List of February 18th Major News Events

1938 Twister Rodessa, Louisiana

A twister that hit in Rodessa, Louisiana has left a trail of death with 25 killed so far. Numerous more people were missing, and serious damage had been done to the area . Some of the worst area damage that had been done (besides the taking of human lives) included the "swooping" of about a dozen supply shacks and oil wells. These shacks and wells had been carried well over a mile, by up to several hundred yards wide. The search is still on for the rest of the persons who were still not found.

1943 White Rose movement

A small group of anti Nazi students known as the White Rose movement were arrested after distributing leaflets with anti NAZI Propaganda are arrested and sentenced 5 days later by "The Peoples Court" to death and are beheaded.

1951 Russia Cold War Conflict

Great Britain had held the Russians accountable for using excessive force, rebellious actions, and various aggressive tactics to prevent peace. Great Britain's charge against Russia was initiated after Great Britain was accused of violating a peace agreement by assisting in the re-arming of West Germany. After Russia's charge against Great Britain, a five-page note had been prepared and sent to Soviet Ambassador Georgi N. Zarubin. Russia was being of using too much aggression around the world. This force was used in order to spread its communist ideologies.

1964 Cuba Trade Embargo

1964 : The US displays it's anger at countries that are still trading with Cuba by stopping military assistance , the countries include Britain, France, and Yugoslavia. The US was trying to destabilize the Castro Regime and used any means at their disposal.

1965 Mining Tragedy

An avalanche and Glacial Slide caused the deaths of 26 miners who were removing copper ore from underneath a glacier in British Columbia.

1965

James Bonard Fowler shoots Jimmie Lee Jackson

1965 : 500 people march in protest from Zion United Methodist Church in Marion, Alabama to the City Jail about a half a block away where a young Civil Rights worker was being held. They are stopped by Marion City police officers, sheriff's deputies and Alabama State Troopers from proceeding and while stopped city lights go off and police begin beating the protesters ( members of the press are also attacked by the police ) in the melee that follows a number of shots are fired and Jimmie Lee Jackson is shot in the stomach dying 1 week later of his wounds. At the time no charges were made as the police officer claimed Jackson attempted to take his gun from his holster.

42 years after the shooting in 2007 James Bonard Fowler is charged with first degree and second degree murder for the death of Jimmie Lee Jackson and is awaiting trial.

1970 Chicago Seven

Five of the Chicago Seven defendants were found guilty of intent to incite a riot at the 1968 Democratic national convention. The convictions were later overturned by the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on November 21st, 1972.

1972 Death Penalty

The California Supreme Court eliminated the death penalty with a 6-1 vote, saying it was unconstitutional

1981 England Miners Strike

1981 : Mrs Thatcher's Government withdraws plans to close 23 pits following a miners strike

1996 IRA Bomb Londa

IRA Terrorist bomb destroys London Bus killing three people

2001 Dale Earnhardt

Dale Earnhardt died in a crash during the Daytona 500

2003 South Korea Subway Fire

An arsonist had set a subway on fire . This fire was started when a man had ignited a gasoline container on board. A total of 189 people were killed and another 150 were injured.

2005 England Fox Hunting

Fox hunting with dogs becomes illegal in England and Wales which is bitterly opposed by the Countryside Alliance which supports fox hunting.

2007 U.S. and Israel will not talk to the Palestinian Authority

2007 : The U.S. and Israel will not be working with the new Palestinian unity government unless it recognises Israel. The Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had said as much on the day before the three-way talks with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas began. Rice has been holding separate talks with both men on this, the first day.

2009 General Motors says that it will be cutting 47,000 jobs worldwide

General Motors has said that it will be axing 47,000 jobs around the world in 2009. The car giant has said that 26,000 of its job cuts will come from outside of the U.S. They added it would need a total of $30 billion in government aid by 2011 to avoid a complete collapse. With its restructuring, G.M. will be expecting to start repaying this in 2012, and fully pay it off by 2017. The firm said the cutbacks would see five of its U.S. factories shut down.

2009 U.B.S. agrees to pay $780 million, and hand over account information after helping U.S. clients evade the I.R.S

Switzerland's largest bank, the Union Bank of Switzerland, has admitted helping U.S. taxpayers hide money from the I.R.S, and has agreed to pay $780 million in fines and restitution. The deferred prosecution agreement was approved by a federal court judge in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. And the Justice Department has said that U.B.S. has 'admitted to conspiring to defraud the United States by impeding the I.R.S.'

2009 Google lawsuit dismissed

The Pittsburgh couple that filed a legal claim at Google's Street View for violating their privacy have had their case thrown out by a federal judge. Christine and Aaron Boring had sued the search giant after photos of their home appeared on the free mapping program. The couple accused Google of privacy violation, negligence, trespassing and unjust enrichment. In her ruling, Judge Amy Reynolds Hay said the Borings had 'failed to state a claim under any count.' The Borings live on a driveway labeled 'Private Road,' and they claimed that Google would have had to have taken pictures from it.

2010 Barack Obama meets the Dalai Lama

US President Barack Obama has been hosting the Dalai Lama at the White House, where he has brushed aside China's complaints that a meeting with the Tibetan leader will damage the already strained Sino-U.S. negotiations. China is at odds with Washington over trade, currencies, U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and for Chinese Internet censorship. By going ahead with the meeting, Obama has been trying to show his resolve against an increasingly assertive Beijing. The President has already been criticized for being too soft with China's leaders on his November trip.

2010 The International Atomic Energy Agency warns that Iran could be developing a nuclear Warhead

The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog has raised concerns that Iran might be developing a nuclear warhead for its missiles. The new director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (I.A.E.A.) has broken with the more cautious style of Mohamed ElBaradei, and suggested that Iran might be constructing a weapon. The watchdog's report to the I.A.E.A. board has also confirmed that Iran has succeeded in producing 20% enriched uranium, a level of enrichment much closer to weapons grade than it had attempted before.

2011 Australian Town Changes Name

The small town of Speed, Australia, changed its name for a month. The forty-five inhabitants of Speed agreed to change the town's name to SpeedKills for a month for publicity during a road safety campaign.  

 

2012 Iranian Warships Enter Mediterranean Sea

Iranian warships reach the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez time marking only the second time this has happened since the revolution in 1979. The previous time this happened was February of 2011. Iranian Naval chief Admiral Habibollah Sayari said that the mission was a way for Iran to demonstrate Iran's "might" and relay the country's "message of peace." A few days later military officials in Iran indicated that they would make a pre-emptive strike against enemies if the country felt that national interests were in danger.

2013 Ecuadorian Presidential Election

Rafael Correa, the president of Ecuador, was re-elected for his third term. Correa won the election with more than fifty percent of the vote but critics state he has dictatorial intentions and has focused policy on consolidating power.

2014 Clashes Between Protests and Police

Anti-government protesters and police in Bangkok clashed resulting in at least four deaths and several injuries. The clashes came as police began trying to clear protest sites that had been occupied for nearly a year.