Times - Picayune

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Leasing Industry Job Wanted
Asset Management - Credit

Asset Management

Experienced Asset Manager / Remarketer seeking position.  At IBM Global Financing I managed the IT lease portfolio of PC and PC Server assets.  I mainly focused on creating secondary transactions with leased assets (sales and renewals).  In other roles I was focused on managing remarketing of assets after end of lease.  I am in the Chicago area and I am comfortable and experienced at working remotely.  Contact: lorenw999@gmail.com   LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loren-r-williams/

Credit

Experienced credit underwriter, financial analyst & vendor program manager seeks part time, remote work opportunity to assist in managing/evaluating vendor programs, loss pool analysis, credit requests, restructurings and workout situations. Emphasis on asset based and secured financing to the middle and large ticket market. Multiple industry experience including: Commercial, Industrial, Manufacturing, Transportation, Construction and Distribution segments. Interested in approximately 20 to 30 hours per week, no benefits required. East Coast Location. Contact: ch2capital@gmail.com

Post a Free Ad that You are Looking
Limited to 100 Words
http://leasingnews.org/Classified/Jwanted/Jwanted-post.htm

 

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### Press Release ############################

Amur Equipment Finance Announces Record Growth in Q4
Originations Increase 27% YOY; 34% Increase Applications

GRAND ISLAND, NE – Amur Equipment Finance, Inc. (“Amur”) is excited to announce record growth in Q4 2020.   Amur’s Q4 originations increased 27 percent, year over year, with a 34 percent year over year increase in application volume.  Amur is proud to have set new records for monthly and quarterly origination and application volume during the fourth quarter overall.

This performance demonstrates clearly that Amur’s planned growth strategy has resonated with small businesses nationwide.  At a time when businesses have needed their financial partners to step-up, Amur is proud to be a preferred financing provider for over 15,000 equipment vendors nationwide and a trusted partner for over 40,000 small businesses.

Chairman and Chief Executive Mostafiz ShahMohammed said,
“We have a simple goal. We want to be the champion of small businesses.  Small businesses dealt with a lot in 2020, but we have always believed in the ingenuity and resilience of the entrepreneurs that power America’s small businesses. Our growth proves that we’re becoming a financing partner of choice for small businesses nationwide and we can’t wait to serve small businesses in record numbers in 2021.”

Amur’s presence in the digital sphere has grown dramatically as well.  Year over year, Amur has seen a 16-fold increase in visitors to its website with a dramatic uptick in usage of the digital tools and applications that Amur has invested in over the last year to help small businesses manage their financing needs.

To enable this growth, Amur has increased its employee headcount by 50 percent since last March, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. It has opened two new offices in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Rapid City, South Dakota.  As a company born and raised in Grand Island, Nebraska, Amur is proud to now have three offices in its home state and an enlarged presence within its Great Plains regional footprint.

Amur also recently closed a $75 million, five-year, investment-grade, unsecured private notes offering. Through this capital raise, Amur was able to connect with a diverse investor base that is eager to back the company during its next phase of growth.

Kalyan Makam, Amur’s Executive Vice President, remarked,
 “This new investment-grade notes offering communicates the ongoing confidence that the investment community has in our business model and growth trajectory.

 “This will enable us to launch several exciting new growth initiatives to better serve our customers, vendors, and partners across the nation.”

About Amur Equipment Finance, Inc.

Amur Equipment Finance is a Top Five nationally ranked independent commercial equipment finance provider and a certified Great Place to Work®, dedicated to ensuring that its customers and employees around the nation are equipped to grow and succeed. Amur offers customized capital financing programs that draw on its uniquely extensive expertise in the world’s most essential industries – from transportation and technology to manufacturing and medicine – to support its network of over 15,000 vendors and other partners.

For more information, visit www.amuref.com.

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##### Press Release ############################

North Mill Equipment Finance Investment Bond
Upsizes Grade to $25 Million

NORWALK, CT – North Mill Equipment Finance LLC (“North Mill”), a leading independent commercial equipment lessor located in Norwalk, Connecticut, announced today the upsizing of its existing investment-grade rated corporate notes to $25 million.  The company intends to use the net proceeds from the transaction for working capital and general corporate purposes to support additional growth.

