris, France after President Hollande had indicated he wanted to extend rights for gay couples in the country. Sam-sex civil unions were already legal in the country.
2014 German Breweries Fined
2014 : German brewers Bitburger, Krombacher, Warsteiner, Barre and Veltins were fined along with several individuals for price-fixing. The offences were alleged between 2006 and 2008 and they were found guilty of acting together to raise prices on draught and bottled beer. The fine was for $145 million. Several other breweries were also under investigation.
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