Today is Monday, Aug. 11, the 223rd day of 2003. There are 142 days left in the year. On this date

Today is Monday, Aug. 11, the 223rd day of 2003. There are 142 days left in the year. On this date in 1909, the SOS distress signal is first used by an American ship, the Arapahoe, off Cape Hatteras, N.C.
In 1860, the nation's first successful silver mill begins operation near Virginia City, Nev. In 1934, the first federal prisoners arrive at the island prison Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay. In 1942, during World War II, Vichy government official Pierre Laval publicly declares that "the hour of liberation for France is the hour when Germany wins the war." In 1954, a formal peace takes hold in Indochina, ending more than seven years of fighting between the French and Communist Vietminh. In 1956, abstract painter Jackson Pollock dies in an automobile accident in East Hampton, N.Y. In 1962, the Soviet Union launches cosmonaut Andrian Nikolayev on a 94-hour flight. In 1965, rioting and looting that claims 34 lives breaks out in the predominantly black Watts section of Los Angeles. In 1978, chiefs of state and foreign dignitaries arrive in Vatican City for the funeral of Pope Paul VI. In 1992, the Mall of America, the biggest shopping mall in the United States, opens in Bloomington, Minn. In 1997, President Clinton makes the first use of the historical line-item veto approved by Congress, rejecting three items in spending and tax bills. The Supreme Court later strikes down the line-item veto as unconstitutional.
August 11, 1978: An Associated Press/NBC poll shows that two in three Americans think that President Jimmy Carter has not been tough enough as president. The poll was taken before Carter announced that he will meet at Camp David next month with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in an attempt to restart Mideast peace talks.
In what was described as a major commitment to the Mahoning Valley, the Copperweld Steel Co. announces a $24 million improvement and expansion program at the Warren plant, the largest in its history. Production capacity at the plant will be increased by 10 to 15 percent.
Vince Santangelo captures the Class A flight in the Park and Recreation District Junior Golf Tournament at Stambaugh Golf Course, with Dave Meese Runner up. Class B was won by Shani Vaturi, with Reno Ronci as runner-up, and Class C. was won by Gary Buttar, David Petruzzi runner-up.
August 11, 1963: American steel firms, including major companies in the Youngstown district, are working with automobile manufacturers in anti-rust research to end premature rusting of auto bodies.
Herbert Hoover, America's oldest living president, quietly observes his 89th birthday in his suite at the Waldorf Towers.
Kent State University will open classes this fall at branch centers in space provided by local boards of education in Warren and Salem. KSU has 11 branches in Northeast Ohio providing two-year programs to 4,500 students.
Harold Kalles, a Toronto, Canada, businessman, dies in a Toronto hospital six days after having his throat slashed by a broken golf club. Kalles, 41, was blasting out of a sand trap when his club flew out of his grasp, struck a tree, snapped and the shaft flew up and cut his throat.
August 11, 1953: Cpl. Charles Glen Pixley of Rice Ave., a prisoner of war for more than two years, is the first Youngstowner to be released by the Communists in the exchange of Korean War prisoners. He was reported missing in action in July 1951 and it wasn't until nine months later that his family was notified that he was being held prisoner.
Employees at Valley Mould and Iron Corp. in Hubbard are ordered back to work by their union officials, ending a 17-day strike that was sparked by complaints over safety issues at the plant.
Miss Patty Webb wins the contest for Sesquicentennial Queen and will reign as "Miss Hubbard" during that community's festivities. She will be crowned preceding a performance of a pageant, "The Hubbard Story," at Memorial Stadium.
August 11, 1928: Johnny Farrell, National Open champion, and Gene Sarazen, former National Open champion, are defeated two-up in a best ball match at the Youngstown Country Club by Albert Alcroft, the Youngstown club professional, and Larry Nabholtz of Sharon, the Texas Open champion.
Tony Caputo is fatally wounded in a shoot-out that Youngstown police believe was inspired by bootleg warfare. John Preston is under police guard in St. Elizabeth Hospital with a bullet wound of the left leg. Preston says Caputo fired first outside a Holmes Street address.
Youngstown has the lowest death rate in Ohio and seventh lowest in the United States for the week ending Aug. 4, according to statistics released in Washington. Youngstown's death rate was 8.4 per 100,000 population.