Today is Friday, July 23, the 205th day of 2004. There are 161 days left in the year. On this date

Today is Friday, July 23, the 205th day of 2004. There are 161 days left in the year. On this date in 1886, New York saloonkeeper Steve Brodie claims to have made a daredevil plunge from the Brooklyn Bridge into the East River.
In 1885, Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th president of the United States, dies in Mount McGregor, N.Y. at age 63. In 1904, by some accounts, the ice cream cone is invented by Charles E. Menches during the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis. In 1914, Austria-Hungary issues an ultimatum to Serbia following the killing of Archduke Francis Ferdinand by a Serb assassin; the dispute leads to World War I. In 1942, Harry James and his Orchestra record "I Had the Craziest Dream" in Hollywood for Columbia Records.
July 23, 1979: Rick McCoy, a 27-year-old supermarket assistant manager, captures the men's heavyweight division of the World Professional Arm Wrestling regional tournament held at Southern Park Mall.
Lightning sets a West Side home aflame and damages Ursuline High School and an Austintown homeowner's garage. A large chimney atop the high school was split by a lightning bolt. About 5,000 homes lost their electricity.
A 30-inch shark is found on the shores of Presque Isle State Park near Erie, Pa. Park officials say there is no reason for bathers to be alarmed
July 23, 1964: Local 118 of the Utility Workers of America erects picket lines at Ohio Edison Co. installations in Youngstown, Salem and Kinsman after contract talks break down in Akron.
Five volunteer fire departments battle a blaze at Crooks Bottled Gas Co. in Bazetta Township. The fire caused $15,000 damage to three buildings. The cause is unknown.
July 23, 1954: About 50 veterans and auxiliary members appear before the Youngstown Planning Commission to protest the moving of the city's Civil War monument from Central Square. The veterans say the square can be redesigned and improved without moving the monument.
Scores of Youngstown residents call police, radios stations and newspaper reporting a white object that many believe was a flying saucer. The U.S. Weather Service said the object was a research balloon that was moving at about 50 mph at an altitude of 60,000 feet.
July 23, 1929: The Erie Railroad is building special cars to transport four superpower transformers, each 35 feet high, from Sharon, Pa., to Roseland, N. J. The transformers are being built by Westinghouse Electric and are said to be the largest in the world, testing more than a half million volts each.
Youngstown Police Chief J.J. McNicholas defies a demand by Mayor Joseph Heffernan that he resign or take a demotion. Heffernan has not said who he would name to replace McNicholas.
Leonard T. Skeggs announces that he will stay in Youngstown as general secretary of the YMCA, and immediately following that announcement, L.A. Manchester, president of the Y, announces a drive for $1 million to expand the program.