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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.

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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.

A particularly grim day in 1940. Starting with news reports that France had appointed delegates to receive the German surrender terms. From the relocated French government in Bordeaux, Marshall Petain appealed to the French people, and the remaining French troops, to give up the War, that France had been defeated.

And while the appeals were going out and the envoys were readying to receive terms, the German Army were quickly advancing on all fronts, taking the important French Port city of Brest and the rumored capture of numerous French warships. What was left of the French Army had been separated into four areas and cut off from communication with each other. The German Army was also poised to take Paris.

All this had an uneasy affect on London, as it was reported that emergency cabinet meetings had taken place and plans for the defense of Britain were underway. Among those plans was the initial evacuation of some 20,000 children to Canada and the Dominions for the duration. The first ships were scheduled to convoy out in 2 weeks and offices handing the evacuation requests were flooded with applicants. It was widely believed that, now with the fall of France, Britain was facing Germany's Final Objective. German Bomber raids overnight hit the industrial cities of Billingham and Hull. The fires from Billingham could be seen for 30 miles. Reports from Berlin claimed they were reprisal bombings for British raids on German cities.

News from Washington initially came in the form of a bulletin that stated FDR made a surprising motion to form a Coalition Cabinet and the unprecedented move of appointing two high-ranking Republicans, Col. Frank Knox and Henry L. Stimson to the posts of Secretary of The Navy and Secretary of War, respectively. Knox was vice-Presidential Candidate for the Republicans in 1936 and Stimson was Secretary of State in the Hoover Administration and Secretary of War in the Taft Administration. The dismay came from the Republicans who felt it created damage to their 1940 Platform and it was purely a political move on FDR's part.

Another nail-biting day in history, this June 20, 1940, as reported on the NBC News Of The World.

Ironically, today, May 30th was Memorial Day in 1942. Anything but a holiday where war was concerned.

Word from London was the arrival and settling in of U.S. troops in Northern Ireland; the first leg of the journey that would eventually lead to Invasion of Europe. Reports as of this day claimed the troops were well behaved and everyone in Belfast seemed to like them. Not so much with the IRA though. As it was also reported those elements of the organization, sympathetic to Germany, were routinely reporting troop arrivals to the German Embassy in Dublin, causing a security concern.

Meanwhile, RAF bombers were busy striking at munitions factories outside Paris, as well as raids on Cherbourg and Dieppe, in addition to air strikes at industrial centers in Germany. Fighting in the Libyan desert was escalating with news of British advances in the region.

Reports from Moscow told of the first shipments of U.S. tanks being put to work almost immediately on the Eastern Front.

From the Pacific. Reports out of Australia concerned recent air attacks on Japanese ships outside Port Moresby and talk about a drastic change in priorities of supply shipping.

And it was disclosed that recent British cargo shipments, dodging enemy submarine and air attacks, were carrying such "essentials" as costume jewelry, golf balls and party favors. The Americans didn't fare much better as it was revealed one shipment arrived in Australia carrying some 70 tons of nothing but bottled soft-drinks. The heavily censored report went on to say that one General, dismayed over the soft-drink fiasco, said it would have been much better had the 70 tons been of ammunition instead. Priorities were still skewed at this still-early stage of the War.

In Washington - since it was a holiday, there was little Capitol Hill news to report, aside from reports that it was no holiday for Defense Plant workers and that production was going at full-speed. It was also noted that Congress was anticipated to be getting closer to abandoning draft deferments for Married men and that they would be in the mix along with everyone else of draftable age shortly.

And that was the story on this Memorial Day (May 30) in 1942, as reported on the Blue Networks World News Roundup.

This day in 1982 was about shooting wars. British troops landed on The Falkland Islands and the shooting war started. Amid reports of casualties and both sides claiming the upper hand, the propaganda wheels were in motion. The diplomatic wheels however were not, and even though Pope John Paul II appealed to Britain to show restraint and seek a peaceful solution, Margaret Thatcher said "thanks, but no thanks". And the war was on.

