Saturday Morning in the Blogosphere

The Globe Lobby at the Los Angeles Times

 

Pete Hegseth uses the Bible to demonize the press - Poynter

Why traditional British newsagents are on their last legs - BBC

Journalism job cuts in 2026 tracked: BBC to cut up to 2,000 jobs - Press Gazette

Why is everyone wicked obsessed with this Boston Globe reporter? - The New York Times

How Tangle is rebuilding trust in news through transparent multi-perspective reporting - EP

Important Events From This day in History April 18

 

  

1956 Grace Kelly Marries Prince Rainier of Monaco

1956: Academy Award winning American film and stage actress Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier of Monaco. Find More What happened in 1956

1939 USA Gene Autry

1939: Gene Autry records the popular song "Back in the Saddle Again." Several decades later, the rock band Aerosmith records a song that shares the same title.

1974 Worldwide Recession

1974: The secretary of the United Nations warns the world could be heading for a recession caused by the underlying increase of the price of oil causing trade deficits in the western world.

1906 San Francisco Earthquake

1906: An earthquake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, shook the town of San Francisco , California and Thirty thousand homes were either partially or wholly destroyed and an estimated 3,000 are reported dead. The earthquake set off a series of fires which swept through the city.

1922 USA Moonshine Bust

1922: Federal Prohibition Agents find moonshine made in tea kettles by 2 local farmers and confiscate mash in Wisconsin.

1923 USA Yankee Stadium

1923: The first baseball game is played at Yankee Stadium in New York City, with the Yankees beating the Boston Red Sox 4-1.

1934 USA Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping

1934: Some $5000 dollars from the ransom paid in the Lindbergh kidnapping is recovered out of ($50,000) and a man is in custody with ongoing investigations by federal authorities.

1949 China War

1949: The China Red Ultimatum is about to expire as the armies of Red China and Nanjing face each other across the Yangtze River the government of Nanjing feared this is the last days of independence as the red army will walk in and take power on behalf of Red China.

1955 USA Albert Einstein

1955: Celebrated physicist and Nobel Laureate Albert Einstein died today at the age of 76.

1956 UK Premium Bonds

1956: The British Chancellor Harold Macmillan has unveiled plans for a new state saving scheme (Premium Bonds) offering cash prizes of up to by £1,000 instead of interest. The Bonds are introduced in November and Premium Bond winning numbers were generated by an Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment, a computer otherwise known as Ernie. In Britain over 20 million people own premium bonds with the chance of winning two monthly jackpots of £1m.

1956 Grace Kelly Becomes Princess Grace

1956: The Movie star Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier of Monaco in a a 16-minute civil ceremony in the Palace Throne Room of Monaco on This Day, 1956, The Napoleonic Code of Monaco and the laws of the Roman Catholic Church necessitated two ceremonies, the first a civil ceremony and on the following day the church ceremony took place at Monaco's Saint Nicholas Cathedral.

1958 Satellite Maps

1958: The US Military hinted that it will be possible with satellites orbiting the earth to pinpoint any place on the earth and make a detailed drawing including unfriendly countries.

1960 UK Ban The Bomb March

1960: Tens of thousands of people joined the Aldermaston "ban the bomb" March organized by Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) that ended with a rally in Trafalgar Square with an estimated 60,000 - 100,000 present.

1968 UK London Bridge / Rennie's Bridge Sold To America

1968: London Bridge is sold for 1 million to an American oil magnate to be reassembled back at Lake Havasu City, Arizona. The bridge was disassembled, and each piece was numbered to aid reassembly.

1978 Panama Canal to be given to Panamanian Control

1978: The US Senate has backed a treaty to transfer the Panama Canal to the control of Panama. The building of the Panama Canal was started by the French in 1880 but in 1904 the US took over the construction of the canal which was completed 10 years later.

1983 Lebanon Car Bomb US Embassy

1983: A car bomb is used as a terrorist weapon successfully in an attack on the U.S. embassy complex in Beirut, Lebanon killing 12 people. The terrorist a member of Islamic Jihad drove at high speed up the main drive of the consulate in a truck containing 500 kg of high explosive exploding in front of the U.S. embassy.

1988 Israel Ivan the Terrible Found Guilty

1988: A retired US car worker identified as "Ivan the Terrible" is found guilty of Nazi war crimes in a court in Israel and is sentenced to the death penalty. Ivan the Terrible was a guard at the Treblinka death camp in Poland during World War II. His conviction was quashed in 1993 by the Israeli Supreme Court, after evidence suggested that another Ukrainian was Ivan the Terrible and returned to the US, he was later deported back to Ukraine when a US judge ruled that even if Demjanjuk were not Ivan the Terrible, there was enough evidence to prove he had been a death camp guard.

1994 Rwanda Ethnic Violence

1994: The ethnic violence which started in the Rwandan capital Kigali following the death of Rwanda's president in a plane crash is now spreading throughout the country. Reports have come in that soldiers have been hacking Tutsi civilians to death with machetes in the streets in Kigali.

1996 Egypt Greek Tourists Killed By Gunmen

1996: Egyptian gunmen open fire on a group of tourists outside the Europa Hotel in Cairo, killing Seventeen Greek tourists and an Egyptian tour guide. The terrorist Islamic group, al-Gamaa al-Islamiya, admitted it was behind the attack but thought the tourists were Israelis.

1997 USA Flooding

1997: Major floods in Grand Forks North Dakota caused by the Red River breaching a dike gave way causing flooding in the city and 50,000 residents were forced to leave homes and in some areas only roofs of houses were seen when the river broke it's banks and could not be held up any longer.

