News for this June 22nd in 1941 had everything to do with the sudden Declaration of War by Germany to Russia, setting up an invasion and opening up what was to be known as "The Eastern Front".

News was coming in so fast that NBC, and most other networks, announced they would suspend all their regular programming and devote themselves entirely to the news of the moment. And flustered announcers and analysts rushed to their microphones to deliver breathless updates, sometimes forgetting they were on the air, and other times delivering news off the tops of their heads, without aid of a script.

So here is a one-hour snapshot of that day in history, where very little else went on for June 22, 1941 as heard live over the combined networks of NBC.

October 4, 1973 was loaded with news about the Watergate Scandal. News about the break-in continued to unfold, and as more news unfolded more revelations came to the surface. On this particular October 4th it was the revelation that the Florida Attorney General uncovered evidence the Republicans had installed bugging devices at the Democratic National Headquarters during the 1972 Convention in Miami and that the buggings took place a month after the Watergate burglars were caught. Watergate Co-conspirator James McCord vehemently denied having anything to do with it - but evidence was piling up to prove otherwise.

Also going on this day (as if anyone was noticing), Lt. William Calley made yet another appeal to overturn his conviction in the My Lai Massacre case.

A very busy day via NBC Nightly News with John Chancellor and David Brinkley.

This day in 1939 was uneasy and with good reason. It was announced a non-aggression pact had been signed in Moscow between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, clearing the way for an invasion of Poland and a Soviet invasion of Finland (implied though not stated).

Here are two separate shortwave newscasts, both in English. One from Radio Berlin (top player) and the other from Paris Radio (bottom player) from August 24, 1939. Slightly before on-the-spot coverage, the newscasts are confined to amazingly low-key reports with lots of paper shuffling. The German reports are sprinkled with numerous anti-Polish sentiments and all around, you wouldn't necessarily suspect war would be breaking out in a matter of days.

The French news is a little difficult to hear at times, but the flavor and intent are still apparent. Both reports end rather abruptly with no hint of alarm or urgings to stay tuned for further developments. Just silence.

History on a matter-of-fact basis for this August 24th.

As the story continues, rebel forces are in (as of this moment: 2:30 pm PDT) 80% control of Tripoli. Still dealing with pockets of resistance from pro-Gaddafi forces it seems likely these will fall within the coming hours.

New questions arise as to just what will happen next. There is a degree of pessimism over fears of revenge and how this may be the harbinger of a bigger civil war among the various tribes in the region. For the moment though, there is optimism and a sense that another repressive regime has been toppled. Still, there is no word as to where Gaddafi is, but I suspect that question will be answered by this time tomorrow.

In the meantime, here is a recap of the news as it was developing this morning via the BBC World Service with a flood of eyewitness accounts on the ground as it was happening.

More history, picking it up as we go along.

News for this day in August of 1995 was doubtful at best. Under the guise of "maneuvers" American tanks massed on the border of Jordan and Iraq as a show of force to Saddam Hussein, lest he got any more ideas about Kuwait. Bosnian Peace talks were on-going with Goradze being the topic of conversation. The hostage drama in Kashmir regarding a group of Western tourists was ramped up with a rescue plan in the works. In another part of the region, the body of Himalayan mountain climber Alison Hargreaves was discovered after she had been reported missing for several days when sudden bad weather hit the area where she was attempting an ascent on K2.

Meanwhile, Back in the States - Judge Lance Ito postponed hearings in the OJ Simpson trial in order to review and to figure out how to handle the hours of racial epithets flying out of the Ron Fuhrman tapes before releasing them to the jury. A sweep of illegal Aliens in a meat packing plant in Nebraska netted surprising results. Former Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker was facing a fresh set of indictments in the White Water fishing expedition with suspicions of political motives and a "back door move" to President Clinton on everyone's minds. First Female Cadet at The Citadel Shannon Faulkner was still in Sick Bay, after collapsing from exhaustion. Convicted killer Sylvester Adams was executed for his role in the strangulation murder of a 16 year-old neighbor. Appeals that the condemned killer was mentally incapable of pre-meditation went unheeded. The Interstate 880 Sniper was arrested. And Hurricane Felix was looking less and less of a threat with each hour.

Just another day. Just like any other day. All via The CBS World News Roundup for August 18, 1995.

August 3rd 1948 - a day loaded with contrasts. The Berlin Airlift was cause for a lot of people, world leaders especially, to wonder if another war was in the offing. Closed door sessions were held over the looming crisis. In London they were celebrating another day of new records being set in the first Olympic Games since before the war. Meanwhile, rumors were circulating over whether or not Joseph Stalin was really in charge or held hostage by the Politburo. In Washington, the Red Scare was alive and well and taking up residence at the Whitacker Chambers Hearings. Chambers was busy rattling off names of "fellow travelers" including Alger Hiss and claiming a Red Underground was actively running the State Department. Accusations of Communist sympathy were also directed towards economist William W. Remington and his alleged relation with purported Red Spy Elizabeth Bentley. Remington gave spirited testimony and invoked his generations long relationship with the Republican Party, which brought waves of laughter from the Hearing room. And despite all the Red Scare, Red Baiting and rhetoric associated with the Cold War, it was disclosed the U.S. was still actively involved in trade with the Soviet Union. So the subtext became "we hate you, but we love your money".

And so it went on August 3rd 1948 via NBC Radio's News Of The World.

On the one hand, this day was like most other August days. Congress held a 17 hour session and finally passed Tax legislation which included a huge tax reduction in oil profits helped with the participation of defecting Southern Democrats (we call them Blue Dogs now). And on the other hand, we were about to witness the first grand scale Union Busting in the form of PATCO and the now-famous Air-Traffic Controllers Strike. On this particular August 1st it was a Saturday, and all members were slated to hit the picket lines come Monday morning, unless some 11th hour negotiation proved successful.

In other news, the ongoing Hunger Strike of IRA members in Belfast's Maze Prison was taking an ominous toll, with one death reported and several other hunger strikers perilously close. Pope John Paul II, still recovering from wounds associated with his assassination attempt, had cleared another hurdle by successfully beating back a viral infection as the result of surgery.

Just another August 1st in history. Remarkably the same while strangely different.

August 1, 1981 as told by the CBS World News Roundup with Neil Strawser.