Good morning Yonkers and her populous, currently at 4:43 AM EDT it is cloudy and 66 degrees with south-east winds at 3 mph, 80% humidity, the dew point is 60 degrees, the barometer is 29.9 inches and rising, and the visibility is 7 miles. Yonkers will have early clouds with peeks of sunshine late, a high of 72 degrees with east winds at 5 to 10 mph. Partly cloudy early followed by mostly cloudy skies overnight, a stray shower or thunderstorm is possible, a low of 59 degrees with east/north-east winds at 5 to 10 mph. Sun-up occurs at 6:51 AM and descends gracefully beyond the Palisades at 6:38 PM. You’ll have 11 hours and 46 minutes of available daylight. Bono, Craigshead County, Arkansas, Population: 2,131. At 3:50 AM CDT Bono is clear and 59-61 degrees.Mostly clear skies overnight, a low of 58 degrees with light and variable winds. Tuesday will be sunny with a few afternoon clouds, a high of 88 degrees with light and variable winds. Mostly clear skies Tuesday night, a low of 61 degrees with light and variable winds. Alger, Alger Wilaya, Algeria, Population: 2,364,230. At 9:53 AM CET Alger is partly cloudy and 77 degrees. Alger will have some sun this morning with increasing cloudiness this afternoon, a high of 87 degrees with south-west winds shifting to the north at 10 to 15 mph. Partly cloudy tonight, a low around 70 degrees with east/south-east winds at 5 to 10 mph. Dothan, Houston County, Alabama. At 3:58 AM CDT Dothan is cloudy and 70-71 degrees. Mostly cloudy early then partly cloudy this afternoon in Dothan, a high of 84 degrees with north-east winds at 5 to 10 mph. A few clouds tonight, a low around 65 degrees with light and variable winds. Today 9/30 In HISTORY:(Courtesy of the History Channel) 1 - 1776 - American Revolution - In a letter to his nephew, Lund Washington, plantation manager of Mount Vernon, General George Washington writes on this day in 1776 of his displeasure with the undisciplined conduct and poor battlefield performance of the American militia. Washington blamed the Patriot reliance on the militia as the chief root of his problems in the devastating loss of Long Island and Manhattan to the British. In his letter, Washington wrote, I am wearied to death all day with a variety of perplexing circumstances, disturbed at the conduct of the militia, whose behavior and want of discipline has done great injury to the other troops, who never had officers, except in a few instances, worth the bread they eat. Washington added, In confidence I tell you that I never was in such an unhappy, divided state since I was born. Just as the British had discovered the difficulties of waging war with obstreperous Yankees for soldiers during the Seven Years War, Washington, the Virginia planter-cum-soldier, was unimpressed upon meeting his supposed army outside Boston upon his appointment as commander in chief of Continental forces in 1775. Just as the British had, he saw stupidity among the enlisted men, who were used to the easy familiarity of being commanded by neighbors in local militias with elected officers. Washington promptly insisted that the officers behave with decorum and the enlisted men with deference. Although he enjoyed some success with this original army, the New Englanders went home to their farms at the end of 1775, and Washington had to start fresh with new recruits in 1776. Washington fought an uphill battle for military order until Friedrich, Freiherr von Steuben arrived at General Washingtons encampment at Valley Forge on February 23, 1778. The Prussian military officer commenced training soldiers in close-order drill, instilling new confidence and discipline in the demoralized Continental Army. Before von Steubens arrival, colonial American soldiers were notorious for their slovenly camp conditions. Von Steuben insisted on reorganization to establish basic hygiene, ordering that kitchens and latrines be put on opposite sides of the camp, with latrines facing a downhill slope. Just having latrines was a novelty to the Continental troops, who were accustomed to living in their own filth. On the merit of his efforts at Valley Forge, Washington recommended that von Steuben be named inspector general of the Continental Army; Congress complied. In this capacity, von Steuben propagated his methods throughout the Patriot forces by circulating his Blue Book, entitled Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States. 