Today is Wednesday, Jan. 18, the 18th day of 2006. There are 347 days left in the year. On this date

Today is Wednesday, Jan. 18, the 18th day of 2006. There are 347 days left in the year. On this date in 1912, English explorer Robert F. Scott and his expedition reach the South Pole, only to discover that Roald Amundsen had beaten them to it. (Scott and his party perish during the return trip.)
In 1778, English navigator Captain James Cook reaches the Hawaiian Islands, which he dubs the "Sandwich Islands." In 1788, the first English settlers arrive in Australia's Botany Bay to establish a penal colony. In 1862, the 10th president of the United States, John Tyler, dies in Richmond, Va., at age 71. In 1919, the World War I Peace Congress opens in Versailles, France. In 1936, author Rudyard Kipling dies in Burwash, England. In 1943, during World War II, the Soviets announce they have broken the long Nazi siege of Leningrad. In 1943, a wartime ban on the sale of pre-sliced bread in the U.S. -- aimed at reducing bakeries' demand for metal replacement parts -- goes into effect. In 1967, Albert DeSalvo, who claims to be the "Boston Strangler," is convicted in Cambridge, Mass., of armed robbery, assault and sex offenses. (Sentenced to life, DeSalvo is killed by a fellow inmate in 1973.)
January 18, 1981: The Shenango Valley, which became a symbol of the nation's concern for the American hostages in Iran as a flag was added each day to the display at Hillcrest Memorial Park, is planning a Welcome Home Day for the Hostages, who are expected to be released within days, if not hours.
The General Motors Assembly Division's Lordstown van plant is closed for two shifts as repairs are made on spray-painting equipment damaged in a fire. About 1,800 workers were affected each shift.
An overheated light bulb explodes, igniting a section of the decorative plastic ceiling in the east concourse of Southern Park Mall and sending heavy, acrid smoke into 15 shops. The fire broke out overnight and was spotted and reported by two carpet cleaners.
January 18, 1966: Former Brookfield Police Chief James Luchette and five constables, all fired Jan. 1 by the new Brookfield Township trustees, advise trustees by letter that they are available for duty and expect to be paid for the full year.
Construction is expected to begin in the spring on a three-mile section of Interstate 80 between the Ohio Turnpike and State Route 46 north of Austintown Center.
Youngstown police continue to tow cars and motorists flood the violations bureau to pay their unpaid parking tickets. More than $1,200 was collected in two days; about $14,000 worth of unpaid tickets are outstanding.
January 18, 1956: Youngstown and other Mahoning County school districts will not share in the special appropriation of $7 million by the General Assembly for emergency school building needs. All of the local districts have valuations-per-pupil that meet or exceed the $6,000 minimum and none has exceeded the 9 percent debt limit.
A goal of $201,688 is set for the Mahoning County chapter of the Red Cross, an increase of $14,988 from the 1955 quota.
Two Youngstown men are sentenced to two to 15 years in prison for possession of marijuana, the first local cases to the sentenced under the state's new, tougher anti-drug law.
January 18, 1931: Youngstown steel plants are showing slow, steady increases in production, resulting in the call-back of hundreds of workers throughout the district.
In a laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., physicist Albert Einstein creates what is believed to be the highest temperature ever seen in a laboratory, the equivalent of 36,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Youngstown Hospital Association, which showed a decrease in the number of patients in nearly every department in 1930, reports a year-end loss of $123,088. South Side unit expenditures were $490,642; income, $424,440. North Side spent $324,544, with income of $267,658.