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, April 16, 2026
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
%20(1)%20(1)%20(1)%20(1).png)
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
Wednesday, April 15, 2026
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
%20(1)%20(1)%20(1)%20(1).jpeg)
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, April 14, 2026
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
%20(1)%20(1).jpeg)
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, April 13, 2026
Monday Morning in the Blogosphere
“I am going to save newspapers in America” - Investigative Post
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.
Today in Labor History April 13, 2026
%20(1)%20(1).jpg)
Jimmy Hoffa
'“I may have many faults, but being wrong ain't one of them.' - Jimmy Hoffa
The Great Northern rail strike began in Helena, Montana, spreading to St. Paul within a few days. The strike was led by Eugene V. Debs, president of the American Railway Union, and succeeded in shutting down critical rail links, resulting in a settlement giving in to nearly all of the union’s demands. The successful strike led to thousands of rail workers joining the new union. – 1894
The International Hod Carriers & Building Laborers’ Union (today’s Laborers’ Int’l Union) was founded, as 25 delegates from 23 Local Unions in 17 cities representing 8,186 Laborers, met in Washington DC. – 1903
Labor leader and Socialist Party founder Eugene V. Debs was imprisoned for opposing American entry into World War I. While in jail he ran for president and received one million votes. – 1919
A 17-year-old Jimmy Hoffa led his co-workers at a Kroger warehouse in Clinton, Indiana in a successful job action. By refusing to unload a shipment of perishable strawberries, they forced the company to give in to their demands. The “strawberry boys” had to report to work at 4:30 a.m., stay on the job for 12 hours and were paid 32¢ an hour only if growers arrived with berries to unload. Plus, they were required to spend three-fourths of any earnings buying goods from Kroger. – 1930
Sunday, April 12, 2026
Important Events From This day in History April 12th
1954 USA "Rock Around the Clock"
1954: Bill Haley and the Comets, record "Rock Around the Clock" the song is released in May but is not a major chart hit, but in July 1955, after the song is used as the theme song for the movie Blackboard Jungle it goes to number 1 on the pop charts. Find More From What happened in 1954
1961 Soviet Union Yuri Gagarin First Man in Space
1961: The Soviet Union successfully launched the first man into space today taking the prize for "The First Man In Space". Yuri Gagarin , a 27-year-old air force major. He orbited the Earth in 1 hr 40 minutes. The next target is to put a man on the moon which the US achieves before the end of the decade.
1981 USA First Space Shuttle Columbia Launched
1981: The First of the US Space Shuttles Columbia was launched making way for mans continuing exploration of space.
1861 USA Attack on Fort Sumter
1861: The Confederate States attack Fort Sumter on This Day, 1861 which starts the Civil War.
1921 UK Coal Miners
1921: Coal Miners refuse to consider British Prime Ministers wage program , Miners are part of the Transport and General Workers and Railwayman's Union, and many are predicting bloodshed if the talks fail completely.
1934 USA Tax Returns
1934: Senate votes to make all income tax returns subject to public inspection in the hope of stopping Tax Dodging.
1939 USA Woody Herman
1939: Popular bandleader Woody Herman records the big band favorite "Woodchopper's Ball" with his orchestra.
1942 World War II
1942: Americans attack 4 Japanese invasion bases in retaliation for bombing of Pearl Harbor and British bombers distribute death and destruction on Rhineland in Germany.
1945 USA Franklin D. Roosevelt Dies
1945: After serving as U.S. president for 12 years, Franklin D. Roosevelt the 32nd president of the United States died from a massive cerebral hemorrhage at his retreat in Warm Springs, Georgia. Vice President Harry S. Truman became the President of the United States.
1955 USA Salk Vaccine Against Polio
1955: The Salk vaccine against Poliomyelitis commonly known as (Polio or Infantile Paralysis) was declared safe and effective. The vaccine works by inducing immunity by developing protective antibodies to polio.
