Today is Friday, Dec. 19, the 353rd day of 2014. There are 12 days left in the year.

December 19, 2014 at 12:00a.m.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

1777: Gen. George Washington leads his army of about 11,000 men to Valley Forge, Pa., to camp for the winter.

1907: Some 239 workers die in a coal mine explosion in Jacobs Creek, Pa.

1932: The British Broadcasting Corp. begins transmitting overseas with its Empire Service to Australia.

1946: War breaks out in Indochina as troops under Ho Chi Minh launched widespread attacks against the French.

1974: Nelson A. Rockefeller is sworn in as the 41st vice president of the United States in the U.S. Senate chamber by Chief Justice Warren Burger with President Gerald R. Ford looking on (in a first for the Senate, the proceeding was televised live).

VINDICATOR FILES

1989: Federal safety investigators who examined the General Motors plant in Lordstown recorded 750 alleged health and safety violations and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has recommended fines of $211,000.

Mahoning County Coroner Dr. Nathan Belinky is honored for 50 years in the medical profession by the Mahoning County Medical Society.

1974: Chan Cochran, a 32-year-old reporter covering state government for the Columbus Dispatch, is named by Gov.-elect James A. Rhodes as an administrative assistant. Cochran, a Youngstown area native, is a former Vindicator reporter.

The Packard Electric Division of General Motors, which had announced it would layoff 1,000 additional production employees after the new year, increases the number to 1,800.

1964: Auto dealer Wayne H. Barrett is the new chairman of the advisory board of the Salvation Army.

For the second year, Jim Brown is declared the leading ground gainer of the National Football League, carrying the ball for 1,446 years in 280 attempts for the Cleveland Browns.

1939: A petition signed by 75 South Side residents and businessmen backing a professional baseball stadium in the city is delivered to City Council.

Youngstown City Council delays approval of the federal surplus commodities food stamp plan despite a plea from Congressman Michael J. Kirwan for speedy action so that the city may be assured of a place on the list of cities receiving the benefits.