Today in Labor History April 18, 2026

 Clarence Darrow

Clarence Darrow was born. Darrow was the lawyer who defended Eugene V. Debs and the Wobblies, as well as John Scopes, the teacher who was prosecuted for teaching evolution in the famous “Scopes Monkey Trial”. – 1857

Canada’s Prime Minister Sir John Macdonald introduced the Trade Union Act to legalize unions in the country. Two days earlier, leaders of the Toronto Typographical Union, whose members are on strike for a nine-hour workday,  were arrested for common conspiracy. – 1872

260 women laborers at Shotwell, Clerihew & Lothman walked out of the clothing factory in downtown Minneapolis to protest a pay cut. They became known as the “striking maidens of 1888”, inspiring women in the cause of social justice. – 1888

The IWW poem, We Have Fed You All For A Thousand Years, was published in the Industrial Union Bulletin. – 1908

We have fed you all for a thousand years

& you hail us still unfed

Though there’s never a dollar of all your wealth

But marks the workers dead

We have yielded our best to give you rest

& you lie on crimson wool

But if blood be the price of all your wealth

Good God we have paid in full…

The National Guard was called out against striking West Virginia coal miners, initiating one of the most violent strikes in the nation’s history. UMWA miners were demanding to be paid the same as other area miners in the area and to have their union recognized. – 1912

After a four-week boycott led by Reverend Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., bus companies in New York City agreed to hire 200 black drivers and mechanics. – 1941

Some 200,000 CWA telephone workers struck the Bell System. The strike ended after 18 days, with workers winning wage and benefit increases totaling nearly 20 percent over three years. – 1968

Members of Columbia’s Graduate Student Employees United and Yale’s Graduate Student Employees and Students Organization begin a five-day strike for union recognition. It was the first multi-university strike by Ivy League graduate students. – 2005

Important Events From This day in History April 17

 

 

1964 USA Ford Mustang Unveiled

1964: The Ford Motor Co. unveiled its new Mustang model at the New York World's Fair on This Day 1964. The Mustang was championed by Ford Division general manager Lee Iacocca, with a suggested retail price of $2,368. The car was a great success and sold over one million cars in its first 18 months. Find More What happened in 1964

1927 Airship Race From New York to Paris

1927: An airship race scheduled today from New York to Paris has been forced to reschedule due to injuries and problems with an engine on one of the airships.

1932 USA Lynching

1932: A mob of western Kansas Farmers today went back to old fashioned justice when they lynched a man who admitted killing an 8 year old girl by overpowering the sheriff and hanging the man from a tree in Kansas.

1940 USA World War II

1940: Anglo-French purchasing mission announced the purchase of huge quantities of the latest aircraft including Douglas Bombers and Curtiss Pursuit Ships from American Companies.

1950 Soviet Union Shoot Down US Plane

1950: America accuses the Reds of shooting down a US Plane over the Baltic Sea in an unprovoked attack.

1951 England Submarine Lost

1951: The crew of the British submarine "Affray" is feared dead after going missing off the south coast of England. Two months later, the Affray was found in 300 ft of water 46 miles south of Portland.

1961 Cuba Bay of Pigs

1961: A group of 1,500 Cuban exiles supported by the US government invaded the Bay of Pigs on the southern coast of Cuba in an attempt to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro. The invasion failed miserably and by April 21st all had been killed or captured. One year earlier the CIA had recommended to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Administration to recruit, support, equip and train Cuban exiles for action against the new government of Fidel Castro. Following the change to the new U.S. President John F. Kennedy in February who was also advised the operation would be a success, the operation was continued. Cuba was tipped off by senior KGB agents and intelligence forces arrested more than 100,000 Cubans who they suspected would be allies of the expected invading force, ensuring that the invading forces would be cut off from support.

1962 Worldwide Oral Polio Vaccine

1962: Around the world after the approval by Governments of the Oral Polio Vaccine developed by Albert Sabin. Schools, Health Clinics and Doctors were preparing to administer the Polio Vaccine to children who had not received the injected Salk vaccine . Polio had been increasing at an alarming rate prior to the development of the Salk vaccine and in 1952 alone over 58,000 cases of Polio occurred in the United States.

1969 USA Robert Kennedy Assassin

1969: The assassin of Robert Kennedy Sirhan B. Sirhan was found guilty of first degree murder for assassinating Senator Robert F. Kennedy, the brother of slain President John F. Kennedy.

1969 Northern Ireland Bernadette Devlin

1969: Bernadette Devlin, becomes Britain's youngest ever female MP and the third youngest MP ever.

1970 USA Apollo 13

1970: Apollo 13, the U.S. lunar spacecraft that suffered oxygen tank No. 2 blowing up in the spacecraft on its journey to the moon, safely returns to Earth landing in the Pacific Ocean.

1973 Egypt Syria / Israel War

1973: Egypt has warned it may get involved in the Syria Israel War and warned it may fight alongside the Syrians if the Golan Heights becomes threatened.

1984 UK WPC Yvonne Fletcher

1984: WPC Yvonne Fletcher a London police officer is shot and killed while helping control a small demonstration outside the Libyan People's Bureau Embassy in central London. The police can not enter The Libyan building as it has diplomatic immunity but the building is surrounded by armed police officers. Meanwhile Libyan soldiers have now surrounded Britain's embassy in Tripoli trapping the 18 diplomats inside. Following the breakdown of diplomatic relations between the two countries British Diplomats leave Libya and the Libyan diplomats leave England including the person who had killed Yvonne Fletcher. Diplomatic relations with Libya are restored after 15 years in 1999 after the Libyan Government admitted it bore "general responsibility" for WPC Fletcher's death. (It is also believed that when the killer returned to Libya he was immediately executed but this can not be confirmed).