1957 Egypt Suez Canal
1957: Following the opening up of the Suez Canal to international traffic President Nasser of Egypt has warned that any Israel ship entering the Canal will be sunk , and if any further attempt was made to break the oil embargo to Israel an embargo would be placed on oil to the west.
1966 North Atlantic Michelangelo
1966: Major Storm at sea takes 8 lives when the cruise ship Michelangelo was battered by 45 ft waves during a severe north Atlantic storm.
2006 Great Britain Terrorism Act 2006
2006: New laws have been made in Britain that will make it illegal to glorify terrorism and distribute terrorist publications. The Terrorism Act 2006 will ban groups or organizations that take part in these offences, and covers anyone who gives or receives training on them. Trespassing onto certain governmental sites will also be a terrorist offence. Human rights campaigners argue the law is drawn far too widely, and it is facing stiff opposition in the House of Lords.
2007 Kremlin Vetoes Inquiry into Gagarin’s Death
2007: The Kremlin has vetoed the launch of a fresh investigation into the death of Yuri Gagarin, in which aviation specialists have said that they've unraveled the mystery behind the first space traveler's death. Russia celebrates Cosmonauts' Day on April 12th, which is the anniversary of Gagarin's 1961 flight around the Earth. The cosmonaut died in a mysterious plane crash on March 27th, 1968 while on a routine training mission in a MiG-15 with his flight instructor. The official investigation that followed was hypothetical, and did not explain what happened to the flight, or why.
2009 Captain Richards Rescued From Pirates
2009: Captain Richards is held hostage by 3 Pirates on a lifeboat under tow by the USS Bainbridge (DDG-96) approximately 25 to 30 yards astern U.S. Navy SEAL marksmen open fire and kill the three pirates holding Captain Richard Phillips on the lifeboat and rescue him.
2009 Thailand State Of Emergency
2009: Following on from mass demonstrations at Government House and the nearby Royal Plaza by the evening in Bangkok on April 8th( 100,000 ) and further unrest in the streets over the next few days during the week-long Songkran (Thai New Year) holiday, Abhisit Vejjajiva declares a state of emergency in Bangkok and surrounding areas. On the 13th Thai soldiers in full combat kit used tear gas and live rounds from automatic weapons to clear protesters from the Din Daeng intersection near the Victory Monument in central Bangkok.
2009 Mexican Ambassador Accuses United States
2009: The U.S. Mexican ambassador has asked America to stop the flow of guns and cash into his country, saying that they fuel the country's drug wars. Arturo Sarukhan has said that the money provides the drug cartels with the means to "corrupt, bribe and kill." It has been reported that something like six thousand people died in 2008 from drug-related violence. The Mexican government believes the 90% of the weapons used have come from the United States.
2010 Washington Hosts Nuclear Security Summit
2010: World leaders, presidents, prime ministers and top officials from forty-seven countries, have arrived in Washington for a nuclear security summit. Barack Obama has warned world leaders of the problems of nuclear arms falling into the hands of extremists. He hopes that all nuclear materials will be made secure from theft or diversion within four years. The summit participants have issued a broad Communique that affirmed their dedication to preventing nuclear terrorism. During the summit Russia and the United States have agreed to dispose of some of their surplus weapons-grade plutonium under the deal that was signed at a nuclear summit in Washington. The deal asks for each side to dispose of 34 tons of the material. Moscow is to spend $2.5 billion on the program, with the U.S. contributing $400 million to the Russian disposal. Barack Obama has said that the participants had agreed to secure all the world's vulnerable nuclear material within four years.
2012 Connecticut Votes To End Death Penalty
2012: State legislators in the US state of Connecticut voted to repeal the death penalty in the state after a ten hour debate. The state's governor, Dannel Malloy, has said that he would sign the bill which would make Connecticut the seventeenth state to end the death penalty.
2013 Japanese Car Makers Recall Vehicles
2013: Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mazda announced that they would be recalling a total of 3.4 million vehicles worldwide due to a defective part in airbags. The vehicles were sold between 2000 and 2004 and some of the models affected included the Toyota Yaris and Corolla, Honda CRV and Civic and others.