Likewise in the Middle East, only this time it was Iran who boasted major gains in territory over the Iraqi's, but it didn't look as though this thing would be over anytime soon. Terrorist bombs went off in Beirut, this time at the French Embassy and with scores of casualties.

Meanwhile, in other parts of the world. Successor to the ailing Leonid Brezhnev was looking more and more like Yuri Andropov, head of the Secret Police.

On Capitol Hill - Pres. Reagan's Fiscal spending plan for 1983 goes to battle at the House. Reagan also pushed for The Department of Energy to be merged with the Department of Commerce. The Supreme Court ruled people on Nixon's Enemies list did not need to be revealed. The Abortion question was also back on the docket, this time via State's rulings on abortions.

The DeLorean Auto plant in Ireland was ordered closed by the Irish government, citing no buyers in the foreseeable future.

All that, and a lot more on this May 24th in 1982 from the CBS World News Roundup and the 9:00 am (PDT) network news.

The news on this May 10th in 1940 was totally consumed with the goings on in Europe. The German Army staged a massive invasion of the Benelux countries (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg) and the airwaves were filled with bulletins flying in every few seconds. It was also, coincidentally, the day Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigned from Number 10 Downing Street and former First Lord of The Admiralty Winston Churchill assumed the position.

No small task, considering there were rumors rife of an imminent invasion of Britain and citizens were warned to be on the lookout for German paratroopers.

Here is an hour, almost continuous, of news reports and bulletins as they occurred via NBC and the BBC, containing both the resignation address of Chamberlain and an urgent appeal for aid from Dutch Foreign Minister John Loudon to the U.S.

Strange and unsettling times, and all on May 10th in 1940.

News on this day in 1941 was grim for the Balkans. As of 9:00 pm the previous night, the Yugoslav Army signed surrender terms with Germany, ending Yugoslavia's defense against German invasion and ending Yugoslavia. The surrender was carried out by the remaining Yugoslav military leaders, acting on behalf of King Peter, whose whereabouts was unknown. Berlin then announced a New Order for the Balkans would be announced soon and all eyes were on Greece, which was next in line and continuing the resistance.

But the war went on in other parts of Europe. RAF bombers staged another raid on Germany, hitting targets in Berlin and, it was later revealed, targets in Cologne and the occupied Dutch city of Rotterdam. 8 British planes were lost and it was the first time the new Sterling Bomber was used in raids.

While downplaying damage reports, the Germans staged their own raids on Britain, primarily hitting port cities.

Public opinion in Britain was running against the Government's handling of the War so far. Most Britons felt the problem lay on the Political/Diplomatic side with the "wait-until-attacked" policy having disastrous results, and what was needed was an overall Aggressive/Offensive Policy.

Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill - it was learned a number of Senators were using their influence to try and get draft deferments for their sons and constituents with most claiming family members being actively involved in important defense work. It wasn't sitting well with the public and many were called out for their actions.

The Soft Coal miner's strike was continuing. The Senate commenced arguments on the Vincent Bill which would legally prevent unions from going on strike in the Defense Industry. And a heated argument was anticipated over the newly introduced Convoy Bill and our increasing participation in the European conflict.

And that's what happened on this particular April 18th in 1941 as reported by the NBC News Of The World.

News for this day in 1940 was all about the deteriorating situation in Norway and the reaction on both sides of the Atlantic to what was becoming an ominous tide to the war. It was also around this day the world got a new word to mull around; Quisling.

Vidkun Quisling was head of the puppet government which ultimately paved the way for Berlin to take over Norway with comparative ease. After this episode, anyone accused of selling out or being a traitor to his own country was referred to as a "Quisling". But the invasion of Norway wasn't without resistance, and the small Norwegian Army, still loyal to the King who was now in hiding somewhere in the mountains, was facing the German onslaught, along with assistance from Britain. It wasn't sufficient enough to prevent the German army from occupying Oslo and several other key cities in the country. As of this day, most fighting was taking place around the port city of Narvik and speculation was rife that Norway would be one of several small European countries coming under German occupation in the coming months.