1985 USA Organ Donation

1985: The US Government has announced a campaign to increase awareness of Organ Donation hoping to make the donation of organs as widespread as the giving of blood this follows similar campaigns from other countries around the world as organ transplants become more common.

1986 Lebanon John McCarthy

1986: John McCarthy, a British TV journalist, is abducted on his way to the airport in the war-torn capital of Lebanon, Beirut. On August 8 1991 having spent more than five years held captive by militant group Islamic Jihad, John McCarthy is released making him Britain's longest-held hostage in Lebanon.

1991 USA Dow Jones

1991: The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 3,000 for the first time.

1993 USA Rodney King Beating

1993: Two former police officers are convicted by a federal jury in Los Angeles of violating the civil rights of beaten motorist Rodney King.

1999 England Nail Bomb

1999: A nail bomb outside a busy supermarket in Brixton, south London, has injured dozens. This was the fist in a series of bombs planted by a right-wing extremist David Copeland, 22, who was captured after a nail bomb in a central London pub killed three people.

2006 Israel Suicide Bomber

2006: A Palestinian suicide bomber strikes a Tel Aviv restaurant during Passover, killing nine people.

2007 New Tolkien Book Released

2007: The Children of Húrin by J.R.R. Tolkien has been released in North America and Europe. The book has been developed by Christopher Tolkien over twelve years, and is taken from the unfinished material written by his father. It includes new color plates and black and white illustrations. Houghton Mifflin has acquired U.S. rights to publish the book, which is Tolkien's first work since 1977's posthumous Silmarillion. HarperCollins U.K. had acquired the project from The Tolkien Estate in a world rights deal. The Children of Húrin was started in 1918.

Today in Labor History April 17th

 

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a New York maximum hours law for bakery workers was unconstitutional under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment. Legislation limiting hours of employment was not passed until the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. – 1905

The Polish labor union "Solidarity" was granted legal status, which paved the way for the downfall of the Communist Party - 1989

An explosion at a West Texas fertilizer plant kills 15 people and injures nearly 300 when 30 tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate — stored in sheds without sprinkler systems — catch fire. Of those killed, ten were emergency responders - 2013

Charles M. Blow on the crisis facing local newspapers

By some estimates, more than 3,200 print newspapers have vanished since 2005, with an estimated two newspapers closing each week. As funding for public broadcasting also shrinks, political analyst Charles M. Blow talks about the importance of local media as the connective tissue of communities – an essential public good jeopardized by industry consolidation and funding cuts.

Thursday Morning in the Blogosphere

 LAX

Late-night becomes free speech battleground - E&P Magazine

BBC will cut up to 2,000 jobs to reduce costs by about 10% - The Associated Press

Prediction markets are breaking the news and becoming their own beat - Nieman Lab

Graduating into an uncertain profession: Why I’m choosing journalism anyway - E&P Magazine

Nonprofit Lifeline for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as More Papers Seek Nonprofit Sector Help - USN

Important Events From This day in History April 16

 

  

2007 USA Virginia Tech

2007: Student Cho Seung Hui killed 32 students and injured 17 others before taking his own life at Virginia Tech. What happened in 2007

1964 UK Great Train Robbery

1964: At the old Bailey in London the great train robbers were sentenced to up to 30 years for their part in the Great Train Robbery. Seven of the defendants - Ronald Biggs, Charles Wilson, Douglas Goody, Thomas Wisbey, Robert Welch, James Hussey and Roy James each received sentences of 30 years. The robbery was from a mail train carrying 3.8 million pounds between Glasgow and London when 15 masked robbers stopped the train at by changing the signals to red and boarding the train armed with weapons.

1947 USA Freighter Blast

1947: A French freighter "Grandcamp," loaded with ammonium nitrate (fertilizer), exploded at a port in Texas. The blast caused other explosions at a nearby chemical plant, spreading fires across oil refineries along the port. An estimated 500 People were killed by the blast and the ensuing fires which swept the port and the surrounding town.

1922 USA Prohibition

1922: The Prohibition Department is to enforce the law making it illegal to manufacture beer or wine in the home for home use, this follows the supreme court that home brewing is illegal.

1935 USA Work Fund to Create Jobs

1935: President Roosevelt unveils plans to allocate a work fund and more than $900,000,000 in funds for work based projects has been received so far , this will help with the mass unemployment and misery caused by the severe depression.

1943 Switzerland LSD

1943: Albert Hoffman, a Swiss chemist accidentally consumes LSD-25. After taking the drug, formally known as lysergic acid diethylamide, Dr. Hoffman was disturbed by unusual sensations and hallucinations.

1944 World War II

1944: Allied Bombers hit Budapest and Belgrade as continued attacks on enemies lines of communications and Rail Lines were carried out overnight.

1953 UK Royal Yacht Britannia

1953: The Queen launches the Royal Yacht Britannia in at a ceremony at the Clydebank yard of John Brown and Co. The Royal Yacht had a 250 strong crew who ensure Britannia is always immaculate for its foreign trips. The Royal Yacht Britannia after travelling more than one million miles is decommissioned in 1997 and is now a tourist attraction at the port of Leith, in Edinburgh.