2013 French Senate Approves Gay Marriage
2013: France's Senate voted in favor of legalizing gay marriage in the country. To become law in the country it would still need approval with a final vote in the country's lower house. The law is expected to pass despite the several protests against gay marriage in the country.
2014 Japan Official Visits Shrine
2014: A visit by the Japanese internal affairs minister, Yoshitaka Shindo, to the Yasukuni shrine angered officials in China and South Korea. The shrine honors Japan's dead soldiers, including war criminals. Shindo stated that he visited the shrine to pray for peace. Visits to the Yasukuni shrine by Japanese officials almost always draws criticism from China and South Korea who do not believe that Japan has done enough to recognize atrocities committed by the country during World War II.
Today in Labor History April 12, 2026
%20(1)%20(1)%20(1).jpeg)
Florence Reece
A group of “puddlers”, craftsmen who manipulate pig iron to create steel, met in a Pittsburgh bar and formed The Iron City Forge of the Sons of Vulcan. It was the strongest union in the U.S. in the 1870s, later merging with two other unions to form what was to be the forerunner of the United Steel Workers. – 1858
Florence Reece, an activist in the Harlan County, Kentucky coal strikes, and author of the song Which Side Are You On? was born on this date. The song was written in 1931 during a UMW strike in which sheriff Blair led a gang of thugs in a rampage, beating and murdering union leaders. Florence wrote the song on an old wall calendar while her home was being ransacked by Blair’s goons. – 1900
Which Side Are You On?
Come all of you good workers
Good news to you I’ll tell
Of how that good old union
Has come in here to dwell
Good news to you I’ll tell
Of how that good old union
Has come in here to dwell
Chorus
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?
Which side are you on?
My daddy was a miner
And I’m a miner’s son
And I’ll stick with the union
Till every battle’s won
And I’m a miner’s son
And I’ll stick with the union
Till every battle’s won
They say in Harlan County
There are no neutrals there
You’ll either be a union man
Or a thug for J.H. Blair
There are no neutrals there
You’ll either be a union man
Or a thug for J.H. Blair
Oh, workers can you stand it?
Oh, tell me how you can
Will you be a lousy scab
Or will you be a man?
Oh, tell me how you can
Will you be a lousy scab
Or will you be a man?
Don’t scab for the bosses
Don’t listen to their lies
Us poor folks haven’t got a chance
Unless we organize
Don’t listen to their lies
Us poor folks haven’t got a chance
Unless we organize
The Union Label and Service Trades Department was founded by the American Federation of Labor. Its mission was to promote the products and services of union members. – 1909
Attempting to relieve striking pickets at the Garfield, New Jersey mill of Forstmann and Huffmann, twenty “girl millworkers were beaten when they did not move fast enough to suit” thirty special deputies who ordered them off the site, according to a news report. – 1912
Chris Turner was born in Floyd, Virginia. He went on to become a NASCAR driver and attempted, along with Fireball Roberts and Tim Flock, to organize the other drivers into a union in 1961 in the hope of better purses, a share in broadcasting rights and retirement benefits for the drivers. He was banned by NASCAR and was unsuccessful when he sued for reinstatement. The court said he was an individual contractor, not an employee of NASCAR or any track. – 1924
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 vote, upheld the Wagner Act in a series of decisions involving five separate cases. The most significant was probably the case involving Jones & Laughlin Steel Company, in which Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes wrote the majority decision approving the Wagner Act as falling under the Congress’ constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce. The Wagner Act, also known as the National Labor Relations Act, created the structure for collective bargaining in the United States. – 1937
Saturday, April 11, 2026
Saturday Morning in the Blogosphere
Why local media advertising got harder to sell - E&P Reports
Meet E&P’s 2026 Tomorrow’s News Trailblazers - E&P Magazine
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
Posts
