Today is Friday, July 9, the 191st day of 2004. There are 175 days left in the year. On this date in

Today is Friday, July 9, the 191st day of 2004. There are 175 days left in the year. On this date in 1776, the Declaration of Independence is read aloud to Gen. George Washington's troops in New York.
In 1816, Argentina declares independence from Spain. In 1850, the 12th president of the United States, Zachary Taylor, dies after serving only 16 months of his term. In 1896, William Jennings Bryan delivers his famous "cross of gold" speech at the Democratic national convention in Chicago. In 1918, 101 people are killed in a train collision in Nashville, Tenn. In 1944, during World War II, American forces secure Saipan as the last Japanese defenses fall. In 1947, the engagement of Britain's Princess Elizabeth to Lt. Philip Mountbatten is announced. In 1951, President Truman asks Congress to formally end the state of war between the United States and Germany. In 1974, former U.S. Chief Justice Earl Warren dies in Washington, D.C.
July 9, 1979: Feeling the effects of a drop in sales of vans blamed on the gasoline shortage and high cost of fuel, General Motors Corp. plans to shut down its Lordstown van plant for three weeks. About 3,000 van plant workers will be idled.
Americans are sinking deeper into debt as inflation and the availability of credit make it more attractive than ever to "buy now, pay later." Outstanding consumer debt, not counting mortgages, is at $288 billion, an increase of 18 percent in just a year.
Kansas laws that prohibit advertising by doctors and other health care professionals are unconstitutional, a federal judge rules in a case filed by three chiropractors.
July 9, 1964: Sen. Barry Goldwater, front-runner for the Republican nomination for president, picks William E. Miller, a six-term congressman from New York and a Roman Catholic, as his running mate.
Twenty-two men and boys of Canfield's reactivated Civil War Unit, Company D and Battery D, 19th Ohio Regiment, Buckeye Blues Brigade, return from a week's "campaign" in the South. They participated in a re-enactment in Marietta, Ga., marking the centennial of the Battle of Kenesaw Mountain.
A floating restaurant with eight booths known as the Blue Boy Boat-In opens on Berlin Reservoir at the Route 14 bridge, near Deerfield. Kenneth Daily of Salem is the owner, and Paul Reed is the operator.
July 9, 1954: Pfc. Leonard D. Tennis, 18, of Alliance is one of seven American soldiers who, the U.S. government charges, have been kidnapped and are being held in Red Czechoslovakia.
Dr. Samuel H. Sheppard has refused -- for the present -- to submit to a lie detector test regarding the bloody slaying of his attractive 31-year-old wife in their Bay Village home.
Miss Lois M. Sams is appointed postmistress of Beloit, succeeding Mrs. Lucy Wizenecker.
July 9, 1929: Three Sharon girls drown while bathing in Yankee Run, after a log on which they were riding rolled, flipping them into deep water. Dead are sisters Dorothy and Ruth Hall, ages 13 and 8, and Mary Cebak, 6. Mary's sister, Anna, 11, was rescued by boys who were playing near the creek.
Charles McGrew, 35, of Warren, is killed when his speedboat crashes over the 55-foot spillway at Lake Milton. A companion who escaped injury said they were headed from Craig Beach to their camp when McGrew apparently became disoriented.
The scheduled opening of Youngstown's technical high school in the remodeled Rayen School building will have to be postponed for at least a semester due to lack of finances, says Supt. J.J. Richeson. About $17,000 has been spent to remodel the building, but $40,000 more is needed to equip it.