1963 USA Birmingham, Alabama

1963: Police break up walk to city hall to register to vote in Birmingham Alabama and arrested the first 15 Negroes in the walk to the county courthouse.

1964 UK The Rolling Stones

1964: The Rolling Stones band's debut album, "The Rolling Stones" issued in the US as "England's Newest Hit Makers" was released. The band consisted of Jagger, Jones, Richards, Wyman, and Watts.

1970 Northern Ireland Reverend Ian Paisley

1970: The Protestant hard liner the Reverend Ian Paisley has won a seat in parliament. The Reverend Ian Paisley is opposed any form of power sharing in Northern Ireland.

1972 USA Apollo 16

1972: NASA launched the Apollo 16 spacecraft from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

1974 Israel Golan Heights

1974: Israeli and Syrian troops continue fighting along the Golan Heights and Mt Herman for 37th consecutive day of fighting in the middle east.

1983 Vietnam / China Conflict

1983: China and Vietnam continue fighting on the border over the killing of farmers and other Chinese civilians working near the border.

1987 UK MP Harvey Proctor

1987: The British Conservative MP Harvey Proctor has appeared in court and is accused of committing acts of gross indecency with two male teenagers.

1993 Bosnia Muslim Enclave

1993: The United Nations stepped in today to protect Srebrenica in Bosnia that is a haven for Muslim civilians from a Bosnian Serb onslaught.

2003 USA Michael Jordan

2003: Michael Jordan played his last NBA game for the Washington Wizards.

2006 Pope Calls for Iranian Nuclear Issues Solution

2006: Pope Benedict XVI calls for a negotiated solution to the Iran nuclear crisis in his Easter message in St Peter's Square. "May an honorable solution be found for all parties, through honest and serious negotiations," he said, whilst affirming Israel's "right to exist in peace." He also calls for the international community to help the Palestinians achieve statehood. This is Pope Benedict's first Easter as pontiff, and "Urbi et Orbi" is broadcast to more than fifty countries. About one hundred thousand people are said to have gathered in the square.

2007 Wal-Mart First Place in Fortune 500

2007: Wal-Mart is awarded the first place in sales and company size in this year's Fortune 500, with revenues of $351,139,000,000, profits of 11,284,000,000, assets of 151,193,000, 000, and a stockholder equity of 198,107,900,000 for the year-ending 2006. It narrowly beat Exxon Mobil to first place.

2008 US Supreme Court Upholds Lethal Injection

2008: The Supreme Court has rejected a challenge on the use of lethal injections as a means of execution. The Court rejected the case that was made by two death row inmates in the state of Kentucky. They have already sued the state, and said that the commonly used combination of three chemical injections violated the Constitution's ban on cruel punishment. Executions nationwide have been on hold since September 2006, and Virginia has just said that it was lifting its moratorium on it.

Today in Labor History April 16th, 2026

 Jacob Coxey

Jacob Coxey was born on this date in Massillon, Ohio. Coxey, a populist businessman, proposed ending the 1893 depression by issuing Treasury notes to pay for a work-relief program. When Congress refused to pass his bill, Coxey led an “Army of the Poor” from Ohio to Washington, DC, where Coxey and his lieutenants were arrested and 50 of his followers were beaten or trampled. – 1854

25,000 garment workers in New York City were locked out by employers in a dispute over hiring practices. A General Strike was called by the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union that ended in 14 weeks, with the 60,000 striking workers winning union recognition and the contractual right to strike. – 1916

2,300 tons of ammonium nitrate on board a ship docked in the port of Texas City detonated, setting off a chain reaction of explosions and fires on other ships and nearby oil storage facilities. At least 581 people were killed and thousands more were seriously injured in the deadliest industrial disaster in U.S. history. As a result, changes in chemical manufacturing and new regulations for the bagging, handling, and shipping of chemicals were enacted. – 1947

Thousands protested in Washington, D.C. at meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund One against policies that aided corporate profits while increasing poverty and environmental degradation. – 2000

Important Events From This day in History April 15

 

 

1942 Malta George Cross

1942: The people from the tiny Island of Malta in the Mediterranean Sea (121 sq miles) are awarded The George Cross by King George VI. Malta played a crucial role in World War II owing to its proximity to Axis shipping lanes and the Germans and Italians bombed the Island on daily basis and sunk any ships trying to supply food and medical supplies to the Island. In the first 200 days of 1942 there was only one 24 hour period when no bombs fell and the Maltese people spent so much time in their underground shelters that health standards declined, malnutrition spread and scabies was rife. The Island continued under siege with little food arriving right until May 1943 when the siege of Malta was finally lifted.

1912 RMS Titanic Sinks

1912: The RMS Titanic struck an iceberg just before midnight on 14th April. The Ship with 2,200 passengers and crew on board on it's maiden voyage was thought to be unsinkable but it sank after 2 1/2 hours when the ship breaks in two in the Atlantic Ocean, With More than 1,500 people on the ship lost to the sea.

1926 French Franc

1926: The French Franc dropped again today against the US Dollar to an all time low of 29.73 to the Dollar.

1927 United States Great Mississippi Flood

1927: 15 inches of rain fall in 18 hours causing the Mississippi River to brake out of its levee system at 145 locations, more than Twenty-seven thousand square miles of land is flooded in 10 states AR, IL, KY, LA, MS, MO, TN, TX, OK and KS, Arkansas is the worst affected with 14% of the state flooded.

1937 Spanish Civil War

1937: Countries around the world are seeking to intervene in the Spanish Civil War and to ask all parties to join peace talks.

