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Top Ten Leasing News
August 10 - August 14

(Stories most opened by readers)

 

(1) I’ve taken another close look at the budget….
    Cartoon
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Aug2020/08_12.htm#cartoon

(2) New Hires/Promotions in the Leasing Business
    and Related Industries
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Aug2020/08_14.htm#hires

(3) Financing Cannabis Funding Sources
    Many Work with Third Party Originators
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Aug2020/08_10.htm#cannabis

(4) COVID-19 Crushes Construction Starts
    Irontrax.com
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Aug2020/08_14.htm#covid

(5) Chesswood Announces Q2 2020 Results
    and COVID Update ($20,367,000 six month loss before taxes)
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Aug2020/08_10.htm#chesswood

(6) Op-Ed: Trump just made another huge
    and illegal power grab. Be very alarmed
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-08-10/executive-order-unconstitutional

(7) Big Four U.S. Banks Report Widespread Loan Deferral
    DSNews.com
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Aug2020/08_10.htm#big

(8) July, 2020 - The List
    "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Aug2020/08_12.htm#july_list

(9) JC Penney: Will the Last Person to Leave Turn Out the Lights
    By Douglas A. McIntyre, 247walst.com
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Aug2020/08_14.htm#jcp

(10) Adjusting Your Network
    Sales Makes it Happen by Scott Wheeler, CLFP
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Aug2020/08_12.htm#adjusting

 

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Leasing News Advisor
Paul Menzel, CLFP

Paul Menzel, CLFP
INTEGRA Capital Services, Inc.
Santa Barbara California
pmenzel@integracapitalservices.com

Paul is semi-retired in Santa Barbara, California after 45 years in the equipment leasing and finance industry. He is currently providing advisory services to the finance and banking industries under INTEGRA Capital Services, LLC. He arranged the sale of Financial Pacific Leasing as its President & CEO to Umpqua Bank in 2013. Umpqua established a bank leasing subsidiary operating in the third-party originations, vendor and direct channels.  Umpqua has $22 Billion in assets and Financial Pacific Leasing has over $1.5 Billion in assets.

He continued as President and CEO and was then was appointed President and CEO of Umpqua Bank Equipment Leasing and Finance. He joined Financial Pacific in 2008 after a 33-year career managing a small ticket leasing portfolio operation in Santa Barbara, California.  He started in the leasing industry in 1975 with Puritan Leasing Company (where he first met Kit Menkin, editor and publisher of Leasing News). He then managed the operation and its acquisition by Cal Fed Credit in 1986, by Pacific Capital Bank NA (fka Santa Barbara Bank & Trust) in 1996, and by LEAF Financial Corporation in 2007.  As SVP of Community Lending for Pacific Capital Bank, he oversaw the Leasing, Small Business and Indirect Auto Lending units of the Bank, managing over $750 MM in assets. He is past Board Member of the Equipment Leasing & Finance Association, having chaired their Code of Fair Business Practices and Small-Ticket Business Council Committees.  He also served on the Industry Future Council.  In 2005, Paul was named “Leasing Person of the Year” by Leasing News.

He became a CLP (now CLFP-Certified Leasing and Finance Professional) in 1990. He participated in the development of the CLP Handbook by writing the original chapter on Portfolio Management.  He also assisted in training and mentoring early candidates while also grading tests. 

“I’ve always seen myself as a lifetime learner as a mean to keeping life interesting and furthering my career.  I obtained my MBA by going to school in the evenings and on weekends, In my first leasing job right out of college, I taught myself how to prepare my own taxes since I was learning small business credit analysis including how to interpret guarantor’s tax returns.  I believe that ‘Knowledge is King’ in creating a positive outcome in any situation so I have lived by that tenet in advancing my leasing career.  Pursuing the CLP was just an early and beneficial step in that process.”

He attended Santa Barbara City College, earning a BS in Business Administration from UC Berkeley in 1974 and an MBA in Management from Golden Gate University. In college, he was a basketball player and track and field athlete. He has an elite place on the wall along with other great San Marcos High School and Santa Barbara Athletic Roundtable Hall of Famers. In Santa Barbara, he served the Organizing Committee of the Easter Relays; founding President of the La Playa Community Sports Association (which raised $750,000 to create a state-of-the-art track facility); Goleta Boys and Girls Club, past-President (he spent a lot of time there as a kid); United Boys and Girls Clubs; the non-profit Balance Bar (SB Volleyball Club), past-President; Parks and Recreation Community Foundation; Public Education Foundation; and the SB Athletic Round Table, past-President 1993-95.

He and wife Karen (De La Torre) Menzel have three children, Marisa, Erica, and Jeffrey along with five grandchildren. Paul is spending his time in lockdown, semi-retirement working in the garden/orchard as well as trying to vastly improve his golf game.

 

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Leasing News
Chairman, Advisory Board
Bob Teichman, CLFP	Teichman Financial Training, Mill Valley, CA.
Vice Chair, Advisory Board
Shari Lipski, CLFP	ECS Financial Services, Northbrook, IL
Advisory Board
Ben Carlile	Maxim Commercial Capital, Los Angeles, CA
Ed Castagna	InPlace Auction, Melville, NY
Steve Crane, CLFP	BSB Leasing, Englewood, CO
Dale Davis	Endeavor Financial Services, Costa Mesa, CA
Phil Dushey	Global Financial Services, Manhattan, NY
Ken Greene, Esq.	Kenneth Charles Greene Law Offices, Westlake Village, CA
Shawn Halladay	Pitney Bowes Bank, Salt Lake City, Utah
Ed Kaye	Access Commercial Capital, Lake Success, NY
Bruce Kropschot	Kropschot Financial Services, Naples, FL
David C. Lee	North Mill Equipment Finance, Norwalk, CT
Allan Levine	Madison Capital, LLC., Owings Mills, MD
Bruce Lurie	Douglas-Guardian Services Corporation, Houston, TX
Don Myerson	BSB Leasing, Colorado, HI
Reid Raykovich, CLFP	CLFP, Seattle, WA
Hugh Swandel	Meridian OneCap Credit, Burnaby, B.C.

