Today is Monday, Dec. 8, the 342nd day of 2003. There are 23 days left in the year. On this date in

Today is Monday, Dec. 8, the 342nd day of 2003. There are 23 days left in the year. On this date in 1941, the United States enters World War II as Congress declares war against Japan, a day after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
In 1776, George Washington's retreating army in the American Revolution crosses the Delaware River from New Jersey to Pennsylvania. In 1854, Pope Pius IX proclaims the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. In 1886, the American Federation of Labor is founded in Columbus, Ohio. In 1914, "Watch Your Step," the first musical revue to feature a score composed entirely by Irving Berlin, opens in New York. In 1949, the Chinese Nationalist government moves from the Chinese mainland to Formosa as the Communists press their attacks. In 1978, former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir dies in Jerusalem at age 80. In 1980, rock star John Lennon is shot to death outside his New York City apartment building by an apparently deranged fan. In 1987, President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev sign a treaty calling for destruction of intermediate-range nuclear missiles. In 1987, the "intefadeh" by Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied territories begins.
December 8, 1978: The Youngstown area should strive to attract diversified industry to the Mahoning Valley instead of trying to purchase and operate the closed portions of the Youngstown Sheet & amp; Tube Co. Campbell Works, says R. Gordon Allen, a Jones & amp; Laughlin president.
Sharon fire authorities say vandals apparently started a fire that destroyed the old Erie Lackawanna Railroad freight house at 150 S. Dock St. Two boys were see running from the 100-year-old frame structure moments before it burst into flames.
December 8, 1963: The chambers of commerce of Youngstown, Warren and four other cities go to Washington, D.C., to urge that the moth-balled Ravenna Arsenal be considered as the site of a proposed NASA electronics laboratory.
The Vindicator is offering three keepsakes of the late President John F. Kennedy. The first will be a two-page display of 22 photographs of events in the life of the president, apppearing in the Dec. 22 Rotogravure. Additional reprints will be available for 15 cents. The second is a book on the assassination compiled by Associated Press and the third is a book by American Heritage and United Press International. Each book costs $2.
A group of Ashtabula area business and professional men headed by Ashtabula County Common Pleas Judge Thomas D. Lambros, purchases an interest in Quests Inc., owner of Radio Station WAQI.
December 8, 1953: The Youngstown Board of Education approves preliminary plans submitted by architect Myron N. Goodwin for the new North High School.
The year-end drop in business in the Youngstown district has cost nearly 1,000 industrial workers their jobs and thousands more parts of their income, A.E. McCully, manager of the Ohio State Employment Service in Youngstown, says.
Donna Jean Scott, born prematurely in a Batavia, N.Y., Hospital is five days old and is believed to be the smallest baby eve to survive at the hospital, at one pound, 11 ounces.
December 8, 1928: Henry Miller, 30, of Shirley Road, Youngstown, dies in a Pittsburgh hospital of rabies contracted from a cat bite. He was bitten while playing with the cat; by the time it was learned that the cat was rabid, it was too late for treatment.
Scores of Ohio State alumni attend the 15th annual Ohio State Day celebration with a dinner dance at McKelvey's. A radio broadcast from the university includes addresses by Coach J. W. Wilce and president emeritus William Oxley Thompson.