1945 Germany Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp

1945: British troops liberate the German Bergen-Belsen Concentration camp finding thousands of dead and rotting corpses and many more thousands of sick and starving prisoners kept in severely overcrowded and dirty compounds. The prisoners were suffering from acute typhus, typhoid and tuberculosis due to no running water in the camp . Over 30,000 had died in the previous months many from typhus but even more from starvation.

1946 China 30 Million Starving

1946: Nearly 30 million people are close to dying of starvation and the countries of the world are trying to send food to help those starving including the US the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation department is coordinating efforts.

1947 USA Jackie Robinson

1947: Jackie Robinson, becomes the first African American player in Major League Baseball when he steps onto Ebbets Field in Brooklyn to compete for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

1959 Cuba Fidel Castro

1959: Fidel Castro, Prime Minister of Cuba, flew to Washington for an 11-day visit to promote Cuba to Americans.

1967 USA Vietnam War Protestors

1967: 180,000 Protesters were in New York and San Francisco to protest against the Vietnam War with a number of protesters burning draft cards.

1977 USA Roman Polanksi

1977: Roman Polanski the director of China Town and Rosemary's baby pleads innocence to charge of drug rape of 13 yr old girl.

1981 USA Janet Cooke

1981: Washington Post reporter Janet Cooke relinquished the Pulitzer Prize she had received two days earlier for her feature "Jimmy's World published in The Washington Post on September 29, 1980" about an 8-year-old heroin addict after admitting she had fabricated the story.

1986 Libya US Air Strikes

1986: The US launches air strikes on Libya in retaliation for Libyan backed terrorism including the bombing of La Belle discotheque in West Berlin 10 days earlier. USA planes bombed targets in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, and the Benghazi region. Colonel Muamar Gaddafi residential compound took a direct hit that killed Hanna Gaddafi, the adopted baby daughter of the Libyan leader.

1989 England Hillsborough Stadium Disaster

1989: The FA Cup semi-final between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England, turned to tragedy. At least 200 people were injured and 96 crushed to death, many of them teenagers and children. The problems were caused by too many Liverpool fans being sent to standing pens in to the back of an already full stand at the Leppings Lane end of the ground. As more fans were allowed in, those already there were pushed forward and crushed against the high, wired-topped safety fences. In 2017, six people were charged with manslaughter by gross negligence, misconduct in public office, and perverting the course of justice for their actions related to the disaster. As of 2021, only one person, Graham Mackrell, has been convicted of crimes related to the disaster, for which he paid a fine.
Comment from Neil, a man who lived through the Hillsborough Stadium Disaster: "The Liverpool fans were not as you reported allowed in the ground they were forced into an overfilled section of leppings lane. Sadly, I, as one of many that got out of the death pen, now relive that day over and over it ruined my life. Now after all the years not a single Liverpool fan has been charged with an offence regarding the death or the 96 in the ground and have probably never heard about the 97th victims who died in a coma later, nor will you have reported or the terror and guilt of those of us that escaped that day."

1990 Soviet Union Lithuania Independence

1990: Lithuania continues it's goal of Independence but The Soviet Union president threatens to cut off supplies including Oil and Natural Gas unless they rescind request for independence and laws that would mean seizing Soviet buildings and facilities.

1992 USA Leona Helmsley

1992: Leona Helmsley, starts a four-year prison term in Lexington, Kentucky for failing to pay her taxes, she served a total of only 18 months in jail. Her famous quote "Only the little people pay taxes." turned the press and the public against her who never forgave her for the infamous saying.

2000 Zimbabwe Farmer Murdered

2000: Approximately 1,000 farms are now occupied by "war veterans" backed by President Robert Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party. And one white farmer "David Stevens" in Zimbabwe was taken from his farm and has been shot dead. In spite of pressure from the international community, President Robert Mugabe pressed on with his plan to remove Zimbabwe's farms from white ownership, and a further 10 white farmers were murdered. Many farmers have given up their farms and left the country but others stayed hoping to keep their farms but in September 2002 Zimbabwe's parliament adopted new legislation making it easier to evict them.

2008 World Food Prices Problem

2008: As food prices continue to increase due to multiple reasons including gas prices, poor harvests and the increased use of ethanol based fuel. The people who are the most affected are the poorest members of the world who spend the highest percentage of income on feeding themselves. The World Bank President Robert Zoellick has appealed to richer nations to increase the food aid to some of the countries worst effected after riots in Haiti, Bangladesh, Egypt and other countries over surging food prices.

2008 United States Pope Benedict XVI Visit

2008: Pope Benedict XVI has received a Presidential greeting from George Bush and his wife on his first official visit to the United States. Mr. Bush was waiting on the tarmac at Andrews Air Force Base when the Pontiff's plane touched down. As part of his six-day visit, the Pope will be addressing the U.N. and leading prayers at Ground Zero. The Pope will be leaving on April 20th.

2010 Volcanic Ash Grounds European Flights

2010: All flights in and out of several European countries have been suspended as ash from the volcanic eruption in Iceland continues to move south. Up to four thousand flights are being canceled with airspace closed in Norway, Britain, Sweden, France, Finland and Denmark. The U.K.'s air traffic control service has said that no flights will be allowed to enter U.K. airspace until at least 0700 BST on April 16th. Eurocontrol has said that the problem will persist for at least forty-eight hours. The volcano is still spewing ash and the wind direction is expected to continue bringing clouds into European airspace for some time.

