Update: We still haven't been able to crack 30% in our desperate attempt to save Newstalgia from going away and the archive (from which everything you hear comes) from being destroyed. It's serious. I am completely in gratitude and sincere appreciation to those who have donated so far to keep us alive, but we still need a lot more help. With some 8 days to go before eviction and signing off for good, we need your help. Please keep Newstalgia going and offering history as you probably won't hear anywhere else. Anything you can do to help out is more than gratefully appreciated. No matter how much you're willing to give - it all makes a difference. Please consider making a donation, for whatever amount - large or small. We can get there but only if you help. Please help save Newstalgia from extinction.

A busy day in the world, this April 24th in 1998. Fourteen years ago on this day you probably woke up and heard the news that Boris Yeltsin, after a month of political wrangling and arm-twisting, finally succeeded in installing his pick for Prime Minister, Sergei Kiriyenko. Opposed by the Communist minority in the Russian Parliament, Kiriyenko was touted by Yeltsin as part of his plan for economic rejuvenation of the sagging Russian economy.

In other parts of the world. A festive atmosphere greeted the public execution of the first four convicted of perpetrators of the horrific genocide in Rwanda. The Soccer Stadium in Kigali filled to capacity to witness the firing squad take aim at the three men and one woman who were part of wave of mass killings that had gone on for so long in the beleaguered African nation.

With the recent death of James Earl Ray, convicted assassin of Martin Luther King, plans were still underway to open an investigation on the murder of the Civil Rights leader. Despite a 1978 Senate Subcommittee hearing that concluded Ray acted alone, there was pressing evidence that Ray had been funded by a group of St. Louis bigots who reportedly offered Ray $50,000.00 for the assassination.

Mergers and Unions in the Airline Industry were big news on this day. With talk of a merger between United and Delta Airlines, promises of a potential windfall, similar to the promises of a windfall from the previous days merger of American Airlines and U.S. Airways had many expressing doubts about how much of a windfall this really was and an investigation of this new merger was called for.

Meanwhile, over at Northwest Airlines - The labor dispute was deepening with Northwest reportedly firing two mechanics, one for wearing a clown costume to work, and suspending four others for a reported work slowdown at its Minneapolis hub. Six other unions were prepping for a confrontation with stockholders and NWO's annuan meeting in New York. A federal mediator called for resumption of talks before the ugliness got started.

Whitewater figure Susan McDougal was sitting it out in a Little Rock jail on this day, as the result of refusing to answer questions for the Grand Jury hearing.

The cost of Health Insurance premiums were going to be going up, with a reported increase of as much as 15% in some cases.

The Senate narrowly approved legislation on Tax-free savings accounts for school expenses. President Clinton threatened a veto.

And daughter of OJ Simpson, Arnell was arrested for Drunk Driving in Beverly Hills.

Some day.

That and lots more via the CBS World News Roundup for a Friday, April 24th, 1998.

Update: Thanks to everyone who donated, we've hit our goal and we've saved the Archive. The Lien is off, the locks are back on and I can breathe a momentary sigh of relief. It's been a nail-biter and frankly, I think I've aged several years these past two weeks. But it's been your help, your kindness and your belief in what Newstalgia has been trying to do that has made all the difference and has energized my spirit and renewed my faith that there really is an audience out there for this kind of material. At four years, Newstalgia has only scratched the surface, and with your help and encouragement, there will be many more days months and hopefully years of relevant, pertinent and occasionally wacko historic material to offer. I'll be here as long as you're here. Thank you - thank you everyone.

This May 2nd in 1979 saw Britain on overload during the last day of campaigning just before the election. Projected to win, via recent polls, was incumbent Prime Minister James Callahan and the Labour Party. Dropping in the polls and not expected to win was challenger Margaret Thatcher and her Conservative Party. The last day of criss-crossing Britain, Thatcher promised that, if elected she would clamp down on the power of Labor Unions. Harbinger of things to come, for sure. But on this day, Callahan was expected to remain in power and the Thatcher promises were regarded as empty threats.