2 - 1864 - Civil War - In an attempt to cut the last rail line into Petersburg, Virginia, Union troops attack the Confederate defense around the besieged city on this day in 1864. Although initially successful, the attack ground to a halt when Confederate reinforcements were rushed into place from other sections of the Petersburg line. The Battle of Poplar Springs Church came after more than three months of trench warfare. Union commander General Ulysses S. Grant and Confederate commander General Robert E. Lee had fought a costly and fast-moving campaign in the spring, but by June they had settled into trenches around Petersburg. The lines extended a full 25 miles north to Richmond. Grant had made sporadic attacks to break the stalemate, and this battle was yet another attempt to drive Lees men from the trenches. The attack coincided with a Federal assault at New Market Heights, near Richmond. The day before, Union forces had captured two strongholds in the Richmond defense system, but were unable to penetrate any further. A Confederate counterattack on September 30 failed to recapture the positions. Grant hoped that launching a strike around the same time at the other end of the line would keep Lee from sending reinforcements to both locations. On September 30, four divisions from Generals Gouvernor K. Warrens and John G. Parkes corps struck a Rebel redoubt (an earthen fortress) at Poplar Springs Church that was easily captured along with a section of trenches. But Confederate General Ambrose P. Hill, in charge of the Petersburg defenses, was able to bring two divisions from other parts of his line to stop the Yankees, and a counterattack prevented the loss of any more territory. The Yankees would try again on October 1, but would be unsuccessful. The Union lost 2,800 troops, including nearly 1,300 captured during the Confederate counterattack. Lees army suffered only 1,300 casualties, but they were much more difficult for him to replace. The Southside Railroad, the object of the attack, was still in Confederate hands, and the armies settled back into their trenches. 3 - 1949 - Cold War - After 15 months and more than 250,000 flights, the Berlin Airlift officially comes to an end. The airlift was one of the greatest logistical feats in modern history and was one of the crucial events of the early Cold War. In June 1948, the Soviet Union suddenly blocked all ground traffic into West Berlin, which was located entirely within the Russian zone of occupation in Germany. It was an obvious effort to force the United States, Great Britain, and France (the other occupying powers in Germany) to accept Soviet demands concerning the postwar fate of Germany. As a result of the Soviet blockade, the people of West Berlin were left without food, clothing, or medical supplies. Some U.S. officials pushed for an aggressive response to the Soviet provocation, but cooler heads prevailed and a plan for an airlift of supplies to West Berlin was developed. It was a daunting task: supplying the daily wants and needs of so many civilians would require tons of food and other goods each and every day. On June 26, 1948, the Berlin Airlift began with U.S. pilots and planes carrying the lions share of the burden. During the next 15 months, 277,264 aircraft landed in West Berlin bringing over 2 million tons of supplies. On September 30, 1949, the last plane--an American C-54--landed in Berlin and unloaded over two tons of coal. Even though the Soviet blockade officially ended in May 1949, it took several more months for the West Berlin economy to recover and the necessary stockpiles of food, medicine, and fuel to be replenished. The Berlin Airlift was a tremendous Cold War victory for the United States. Without firing a shot, the Americans foiled the Soviet plan to hold West Berlin hostage, while simultaneously demonstrating to the world the Yankee ingenuity for which their nation was famous. For the Soviets, the Berlin crisis was an unmitigated disaster. The United States, France, and Great Britain merely hardened their resolve on issues related to Germany, and the world came to see the Russians as international bullies, trying to starve innocent citizens. 4 - 1999 - Large doses of radiation are released at Japans Tokaimura nuclear plant on this day in 1999. It was Japans worst nuclear accident, caused by a serious error made by workers at the plant. One person was killed, 49 were injured and thousands of others were forcibly confined to their homes for several days. 5 - 1399 - Henry Bolingbroke is proclaimed King Henry IV of England upon the abdication of King Richard II. Henry was the eldest surviving son of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster. While his father was away in Spain, Henry joined other lords in opposing King Richard IIs rule. Richard later regained the upper hand and in 1398 banished Henry from the kingdom. When John of Gaunt died in February 1399, Richard seized the Lancastrian estates, thus depriving Henry of his inheritance. Claiming to be defending the rights of the nobility, Henry invaded England in July 1399, and Richard surrendered to him without a fight in August. Upon becoming king of England, Henry imprisoned Richard in Pontefract Castle in Yorkshire, where the former king died of undetermined causes in February 1400. After a turbulent reign, Henry was succeeded by his son Henry V, the second of Englands three Lancastrian kings. 