Publisher/Editor-in-Chief
Christopher Menkin	Saratoga, California
Associate Publisher/Webmaster
Rick Jones	Brentwood, California
Advisory Board/Associate Editor
Ralph Mango	Reston, Virginia

Funders Taking "New" Broker Business List
Four Do Not Require that Brokers Be Licensed

BSB Leasing, Inc.
Bankers Capital
C.H. Brown Company
Forum Financial Services
TimePayment Corp.

The following “funders” have informed Leasing News they will consider business from “new” third party originators.  Many companies require a certain length of time in business and other requirements, such as a specific volume of business.  These “funders” will consider submissions from those new in the leasing and finance business:

Full Information:
http://leasingnews.org/Pages/new_brokers2014.html

 

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Leasing Industry Help Wanted

 

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Jim's column from first week of August, 2017, made the first week of August, 2020, week's Top ten most read articles in Leasing News. So I thought I would bring up his September 1, 2017 column.  It is more germane today than August 7, 2017 with all the people laid off looking for employment

Jim Acee contributed some great articles before he went back to work, He is now National Program Manager, VP Material Handling at Bank of the West.  - Editor

 

Observations from the Front Porch
By Jim Acee

A simple professional courtesy: The turndown letter

As some of you may know, my position was eliminated at my last employer. As such, I have been forced to subject myself to all the BS that goes along with looking for a new job.

Fortunately for you, this is not another article about effective methods for finding a new job. It’s about a beef I have with recruiters and hiring managers that do not send out turndowns after a job interview.
Yup, that’s it. The simple, professional courtesy of sending a two-paragraph form letter/email that says we have found someone else that better fits our needs, good luck with your job search.

 Now, don’t get me wrong, if I’ve taken five minutes to fill out an online job application, I don’t really care if you send me a turndown (although many do). The way I figure it, I’ve put in a minimum amount of effort, so I don’t really expect much from the HR recruiter that is so proudly displayed on the LinkedIn job posting. Chances are some software program has already eliminated my application because I did not have the right buzz words to attract further consideration. I am cool with that, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

My complaint is with the recruiter or hiring manager (usually someone on the senior leadership team) that has taken the time to phone interview me or worse yet, has flown me cross country, put me up in a hotel, paid for meals, taken the time of a half dozen senior managers to conduct interviews and then don’t have the courtesy of telling me I did not get the job.

If this had happened once, well, I would just chalk it up to a fluke. But out of a dozen or so face to face, video and phone interviews, less than half have let me know that they chose someone else, the others, radio silence.

 I’m not talking about a week or a month of nothing, but more than six months. I religiously follow up after a month and then again in two months requesting a status. Yet I get no returned calls or emails, nothing, not even a simple ‘go away kid, you’re bothering me’. What’s going on here folks?

I am sure some recruiter will reply to this posting telling me that they are too busy, that they get so many resumes that they can’t possibly respond to everyone they interview. Or, they will blame the hiring manager for not keeping them in the loop.  Really?!

As a manager, you’ve put time aside out of your busy schedule to spend an hour on the phone with me, yet you can’t take 30 seconds to follow it up with a form email?  In one case a company spent over $1500 to fly me cross country for face to face interviews with their senior leadership team, but did not take the effort to tell me I did not get the job (it’s been four months since the interview with no returned emails or phone calls to both the manager and recruiter, something tells me I did not get the job).

I’m trying to figure out if it’s a lack of professionalism, general incompetence or just an overall distain for job applicants.

Those of you that have not had to look for a job for a while may have trouble empathizing with me, I get it. But when you’re out of a job, every interview provides some hope of getting back to work.

I would rather get a quick no than sit in anticipation for months on end, only to give up when I read in the Leasing News, LinkedIn or the Monitor that so and so was just hired by company X, for the job I had interviewed for six months ago. Recruiters and hiring managers, please put me out of my misery! Tell me I did not get the job, not just sooner than later, but at all.

Jim Acee  
jjacee@verizon.net
He has a rich background, serving as
DLL Country Sales Manager;
Vice President, Syndication Buy Desk; 
Vice President, Field Sales, Wells Fargo Capital Finance;
Managing Director, Vendor Leasing, US Bank;
Director of Sales, US Bancorp (formerly BCL). 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-acee-578a03b

Observations from the Front Porch by Jim Acee
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/porch.html

 

Most Profit per Employee
visualcapitalist.com

Housing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac take two of the top three spots, bringing in $1.9 million and $1.0 million per employee respectively in 2019.

The two U.S. government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) are major players in the secondary mortgage market, buying and repackaging nearly half the mortgages in the country. The duo was allowed to retain their profits as of October 2019, instead of returning them to the U.S. Treasury.

Apple employs 137,000 people—the largest workforce by far among the 40 companies profiled—but still makes $403,328 per employee. Facebook is the only other tech giant to bring in more money per employee at $411,308.

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Sales Makes it Happen by Steve Chriest

Financial Statements

As a sales professional, there is at least one sure-fire way to increase your value to your company and to any organization – learn to read and understand financial statements.

An outsider might think that surely everyone in the equipment finance business would know all about financial statements but that doesn't seem to be true. I am told, in fact, that a great many salespeople in the finance industry don't know much, if anything, about financial statements.

I think most managers would agree that many equipment finance salespeople don't need to become experts in reading financial statements. Unless a salesperson is coincidentally involved in structuring transactions that requires expertise in financial analysis, it may not be necessary to become an expert in analyzing financials. Conversely, understanding the basics of financial statements can't hurt professionally and can help salespeople personally and professionally.

In keeping with my perspective that people change behaviors only when they perceive something beneficial in it for them to do so, here is my short list of the benefits to leasing salespeople of learning to read and understand financial statements:

The ability to read and understand financial statements will make you appear smarter.