Pier Snider, Chief Financial Officer of North Mill, explained, “Through our expertise in providing a comprehensive portfolio of lending solutions tailored to small- and mid-sized enterprises, North Mill achieved an exceptional year of growth, despite economic uncertainty of the past year.

“This additional capital is a strong endorsement from the institutional investor community and will allow us to provide our clients the capital they need to accelerate their growth as the economy reopens.”

Brean Capital, LLC served as the company’s Exclusive Advisor and Placement Agent in connection with this transaction.

About North Mill Equipment Finance

Headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, North Mill Equipment Finance originates and services small-ticket equipment leases and loans, ranging from $15,000 to $300,000 in value.   A broker-centric private lender, the company handles A – C credit qualities and finances transactions for numerous asset categories including construction, transportation, vocational, health care, manufacturing, printing, and material handling equipment. North Mill is majority owned by an affiliate of Wafra Capital Partners, Inc. (WCP).  For more information, visit www.nmef.com.

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Leasing Industry Help Wanted

 

January Trucking Conditions Rebound
By Heavy Duty Trucking Staff

FTR’s Trucking Conditions Index rebounded in January to a 10.37 reading, roughly matching the November index reading and beating out December’s index of 8.51. Stronger freight rates and volume more than offset higher fuel costs in January.

Rising fuel costs will have a more negative impact on the February, FTR officials said in a press release. However, the index will remain very strong because freight market dynamics are solidly in carriers’ favor, they said.

FTR’s latest forecast calls for stronger freight demand through 2021, and they expect positive trucking conditions through 2021 even if the current tight driver market were to loosen somewhat as the COVID-19 pandemic fades.

Avery Vise, FTR’s Vice President of Trucking, commented, “Market conditions are close to the best ever for trucking companies, and they should remain that way at least through this year.

“With stimulus from Washington, extraordinarily lean inventories, and a fading pandemic, solid freight demand is practically baked in.”

“The risk to good times is that driver capacity comes back too strongly as labor participation rebounds. But with the pipeline of new drivers constricted for the past year, that risk seems low,”  Vise said.

“Trucking’s weak payroll jobs numbers for January and February even as freight volume is strong suggests that the principal issue is the supply of drivers, not demand for them,” he added.

The TCI tracks the changes representing five major conditions in the U.S. truck market. These conditions are: freight volumes, freight rates, fleet capacity, fuel price, and financing.

Rising Fuel Costs Drive Down Trucking Conditions Index in December 2020.

Source: Truckinginfo.com

 

 

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Wendy’s Expects to Build Out
250 Stores Globally in 2021

• Wendy's plans to add roughly 250 units globally in 2021 after opening about 150 restaurants in 2020, Wendy's CEO Todd Penegor said during an earnings call with investors. The company expects to have about 7,000 restaurants globally by the end of 2021 and 8,000 by the end of 2025.

• The company is also eyeing smaller locations, which led it to create a drive-thru-only design and a traditional freestanding option to help grow digital and delivery businesses

• Wendy's joins a handful of restaurant chains that have set their sights on growing domestically and internationally in the wake of the pandemic, with McDonald's, Papa John’s, Noodles & Company, Bojangles and Shake Shack planning to add more units in the coming years.

With Wendy's reporting U.S. same-restaurants sales of 5.5% during Q4 2020 and 2% for 2020, it has the financials to attract more franchisees and partners to help expand its unit count. The company is finding some success from recently launched initiatives, too.

"We have a franchise system that's very healthy, that had really strong profits last year, had strong balance sheets and is really eager to take advantage of the opportunities with some of the contraction in the industry to continue to provide more access to our brand," Penegor said.

The company is also eyeing smaller, more efficient formats that can help improve returns, which led the company to create a drive-thru-only design and a traditional freestanding option to help grow digital and delivery businesses, Penegor said. The company has also opened numerous ghost kitchens around the world, he said. Wendy's plans to open 250 ghost kitchens in India, for example.

All of these concepts have helped the company increase its nontraditional pipeline to about 30% in its 2021 development plan, Penegor said. Wendy's is particularly focused on making its restaurants "frictionless transaction centers," and it launched curbside and mobile grab-and-go last year, which Penegor said are expected to increase significantly with increased customer awareness.