Not such empty threats was the assassination of Ayatullah Motahari in Tehran. A newly discovered group calling themselves Forghan claimed responsibility. The group, it was thought, was purported to be made up of supporters of The Shah and promised a lot more.

Seven bombs went off in and around Paris overnight. No injuries or loss of life, but the perps remained a mystery.

The United Nations flag was flying over Pyongyang for the first time since anyone could remember. It signified a visit from UN Secretary Kurt Waldheim for talks regarding unification of the two Koreas.

And speaking of talks - discussions on the trade imbalance between the U.S. and Japan got underway between President Jimmy Carter and visiting Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira.

In other Capitol Hill news - President Carter was readying to announce his replacement for Army Chief of Staff General Rogers, who was leaving to replace Gen. Alexander Haig as NATO Commander in Europe.

The endless War on Drugs was heating up again. This time in Southern Floria where it was announced 14 people were so far under indictment for Drug Smuggling in Miami with many more to come.

Boston Pops Icon Arthur Fiedler celebrated his 50th season with the orchestra in a gala celebration.

And John Wayne was back in the hospital with a not-so-good prognosis.

All this and much more via The CBS World News Roundup for May 2, 1979.

Update: Looking grim. Donations have been slowing down the last 24 hours and that's not a good sign for keeping either Newstalgia online or saving the archive from destruction. There is still some time, and you can still make a difference. I need your help. Give what you can, but please try and give something. I'm not making any money off of this for myself, it's all for keeping Newstalgia going and keeping the Archives together. We're getting down to the wire and there's still time left to help. Please do what you can and my sincere thanks and gratitude to those who have donated so far. We can still do this. You can still make a difference.

News on this day in 1945 was entirely about the historic linkup of Soviet and Western-Allied forces at the Elbe River, effectively cutting Germany in half and sealing the fate of Hitler's "Thousand year Reich". It would be a matter of days, and with bulletins racing in, with reports cutting in and flying on top of each other, it was clear the war in Europe would be over soon. Still, there was caution, and it was stressed over and over in the course of the newscasts that this was not to be considered the end of the war in Europe. Fighting was still intense. With overwhelming numbers of displaced, refugees and former Nazi officials fleeing to safety managing to clog the roads leading to Berlin.

As the reports kept coming in, the later bulletins placed Russian troops, within blocks of the Chancery in Berlin, seizing the Deutches Bank building. So there were conflicting reports with some saying the allies were 75 miles away from the heart of Berlin, and later reports of fighting going on in the streets of Berlin. No one knew for sure and Allied censorship of news reports made it difficult to get an accurate picture of just far along everything was going.

And that's what the news sounded like from 11:00pm-12:00 midnight via NBC and WEAF in New York for April 27th, 1945.

Update: As of yesterday, there have been no new donations. This translates as terrible and there is a very real chance both Newstalgia and the Archive from which all these posts come will disappear. Thousands of hours of historic audio, photos and historic papers will cease to exist. That sounds dire, because it is. I need your help. I can't do it alone. I can no longer afford to. Right now, we stand at a little less than half our bare-bones minimum goal of $5,000.00 in order to keep Newstalgia and the Archives afloat. If you can help, make a donation for any amount you are comfortable with. Every dollar and every penny is crucial in chipping away at this emergency. Please donate what you can. It is desperately needed right now. You can make a difference.

A curious mix of optimism and pessimism for this week, ending on April 26th in 1964.

On the optimistic side - President Johnson announced to the world that the U.S. would make substantial reductions in Nuclear Weapons and Uranium enrichment production. Simultaneously, it was announced by Nikita Khruschev via Radio Moscow, that the Soviet Union would do the same thing. The news was greeted with a sense of relief and UN General Secretary U Thant offered an evaluation on what was deemed a hopeful sign towards an easing of Cold War tensions.

On the Pessimistic side - tensions were brewing between the U.S. and Cuba as Cuban Premier Fidel Castro vowed to down any U.S. Reconnaissance planes flying over Cuban territory as it had been doing since 1962.