• You will build credibility in your organization with your managers, credit analysts and senior managers.
• You will build credibility with your customers as you demonstrate through analysis that you truly understand their business.
• You will save yourself gobs of time as you learn to reject deals that you know will waste the time of credit analysts and will lead to frustration for everyone.
• You will gain confidence and independence when making personal investment decisions.

From a selfish perspective, assisting credit analysts with an educated point of view on a deal, or saving them time by discarding deals that don't meet the prescribed credit approval parameters, will naturally position you in the eyes of the credit analysts as a professional who cares about their time and workload. Don't be surprised when most analysts are willing to listen to you when you want to present a deal that doesn't quite fit the credit box, but may deserve consideration based on other criteria.

Finally, achieving some level of expertise in understanding financial statements can actually be fun. All businesses, sooner or later, suffer from commoditization and become white elephants, you understand that “profit” isn't the end-game of business but it is the ultimate cost of staying in business. Without profits and real free cash flow, a company is unable to continue the investments it must make to stay competitive. When you reach this point, you begin to look at a company's financials with a different perspective. You may even come up with an idea no one else has thought of for keeping a business profitable or helping a business out of trouble. You then cannot only perhaps help the customer financially with a lease or loan but become a valuable advisor and make a good business friend.

If you are truly looking for a way to become a more valuable resource to your company, and to your customers, learn about financial statements. There are more resources than ever to help you learn--- online programs as well as books and webinars available---and you will profit professionally and personally!

Steve Chriest
https://www.openadvance.com/
1-925-570-5459
Direct: schriest@sbcglobal.net

 

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Academy for Certified Lease & Finance Professionals
Three Sessions, Three Virtual Online

A screen shot from the first day of the first online Academy for Leasing and Finance Professionals by U.S. Bank Equipment Leasing

The Academy for Lease and Finance Professionals (ALFP) is a three-day event designed to fully prepare an individual to sit for the CLFP exam assuming the attendee has already self-studied. During the first two days, all of the required sections of the CLFP exam are covered in-depth and on the third day, the exam is offered, but not mandatory.

Students are strongly advised to have read and studied The Certified Lease & Finance Professionals' Handbook prior to attending the class in order to ensure success.

     Great American Insurance Online ALFP (Public)  Virtual
     When
     Aug 20 – 22, 2020
     Where
     301 E. 4th Street, Floor 23, Conference Room 1, Cincinnati,
         OH 45202

     IDS On Line (Public)  Virtual
     When
     Sep 17 – 19, 2020
    (No Location)

     Ascentium Capital Private ALFP (Scottsdale, AZ)  Virtual
     When
     Jan 7 – 9, 2021
     Where
     4141 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85251
        (Keyser Conference Room)

If you are interested in attending, please contact Reid Raykovich, Executive Director: Reid@clfpfoundation.org

About Academy
https://clfpfoundation.org/academy-for-lease-and-finance-professionals/

 

Husky, Siberian
Costa Mesa, California
Adopt-a-Dog

Meena

PPR-A-105
Female
6 years, 7 months
Kennel #6

My name is Meena! I am a sweet girl with lots of love to give. I get along well with other dogs given the proper introduction. I am a little bit older, so with age comes some health concerns. I am on a pill a day to help with my bladder and will need to continue that medication for life. I know I may look silly with my fur shaved, but I was so severely matted that I had to be shaved completely and the fox tails removed from my fur in order to make me more comfortable. I can't wait to meet you! My adoption donation is $150.

Priceless Pets
1536 Newport Blvd
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
info@pricelsspetrescue.org

Hours
Mon – Tues : Closed
Wed – Fri : 12 pm – 7 pm
Sat : 12 pm – 5 pm
Sun : 12 pm – 4 pm

All adoptions include spay or neuter, microchip, vaccinations, and current rabies (dogs).
           

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Your Dog Advisor
When and How to Give Your Dog Eye Drops

https://yourdogadvisor.com/dog-eye-drops/

 

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"This Way Forward" to a whole new experience

SFNet's 76th Annual Convention, "This Way Forward," is live online for 2020. Join us November 17-19 as we look at what the future holds for our industry and how we get there together.

Our virtual event offers all the great content you expect, along with an opportunity to connect with an even broader group of attendees. Our new online platform, SFNet Connect, facilitates a rewarding online experience—AI-assisted networking, over 30 sessions, high-profile keynote speakers, and more. You can check out the platform experience here.

Also new for 2020 is a pricing policy that extends the benefits of convention programming to your entire team. You can find out all about it here.

Registration is now open. Don't wait to secure your spot at the largest gathering of secured finance professionals in the world.

Details/Registration

https://www.sfnet.com/home/76th-annual-convention

News Briefs----

The nation’s biggest public transit system is facing ruin.
     Will Congress save it?
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/16/mta-new-york-biggest-public-transit-system-congress-395717

Americans are waiting on a new economic stimulus
     — but Congress is in recess until Labor Day
https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/article244941862.html?

Sabotage, weaponizing, vandalism:
    What Gavin Newsom thinks of Trump’s treatment of USPS
https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article244970310.html?

Postal Service warns 46 states their voters could be
    disenfranchised by delayed mail-in ballots
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/usps-states-delayed-mail-in-ballots/2020/08/14/64bf3c3c-dcc7-11ea-8051-d5f887d73381_story.html

With slower mail and election concerns,
     Trump's postmaster general is in the hot seat
https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/16/politics/dejoy-post-office-hot-seat-election-2020/index.html

Coronavirus complicates California’s worst power shortage
    in two decades: people staying home in A/C homes
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-08-16/covid-19-restrictions-help-push-california-power-grid-to-breaking-point-amid-extreme-heat

Canary in the coal mine:
     Greenland ice has shrunk beyond return, study finds
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-arctic/canary-in-the-coal-mine-greenland-ice-has-shrunk-beyond-return-study-finds-idUSKCN25A2X3

 

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You May Have Missed---

State and Local Budget Pain
    Looms Over Economy’s Future
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/14/business/economy/state-local-budget-pain.html