Today in Labor History April 15, 2026

 A. Philip Randolph

This date marks the birth of A. Philip Randolph, organizer and president of the African-American Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.  According to Randolph, “The labor movement traditionally has been the haven for the dispossessed, the despised, the neglected, the downtrodden, and the poor”. Randolph believed in permanent social change, but not without the direct participation of those affected, including mass demonstrations.  Initially, no African-American newspapers supported his fight to unionize the Pullman porters. – 1889

The IWW union Agricultural Workers Organization formed in Kansas City, Missouri. – 1915

The American Federation of Teachers was founded in Chicago. In its first four years, the union chartered 174 locals. Today, the AFT has more than 3,000 local affiliates nationwide and more than 1.6 million members. – 1916

A successful six-day strike began across New England by what has been described as the first women-led American union, the Telephone Operators Department of IBEW. – 1919

Two men robbed and killed Frederick Parmenter and Alessandro Berardelli in South Braintree, Massachusetts, making off with the $15,776.51 payroll they were carrying. Parmenter and Bernadelli were employees of the Slater & Morrill Shoe Company.,  The anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti ultimately were blamed for the robbery, convicted by a kangaroo court and executed. – 1920

The Transport Workers Union was founded. – 1934

The first McDonald’s Restaurant opened in Des Plaines, Illinois, setting the stage years later for sociologist Amitai Etzioni to coin the term “McJob”.  As defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, a McJob is “an unstimulating, low-paid job with few prospects, especially one created by the expansion of the service sector”. – 1955

Tuesday Morning in the Blogosphere

 LAX

Social traffic kinda stinks for news publishers now - Nieman Lab

BBC employees brace for ‘ominous’ town hall about cuts - Deadline

Stars and Stripes readers insist: Bring back our color comics! - Stars and Stripes

Axel Springer given UK government approval for Telegraph takeover - Press Gazette

‘No comment’: How public officials’ silence is shaping public trust in journalism - E&P Magazine

Important Events From This day in History April 14th

 

 

1912 Atlantic Ocean Titanic Strikes Iceberg

1912: The RMS Titanic struck an iceberg just before midnight on 14th April. Find More From What happened in 1912

1935 USA Black Sunday

1935: Twenty of the worst Black Blizzards that occurred throughout the Dust Bowl years happen on a single day often referred to as Black Sunday which turned day into night. Witnesses reported that they could not see five feet in front of them at certain points and the storms traveled thousands of miles across the country dumping the black mess wherever they went. It should be remembered that these storms did not look like a normal dust storm as they were black and given nicknames like Black Dark Blizzards and Black Rollers because visibility was reduced to a few feet. The Dust Bowl years were caused by misuse of land through intensive farming with little thought of soil conservation and years of sustained drought causing millions of acres of farmland became useless, and hundreds of thousands forced to leave their homes. More about the Dust Bowl

2005 USA Same-Sex Marriage Oregon

2005: The Oregon Supreme Court nullified nearly 3,000 marriage licenses issued to gay couples a year earlier by Portland's Multnomah County. Basic Timeline of Same Sex marriage Licenses In Oregon March 2, 2004: Multnomah County Chair Linn announced the county would begin granting licenses for same-sex marriages. November 2nd, 2004: Oregonians voted 57% to 43% to pass Ballot Measure 36, a constitutional amendment defining marriage to be between one man and one woman. On This Day 2005: The Oregon State Supreme Court decided Li & Kennedy vs. State of Oregon, ruling that Multnomah County lacked the authority to remedy a perceived violation of the Oregon Constitution.

1906 Italy Mount Vesuvius Erupted

1906: Mount Vesuvius Erupts on April 14th, 1906 and the eruptions last until April 21st 1906 during the 7 days the crater rim cracked and lava flowed over wide areas.

1865 USA Lincoln Assassination

1865: President Lincoln is shot and mortally wounded by John Wilkes Booth while attending the comedy Our American Cousin at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. He died the next day.

1924 Italy Airship Accident

1924: The Italian Airship Number 1 was torn away from its moorings today in strong winds and 3 crewmen were carried 200 ft and hurled to their deaths.

1931 Spain King Alfonso XIII

1931: The Second Spanish Republic is proclaimed forcing King Alfonso XIII of Spain leaves Spain, he lived in Exile in Rome but did not abdicate the throne.

1933 USA Milk Price War

1933: A Milk Price War is going on and the stable prices of 10 cents per quart are currently 8 cents and in some shops 7 cents per quart.

1941 Balkans Britain Pulling Out

1941: Britain admits troops pulling back from Balkans and says the situation is a gloomy one at present, also High Flying German Bombers are dropping bombs on Northeastern England Coastal Towns.

1952 USA Bomber Crash

1952: A B36 Bomber failed to take off from Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane This was the worlds largest bomber with 10 engines and 15 out of the 17 crew were killed during take off.

1956 USA Videotape Recorder

1956: Ampex Corp. demonstrated its first commercial videotape recorder the VR-1000, which was the first of Ampex's line of 2 inch Quadruplex videotape recorders. CBS was one of the early TV companies to adopt the technology which allowed a one hour long program to be recorded on one reel of tape. One reel of tape cost $300, equivalent to $2,000 in 2000. A recorder cost about $75,000 to $100,000, about a half a million dollars today.

1961 Brazil Xingu National Park

1961: The Xingu National Park is created to protect the rain forest environment and the indigenous tribes who live in the area, many of whom do not have contact with the outside world.