On the optimistic side - Sec. of State Dean Rusk returned from a fact-finding mission to Saigon and offered an upbeat assessment of the situation in Vietnam, saying the South Vietnamese Army could handle themselves nicely.

On the Pessimistic side - Defense Secretary Robert McNamara conceded it will "take time" for any progress to be made in Vietnam and that the South Vietnamese Army is running a defensive strategy rather than an offensive one. Oh well.

Meanwhile - the four year long negotiations between the Railroads and the Unions was finally at the settlement stage. And just in the nick of time, as the settlement averted a threatened strike.

President Johnson went on a brief tour of the Appalachia region, hitting the towns and cities worst hit by poverty and unemployment, touting his War on Poverty legislation. He was greeted with waves of enthusiasm.

Not so enthusiastic were reports from Capitol Hill saying the 1964 Civil Rights Bill was at a standstill, making the future unclear for passage of the Legislation.

And the much publicized "Stall-ins", threatened for Opening day of the New York Worlds Fair on April 22nd, didn't materialize. But that didn't stop some 300 Civil Rights demonstrators from being arrested from the Fair opening anyway.

All this in one week, ending on April 26th 1964, as reported on the ABC Radio Voices In The Headlines program.

With a burst of support from so many of you overnight, we've been able to reach 1/3 of our goal. I can't tell you what this means to me and to the continuation of Newstalgia. We still have a ways to go, but our goal is in sight. And thanks to the incredible outpouring of donations and kind words from all of you, we're able to slowly get there. We can make it - and with your help we will. Any amount is gratefully appreciated. No matter what you may think is an insignificant amount, it's huge to us right now. I cannot thank you enough for your support. And if you haven't made a donation yet, and are able to (I know these times are rough - if they weren't, I wouldn't be asking for your support), please consider any amount in order to keep Newstalgia alive and keep the Archives (from which all these posts come from) from disappearing. With your help, we can do it.

Since April 23rd in 1979 also came on a Monday, it was the start to what promised to be a busy week for Jimmy Carter, and for Capitol Hill in general.

First off - with Carter back at the White House from his 11 day Easter vacation, he was gearing up for the onslaught of cameras and microphones as he went into lobbying mode for this Windfall Profits Tax and SALT Treaty legislation. SALT was thought to be a hard sell because of the verification agreement in the Treaty. While the Windfall Profits Tax proposal, aimed at the Oil Producers, had a "wait and see" cloud hanging over it. Obviously a welcome piece of legislation from the voters, there was "Big Oil" to deal with, and that could pose a big problem.

Meanwhile - as Congress came back from Easter recess, the Senate were gearing up for testimony from Pennsylvania Governor Dick Thornburgh and others over the recent 3-Mile Island Nuclear Power plant disaster. Looking for answers amid a sea of finger pointing. Also at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearings was more testimony regarding the SALT Treaty and questions over CIA Chief Stansfield Turner's appearance at the Hearings, resulting in Carter's blast of Turner for leaks an distortions during his previous testimony.

On the Union front - Negotiations resumed between the Machinists Union and United Airlines, attempting to end a strike that got started late March. Also pending was a tentative agreement between Teamsters and the Steel industry.

In the rest of the world - Heavy fighting was reported in Cambodia with an estimated 40,000 civilians and fleeing troops loyal to Pol Pot fleeing over the border to Thailand. The Thai government were tight-lipped and clamped a black-out on Press inquiries.

Senator Frank Church, while visiting Tokyo, warned the Japanese government that a strong feeling of Protectionism was brewing in the U.S. over the trade imbalances between Japan and the U.S.

Deposed Ugandan Dictator Idi Amin turned up in Iraq, flying in from Libya, presumably seeking asylum in Baghdad.

And flooding continued in Mississippi, with protests launched at the Feds for the reported 7% interest rate being handed flood-ravaged victims.

And on and on it went, that Monday April 23rd in 1979. As reported on the CBS World News Roundup.