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Sports Briefs---

Patriots coach Bill Belichick praises
    new QB Cam Newton's work ethic
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/patriots/2020/08/14/new-england-patriots-cam-newton-praised-bill-belichick/3374653001/

Packers president: 80% of season ticket holders opted out
http://www.theredzone.org/Blog-Description/EntryId/83028/Packers-president--80--of-season-ticket-holders-opted-out

Quarterback Alex Smith activated off
     the physically unable to perform list
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/08/16/quarterback-alex-smith-expected-be-activated-off-physically-unable-perform-list-sunday/?hpid=hp_sports1-8-12_alex-smith-1am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans

49ers' Jerick McKinnon shows what he can do
    in first practice of camp
https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/49ers/49ers-jerick-mckinnon-shows-what-he-can-do-first-practice-camp

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California Nuts Briefs---

Thunder and lightning sweep over San Francisco Bay Area
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/08/16/thunder-and-lightning-sweeps-over-bay-area/

California avoided rolling blackouts for two decades.
    What went wrong on the grid?
https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article244988455.html?

The 2020 San Francisco exodus is real and historic, report shows
https://www.sfgate.com/living-in-sf/article/2020-San-Francisco-exodus-is-real-and-historic-15484785.php

Santa Clara Assessor staff wins fight to work from home
https://sanjosespotlight.com/santa-clara-county-assessor-workers-in-battle-over-covid-19-rules/

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“Gimme that Wine”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJnQoi8DSE8

Road ahead for wine business
https://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/article/industrynews/road-ahead-for-wine-business/

Terra Firma Global Partners in California Wine Country
     acquired by Corcoran Global Living
https://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/article/industrynews/terra-firma-global-partners-in-california-wine-country-acquired-by-corcoran/

Monterey County Kicks Off 2020 Grape Harvest
https://www.winebusiness.com/news/?go=getArticle&dataId=235198

Treasury Wine Estates warns pandemic has
     impacted sales to major wine markets
https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/other-industries/treasury-wine-estates-warns-pandemic-has-impacted-ability-to-export-wine-to-major-markets/news-story/20f5bdfbe6c85975d158fd03eac9b48c

Cognac Makes a Covid Comeback
https://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2020/08/cognac-makes-a-covid-comeback

