(Within minutes almost the entire Polish government was wiped out)

Breaking news this morning - As reported by BBC World Service:

President Lech Kaczynski and scores of other senior Polish figures have been killed in a plane crash in Russia.

Polish and Russian officials said no-one survived after the plane apparently hit trees as it approached Smolensk airport in thick fog.

Russian media reports said the pilots ignored advice from air traffic control to divert to another airport.

Poland's army chief, central bank governor, MPs and leading historians were among more than 80 passengers.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the crash was the most tragic event of the country's post-World War II history.

The Polish delegation was flying in from Warsaw to mark the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre of thousands of Poles by Soviet forces during WWII.

(Stunned Silence)

And news of the tragedy as it was heard over Polski Radio 1 (in Polish) earlier this morning.

April 10, 1979, and if you were living in the infamous Mid-West belt known as "Tornado Alley" you'd be dazed and counting your blessings that you weren't one of the 59 who lost their lives in this worst series of Tornadoes to hit the area in years.

And if you were on the other side of the planet, around Kampala Uganda, and you were Idi Amin, you'd be planning your escape in the wake of advancing troops from Tanzania, who were spelling the end of your regime.

That's the kind of day it was.

If you were a Union Trucker, you'd be looking at a tentative settlement in one of the longest strikes in history, and if you were a Steel Worker your employment would still be hanging in the balance.

In other news on this day - Israel's Menachem Begin did a personal reach-out to Egypt's Anwar Sadat in the form of a phone call to discuss points in the Peace Plan. Iran was busy executing 13 more of its citizens by firing squad on charges ranging from murder to "warring against God".

In the aftermath of the 3-Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant disaster, tests for radioactive contamination in the area around the reactor turned up negative, which spelled some relief for anxious residents.

And after 41 days of testimony, the infamous Marvin vs. Marvin case was heading off to the jury.

All that, and a bunch more for this day, via the CBS World News Roundup and the 9:00 am (West Coast) News for April 10, 1979.