2003 Iraq Abul Abbas Captured

2003: U.S. commandos in Baghdad capture the wanted terrorist Abul Abbas, leader of the Palestinian group that killed an American on the hijacked cruise liner Achille Lauro in 1985.

2007 Garry Kasparov is arrested in Moscow

2007: The Russian opposition activist, Garry Kasparov, was among the 170 people that were arrested as police prevented a banned anti-Kremlin rally in Moscow from escalating. The former chess player was freed several hours later, and was fined $40 for public order offences. The security operation was launched to stop protesters from gathering at Pushkin Square. President Putin denies that he is trampling on democracy, and accuses the opposition of destabilizing the state.

2008 Merger for Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines

2008: Air carriers Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines have agreed to merge in a $5 billion deal that will make them world's biggest commercial passenger line. The new airline will be called Delta, and have an annual revenue of over $35 billion. It is predicted to have about 75,000 staff. Analysts say this deal might prompt other U.S. airlines to join together as they struggle with rising oil prices. The deal, which has been sealed a year after both carriers left bankruptcy protection, might have to struggle with the unions on this. The merger will see Northwest shareholders receiving 1.25 Delta shares for each of their Northwest shares.

2009 Cuba Fidel Castro

2009: The United States lifts Cuba Restrictions allowing unlimited family travel and financial transfers to Cuba. The former Cuban President Fidel Castro has described the U.S. rules that allow unlimited family travel and financial transfers to the island as "positive, although minimal." He has welcomed these changes in a column that was posted on a Cuban web site. The changes will allow Cuban-Americans to travel more freely into Cuba, and allow them to send more money to relatives that live there. The restrictions were lifted on Monday, April 13th.

2010 Boston Sarah Palin Tea Party Rally

2010: Sarah Palin has condemned the Obama Administration policies at a rally for the Tea Party Express on Boston Common. Some in the crowd were enthusiastic in their disapproval of the President, and others were skeptical of Palin. Palin's message was to lower taxes, lessen spending and smaller government. "Americans now spend one hundred days out of the year working for government before we even start earning money for ourselves," she said. This was the penultimate rally for the Tea Party Express, which began in Searchlight, Nevada and will end in Washington. The crowd appeared to be a few thousand, but the Boston Police have no crowd estimates. Many of the rally's participants held American flags and Don't Tread on Me banners. The crowd cheered at Palin's anti-Obama rhetoric. Palin parodied Obama's campaign slogans with "When they say yes we can, we'll say oh no you don't." and concluded with "We'll keep clinging to our Constitution, and our guns and religion, but you can keep the change."

2010 Neil Armstrong Critical of Space Planning

2010: Neil Armstrong has criticized the Obama administration's stripped-down space plans, describing the President's proposals as devastating. Supporters of the President's latest plan, which will be unveiled on the 15th, have insisted that the accelerated rocket program will set new goals for the American effort in outer space. Armstrong, in an open letter that was co-signed by the Apollo Commanders James Lovell and Eugene Cernan, wrote that "The … decision to cancel the Constellation program, its Ares 1 and Ares V rockets, and the Orion spacecraft, is devastating.

2010 China Yushu Earthquake

2010: Six quakes in the Yushu region of China leave more than 500 dead and over ten thousand people were injured. Over the coming days as rescuers travel to outlying area's the death toll continues to rise to an estimated 1,500.

2011 Colombia Bus Engulfed by Mudslide

2011: A mudslide engulfed a bus in Colombia, killing at least fourteen people. Six people were also missing after the bus was swept away by a mudslide and covered completely by mud in the heavy rains. Emergency workers tried to recover bodies from the wreck.

2012 President of Turkmenistan Orders Ice Hockey Teams Created

2012: President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov of Turkmenistan declared that his government ministries must each create their own ice hockey teams. The leader of the desert nation has prodded his nation to become a sporting power since he came to power in 2007. The leader has absolute power over the country but has tried to encourage foreign investment since coming to power.

2013 Venezuela Post-Chavez Presidential Election

2013: Venezuelans voted in the first presidential election held since the death of former leader Hugo Chavez. Voters chose between Nicolas Maduro, who had been chosen by Chavez as his successor, and Henrique Capriles, who had run against Chavez in the previous elections. Maduro won the election.

2014 Netherlands Glow In the Dark Road Introduced

2014: The Netherlands introduced glow in the dark road markings on a small stretch of highway in the country to test the concept. The markings are made with a glow in the dark paint that charges during the day and glows at night. It was done as an effort to replace streetlights and save energy in the country.

Today in Labor History April 14

 

John Steinbeck

Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts... perhaps the fear of a loss of power. - John Steinbeck

More than 100 Mexican and Filipino farmworkers were arrested for union activities in Imperial Valley, California. Eight were convicted of “criminal syndicalism”. – 1930

John Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Grapes of Wrath is published. It was the story of a family of Oklahoma sharecroppers who migrate to California looking for relief from the economic devastation caused by the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. – 1939

The United Steelworkers and the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers unions merged to form the largest industrial union in North America. – 2005

Monday Morning in the Blogosphere

 

“I am going to save newspapers in America” - Investigative Post

Why one Las Vegas newspaper just stopped printing its rival - AP

Student journalists may produce a quarter million bylines a year - Poynter

Top 50 US news websites: Double-digit YoY declines at more than half despite Iran war - PG

UNC Newspaper Halts Satire and Implements DEI Training After Backlash Over April Fools - Reason

Important Events From This day in History April 13th

 

 

1999 USA Jack Kervorkian

1999: Jack Kervorkian was sentenced in Pontiac, Mich., to 10 to 25 years in prison for the second-degree murder of Thomas Youk, 52 who was in the final stages of ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis sometimes called Lou Gehrig's Disease). The assisted suicide in 1998 was videotaped and shown on the November 23rd , 1998 broadcast of "60 Minutes". Kevorkian served eight years of the prison sentence for second-degree murder. He was released on June 1, 2007, on parole due to good behavior Find More From What happened in 1999

1970 USA Apollo 13

1970: An explosion caused by an exploding oxygen tank on Apollo 13 forced the astronauts to abandon their mission to the moon and head home, they were nearly at the moon when the problem occurred and they were forced to turn back.