6 - 1962 - In Oxford, Mississippi, James H. Meredith, an African American, is escorted onto the University of Mississippi campus by U.S. Marshals, setting off a deadly riot. Two men were killed before the racial violence was quelled by more than 3,000 federal soldiers. The next day, Meredith successfully enrolled and began to attend classes amid continuing disruption. A former serviceman in the U.S. Air Force, Meredith applied and was accepted to the University of Mississippi in 1962, but his admission was revoked when the registrar learned of his race. A federal court ordered Ole Miss to admit him, but when he tried to register on September 20, 1962, he found the entrance to the office blocked by Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett. On September 28, the governor was found guilty of civil contempt and was ordered to cease his interference with desegregation at the university or face arrest and a fine of $10,000 a day. Two days later, Meredith was escorted onto the Ole Miss campus by U.S. Marshals. Turned back by violence, he returned the next day and began classes. Meredith, who was a transfer student from all-black Jackson State College, graduated with a degree in political science in 1963. In 1966, Meredith returned to the public eye when he began a lone civil rights march in an attempt to encourage voter registration by African Americans in the South. During this March Against Fear, Meredith intended to walk from Memphis, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi. However, on June 6, just two days into the march, he was sent to a hospital by a snipers bullet. Other civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King, Jr., and Stokely Carmichael, arrived to continue the march on his behalf. It was during the March Against Fear that Carmichael, who was leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, first spoke publicly of Black Power--his concept of militant African American nationalism. James Meredith later recovered and rejoined the march he had originated, and on June 26 the marchers successfully reached Jackson, Mississippi. 7 - 1918 - President Woodrow Wilson gives a speech before Congress in support of guaranteeing women the right to vote. Although the House of Representatives had approved a 19th constitutional amendment giving women suffrage, the Senate had yet to vote on the measure. 8 - 1968 - Vietnam War - Apparently trying to distance himself from Johnsons policies, Democratic presidential candidate Hubert Humphrey announces that, if elected, he would halt the bombing of the North if there was any evidence, direct or indirect, by deed or word, of communist willingness to restore the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Vietnam. Humphrey had become his partys candidate when incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson, devastated by the outcry that accompanied the communist Tet Offensive, had announced that he would not run for re-election. Despite Humphreys hopes, many voters saw him as only a continuation of the Johnson approach to the war, which had been marked by escalation and continued stalemate. He was defeated by Richard Nixon, who hinted during the campaign that he had a secret plan to end the war and achieve peace with honor. Also on this day in Vietnam: The 900th US aircraft is shot down over the North and the USS New Jersey, the worlds only active battleship, arrives in Vietnamese waters and begins bombarding the Demilitarized Zone from her station off the Vietnamese coast. 9 - 1918 - World War One - As Allied forces led by General Edmund Allenby march steadily toward Damascus, Turkish authorities abandon the city. Damascus, located on the Barada River in modern-day Syria, is one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities. Ruled by the Ottoman Empire for centuries, it served as the base for Turkish and German troops to direct their operations against Allied forces at the Suez Canal during World War I. British troops in the region were commanded from mid-1917 by Allenby, who led his men in a successful campaign in Palestine that year, culminating in the capture of Jerusalem in December. Though Allenby lost some of his troops to the Western Front due to the German offensive there in the spring of 1918, the British had managed to recoup their strength in the region by the summer, due to an influx of reinforcements. On September 19, Allenby’s force went on the attack in Palestine near the city of Megiddo—the biblical site of the Battle of Armageddon—that began a string of victories over the following weeks. On September 27, Allenby’s cavalry rode from Palestine across the Golan Heights into Syria, putting them only 60 miles from Damascus. The Allied advance was held up the following day by a division of 1,500 