Free Wine App
https://www.nataliemaclean.com/mobileapp/

Wine Prices by vintage
http://www.winezap.com
http://www.wine-searcher.com/

This Day in History

     1585 - The Roanoke Island colony, sponsored by Sir Walter Raleigh, was established on Roanoke Island, off the northeast coast of what is now North Carolina, under the leadership of Sir Richard Gren­ville and Sir Ralph Lane. The settlers fared badly and returned to England in June of 1586. In 1587, Raleigh sent out another group, under John White, consisting of 117 men, women, and children. White returned to England for supplies but was unable to get back to Roanoke until Aug. 17, 1590. He found all the colo­nists gone; the only clue to their fate was the word Croatoan carved on a tree. The meaning of this remains unexplained and no trace was ever found of the settlers.
    1635 - English Puritan Richard Mather, 39, first arrived in Boston. A staunch defender of the congregational form of church government, Mather is remembered today for founding the "dynasty" to which was born his son Increase Mather in 1639, and his grandson Cotton Mather in 1663.
    1735 - Evening Post began publishing, Boston, by T. Fleet.
    1786 - American Frontiersman Davy Crockett was born at Hawkins County, TN, then a part of North Carolina. He died during the final heroic defense of the Alamo, March 6, 1836, at San Antonio, TX. In his autobiography, 1834, when he was a congressman, Crockett wrote, “I leave this rule for others when I am dead. Be always sure you’re right—then go ahead.”  Crockett served two separate terms in the House, representing Tennessee.
    1788 - Losantville, OH (now Cincinnati), was founded.
    1790 - First presidential declaration of the free and equal status of Jewish-American citizens.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/aug17.html
    1807 - Robert Fulton began the first American steamboat trip between Albany and New York, New York. He revolutionized transportation and the growth of the country, but was laughed at for his invention. The US Minister of France, Robert R. Livingston, raised money to allow Fulton to design and construct his “steamboat” in France. He launched his proto-type on the Seine in 1803. He then secured exclusive rights to operate steamboats on the New York waters. The first Albany-to-New York trip took 32 hours to travel the 150-mile course. Although his efforts were labeled “Fulton’s Folly” by his detractors, his success allowed the partnership to begin commercial services. Fulton became a wealthy man, but when his exclusive contract was up, he lost most of his business to Cornelius Vanderbilt, who parlayed his capital into banks, railroads and real estate. Excellent book at
www.amazon.com, “The Vanderbilts and the Story of Their Fortune” by W. A. Croffut (Hardcover - June 1975). I also recommend the next time you are either in Chicago or New York to take a “river” trip to not only see
architecture and historical landmarks, but to understand why these cities grew, primarily due to their water access, and by understanding the Ferry between New York and New Jersey and other states, you can understand how Vanderbilt became a multi-millionaire.  He built a monopoly by undercutting his competition, and when they went out of business, he raised his prices and was basically the only game in town.
    1809 - In Pennsylvania, Thomas Campbell, 46, and his son Alexander, 20, formed the American Movement for Christian Unity, which later became the Disciples of Christ Church.
    1846 - U.S. fleet officer Robert F Stockton annexed California after capturing it from Mexico during the Mexican War.
    1858 – The first bank in Hawai’i opened.
    1859 – The first air mail, in a balloon, took off from Lafayette, IN.
    1862 - Minnesota erupts in violence as desperate Dakota Indians attack white settlements along the Minnesota River. The Dakota were eventually overwhelmed by the U.S. military six weeks later. The Dakota Indians were more commonly referred to as the Sioux, a derogatory name derived from part of a French word meaning "little snake." They were composed of four bands, and lived on temporary reservations in southwestern Minnesota. For two decades, the Dakota were poorly treated by the Federal government, local traders, and settlers. They saw their hunting lands whittled down, and provisions promised by the government rarely arrived. Worse yet, a wave of white settlers surrounded them. The summer of 1862 was particularly hard on the Dakota. Cutworms destroyed much of their corn crops, and many families faced starvation. Skirmishes and war then developed. Over 500 white settlers lost their lives along with about 150 Sioux warriors. President Lincoln dispatched General John Pope, fresh from his defeat at the Battle of Second Bull Run, to organize the Military Department of the Northwest. Some Dakota fled to North Dakota, but more than 2,000 were rounded up and over 300 warriors were sentenced to death. President Lincoln commuted most of their sentences, but on December 26, 1862, 38 Dakota men were executed at Mankato, Minnesota. It was the largest mass execution in American history.
    1862 - Major General J.E.B. Stuart was assigned command of all the cavalry of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.
    1885 – Amos, in extreme southeastern California, hit 130 to set the August U.S. record high.
    1887 - Birthday of Marcus (Moziah or Mosiah) A Garvey (1887-1940), St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica, well-known Black leader of the “Back to Africa” movement.
http://search.eb.com/blackhistory/micro/227/63.html
http://www.finalcall.com/perspectives/m_garvey8-17-99.html
http://www.africawithin.com/garvey/garvey.htm
    1893 - Birthday of Mae West (1893-1980) in Brooklyn.  US burlesque, stage, radio, and movie star who specialized in double-entendre and sensuality. She had a regal bearing and her wisecracks were legend. She was sexual and was proud of it. She was once arrested for "corrupting" youth for her stage work. One of the problems was not the throw of the hips or the sexual comments, but her very strong woman roles. She was in charge of her life, her sexuality, and men went to her. Her personal life mirrored her public presentation. During World War II, the inflatable life jacket was named after her because of its large curves. She starred in vaudeville and on Broadway for a number of years. She made 11 motion pictures including “She Done Him Wrong” (1933) and “My Little Chickadee” (1940). She was pure camp. Her autobiography is “Goodness Had Nothing to Do With It” (1959). She invested in real estate, especially in Hollywood and became a very, very wealthy woman. Some of the famed "wise-cracks" of Mae West who never married:
"Give a man a free hand and he'll run it all over you."
"He who hesitates is last."
"I only like two kinds of men: foreign and domestic."
"I feel like a million tonight, but one at a time."
"It's not the men in your life who count. It's the life in your men."
"So many men, so little time."
"I've been in more laps than a napkin."
"Come up and see me sometime....."
"When I'm good, I'm very, very, good, but when I'm bad, I'm better."
"She's the kind of girl who climbed the ladder of success wrong by wrong."
"When a girl goes bad - men go right after her."
"I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it."
"I've been rich and I've been poor. Believe me, rich is better."
"It's better to be looked over than overlooked."
"I wrote this story myself, It's all about a girl who lost her reputation, but never missed it."
