Today is Saturday, Dec. 14, the 348th day of 2002. There are 17 days left in the year. On this date

Today is Saturday, Dec. 14, the 348th day of 2002. There are 17 days left in the year. On this date in 1799, the first president of the United States, George Washington, dies at his Mount Vernon home at age 67.
In 1911, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen becomes the first man to reach the South Pole, beating out an expedition led by Robert F. Scott. In 1939, the Soviet Union is dropped from the League of Nations. In 1946, the United Nations General Assembly votes to establish U.N. headquarters in New York. In 1962, the U.S. space probe Mariner II approaches Venus, transmitting information about the planet. In 1975, six South Moluccan extremists surrender after holding 23 hostages for 12 days on a train near the Dutch town of Beilen. In 1981, Israel annexes the Golan Heights, which it had seized from Syria in 1967. In 1986, the experimental aircraft Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, takes off from Edwards Air Force Base in California on the first non-stop, non-refueled flight around the world. In 2000, the Federal Trade Commission unanimously approves the $111 billion merger of America Online and Time Warner.
December 14, 1977: Passengers embarking at the Youngstown Municipal Airport will be expected to unwrap Christmas gifts because there is no X-ray equipment at the facility.
An inch of rain in 24 hours floods some Youngstown area streets and cellars, but the Army Corps of Engineers says there isn't much danger of major flooding.
Commercial Shearing Inc. is projecting both record sales and earnings for fiscal 1977 that ended Oct. 31, with an impressive 38 percent gain in earnings and 22 percent in sales.
December 14, 1962: United Air Lines and city officials reach tentative agreement on a new 10-year lease that will increase the company's airport rental and landing fees about 20 percent.
Two pinball machines that disappeared mysteriously in a Struthers gambling raid turn up abandoned and empty in a Struthers alley, a block from the police station.
The Jackson-Milton Board of Education takes under advisement a 15-point retrenchment program to save the school district an estimated $80,000 annually. Only three recommendations by Supt. John Rayburn are approved.
December 14, 1952: Complete investigation of the 46-car freight train wreck near Windham shows that the original official estimate of damage has doubled to nearly $500,000, J.R. Ebert, division superintendent of the Erie Railroad, says.
The world's largest telescope has pulled the moon so close to earth, the National Geographic Society reports, that features no larger than the Pentagon are clearly visible.
Youngstown Detective Ted O'Connor's legion of crossing guards -- some 1,200 strong -- are the guests of honor at the annual Christmas party at South High School.
Lloyd S. Jones, Vindicator photographer, is named a winner in the Trans-World Airlines 15th annual aviation writing and photography competition.
December 14, 1927: Oakley Ross, 20, confessed trigger man, and Cecil Bell, 22, confessed accomplice, are brought to Youngstown from Butler, Pa., to face murder charges in the shooting death of Patrolman Henry Clemens.
James A. Campbell, president of Youngstown Sheet & amp; Tube Co., says "business is better" and the company is receiving more orders and inquiries for products on which prices have been increased.
The Vindicator-Electrical League Outdoor Lighting Contest is underway and the Christmas season promises to be a brilliant affair in the city this year. Prizes worth more than $400 are being offered.