Wendy's has been particularly focused on growing its global footprint since 2019, when it turned its attention to expanding into Europe for the first time in 40 years. The company plans to add new units in the United Kingdom this year. Wendy's also expects to have 1,000 international units by the end of 2021, Penegor said, inching closer to its goal of reaching 1,500 units abroad by 2024.

Source: Constructiondive.com

 

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Judge Garland, AG Nominee, Reaffirms His Willingness
to Respect States’ Cannabis Laws

The U.S. attorney general nominated by President Joe Biden stated in a written statement that the Department of Justice wouldn’t be using its resources to prosecute individuals who were in compliance with state cannabis laws.

Judge Merrick Garland explained that the government should focus on extensive criminal enterprises that do not comply with the state’s marijuana legalization laws rather than pursuing individuals who were complying with the local marijuana policies.

When asked about by Ranking Member Chuck Grassley how he would handle the federal-state cannabis policy conflict, Garland remarked that it would not be best to utilize the department’s limited resources to pursue prosecutions of individuals who were abiding by the laws in states that have legalized cannabis and are effectively regulating it. Instead, he continued, the focus should be placed on ensuring that minors were prohibited from accessing marijuana and that no attempts were made by criminal enterprises to try and evade state laws.

Garland’s views on the matter correspond to policies known as the Cole memorandum, which was introduced under the Obama administration. The memorandum was, however, repealed by Jeff Sessions, former President Trump’s first attorney general, under the Trump administration.

When asked about whether he supported efforts to legalize or decriminalize marijuana, the attorney general nominee chose to give an answer that centered on the harms of the draconian policies in effect. Garland said in his statement that criminalizing the use of cannabis had contributed to the racial disparities in the criminal justice system and led to the mass incarceration of many individuals in the country. He added that this had made it even harder for millions of Americans to get employed, because of their criminal records for nonviolent offenses.

Marijuana policy reform advocates were pleased that the attorney general nominee gave his views about respecting state cannabis laws in writing.

NORML’s political director Justin Strekal stated in an interview that the responses Garland gave showed that he did not intend to impede the progress that had been made in the consumer access of marijuana or marijuana regulation. NORML is a not-for-profit organization that advocates for the reform of cannabis laws.

Garland was also asked about the role the Justice Department would play in the decriminalization, legalization and the recreational use of cannabis. He responded by stating that, first that, historically speaking, the Department of Justice had not assigned resources to be used to prosecute persons for simple possession of cannabis; he then reiterated his point on the department’s priorities.

Source: Cannabisnewswire.com

 

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The leisure and hospitality sector led the job gains in February, adding 355,000 payrolls, with restaurants and drinking places accounting for the lion’s share of that total (+286,000). As several states eased restrictions and the vaccine rollout continued, many Americans dipped their toes back into normal life, enjoying a meal or a drink outside after months of withdrawal.

Despite the latest upward trend, the leisure and hospitality sector remains the most heavily affected by the pandemic-induced jobs crisis. According to the BLS’ latest Employment Situation Summary, the number of jobs in leisure and hospitality still trails pre-pandemic levels by 3.5 million.

By Felix Richter, Statista

Golden, Retriever, Greyhound Mix
Grand Island, Nebraska  Adopt-a-Dog



Mike

#46711482
Male
Neutered
3 Months Old

Central Nebraska Humane Society
1312 Sky Park Road
Grand Island, NE 68801
308-385-5305

Hours:
M-F: 8-5:30
SAT: 8-4:30
SUN: 1-4

Contact Us:
https://centralnebraskahumanesociety.com/contact-us/

Adoption Fee: $350.00
Each adoption includes the following:

Spaying (females) or neutering (males)
First Treatment for Worms
Flea and Tick Treatment
Temporary Vaccinations
Rabies Vaccination
Microchipping
Behavior and Training advice

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Exhibit booths will be equipped with a "Talk Now" button that will allow attendees to speak one-on-one with exhibitors during trade show hours. Say hello to uninterrupted face-to-face quality time with your favorite funding source or service provider!