    1894 - Skookum Jim and Tagish Charlie, members of the Tagish First Nations people, and George Carmack found gold in the Yukon, Canada, starting what became known as the Klondike Gold Rush. The three men were prospecting in Rabbit Creek (which they renamed Bonanza), a tributary of the Klondike River, when they made their discovery. Over 100,000 people stampeded to the Yukon in search of gold.
    1897 - WB Purvis patented the electric railway switch. Among the black inventor’s patents was the first fountain pen, patented bag machines, a bag fastener, a hand stamp, and the edge cutter for such products as aluminum foil, wax paper, cling wrap.
    1903 - The first Pulitzer Prize was awarded, when Joseph Pulitzer contributed a million-dollar donation to Columbia University providing the funds for the Pulitzer Prize awards made in his name.
    1906 - Birthday of Hazel Gladys Bishop (1906-98) in Hoboken, NJ.  U.S. inventor, chemist, business tycoon. While employed as an organic chemist for Standard Oil she conducted a series of home experiments to develop a lipstick that stayed on the lips and didn't smear to everything else they touched. In 1950, she formed the Hazel Bishop, Inc. Later she formed Hazel Bishop Laboratories which developed a series of home care products. A partner forced her out of the $10 million company she created and then, through court action, forbade her from using her own name in her future careers or in personal appearances. She became financial analyst for Evans & Company and Bache and Company with her opinions actively sought on matters of the burgeoning cosmetics business. In 1978, she became an adjunct professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan specializing in training students for careers in cosmetics.
    1907 – Pike Place Market, a popular tourist destination and registered historic district in Seattle, opened.
    1908 – From the ashes of the great earthquake and fires, the Bank of Italy opened its new HQ at Clay and Montgomery in San Francisco.
    1909 - Bandleader Larry Clinton (1909-85) was born in Brooklyn, NY.
    1915 - Dayton, Ohio resident Charles F. Kettering patented the electric automobile self-starter.
    1915 - Mob lynches Jewish businessman Leo Frank in Cobb County, Ga after death sentence for murder of 13-year-old girl commuted to life.
http://www.crimelibrary.com/classics/frank/
http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/leofrank.htm
http://www.leofranklynchers.com/
    1915 - A hurricane hit Galveston, TX, with wind gusts to 120 mph and a twelve foot storm surge. The storm claimed 275 lives, including forty-two on Galveston Island, with most deaths due to drowning. Of 250 homes built outside the seawall (which was constructed after the catastrophic hurricane of 1900), just ten percent were left standing.
    1918 - Tenor sax player Ike Quebec (d. 1963) was born Newark, NU.
    1918 - Samuel Riddle bought Man o'War, one of racing’s great horses, for $5,000.  
    1920 - Cleveland shortstop Ray Chapman (1891-1920) dies as a result of being hit the day before by a pitch thrown by Yankee submariner Carl Mays. The tragedy remains the only on-field fatality in Major League history.  The sound of the ball smashing into Chapman's skull was so loud that Mays thought it had hit the end of Chapman's bat, so he fielded the ball and threw to first base.  His death led to Major League Baseball establishing a rule requiring umpires to replace the ball whenever it became dirty, and it was partially the reason the spitball was banned after the 1920 season. Chapman's death was also one of the examples used to emphasize the need for wearing batting helmets (although the rule was not adopted until over 30 years later).
    1920 - Bassist George Duvivier (1920-85) was born in NYC.
    1933 – Lou Gehrig, on the way to a record of 2,130, played in his 1308th consecutive game to break the Major League record held by Everett Scott.  Gehrig’s consecutive games-played streak was the record until 1995 when Cal Ripken, Jr of the Baltimore Orioles broke it on the way to the current record of 2,632.
    1939 - The magical "Wizard of Oz," the first movie to combine the uses of black and white, and color film, premiered. It starred Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale; Bert Lahr as both the Cowardly Lion and Zeke; Ray Bolger as the Scarecrow and Hunk; and Jack Haley as both the Tin Woodsman and Hickory. Buddy Ebsen originally cast as the Tin Man; but sickness forced him to leave the production before its completion. The movie was based on L. Frank Baum’s 1900 "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," which had previously adapted into a musical play. The Hollywood version, directed by Victor Fleming, won an Oscar for best movie score (Harold Arlen and E.Y. ‘Yip’ Harburg), and for best song, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."
    1939 - The markets came down with a case of the war jitters. World War II was a few weeks from officially starting, but Wall Street could smell trouble brewing. After refusing U.S. requests to enter into peace agreements and breaking a non-aggression pact with Poland, Hitler had readied his troops to seize the Polish port city of Danzig. The markets reacted to these overtures by posting their biggest decline since July. Bond ratings followed suit, prompting fears that the troubles in Europe would torpedo whatever progress the American economy had made since the Depression.
But Wall Street's misgivings were otherwise misplaced: the war helped kick-start the American economy, pushing it from a lingering Depression-era funk into a prolonged state of abundance.
    1943 - On CBS radio, writer Norman Corwin’s first success "Passport for Adams" debuted. It starred Robert Young, who played a small town newspaper editor. Corwin would go on to have many radio successes including radio classics: "This is War," "An American in England" and "We Hold These Truths" all of which he wrote and produced.
    Lieutenant General George S. Patton and his 7th Army arrive in Messina, Sicily before British General Bernard Law Montgomery and his 8th Army, winning the unofficial "race to Messina," and completing the Allied conquest of Sicily.
    1944 - BENDER, STANLEY, Medal of Honor.
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company E, 7th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near La Lande, France, 17 August 1944. Entered service at: Chicago, 111. Born: 31 October 1909, Carlisle, W. Va. G.O. No.: 7, 1 February 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. On 17 August 1944, near La Lande, France, he climbed on top of a knocked-out tank, in the face of withering machinegun fire which had halted the advance of his company, in an effort to locate the source of this fire. Although bullets ricocheted off the turret at his feet, he nevertheless remained standing upright in full view of the enemy for over 2 minutes. Locating the enemy machineguns on a knoll 200 yards away, he ordered 2 squads to cover him and led his men down an irrigation ditch, running a gauntlet of intense machinegun fire, which completely blanketed 50 yards of his advance and wounded 4 of his men. While the Germans hurled hand grenades at the ditch, he stood his ground until his squad caught up with him, then advanced alone, in a wide flanking approach, to the rear of the knoll. He walked deliberately a distance of 40 yards, without cover, in full view of the Germans and under a hail of both enemy and friendly fire, to the first machinegun and knocked it out with a single short burst. Then he made his way through the strong point, despite bursting hand grenades, toward the second machinegun, 25 yards distant, whose 2-man crew swung the machinegun around and fired two bursts at him, but he walked calmly through the fire and, reaching the edge of the emplacement, dispatched the crew. Signaling his men to rush the rifle pits, he then walked 35 yards further to kill an enemy rifleman and returned to lead his squad in the destruction of the 8 remaining Germans in the strong point. His audacity so inspired the remainder of the assault company that the men charged out of their positions, shouting and yelling, to overpower the enemy roadblock and sweep into town, knocking out 2 antitank guns, killing 37 Germans and capturing 26 others. He had sparked and led the assault company in an attack which overwhelmed the enemy, destroying a roadblock, taking a town, seizing intact 3 bridges over the Maravenne River, and capturing commanding terrain which dominated the area.
