Today is Monday, May 3, the 124th day of 2004. There are 242 days left in the year. On this date in 1979, Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher is chosen to become Britain's first female prime



Today is Monday, May 3, the 124th day of 2004. There are 242 days left in the year. On this date in 1979, Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher is chosen to become Britain's first female prime minister as the Tories oust the Labor government in parliamentary elections.
In 1802, Washington, D.C., is incorporated as a city.In 1921, West Virginia imposes the first state sales tax. In 1944, U.S. wartime rationing of most grades of meats ends. In 1945, Indian forces capture Rangoon, Burma, from the Japanese. In 1948, the Supreme Court rules that covenants prohibiting the sale of real estate to blacks or members of other racial groups are legally unenforceable. In 1971, anti-war protesters begin four days of demonstrations in Washington, D.C., aimed at shutting down the nation's capital. In 1986, in NASA's first post-Challenger launch, an unmanned Delta rocket loses power in its main engine shortly after liftoff, forcing safety officers to destroy it by remote control.
May 3, 1979: The average Ohio Edison residential electric bill will go up by $4.80 a month as the result of a 17 percent increase approved by the Public Utilities Commission, effective immediately.
American medical schools should cut back their enrollments to avoid a glut of physicians that could lock doctors into cutthroat competition and promote unnecessary treatment, a public health specialist says.
All Youngstown area A & amp;P stores may be back in operation, but under new names, after Giant Eagle, one of the largest chains in Pittsburgh, agrees to take over the three stores that have not been bought by other local chains.
Youngstown Municipal Judge Leo P. Morley rules unconstitutional Ohio's new Domestic Violence Act, which allows the municipal court to issue an order barring a husband from entering his own home after the wife or police have filed a complaint of abuse.
May 3, 1964: A new multimillion-dollar commercial and industrial complex will be built in the Austintown area as a result of new highway development, John J. Gillespie, Youngstown real estate agent, discloses. Service stations, motels and restaurants are envisioned at the intersection of state Route 11, Transcontinental route 80 and state Route 46.
Suzi Shwartz, a three-time school champion in The Vindicator's annual spelling bee, outlasts 133 other school champions to win the crown. The 14-year-old pupil at Hayes Junior High School is the daughter of Atty. and Mrs. Ralph B. Shwartz.
The American steel industry is marshaling its forces for a price battle against low-priced foreign-made steel.
May 3, 1954: The need for good parental influences in the home to build strong character in a child is stressed by Methodist Bishop Hazen G. Werners at a "Christian Family Mass Rally" attended by 500 people at Epworth Methodist Church.
Demand for steel is beginning to turn up after a steady decline through the first four months of the year, Benjamin F. Fairless, chairman of the board of United States Steel Corp. tells stockholders.
Some fighter pilots and some F86D fighter planes from the Youngstown Air Force Base are temporarily assigned to nearby air bases while work of resurfacing the 7,500-foot northwest-southeast runway at Youngstown Municipal Airport is underway.
May 3, 1929: A tremendous increase in cigarette smoking in the United States during the first nine months of the 1929 fiscal year is seen in statistics released by the Internal Revenue Bureau. Cigarette taxes during that period total $247 million, an increase of $23 million over the same period a year earlier.
William E. Bliss, vice president and general manager of the Standard Slag Co., is selected president of the Federated Churches of Youngstown during a meeting at Central Christian Church.
Dangers of the diversion of water from the Mahoning watershed through construction of a new reservoir by the city of Salem are discussed by Youngstown Mayor Joseph L. Heffernan and P.G. Hiddleson, mayor of Salem.
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.