Update: With your donations, since yesterday, we've hit the 3/4 mark in our goal to keep Newstalgia up and running and keep the archives from being lost. It's been an amazing outpouring of love and support so far. We're so close -- just a quarter more to go and we will have succeeded! I continue to be humbled and and in awe of all your support and all your kindness. When I say every penny counts, no matter what, it really does. So many of you have come in with $1.00 donations, and they all add up and they all make a difference - they always make a difference. We're almost there - we need that extra push to get us over the top. I know we can do it, and with your help, we can. Any amount you feel comfortable with - it all helps. We're doing it. It's happening. You're making it happen. You are beyond amazing!

Twenty years ago this day, and by the look at the time of this post, almost exactly twenty years ago to this hour, the verdict was read in the infamous police beating of motorist Rodney King and the result was the bloodiest and most destructive insurrection of the 1990's.

After a trial that went on for weeks and jury deliberation that went on for days, the four LAPD officers were acquitted in the use of deadly force against an unarmed motorist. The reaction was swift, vocal and ultimately violent - and it lasted for days.

Here is the first hour, just moments after the verdicts were read via KNX-AM in Los Angeles. From the official sector comes a press conference reaction from Mayor Tom Braddley and a few minutes later, reaction from Police Chief Darryl Gates, who pretty much sums up the problem by his attitude. Between are reactions from Civic leaders, Civil rights leaders and the average innocent bystander. The broadcast ends just as violence erupts in South Central with first reports of looting and gunshots.

The rest, as they say, is history

Update: We're slowly chipping away at the emergency, even though we haven't gotten very past the 1/3 mark. There's still a long ways to go and not much time left. My grateful thanks to those of you who have donated over night. Your help is appreciated beyond my words to convey it. If we had a few more like you, we'd be out of the woods and we could get back to normal. Unfortunately, when you have the loss of your website facing you, the loss of the archive that this website completely relies on for its daily posts facing you, it's hard to think of anything beyond raising enough money to keep disaster at bay. So won't you please consider making a donation in order to keep Newstalgia alive? Any amount is desperately needed, no matter how paltry you may think it is - every penny and every dollar goes in to chip away at the emergency. And every penny and every dollar helps. We can make this happen, but I need your help.

This day in 1941 was staring at the 600th since that ominous overture to Poland in 1939. And in that time, Europe was engulfed in a series of invasions, surrenders and daily desperation.

From London came word that German bombing raids over Britain the previous night were mostly confined to the Southeast and Northeast of England, but casualties were reported to be small. It was also the second successive night London went without a raid alarm.

The RAF retaliated with attacks on targets throughout occupied Europe.

The Free French Island of Tahiti declared itself on the side of DeGaulle.

There were unconfirmed yet persistent reports that Athens had fallen to the Germans and that Greece was in danger of being a lost Allied cause.

From Berlin came news that the previous nights address by Charles Lindbergh of the America First Committee at Madison Square Garden in New York drew praise in the German press, fueling speculation that maybe America would not get involved in the War after all.

Hitler concluded talks with Hungarian leaders in the wake of preparing German plans for the occupied Balkan region. Japanese Foreign Minister Matsuoka returned to Tokyo, armed with assurances and a renewed alliance with Berlin. Rumors that Germany was planning a move to Spain and Portugal were shrugged off as British propaganda, despite credible reports that some 2,500 German operatives posing as "tourists" were roaming the streets of Madrid.

It was also learned that German brewers were considering the idea of "light beer" to go with calls from the government to curb alcohol use, even though they hadn't even entered the experimental stage yet. And shortages were turning into rationing of cigarettes and cigars, in the wake of government calls to ban tobacco, which was deemed not such a good thing from a morale point of view.

And back in the U.S. - Secretary of State Cordell Hull called for renewed support of Britain in their fight against the axis and to support Lend-Lease.

All on this day in April, 1941 as reported by NBC and it's News Of The World.