2006 USA Tornado Iowa City

2006: During the evening of Apr 13, 2006, one or more tornadoes strike Iowa City, causing severe property damage. It was the first tornado ever to be recorded to hit Iowa City directly. The Tornadoes that strike Iowa City are considered to be part of the The Easter Week 2006 Tornado Outbreak beginning On Apr 13, (1) A complex of severe thunderstorms formed in eastern Iowa on Apr 13th, with unexpected reports of strong tornadoes, causing damage to property. (2) Another super-cell developed on Apr 14 across western Indiana, touching down a few more tornadoes. (3) A further system developed over the Upper Midwest and tracked across the Midwest on Apr 15 and 16 which leads to a further 40 reported tornadoes. (4) The final system developed on Apr 18 bringing even more severe weather farther south in the lower Midwest, mainly Missouri with several more tornadoes reported.

1923 Japan Storm

1923: One of the worst storms in many years hit the Japanese and Korean coastline and is believed to have claimed over 100 lives, rescue ships from the US have been delayed getting to help due to the severe winds and waves.

1931 USA Chicago Tunnel Fire

1931: 10 men killed in Chicago tunnel fire, the cause of the explosion was spontaneous combustion and is the worst underground disaster in Chicago history.

1943 USA Alcatraz Attempted Escape

1943: Four convicts attempted to escape from the prison at Alcatraz today. Two were drowned in San Francisco Bay after being shot and the other two were recaptured.

1943 USA Jefferson Memorial

1943: President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. dedicated to Thomas Jefferson, an American Founding Father and the third president of the United States.

1949 Germany Nuremberg Trials

1949: The Nuremberg Trials ended with 19 top aids to Adolf Hitler receiving up to 25 years for their part in war crimes against humanity.

1954 Hank Aaron First Major League Baseball Appearance

1954: Hank Aaron Makes First Appearance for the Milwaukee Braves with the number five on his uniform, he went on to break the legendary Babe Ruth record ending his MLB career on October 3, 1976, for the Milwaukee Brewers.

1957 USA Marilyn Monroe

1957: Marilyn Monroe has checkup and speculation restarts that she may be pregnant.

1964 USA Sidney Poitier

1964: Sidney Poitier becomes the first black actor to win the coveted Best Actor Oscar for his role in Lilies of the Field.

1965 USA River Flooding

1965: The Midwest continued it's problem weather after a large number of tornadoes on Palm Sunday rivers are now at flood conditions along the Mississippi affecting Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and North Dakota with mass evacuations and already a number of deaths caused by the flooding.

1992 UK Neil Kinnock Resigns

1992: Following the defeat of the Labour party by the Conservatives in the general election three days earlier Neil Kinnock resigns as Labour leader.

1997 Tiger Woods Wins Masters

1997: Tiger Woods at 21 years old became the youngest ever golfer to win the Masters Tournament. Woods finished at 18-under-par 270, which was the lowest score ever shot during the Masters.

2005 USA Eric Rudolph

2005: Eric Rudolph (also known as the Olympic Park Bomber), pleads guilty to carrying out the deadly bombing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics in Atlanta Georgia. Rudolph pleaded guilty to numerous federal and state homicide charges and accepted five consecutive life sentences in exchange for avoiding a trial and the death penalty.

2011 USA Baseball Barry Bonds

2011: Former baseball player, Barry Bonds, was found guilty of obstruction of justice after a trial about steroid use. Bonds was accused of lying about steroid use, and the guilty verdict related to his testimony to a grand jury on whether or not any person other than his physician had injected him with a needle. The jury had failed to determine a verdict on three other charges and the trial was declared a mistrial. Bonds had famously broken Hank Aaron's home run record in 2007, but his accomplishment had been overshadowed by steroid use accusations.

2012 North Korea Rocket Launch Fails

2012: North Korea's much anticipated rocket launch to test a long-range missile technology failed shortly after launch. Several countries who were monitoring the event said that the rocket was only in the air for a short time before it broke apart and crashed into the water. North Korean officials stated that the test was aimed at putting a satellite into orbit and that they had scientists analyzing what went wrong.

2013 First Bird Flu Case in Beijing

2013: China's capital city Beijing reported its first case of the H7N9 bird flu that had been spreading throughout the country. The case was reported with a seven year old girl who had been infected with the flu. Thus far the UN had recorded a total of twenty-eight cases and a total of nine deaths from this flu in China.

2014 Shooting at Kansas City Jewish Community Center

2014: Three people were killed when a man went on a shooting spree at the Jewish Community Campus and a Jewish retirement home in Overland Park. Police took a suspect into custody, a white man in his seventies who had been reportedly yelling anti-Semitic things while in the police car. The suspect was later identified as Frazier Glenn Cross, a white supremacist who had previous run-ins with the law and was associated with the Klu Klux Klan and other racist groups. All three victims were Christians.