Today is Friday, Dec. 12, the 346th day of 2003. There are 19 days left in the year. On this date in

Today is Friday, Dec. 12, the 346th day of 2003. There are 19 days left in the year. On this date in 1787, Pennsylvania becomes the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
In 1870, Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina becomes the first black lawmaker sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1913, authorities in Florence, Italy, announce that the "Mona Lisa," stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris in 1911, has been recovered. In 1917, Father Edward Flanagan founds Boys Town outside Omaha, Neb. In 1937, Japanese aircraft sink the U.S. gunboat Panay on China's Yangtze River. (Japan apologizes, and pays $2.2 million in reparations.) In 1947, the United Mine Workers union withdraws from the American Federation of Labor. In 1963, Kenya gains its independence from Britain. In 1975, Sara Jane Moore pleads guilty to a charge of trying to kill President Ford in San Francisco the previous September. In 1985, 248 American soldiers and eight crew members are killed when an Arrow Air charter crashes after takeoff from Gander, Newfoundland. In 1993, the House Judiciary Committee approves a fourth and final article of impeachment, this one accusing President Clinton of abuse of power. President Clinton begins a three-day visit to the Middle East aimed at rescuing the Wye River peace accords. In 2000, a divided U.S. Supreme Court reverses a state court decision for recounts in Florida's contested election, transforming George W. Bush into the president-elect.
December 12, 1978: A 50 percent increase in Cleveland's 1 percent income tax is the cornerstone of Mayor Dennis J. Kucinich's plan to save Cleveland from default, says City Council President George L. Forbes.
Operations at the Warren-Trumbull Community Service Agency are effectively curtailed after city police seal off files and offices at the anti-poverty agency for evidentiary purposes.
Youngstown State University's senior offensive center Ed McGlasson is named to the Associated Press Little All-American second team, offense. The team is composed of players from the NCAA's Division I-AA, II, III and NAIA. Four YSU players receive honorable mention: Jim Ferranti, Marschell Brumfield, Quentin Lowry and Greg Fitzpatrick.
December 12, 1963: Youngstown City Council adopts an unbalanced budget in a temporary action to ensure collection of anticipated revenue. The $7 million budget contains a $843,000 deficit.
A 16-year-old honor student and Boy Scout is stabbed in the abdomen and beaten unconscious by an intruder who broke into the boy's South Side Home looking for money. Fred Carlini of 440 E. Dewey Ave. is in fair condition in South Side Hospital.
Ursuline nuns who serve the Youngstown area are moving into their new $1 million motherhouse and educational center on Shields Road.
December 12, 1953: A U.S. Air Force jet crashes out of control into a highway at the Ravenna Arsenal, after the pilot, Maj. Hearty M. Fitchiko parachuted to safety. The plane was flying from MacDill Air Force Base near Tampa, Fla., to Columbus.
A trap sprung by the Mahoning County sheriff's new two-way radio catches two bandits within 20 minutes after they tied up a Boardman filling station attendant and robbed him of $30.
A thief who cried "fire" gets away with $117 from two New Castle hotels within a half hour, bringing to five the number of district hotels falling for the hoax.
December 12, 1928: Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance of Cleveland have given a million dollars to build a home for the Cleveland Symphony orchestra.
Five lawsuits against the Youngstown Municipal Railway Co. asking damages amounting to $90,000 are settled out of court for a total of $1,875.
A plot to bomb Herbert Hoover's special train as it traveled though Buenos Aires during the president-elect's South American trip is frustrated. Police arrested two men and confiscated four hand grenades, two cylindrical bombs, a square bomb, dynamite, revolvers and automatic pistols.