Today is Friday, Sept. 5, the 248th day of 2003. There are 117 days left in the year. On this date

Today is Friday, Sept. 5, the 248th day of 2003. There are 117 days left in the year. On this date in 1972, Arab guerrillas attack the Israeli delegation at the Munich Olympic games; 11 Israelis, five guerrillas and a police officer are killed in the siege.
In 1774, the first Continental Congress assembles in Philadelphia. In 1793, the Reign of Terror begins during the French Revolution as the National Convention institute harsh measures to repress counterrevolutionary activities. In 1836, Sam Houston is elected president of the Republic of Texas. In 1905, the Treaty of Portsmouth, ending the Russo-Japanese War, id signed in New Hampshire. In 1914, the First Battle of the Marne begins during World War I. In 1939, the United States proclaims its neutrality in World War II. In 1975, President Ford escapes an attempt on his life by Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a disciple of Charles Manson, in Sacramento, Calif.
September 5, 1978: The city of Youngstown obtains an option to buy 35 acres of land north of the Mahoning River and stretching from the Market Street bridge to the Cedar Street Bridge for development of what would be called the Cedar-Market Industrial Park. It is the former site of Republic Steel Corp.'s plastic-coated pipe facility.
A former Boardman man sends police from three states on a 500-mile journey in an attempt to verify his bizarre, unsubstantiated claims to have murdered 20 people between Greater Youngstown and Nashville, Tenn.
The 132nd annual Canfield Fair sets a record for five-day attendance of 501,126, exceeding 1977 attendance by more than 20,000.
September 5, 1963: Veteran law enforcement officers speculate that Dominic Moio, 61-year-old bombing and arson specialist, was murdered either in retaliation for 1962 underworld killings in Youngstown or because he bungled the Cadillac Charlie Cavallaro murder. A car bomb not only killed Cavallaro, but one of his young sons as well, and injured another son.
Two Ashtabula County fruit pickers, Alex Patton, 31, and Donald G. Westbrook, Jr., 21, are killed when a Nickel Plate freight train traveling 60 mph slams into their car at an unguarded crossing about a mile west of Ashtabula.
Misuse of county-owned cars by Mahoning County commissioners and staff for personal driving is among several practices of the commissioners office criticized in a state examiner's report.
September 5, 1953: The longest heat wave in the Mahoning Valley in more than 20 years is broken by the arrival of cool Canadian air and heavy showers. Overnight, temperatures drop from a high of 95 at 4 p.m. to 58 degrees at 8 a.m.
All paperback editions of "Down All Your Streets," a book that Youngstown Police Chief Edward Allen has described as "rotten," have been removed from area newsstands by the Mahoning Valley Distributing Agency. Youngstown Librarian James C. Foutts says the book has been removed from library shelves pending outcome of charges of distributing obscene material filed by Youngstown police against the book's distributor.
William H. Ramm of Struthers, an employee of Youngstown Sheet & amp; Tube Co., reels in a 28-inch northern pike at Cheboygam, Mich. The Associated Press reports that the fish had the lures of two other unsuccessful anglers in his jaws when he was reeled in.
September 5, 1928: Bad compasses diverted part of the national air derby to Youngstown when three of the 40 airplanes on the Mc-Keesport, Pa., to Columbus leg of the cross-country race are forced to land at Andrews Field near Meridian Road.
Youngstown Mayor Joseph Heffernan threatens legal action against the Youngstown Municipal Railway Co., alleging that it is violating its franchise agreement with the city by failing to maintain the paving between the tracks on local streets.
Youngstown's new Rutherford B. Hayes Junior High School has relieved overcrowding at Parmelee, Madison, Harding, Elm, McKinley, Jefferson, Brier Hills and Tod schools, but is found to be so crowded itself that some of its pupils will be transferred to The Rayen School.