News from Capitol Hill was also in reaction to the situation in Norway, with a feature report of heroism on the part of American Ambassador to Norway Daisy Harriman in aiding refugees and keeping the State Department informed of the goings on.

All of this led many in Washington to wonder just how long it was going to be before the U.S. got involved in the shooting war.

But at the moment, it was all very distant and abstract, even as it was being reported by the NBC Blue Network on their News Of The World for April 13, 1940.

More ominous news, this 3rd day of April in 1941. The War in Europe continued. News of the apparent suicide of Count Teleki of Hungary leads to speculation the suicide was helped along by the German Government. The war was taking its toll in other ways. Captured German troops reveal large quantities of sedatives and sleeping pills in their kits, suggesting stress is high everywhere.

Italy suffers numerous setbacks in the Middle East with the report of substantial air losses for the month of March and a growing amount of dissatisfaction among the Italian populace for the war. The prediction in London was that Germany would be forced to occupy much of Italy sooner or later.

The signs from Yugoslavia were ominous on this day, with the Yugoslav Army preparing for a German invasion and German diplomats packing and leaving the country, quickly.

The U.S. got drawn closer to the conflict with the seizure of several German and Italian ships in American Ports. With no plans to release the vessels, Congress was faced with the task of what to do with the ships. In the meantime, the Navy was keeping guard.

As retaliation, it was reported that several Americans living in Germany were rounded up for question in Berlin the previous night. Several students, a member of the Trade Commission and a Priest were brought in and later released via intervention of the Foreign Office. But the feeling was high that the Welcome Mat was going to be pulled at some point.

And on Capitol Hill, all the strikes going on this day were leading some members of Congress to call for a Federal curb on strikes in anticipation of increased War production. And a Congressional tour of Military bases brought about a stinging report of graft, corruption and incompetence and a call for further investigations and courts martial for the offending Military personnel and arrests for their civilian counterparts.

A nervous day, all around as reported on the NBC News Of The World for April 3, 1941.

The grumblings from Argentina over a disputed series of Islands under British possession boiled over on this day in 1982.

But that wasn't all that was going on, as was reported on this wrapup of the week. No, far from it. News from the elections in El Salvador gave the U.S. and most of Central America pause, since it was the largest turnout for an election in El Salvador's history. The counting was underway.

But news of the Falklands crisis was swift and plentiful. With Britain immediately sending a Naval taskforce, bringing promises of a shooting war within weeks. Calls for the Military government of Argentina to withdraw were rejected and diplomatic missions were running off the hook.

Meanwhile, it was noted that the Iran-Iraq War was lumbering into its 18th month with reports of an Iranian victory in the latest battle and some 8,000 Iraqi dead as the result

Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev was admitted to the hospital amidst rumors and speculation his health was deteriorating. Moscow's lips were sealed.

Back in the States - latest fears of Social Security running out of money by July of 1983 were echoing all over Capitol Hill. And we were still up to our eyeballs in Recession with a reported 9% unemployment rate looming. Closer inspection revealed the unemployment rate for Blacks was 18% with unemployed Black Youth up to 42%. No rosy picture anywhere for the Shining City On The Hill.

The big Oscar winners during the Academy Awards earlier in the week were Chariots of Fire and On Golden Pond.

And Irish extremist Ian Paisley was barred from coming to the U.S. to deliver an address to Bob Jones University. The move prompted Bob Jones Jr. to publicly call for Divine intervention and life-termination for Secretary of State Alexander Haig, who rejected the visa. East of the Suez they call 'em Fatwahs but here they call 'em Goofy Evangelists. Take your choice.

And that was our little slice of Paradise, this 2nd day of April 1982 as presented by CBS Radio and The World This Week.