2021 EXPO EXHIBITORS
(As of March 9, 2021)

Bankers Capital
BankFinancial Equipment Finance
Baystone Government Finance/KS StateBank
Bryn Mawr Funding
C.H. Brown Co. LLC
Channel Partners Capital
CLFP Foundation
Financial Pacific Leasing, Inc.
First Federal Leasing
Global Financial & Leasing Services LLC
instaCOVER
Meridian Equipment Finance
Monitor
Navitas Credit Corp.
NCMIC/Professional Solutions
NewLane Finance
North Mill Equipment Finance LLC
North Star Leasing
Orange Commercial Credit
Providence Equipment Finance, a Division of Providence Bank & Trust
Quality Leasing Co., Inc.
VFI Corporate Finance

Agenda:
https://expo.aacfb.org/agenda/full-agenda

The first broker to register from each company will receive a $100 gift card if they meet with at least 5 exhibitors, either during trade show hours or via one-on-one appointments during the event. Plus - Broker companies can register unlimited additional attendees for only $50 per person!

To Register:
https://expo.aacfb.org/registration

News Briefs---

Texas Bill Would Continue State Board Wall Construction
    to seek reimbursement from the federal government
https://www.constructiondive.com/news/texas-bill-would-continue-border-wall-construction-in-the-state/596259/

Pandemic aftershocks overwhelm global supply lines
    ports and cargo carriers struggle to keep pace
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/01/24/pandemic-shipping-economy/

U.S. Container Port Traffic Expected to Grow Dramatically
    to exacerbate ongoing problems: congestion & turnaround times
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/retail-container-imports-expected-to-grow-dramatically

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You May Have Missed---

Drive-Throughs That Predict Your Order?
    Restaurants Are Thinking Fast
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/08/business/restaurants-drive-thru-pickup-lanes.html

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Sports Briefs---

Nicklaus to be part of buildup for golf tournament
  at Norwood Hills Country Club; Talks on phone w/Tiger Woods
https://www.stltoday.com/sports/golf/nicklaus-to-be-part-of-buildup-for-golf-tournament-at-norwood-hills-country-club/article_9fc5fe3d-d448-59d3-befb-3ab31c9462aa.html

1 Need Every NFL Team Should Address in the 2021 Draft,
     Not Free Agency
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2935061-1-need-every-nfl-team-should-address-in-the-2021-draft-not-free-agency

Top NFL Draft prospect Rashawn Slater loves 49ers’ appeal
https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/03/09/northwestern-lineman-rashawn-slater-loves-49ers-appeal-ahead-of-nfl-draft/

NFL franchise tag deadline 2021: What happened by Tuesday's cutoff?
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2021/03/09/nfl-franchise-tag-2021-deadline-news-what-happened/4643287001/

In an Australian beach town, the bus driver is an ex-world
    champ who’s just now getting her due
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/03/09/pauline-menczer-surfing-documentary/

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California Nuts Briefs---

California would ban boys and girls sections
    at big retailers under proposed law
https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article249695008.html

Fairmont hotel bankruptcy marks the end of an era in San Jose
https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/03/09/fairmont-hotel-bankruptcy-marks-the-end-of-an-era-in-san-jose/

Dropbox's San Francisco HQ is selling
     for a record-breaking $1.08 billion
https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/Dropbox-SF-HQ-sale-mission-bay-office-space-16010222.php

Salesforce cuts back on S.F. office space,
     canceling lease at unbuilt Transbay tower
https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Salesforce-cuts-back-on-S-F-office-space-16013047.php

Parking to be key challenge in North Bay parklet outdoor dining
    becoming permanent post-pandemic
https://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/article/article/parking-to-be-key-challenge-in-north-bay-parklet-outdoor-dining-becoming-pe/?ref=mosthome

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“Gimme that Wine”

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

Increase in Hiring by Wineries May Indicate
    Optimism for Coming Months
https://www.winebusiness.com/news/?go=getArticle&dataId=242552

The Hottest Wines and Spirits for 2021
https://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2021/03/the-hottest-wines-and-spirits-for-2021