    1944 - Top Hits
“I’ll Be Seeing You” - Bing Crosby
“Amor” - Bing Crosby
“Milkman, Keep Those Bottles Quiet” - Ella Mae Morse
“Is You is or is You Ain’t (Ma’ Baby)” - Louis Jordan
    1945 – Korea divided at the 38th parallel with the US occupying the south.
    1948 - An estimated crowd of nearly 100,000 fans pass by the body of Babe Ruth which is on display at Yankee Stadium following his death from cancer the day before.  His funeral Mass took place at St. Patrick’s Cathedral; a crowd estimated at 75,000 waited outside. Ruth was buried at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Valhalla, NY.
    1950 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit:  “Goodnight Irene”, Gordon Jenkins Orchestra & the Weavers.
    1950 – The Hill 303 Massacre:  41 American POWs were shot to death by the N. Korean Army.
    1952 - Top Hits
“Walkin’ My Baby Back Home” - Johnnie Ray
“Auf Wiedersehn, Sweetheart” - Vera Lynn
“Half as Much” - Rosemary Clooney
“A Full Time Job” - Eddy Arnold
    1953 – Narcotics Anonymous co-founded by Jimmy Kinnon, held its first meeting, near LA.
    1954 - In Rhode Island, the Newport Jazz Festival opened at the Newport Casino. The festival featured jazz legends Dizzy Gillespie, Gerry Mulligan and Ella Fitzgerald.
    1955 - Hurricane Diane, following Hurricane Connie, floods Connecticut River, killing 190 and causing $1.8 billion damage
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/nerfc/historical/aug1955.htm
    1956 - Shelly Manne, with Previn and Vinnegar, cuts jazz version of “My Fair Lady.” I used to see them in person at the Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, every weekend I could when I went to high school.  They made one of the best jazz albums in history.
    1957 - Richie Ashburn, Phillies Hall of Fame CF, hit fan Alice Roth twice in same at bat with foul balls.  The first one broke her nose, and the second hit her while she is on the stretcher.
    1958 – Pioneer 0, America's first attempt at lunar orbit, was launched using the first Thor-Able rocket and failed. This is also notable as one of the first attempted launches beyond Earth orbit by any country.
    1958 - Belinda Carlisle is born in Hollywood. She becomes the lead singer of the all-female group the Go-Go's and has a solo No. 1 hit in 1987 with “Heaven Is a Place on Earth.”
    1959 – Quake Lake was formed by the magnitude 7.5 Hebgen Lake earthquake in Montana.
    1960 - Top Hits
“It’s Now or Never” - Elvis Presley
“Walk--Don’t Run” - The Ventures
“Walking to New Orleans” - Fats Domino
“Please Help Me, I’m Falling” - Hank Locklin
    1960 - The Beatles begin the first of forty-eight nights playing the Indra Club on Grosse Freiheit in Hamburg, Germany, playing for four-and-a-half hours every day (six on the weekends), an arrangement that leads to twenty-minute versions of songs like Little Richard's "Long Tall Sally." Notable as the first time the group performed under the name "The Beatles" (having dropped the "Silver" from their name en route), the gigs feature John Lennon yelling at the German audiences, calling them Nazis, shouting "Sieg Heil!" at them, and wearing outlandish outfits -- at one point appearing on stage in only his underwear, at another with a toilet seat around his neck.
    1961 - Birthday of American Composer David "Uncle Dave" Lewis in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Radio programmer on WAIF-Radio, Cincinnati and co-founder of the still-active "Art Damage" radio program begun in 1985, devoted to experimental music. He is a music expert and author of hundreds of articles on music and musicians, mostly published by the All Music Guide 2001-present, however also for ARSC Journal, WAIF Alert, WCBN Program Guide, www.redhotjazz.com and others
    1961 – The construction of the Berlin Wall began.
    1962 - L.A. County Coroner officially labels Marilyn Monroe's death a "probable suicide." Norman Mailer, author of “The Naked & the Dead” subsequently theorized she was murdered, partly on the grounds that "it is extremely rare for a woman to commit suicide in the nude." Rumors that she was both acquainted with John F. Kennedy, and was in love with Bobby Kennedy, who the night before told her he could not continue to see her, were alleged as the reason she committed suicide.  However, this is from the Cal Neva Resort website: During the Sinatra ownership years of 1955 to 1968, along with his associates "Wingy" and "Skinny," Sinatra built the now famous Celebrity Showroom and installed a helicopter pad on the roof in an attempt to make access easier for his colleagues and guests appearing at the Cal Neva during summer months. Hollywood followers were enamored with Sinatra and the "Rat Pack," an unforgettable fraternity that linked itself with the White House through Peter Lawford, brother-in-law of the then-President John F. Kennedy. Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Juliet Prowse and Marilyn Monroe (among others) "sang for their suppers" in the Celebrity Showroom and the Indian Room while politicians and Hollywood stars played at the tables and in the private cottages overlooking Lake Tahoe. Marilyn Monroe was a frequent guest of the Lodge and scandal generally surrounded her because of the "alleged" secret rendezvous with John F. Kennedy. Then, when the presence of one particular guest, mobster Sam Giancana of Chicago, was noticed by authorities, it finally cost Sinatra his gaming license in a losing battle with the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
    1962 - A riot broke out during a Gary U.S. Bonds performance at the Boston Arena.
    1962 – Ringo Starr replaced Pete Best as the drummer of The Beatles.
    1963 – Current and former Raiders’ Head Coach Jon Gruden’s birthday in Sandusky, OH.  After coaching the Oakland Raiders from 1998-2001, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by Raiders owner Al Davis for four first and second round draft picks and $8 million.  The Bucs defeated the Raiders in the next Super Bowl, 48-21, making Gruden the youngest NFL head coach to win the Super Bowl at age 36.
    1966 - Psychedelic fashion show and tarot reading at the SF Fillmore. The Jefferson Airplane and Mimi Fariña entertained.
    1967 – Gary Puckett and The Union Gap record "Woman Woman." The song would break first in Cleveland in November and would rise to number four on the US national charts.
    1968 - Deep Purple's "Hush" is released in the US, where it will climb to #4 by mid-September.
    1968 – “People Got to Be Free,” the hit single by The Rascals, rocketed into the top slot on Billboard's record charts and stayed there for 5 weeks.
    1968 - Top Hits
“People Got to Be Free” - The Rascals
“Born to Be Wild” - Steppenwolf
“Light My Fire” - Jose Feliciano
“Heaven Says Hello” - Sonny James
    1969 – Third day of Woodstock: Richie Havens, Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Who, The Band, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix.