Turkish troops; by the late afternoon of September 30, however, they had wrested free and were on the way to Damascus. That night, Turkish authorities fled the city in anticipation of the Allied occupation, ending hundreds of years of Ottoman rule in Damascus. Led by the 3rd Light Horse Brigade from Australia, Allied troops took control of the city the next day, seizing some 7,000 Turkish prisoners. Allenby’s forces were aided in their campaign in Syria by a force of Arab nationalists, led by Faisal, the son of Sharif Hussein of Mecca. Since 1916, Hussein and his sons, encouraged by British contacts such as T.E. Lawrence—the famous Lawrence of Arabia—had given their support to the Allies in the struggle against the Ottoman Empire. When the Allies occupied Damascus, Arab riflemen fired their guns in the air to celebrate the fall of the Turks in that city. Barely a month later, Turkey sued for peace, signing an armistice with the Allies on October 30, 1918. Though Allenby had left Faisal Hussein in charge in Damascus—and a Syrian national congress declared him king in March 1920—the post-war settlement at Versailles determined that France would have control of Syria, as well as Lebanon and northern Mesopotamia. Faisal was deposed in July 1920 when the French entered Syria under a mandate of the League of Nations. The following year, after the British-mandated government permitted a plebiscite, Faisal became the first king of Iraq. Meanwhile, despite repeated revolts, Syria remained under French rule—including a one-year stint under the pro-German Vichy government in 1940-41—until after World War II, when Damascus became the capital of an independent Syria. 10 - 1938 - World War Two - Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, French Premier Edouard Daladier, and British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain sign the Munich Pact, which seals the fate of Czechoslovakia, virtually handing it over to Germany in the name of peace. Upon return to Britain, Chamberlain would declare that the meeting had achieved peace in our time. Although the agreement was to give into Hitlers hands only the Sudentenland, that part of Czechoslovakia where 3 million ethnic Germans lived, it also handed over to the Nazi war machine 66 percent of Czechoslovakias coal, 70 percent of its iron and steel, and 70 percent of its electrical power. It also left the Czech nation open to complete domination by Germany. In short, the Munich Pact sacrificed the autonomy of Czechoslovakia on the altar of short-term peace-very short term. The terrorized Czech government was eventually forced to surrender the western provinces of Bohemia and Moravia (which became a protectorate of Germany) and finally Slovakia and the Carpathian Ukraine. In each of these partitioned regions, Germany set up puppet, pro-Nazi regimes that served the military and political ends of Adolf Hitler. By the time of the invasion of Poland in September 1939, the nation called Czechoslovakia no longer existed. It was Neville Chamberlain who would be best remembered as the champion of the Munich Pact, having met privately with Hitler at Berchtesgaden, the dictators mountaintop retreat, before the Munich conference. Chamberlain, convinced that Hitlers territorial demands were not unreasonable (and that Hitler was a gentleman), persuaded the French to join him in pressuring Czechoslovakia to submit to the Fuhrers demands. Upon Hitlers invasion of Poland a year later, Chamberlain was put in the embarrassing situation of announcing that a state of war existed between Germany and Britain. By the time Hitler occupied Norway and Denmark, Chamberlain was finished as a credible leader. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you! one member of Parliament said to him, quoting Oliver Cromwell. Winston Churchill would succeed him as prime minister soon afterwards. The four day Yonkers Extended Weather Forecast is: Wednesday, cloudy, 20% chance of rain, 70/58; Thursday, partly cloudy, 10% chance of rain, 69/56; Friday, partly cloudy, 10% chance of rain, 68/60; and Saturday, rain, 80% chance of rain, 66/49. SPORTS: NFL; In Monday Night Football action the Chiefs dominated the Patriots 41-14. NHL: NYR 6 - PHI 3, Tonight the Rangers visit Philadelphia while the Islanders face the Bruins in Boston. We may have some rain on Saturday but Sunday looks good. One good day is better than a total washout but the temps are getting lower. Have a great October, thats right another month ends today and tomorrow is the dawn of a new one. October was a heavy month for birthdays in my family, My late mother, my late father, my late grandmother, and two brothers all were born in October. Have a blessed day and as always keep safe, PUSH, and keep smiling!
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 09:12:19 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015