January 18th Major News Events

1944 U.S.A. Railroads Handed Back

For quite a while railroads were seized by the government, and operated by government bodies. On this day, labor disputes were settled, and the control of railroads was given back to their original owners. Wage increases promised back in December also have taken effect as well during this time in history.

1960

A woman age 38 had taken the lives of three out of five of her children and her husband. This happened just shortly after she was released in a mental hospital which she had stayed in for three weeks.

She had been suffering from depression since the birth of her son Kevin, who was four months old at the time she had shot at her children and her husband. (She had actually shot at all of them but two of the five children had lived. The husband and three others died.)

1964 Vietnam Helecoptor Lost

It was announced in a paper dated on this day four men total were lost after a helicopter went down in Vietnam near the Mouth of the Mekong River. Two of the men missing and presumed dead were from the United States, and one was from Great Britain, and another was from Vietnam.

The cause of this helicopter crash was an attack on the communists on both the U.S. and the American-supported Vietnamese troops. Eyewitnesses had reported that the attack had knocked off this ‘copter's tail rotor.

The name of this helicopter that had fallen was UH14, a piece of rocket-armed aircraft. Other helicopters fighting on the side of the Americans had been able to fish out the co-pilot of the aircraft that went down, along with a gunner.

However, none of the other bodies were recovered. This is the second helicopter that had gone down in two days. On the day before, five other helicopter crewmen were killed and three more were injured in the same area (Mekong River delta).

The casualties mentioned above had increased the total American combat troop death tool in Vietnam to over 100 at this time. In all, over 173 deaths had occurred as result of a variety of different causes.

Many more casualties had yet to occur by the time this war was to end. However, there was a purpose for this war-to help reunite both North and South Vietnam-which only occurred after a bloody battle, with the United States on the side of South Vietnam.

1969 Landslides

A tragic series of landslides and floods kill nearly 100 people these were caused by an extraordinary amount of rainfall.

1977 Australia Rail Crash

A crowded commuter train in a Sydney suburb derailed into a 100-ton bridge causing the bridge to collapse onto the train trapping hundreds of screaming passengers under tons of rubble

1996 Newbury Bypass Protests

Protestors against the A34 Newbury Bypass in Southern England now include six environmental organizations Friends of the Earth, the Council for British Archaeology, Greenpeace UK, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Wildlife Trusts and the World Wide Fund for Nature all voiced disapproval of the new road scheme. Activists fighting the building of the bypass have built tunnels and tree houses and are using themselves as human shields to prevent security men and diggers from moving in.

1996 Lisa Marie Presley

1996 : Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of the Late Rock Singer Elvis Presley Filed for divorce from Michael Jackson, who was her husband since May 26, 1994. Quite a bit of speculation surrounded the joining of Lisa-Marie and Michael in Matrimony. One rumor floating around was that Michael Jackson married at this time to either cash in on some of Lisa's Presley's father's inheritance money, or in order to boost declining record sales. Another suspicion was that perhaps Lisa-Marie wanted to use Michael to launch her own career. Yet another theory of the reason for Michael Jackson and Lisa-Marie Presley's union was to cover up child molestation allegations made against him. The reason that was given in court by Lisa-Marie was simply that of "irreconcilable differences".

1997 First To Cross Antarctic alone

Norwegian explorer Boerge Ousland became the first to cross the Antarctic alone after traveling for 64 days by skis or on foot.

2006 Japan Market Crash

Following a crash of the Japanese Nikkei share index, the exchange suspended share dealing at 1440 local time. The selling pressure is mostly a result of the Livedoor investigations, following allegations the company had violated Japanese securities laws and possible fraud. In 2007 Livedoor's founder Takafumi Horie was found guilty and sentenced to 2.5 years in jail.

2007 Australia Bush Fires

Bush Fires In Victoria and south of Australia are continuing to burn. The fires began in December with 70 separate fires started by lightening strikes due to the extremely high temperatures 40C. The Bush fires in Victoria lasted 69 days Ending on February 7th burning a total of 1,154,828 hectares the longest in Victoria's history

2010 Pakistan accuses India of unprovoked shots across its border

Pakistani and Indian forces have exchanged fire across their border, a Pakistani spokesman has said. The weekend's firearms issues were the latest in a series of incidents that have been raising tension between the rival states, which have been strained since India suspended the peace process from the Pakistani militia's 2008 assault on the Indian city of Mumbai. The latest incident took place on January 17th, and Indian forces are said to have used automatic weapons and opened 'unprovoked firing' on Pakistani positions in the Sialkot area, which is north of Lahore. A degree of bias can be assumed from either side's reports.

2011 Mansion in France Opened After 100 Years

A mansion once owned by a wealthy man named Louis Mantin, is reopened as a museum in Moulins, France. Mantin's will stated that his mansion should be locked for one hundred years after his death and then reopened for the public as a museum.   

2012 Websites Protest Over SOPA

Several thousand websites joined in a blackout protest over US lawmakers' SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protest Intellectual Property Act). Websites like Google and Wikipedia made a statement against the proposed laws, saying the the laws would not stop piracy and lacked cohesive definitions that could turn into an abuse of power. Many protesters argued that there were better ways to address the issue of online piracy and they did not want the government to make a hasty decision.

2013 Russian Activist Commits Suicide

Anti-Putin activist Alexander Dolmatov was found dead after committing suicide in a detention center in the Netherlands. Officials believe his suicide was not triggered by the country's refusal to grant him asylum.

2014 South Sudan Forces Recapture Bor

2014 : South Sudan military forces announced that they have successfully recaptured the town of Bor from rebels in the country. The town is a strategic holding and has changed hands several times throughout the conflict.