Today is Tuesday, Dec. 16, the 350th day of 2003. There are 15 days left in the year. On this date

Today is Tuesday, Dec. 16, the 350th day of 2003. There are 15 days left in the year. On this date in 1773, the Boston Tea Party takes place as American colonists board a British ship and dump more than 300 chests of tea overboard to protest tea taxes.
In 1653, Oliver Cromwell becomes lord protector of England, Scotland and Ireland. In 1770, composer Ludwig van Beethoven is born in Bonn, Germany. In 1809, Napoleon Bonaparte is divorced from the Empress Josephine by an act of the French Senate. In 1916, Gregory Rasputin, the monk who'd wielded powerful influence over the Russian court, is murdered by a group of noblemen. In 1944, the World War II Battle of the Bulge begins as German forces launch a surprise counter-attack against Allied forces in Belgium. In 1950, President Truman proclaims a national state of emergency in order to fight "Communist imperialism." In 1960, 134 people are killed when a United Air Lines DC-8 and a TWA Super Constellation collide over New York City. In 1982, Environmental Protection Agency head Anne M. Gorsuch becomes the first Cabinet-level officer to be cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to submit documents requested by a congressional committee. In 1985, reputed organized-crime chief Paul Castellano is shot to death outside a New York City restaurant. In 1991, the U.N. General Assembly rescinds its 1975 resolution equating Zionism with racism by a 111-25 vote.
December 16, 1978: Salem begins gradual implementation of a 97 percent increase in water rates. The increase will cover the cost of a $1.9 million water treatment improvement project.
President Carter announces that he is extending diplomatic recognition to Mainland China in a deal that he insists will not sacrifice the interests of the National Chinese on Taiwan.
The city of Cleveland, with ledgers so tangled that it took auditors four days to determine the bottom line, is in default. The city owes $15.5 million and has no money to make payments.
December 16, 1963: Two agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation testify before a Mahoning County grand jury as it opens its sixth week of probing vice, crime and gambling in Mahoning County.
Postal workers begin working overtime in Youngstown to keep up with the holiday rush of mail. Postmaster Chester Bailey says crews are keeping up with the high volume, but residents who further delay getting the cards and packages in the mail run the risk of missing delivery by Christmas day.
Republic Steel Corp. begins commercial production of electric weld steel pipe at its new No. 5 Pipe Mill at the Youngstown works.
December 16, 1953: Two bandits whose faces were smeared with paint like Indians hold up the Coitsville Supermarket, 3597 McCartney Road, escaping with an undetermined amount of money. James Diyorio, owner of the store, chased the bandits' car following the robbery and fired three shots at them, but they escaped.
Gift-buying Youngstowners with plenty of Christmas spirit are keeping retail store cash registers jingling a merry tune in one of the biggest Christmas shopping seasons in Youngstown retail history.
Maj. Charles E. Yeager has flown two-times the speed of sound -- about 1,650 mph -- in the Air Force's X1A rocket plane.
George White, the genial, cigar smoking former governor of Ohio, dies in West Palm Beach, Fla., at 81.
December 16, 1928: Two youths wearing masks step into the Isaly Dairy at Indianola and Market and rob manager R.S. Smith of $150.
Work on construction of B & amp;O Railroad yards and shops costing $1.5 million will begin in the spring if Youngstown City Council works out a definite plan for the Division Street bridges, says Union C. DeFord, council for the railroad.
Miss Winifred Rockefeller, grand-niece of John D. Rockefeller Sr., is married to Brooks Emeny, an instructor at Yale University, in the chapel of St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in New York. Emeny is the son of Mr. and Mrs. James Emeny of Salem, Ohio.