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

     1496 - Christopher Columbus concluded his second visit to the Western Hemisphere as he left Hispaniola for Spain.
    1656 - In the colony of Virginia, suffrage was extended to all free men regardless of their religion.
    1681 - English Quaker William Penn received a charter from Charles II, making him sole proprietor of colonial American territory of Pennsylvania.
    1769 - Philadelphia merchants finally agree among themselves to support an inter-colonial no importation movement. Effective 1 April, they ban the import of nearly all British trade goods until the Townshend Acts are repealed.
    1775 - The Transylvania Company sends Daniel Boone and 30 woodchoppers to cut the Wilderness Road from Fort Wautauga to the mouth of the Kentucky River.
    1776 - "Common Sense" by Thomas Paine was published.
    1776 - Charleston, SC set up an independent government under a temporary local constitution that was to be in effect until an agreement with England could be reached. John Rutledge was chosen president. This government, said to be the first independent government within the recognized borders of the colonies, successfully defended Charleston against the British army and fleet on June 28, 1776, thus freeing the South from attack for nearly three years. Culture was also flourishing here and New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, but most of all in Charleston. In the mid-eighteenth century, musical concerts were flourishing in the colonial centers, and musical societies, music dealers, and instrument makers all benefited.  The first music society in America was founded in Charleston, the St. Cecilia Society, in 1762. In Europe, Charleston was considered the chief cultural center of the colonies, and many artists, actors and musicians chose to settle there when they immigrated to America. Other cities could boast of cultural achievements as well. In Boston, a group of gentlemen sponsored a concert in Faneuil Hall as early as 1744, and in 1754, the first concern hall in Boston was opened by Gilbert Dubois. Philadelphia boasted four organ makers who produced spinets and virginals as well as organs.  “In 1762, the women of Charleston founded the St. Cecilia Society as a musical organization; however, by the 1840's, the society had become more of a cotillion club than an organization to provide quality music to the socially refined. The society held their largest ball annually during February (just before lent) in Hibernian Hall on Meeting Street. A contemporary remarked, "The membership remains exclusive and its affairs somewhat secret." Even today, the club remains secretive and its historical records and membership lists remain off-limits to non-members.”
http://www.ego.net/us/sc/myr/history/riceles.htm 
    1783 - USS Alliance under Captain Barry won the last naval battle of the Revolutionary War off Cape Canaveral
    1785 - Thomas Jefferson was appointed minister to France, succeeding Benjamin Franklin.
    1791 - John Stone, Concord, MA, received a patent for a pile driver
    1804 – In St. Louis, a formal ceremony transferred ownership of the Louisiana Territory to the United States from France.
    1848 – The Mexican-American War ended with the ratification by the Senate of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
    1849 - Besides being an attorney, Abraham Lincoln was an inventor, receiving a patent for a device for “buoying vessels over shoals” by means of inflated cylinders.  He remains the only US President to do so.
    1854 - Hallie Quinn Brown (d. 1949), women's right activist, was born Pittsburgh, PA.
    1857 – The National Association of Base Ball Players was formed at a meeting in NYC. Twenty-two teams were represented and William Van Cott of the Gothams was elected president.  The Association was the first formal governing body for baseball prior to which the development of baseball rules had largely been controlled by the prestigious New York Knickerbockers club. Despite the new Association's title, the members of the Association were clubs, not individual players, and it was in no way a national organization as all of the founding members were from the 5 boroughs that currently make up New York City. While the NABBP never became an organization of players, it managed to grow into its claims of being a national organization. By the end of the Civil War, it had grown to over 100 clubs hailing from all over the Union, and to over 300 by 1867. 
    1862 - The first paper money was issued in the US. The denominations were $5 (Hamilton), $10 (Lincoln) and $20 (Liberty). 
    1864 - Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was made general-in-chief by Pres. Lincoln, replacing Gen. Henry W. Halleck.