June 15, 1995 - a day where priorities in news coverage got tested. Beginning with news that the long-anticipated and much-dreaded Battle of Sarajevo had begun caused and that NATO forces were in that uncomfortable place of being peacekeeper and defender all at the same time. It would prove to be Topic-A in conversation at the upcoming G-7 Summit, which President Clinton was heading for on this day.

News also, with reference to G-7, of the threatened trade war between Japan and the U.S., mostly centered around the newly-imposed 100% tariff on imported Japanese Cars into the U.S.

A rescue effort was underway in Greece, which had suffered a 6.1 earthquake overnight and a growing list of casualties from collapsed buildings was reported.

But the biggest news, the news that occupied the most "air-time" on this broadcast, was the reported first interview with Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley on the occasion of the release of Jackson's latest album HIStory in which he answers allegations of Child molestation and the controversy surrounding anti-Semitic lyrics.

Buried in the rest of the news was report of the Senate, set to vote on a sweeping overhaul of Telecommunications Laws, in effect for over 50 years, and deregulation of Cable TV.

Also in there were reports of the continuing Timothy McVeigh/Oklahoma City Bombing and OJ Simpson murder trials.

And last, but not least - news on the Houston Rockets clinch of the NBA title in a 113-101 win over the Orlando Magic. Something they went nuts over in Houston.

And that's pretty much what happened, and what you may not have noticed amidst the noise of Pop Culture, on this June 15, 1995 as reported on The CBS World News Roundup.

News for this day in 1942 covered the war on a number of fronts.

Reports from London told of intense fighting in North Africa, with German forces aiming at Tobruk in Libya. Several thousand more U.S. troops landed in Northern Ireland with reports of no submarine attacks en route. The U.S. Army introduced the new design of helmet, abandoning the old one used during World War 1. News was also reported of the signing of the Anglo-Russian pact.

From neutral Stockholm came sparse reports from the Eastern Front, but word of Russian attacks on Sebastopol and Kharkov in an attempt to drive the German army out of the area were revealed.

From New York and Washington it was learned that the Japanese had landed on Kiska in the Aleutian Islands. It was viewed as a face-saving measure by Tokyo in lieu of the crippling loses from the battles of Midway and The Coral Sea, even though the Aleutian Islands were not viewed as an important strategic gain. Still, it made for a propaganda tool, as it meant the Japanese had landed in North America.

This day in 1942 also marked the 43rd anniversary of Gen. Douglas MacArthur's entry into West Point and much was made of the promise by MacArthur to return to The Philippines. It was also announced that, as of midnight, a huge rubber drive was inaugurated and everyone in the U.S. was urged to turn in rubber goods for the war effort. Today also marked the inauguration of V-Mail.

And that's what happened on this June 13th in 1942 as reported by NBC's News Of The World.

News on this day in 1940 was anything but hopeful for the Allies. It was reported the German Army had crossed the Seine River at several points and was heading to Paris. Despite resistance from The French Army the Germans were making gains and were poised to take Rheims and the Argonne. Simultaneously, the Luftwaffe had been making repeated bombing raids on French harbors including Le Havre. As for Italian involvement in the French action, the heavily censored reports from Berlin stated the Italian Army really wasn't necessary at this point.

Reports from London told of at least 6 Italian Air Force raids so far on the British island of Malta. In retaliation, the RAF staged counter-attack raids on Italian bases in Africa, destroying a number of planes on the ground and bombing airfields. Also from London was a report by the wife of New York Times Editor James Reston on why she, and many other Americans were now leaving the War Zone, and that nerves were on edge over the sea journey back to the States.

On the subject of ships, while the broadcast was on, it was reported that President Roosevelt had just signed the Neutrality Pact on shipping in the Mediterranean and that American ships were told not to deliver goods to ports in the region, aside from those of Spain and Portugal, which faced the Atlantic.

News from France, again heavily censored, told of the French government relocating to the city of Tours and that refugees were streaming out of Paris by the thousands.

An updated bulletin towards the end of the newscast gave an update on the Neutrality Pact signing.

All in all, a nail-biting day in history as reported on this June 11, 1940 by the NBC Blue Network News Of The World.