Today is Sunday, Dec. 26, the 361st day of 2004. There are five days left in the year. The seven-day

Today is Sunday, Dec. 26, the 361st day of 2004. There are five days left in the year. The seven-day African-American holiday Kwanzaa begins today. On this date in 1944, in the World War II Battle of the Bulge, the embattled U.S. 101st Airborne Division is relieved by units of the 4th Armored Division.
In 1776, the British suffer a major defeat in the Battle of Trenton during the Revolutionary War. In 1799, George Washington is eulogized by Col. Henry Lee as "first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen." In 1893, Chinese leader Mao Zedong is born in Hunan province. In 1917, during World War I, the U.S. government takes over operation of the nation's railroads. In 1941, Winston Churchill becomes the first British prime minister to address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress. In 1944, Tennessee Williams' play "The Glass Menagerie" is first performed publicly, at the Civic Theatre in Chicago. In 1972, the 33rd president of the United States, Harry S. Truman, dies in Kansas City, Mo. In 1974, comedian Jack Benny dies in Los Angeles at age 80. In 1996, 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey is found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family's home in Boulder, Colo. (To date, the slaying remains unsolved.) In 2000, Michael McDermott, an employee at an Internet firm in Wakefield, Mass., shoots and kills seven co-workers. (McDermott is later convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole.)
December 26, 1979: A mother and her adult son and daughter are killed in a fire that ignited in their George Street home in Niles Christmas morning. Dead are Sara Davis, 58, Craig, 31, and Gail, 27.
Heavy rain over 48 hours causes minor flooding along the Mahoning River in Trumbull and Mahoning counties.
The Ohio State University Buckeyes arrive in Los Angeles and begin practice for their New Year's Day showdown with the University of Southern California in the Rose Bowl. Quarterback Art Schlichter has broken the school's single season total offense record in both of his first two years, with 1,840 yards in his freshman year and 1,955 in 1979.
December 26, 1964: Ohio Attorney General William Saxbe says he will fire the assistant state attorney general who agreed to the release of Youngstown gambler Joey Naples from the Ohio Penitentiary on a writ of habeas corpus filed by a federal appeals judge who heard Naples' appeal on a conviction of running a numbers game and receiving stolen property. Saxbe says the office routinely resists habeas corpus
Four Campbell youths who set out for an evening of singing Christmas carols ended the night by breaking into a woman's home, destroying furniture and stealing the Christmas presents from under the tree. Police said the boys apparently got drunk while caroling.
December 26, 1954: The DeVincent family passes a sad Christmas Day at South Side Hospital, where the family has been keeping a vigil and hoping that Emil DeVincent would awaken from a coma by Christmas. He has been unconscious since Dec. 1, when he fell from a crane at the Brier Hill Works of Youngstown Sheet & amp; Tube Co.
The Army plans to release thousands of draftees early in 1955 to carry out the sharp manpower cut in the armed forces ordered by the White House.
Allegheny Airlines plans to restore some flights to Chess Lamberton Airport in Franklin, Pa. The airport had been a stop on the route from Pittsburgh to New York, and while passenger interest was high, heavy snow in the area interfered with service.
December 26, 1929: James Gill, 22, is shot to death by a 14-year-old student at Brookfield High School during a disturbance at Nicastri's grocery store. The boy pointed a revolver that was kept behind the cash register and ordered Gill and three others out of the store. The gun discharged during a struggle.
Streams of automobiles choke Youngstown streets, especially Fifth Avenue in Youngstown, as families drive around town to see the holiday lights, including some very elaborate displays, that have been put up by homeowners.
Youngstown mailmen took Christmas Day off, but they are back at work battling to deliver thousands of late holiday cards and packages.
A 20-year-old widow from Garrettsville is found guilty in Mahoning County Juvenile Court of contributing to the delinquency of a minor for trying to force a 16-year-old boy she met at a dance to elope with her.
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