Today is Wednesday, July 12, the 193rd day of 2006. There are 172 days left in the year. On this

Today is Wednesday, July 12, the 193rd day of 2006. There are 172 days left in the year. On this date in 1862, Congress authorizes the Medal of Honor.
In 1543, England's King Henry VIII marries his sixth and last wife, Catherine Parr. In 1690, Protestant forces led by William of Orange defeat the Roman Catholic army of James II at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland. In 1817, naturalist-author Henry David Thoreau is born in Concord, Mass. In 1948, the Democratic National Convention opens in Philadelphia. In 1972, George McGovern wins the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's convention in Miami Beach. In 1977, President Carter defends Supreme Court decisions limiting government payments for poor women's abortions, saying, "There are many things in life that are not fair." In 1984, Democratic presidential candidate Walter F. Mondale announces he has chosen U.S. Rep. Geraldine A. Ferraro of New York to be his running-mate; Ferraro is the first woman to run for vice president on a major-party ticket. In 1985, doctors discover what turns out to be a cancerous growth in President Reagan's large intestine, prompting surgery the following day. In 1993, 196 people are killed when a magnitude-7.8 earthquake strikes northern Japan. In 1996, the House votes overwhelmingly to define marriage in federal law as a legal union of one man and one woman -- no matter what states might say.
July 12, 1981: The world's largest industrial corporation -- General Motors -- is undergoing marked realignment that could have a considerable impact on the Youngstown district. With nearly 22,000 employees at its Lordstown plant and the Packard Electric Division, GM is the area's largest individual employer.
The docket in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court remains clogged with pending cases, but one judge, Donald R. Ford, has cut his docket significantly by compulsory arbitration for minor litigation and innovative pretrial procedures.
Sean Cameron, 13, of Howland plays the role of a school boy witness in "Inherit the Wind," the courtroom drama based on the 1925 "Scopes monkey trial" in Tennessee. He is a cousin, several times removed, from Judge John. T. Raulston, the judge in the trial.
July 12, 1966: The Youngstown Board of Education adopts a proposed budget for 1967 totaling a $14.7 million, which is slightly under the 1966 budget.
Diane Fortine of Glenwood Avenue is one of the 16 winners in a national dramatics scholarship contest sponsored by the ABC television network. The scholarship, valued at $1,500, includes all tuition and fees at the famous American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York.
Ohio State University says 10 students were dismissed and 29 others received failing grades and suspensions of three months to six months in "the worst cheating scandal in the university's history." The cheating happened in a freshman mathematics course.
July 12, 1956: Mrs. Angela Valentini, 31, of Boardman, the mother of three small children, is accidentally shot and killed during pistol target practice in a stone quarry off Sarah Street in the Brier Hill area.
A large boulder with a bronze memorial plaque will be placed in Firestone Park to mark the site of the pioneer log cabin built in Columbiana by the forebears of U.S. Sen. Marcus A. Hanna of Cleveland. Hanna managed the successful presidential campaign of President William McKinley and served as a senator from Ohio at the turn of the century.
The Ohio Supreme Court rules that Paul Andrish, a public school teacher, is entitled to a seat in Youngstown City Council because the city's charter qualifications for legislators prevail over a state statue that bars councilmen from holding other public employment.
July 12, 1931: The hundreds of Youngstown boys and girls who will be attending two fresh air camps over the summer are expected to gain a total of more than 6,000 pounds of fat and muscle.
G.E. Roudebush, who has been recommended as the new superintendent of Youngstown city schools, says that every school district has problems peculiar to itself and he intends to begin an immediate appraisal of Youngstown schools.
John J. Arnold, Mahoning County auditor, says residential real estate values have decreased an average of about 13 percent in Youngstown under reappraisal being conducted by his office.