Today is Monday, Aug. 11, the 224th day of 2008. There are 142 days left in the year. On this date

Today is Monday, Aug. 11, the 224th day of 2008. There are 142 days left in the year. On this date in 1949, President Truman nominates Gen. Omar N. Bradley to become the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In 1919, Germany’s Weimar Constitution is signed by President Friedrich Ebert. In 1942, during World War II, Pierre Laval, prime minister of Vichy France, publicly declares that “the hour of liberation for France is the hour when Germany wins the war.” In 1954, a formal peace takes hold in Indochina, ending more than seven years of fighting between the French and Communist Vietminh. In 1956, abstract painter Jackson Pollock, 44, dies in an automobile accident on New York’s Long Island. In 1965, rioting and looting that claim 34 lives break out in the predominantly black Watts section of Los Angeles. In 1992, the Mall of America, the biggest shopping mall in the U.S., opens in Bloomington, Minn. In 1993, President Clinton names Army Gen. John Shalikashvili to be the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, succeeding the retiring Gen. Colin Powell.

August 11, 1983: A hand recount of ballots cast in about 90 precincts in the Youngstown Democratic mayoral primary begins. Patrick Ungaro won the race by a 97-vote margin over Robert Spencer.

More than enough signatures are gathered to place an issue on the November ballot that would raise the minimum beer drinking age in Ohio from 19 to 21.

August 11, 1968: Nineteen experienced Youngstown teachers participate in a week-long sensitivity training session at the Stagecoach Motor Inn. They will conduct shorter workshops for fellow teachers, including two-day sessions for all new teachers to the district.

Julius L. McCoy, 35, former Farrell, Pa., athlete, is named chief of the Equal Opportunity Division of the Pennsylvania Department of Highways.

August 11, 1958: Workers at the Mahoning County Board of Elections complete checking 379 right-to-work petitions signed by county residents and found that 14,463 are valid and 1,687 invalid. Only 5,500 were needed in the county.

A 15-year-old Columbiana boy who had three polio shots is diagnosed with nonparalytic polio in St. Elizabeth Hospital.

Three South Side youths are being held for juvenile authorities in connection with smashing soft drink machines and stealing the coins from nine service stations over a weekend.

Boardman Township electors will vote for the third time in five years on the issue of incorporation after petitions bearing 1,800 signatures are turned over to the Mahoning County Board of Elections.

August 11, 1933: Alfred Liebman is named manager of the Youngstown branch office of the Home Owners Corporation. It will open in Room 301 in the post office building to receive applications of home owners for loans.

Youngstown teachers receive a two-week pay following receipt of $115,000 from the county auditor’s office. The payment leaves only one more week due teachers and other school employees from the last school year, says George E. Roudebush, superintendent.