    1969 - Donny Wahlberg, one time member of New Kids on the Block and current star of CBS’ “Blue Bloods,” was  born in Dorchester, MA. His younger brother is former rapper/current actor Mark Wahlberg, who had a top 10 hit in 1991-92 with the million-selling single, “Wildside.”
    1969 - Camille, the second worst hurricane in U.S. history, smashed into the Mississippi coast. Winds gusted to 172 mph at Main Pass Block, LA and to 190 mph near Bay Saint Louis, MS. The hurricane claimed 256 lives, and caused $1.3 billion in damage. Several ocean going ships were carried over seven miles inland by the hurricane. The hurricane produced winds to 200 mph, and a storm surge of 24.6 feet. Complete destruction occurred in some coastal areas near the eye of the hurricane.
    1973 - At Shea Stadium, 42-year old New York Mets' outfielder, Willie Mays, hits his 660th and final home run of his career off Reds' lefty Don Gullett.  Mays would retire later that season with the third highest HR total, to Henry Aaron’s 755 and Babe Ruth’s 714.
    1974 - Bad Company's "Can't Get Enough" is released.
    1975 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “Fallin' in Love,” Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds.
    1976 - Top Hits
“Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” - Elton John and Kiki Dee
“You Should Be Dancing” - Bee Gees
“Let ’Em In” -Wings
“Say It Again” - Don Williams
    1977 - The day after Elvis Presley's death, President Jimmy Carter issues the following statement: "Elvis Presley's death deprives our country of a part of itself. He was unique and irreplaceable. More than twenty years ago, he burst upon the scene with an impact that was unprecedented and will probably never be equaled. His music and his personality, fusing the styles of white country and black rhythm and blues, permanently changed the face of American popular culture. His following was immense and he was a symbol to people the world over, of the vitality, rebelliousness and good humor of his country." Or as James Brown once put it, "he taught white America to get down."
    1977 - Florists Transworld Delivery (FTD) reports that in one day, the number of orders for flowers to be delivered to Graceland has surpassed the number for any other event in the company's history.    
    1982 – The first CDs, compact discs, were released to the public in Germany.
    1984 - Top Hits
“Ghostbusters” - Ray Parker Jr.
“What’s Love Got to Do with It” - Tina Turner
“State of Shock” - Jacksons
“That’s the Thing About Love” - Don Williams
    1987 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “Who's That Girl,” Madonna.
It is the title song of Madonna's third film.
    1988 - Fifty-five cities, from the Middle Mississippi Valley to the Middle Atlantic Coast Region, reported record high temperatures for the date. Beckley, WV reported an all-time record high of 96 degrees, and Baltimore, MD hit 104 degrees, marking their thirteenth day of the year with 100 degree heat. Chicago, IL equaled a record with 46 days of 90 degree weather for the year. Thunderstorms produced severe weather from Wisconsin to New Jersey. Thunderstorms in New Jersey produced high winds which gusted to 92 mph at Wrightstown, and blew down a circus tent at Lavallette on the Jersey Shore, injuring fourteen persons.
    1992 - Woody Allen admitted to being romantically involved with Soon-Yi Previn, adopted daughter of Mia Farrow, Allen's longtime companion.
    1993 - Pop star Michael Jackson became the subject of an investigation of child molestation of a 13-year-old boy. Police confiscated video tapes and photographs from Jackson's Neverland ranch home, but found nothing to support the allegation. The charge was that Jackson had fondled and engaged in oral sex with the boy over a period of several months. It was believed that the child-abuse allegation grew out of an "extortion gone awry," after a purported demand for $20 million by the boy's father, a dentist, was denied. Charges were later dropped, and an unidentified source leaked to the press that a hefty settlement, possibly as high as $15 million, was paid to the boy's family. More than a year after the damaging allegations were made, the Santa Barbara County and Los Angeles County district attorneys publicly announced that they didn't have enough evidence to charge the pop singer with a single crime.
    1994 - Boise, ID recorded its 41st day in a row with 90 plus temperatures, a record for that city.
    1994 - Severe thunderstorms belted central Oklahoma. Winds gusted to 113 at Meno, 104 at Mangum and 97 at Hobart. Hail up to 4.5 inches in diameter driven by the winds totaled 30 mobile homes at Okarche
    1996 - Ross Perot announced he was the Reform Party's presidential candidate.
    1998 - United States President Clinton admitted to having an improper relationship with former White House intern, Monica Lewinsky….so that’s what they call it!
    2002 - Homering in the seventh inning of Mariner starter James Baldwin, Yankee All-star Alfonso Soriano becomes the first second baseman to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in the same season. Bobby Bonds is the only other Yankee to post a 30/30 season, accomplishing the feat in 1975.
    2002 - Alex Rodriguez becomes the sixth player and the first infielder to compile five consecutive 40-home run seasons. The Rangers' shortstop joins Ralph Kiner (1947-51), Duke Snider (1953-57), Ken Griffey Jr (1996-2000), Sammy Sosa (1998-2002) and Babe Ruth (1926-32), who established the record with seven straight 40-homer seasons.  He admitted in 2009 that he was taking PEDs during this period.
    2003 - Peanuts character Charlie Brown joins late broadcaster Bob Prince, Negro League star Josh Gibson, former catcher Manny Sanguillen current shortstop Jack Wilson to be honored by the Pirates with a bobble head doll give-away day. Almost ten percent of the nearly 18,000 Peanuts strips created by Charles Schulz focused on baseball.
    2003 - The Rally Monkey, the Angels' unofficial mascot, is honored for its contribution to last season's world championship with its own bobble head doll promotion. The Rally Monkey Bobble Belly joins other dolls given to fans this year paying tribute to Troy Glaus' (2002 World Series MVP), Adam Kennedy' (ALCS MVP), and Mike Scioscia (AL Manager of the Year) and will wear an Anaheim jersey with a name of an honored player on the back.
    2004 - As she enters Raley Field at 6:27 p.m., five year old Olivia Perez is honored by the Sacramento River Cats as she becomes four millionth fan in franchise history. The Triple A affiliate of the Oakland A’s reaches the milestone faster than any club in minor league baseball history.
    2005 - St. Louis announces the franchise has broken its single-season attendance record of 3.43 million set in 1989. The first-place Cardinals have sold 3.45 million tickets for the team’s farewell season at 40-year old Busch Stadium     
    2008 - In a pre-game 55-minute ceremony at Minute Maid Park, Craig Biggio becomes the ninth Astro to have his jersey number retired. The Smithtown, N.Y. native, who wore number 7, is the team's all-time leader in games (2,850) and seasons (20) played.  He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.
    2008 – Swimmer Michael Phelps became the first person to win eight gold medals in one Olympic Games.
    2012 - The United Kingdom's Treasury Committee of the House of Commons releases the first of two volumes reporting on the LIBOR fixing scandal.
    2013 - A wildfire near Yosemite National Park burned over 25 square miles, forcing residents of the Pine Lake community to evacuate.
    2013 - UN inspectors arrive in Damascus to determine whether chemical weapons were used in the Syrian conflict.
    2015 – The IRS revealed that hackers stole taxpayer data in May from as many as 334,000 taxpayers.