Today is Saturday, Aug. 30, the 242nd day of 2003. There are 123 days left in the year. On this date

Today is Saturday, Aug. 30, the 242nd day of 2003. There are 123 days left in the year. On this date in 1983, Guion S. Bluford Jr. becomes the first black American astronaut to travel in space, blasting off aboard the Challenger.
In 1862, Union forces are defeated by the Confederates at the Second Battle of Bull Run in Manassas, Va. In 1905, Ty Cobb makes his major league batting debut, playing for the Detroit Tigers. In 1941, the World War II siege of Leningrad begins as Nazi forces take Mga. In 1945, Gen. Douglas MacArthur arrives in Japan and sets up Allied occupation headquarters. In 1963, the "Hot Line" communications link between Washington and Moscow goes into operation. In 1967, the Senate confirms the appointment of Thurgood Marshall as the first black justice on the Supreme Court. In 1986, Soviet authorities arrest Nicholas Daniloff, the Moscow correspondent for U.S. News and World Report. He is later released. In 1991, Azerbaijan declares its independence, joining the stampede of republics seeking to secede from the Soviet Union. In 1997, Americans learn of the car crash in Paris that claims the lives of Princess Diana, Dodi Fayed and their driver, Henri Paul. Because of the time difference, it is Aug. 31 where the crash actually occurred.
August 30, 1978: Nearly 11,000 auto workers at General Motors Corp.'s Lordstown complex will receive an 18-cent-per-hour cost of living increase, the largest increase in the 30 years that wages have been adjusted to compensate for inflation.
Boardman Local School District voters by a 61 percent majority turn down a 5.8-mill operating levy, the third consecutive issue rejected by district voters.
Thirteen security guards for the Lawrence County Housing Authority have been suspended indefinitely for leaving work early and falsifying work time reports.
Warren' Bob Lewis blisters the South Course at Mill Creek Park with a three-under-par 67 to take a three-shot lead into the final round of the Ohio Open Golf Tournament.
August 30, 1963: Neither the Youngstown Board of Education nor any of its teachers can adopt a policy of religious instruction during school hours, Assistant City Law Director Richard G. Bauman rules.
The 117th annual Canfield Fair is off to a flying start with a record first day attendance of 37,082, up 3,503 from a year earlier.
Youngstown and Ravenna area relatives of Lt. Melvin Pump, 29, of Ravenna, fly to Florida to await the outcome of a search for two Strato-tankers missing over the Atlantic Ocean for two days.
August 30, 1953: Two of Youngstown's six city swimming pools, where thousands of district residents have been seeking relief from one of the city's longest heat spells, will break attendance records before the swimming season ends. Both Shady Run and North Side pools are topping 50,000 swimmers each. In 1952, all six pools had 164,842 swimmers.
The new Canfield Township highway linking Route 46 with Route 224 and by-passing Canfield Village, will be opened for five days to accommodate the Canfield Fair traffic. The road will not be officially completed until November.
Ohio is going to spend money at the rate of $26 a second for two years, based on a biennial budget that has been adopted calling for expenditures of $1.67 billion.
August 30, 1928: A tented city is rising on the Mahoning County fairgrounds at Canfield as hundreds erect their canvas in preparation for the two-day event.
Youngstown Superintendent J. J. Richeson decides to retain some seventh- and eighth-grade pupils in their elementary schools rather than transfer them all to the new junior high building, which would overcrowd the new school.
Youngstown Mayor Joseph Heffernan orders Officer Thomas Joyce suspended from the police force for 10 days and removed from the vice squad after an unauthorized raid on the home of Federal Agent Gilboy.