http://www.mscomm.com/~ulysses/
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mcc&fileName=017/page.db&recNum=
0&itemLink=D?mcc:4:./temp/~ammem_pRfu::
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cwphtml/cwgrant.gif
    1865 - Battle of Monroe's Crossroads, North Carolina, one of the largest Calvary battles of the war between two flamboyant generals
http://www.cr.nps.gov/seac/cavclash.htm
http://www.cr.nps.gov/seac/mcattack.htm
http://www.bragg.army.mil/culturalresources/monroe's_crossroads.htm
http://www.townofaberdeen.net/MalcolmBlue_FarmskillsFestival.htm
    1867 - Lillian D. Wald (d. 1940), American sociologist, founder of the Henry Street Settlement at New York City, was born at Cincinnati, OH. It was the first nonsectarian public health nursing service.
    1874 – Purdue University admitted its first student.
    1876 - Alexander Graham Bell transmitted the first telephone message to his assistant in the next room: “Mr. Watson, come here, I want you,” at Cambridge, Massachusetts. Born at Edinburgh, Scotland, Bell acquired his interest in the transmission of sound from his father, Melville Bell, a teacher of the deaf. Bell’s use of visual devices to teach articulation to the deaf contributed to the theory from which he derived the principle of the vibrating membrane used in the telephone. Bell’s other accomplishments include a refinement of Edison’s phonograph, the first successful phonograph record and the audiometer.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/mar10.html
    1880 - Salvation Army Commissioner George Scott Railton and seven women officers landed at New York to officially begin the work of the Salvation Army in the United States.
    1891 – Almon Strowger, an undertaker in Topeka, KS, patented the Strowger switch, a device which led to the automation of telephone circuit switching.
    1893 - New Mexico State University canceled its first graduation ceremony.  The only graduate, Sam Steele, was robbed and killed the night before. 
    1896 - After Bob Fitzsimmons KO’d much larger Jim Corbett to win the world heavyweight championship, he says, "The bigger they are, the harder they fall."
    1902 - A United States court of appeals ruled that Edison did not invent the movie camera.
    1903 - Playwright and politician Clare Booth Luce (d. 1987) was born at New York City. Luce wrote for and edited Vogue and Vanity Fair and wrote plays, three of which were later adapted into motion pictures, “The Women” (1936), “Kiss the Boys Goodbye” (1938) and “Margin of Error” (1939). She served in the US House of Representatives (1943-47) and Ambassador to Italy (1953-56), the first woman to be appointed ambassador to a major country.
    1903 – Birthday of legendary trumpet player Bix Beiderbecke (d. 1931), born Leon Bismarck Beiderbecke in Davenport, Iowa.  With Louis Armstrong and Muggsy Spanier, Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s. His turns on "Singin' the Blues" and "I'm Coming, Virginia" (both 1927), in particular, demonstrated an unusual purity of tone and a gift for improvisation. With these two recordings, especially, he helped to invent the jazz ballad style and hinted at what, in the 1950s, would become cool jazz. "In a Mist" (1927), one of a handful of his piano compositions and one of only two he recorded, mixed classical (Impressionist) influences with jazz  syncopation.
http://www.redhotjazz.com/bix.html 
http://www.citypaper.net/articles/020702/mus.cds1.shtml
    1912 - The barometric pressure reached 29.26 inches at Los Angeles, CA, and 29.46 inches at San Diego, CA, setting all-time records for those two locations.
    1913 – Abolitionist Harriet Tubman died at age 91 at Auburn, NY.  Born a slave in Maryland, she was THE Underground Railroad leader after escaping in 1849, helping more than 300 slaves to freedom.
    1918 – Sportswriter Heywood Hale Broun (d. 2001) was born in NYC.  Broun was noted for his eloquent speaking manner, his trademark handlebar moustache, and the colorful and garish sport coats which he wore while reporting. 
    1924 - Guy Lombardo and the Royal Canadians made their first recordings at a session in Richmond, Indiana. Two songs were released on the Gennett label.
http://www.bigbandsandbignames.com/GuyLombardo.html
    1924 - Tenor sax/Trumpet player Bunny Williams was born in Magnolia, MS
http://www.alligator.com/artists/album.cfm?AlbumID=al2803&ArtistID=036
    1922 - Dodge City, Kansas was buried under 17.5 inches of snow in 24 hours, the city's biggest 24 hour snowfall on record
    1933 - Major earthquake in Long Beach, CA killed 115 people and caused an estimated $40 million in damage.
http://nisee.berkeley.edu/long_beach/long_beach.html
    1933 – Nevada became the first state to regulate narcotics.
    1935 - On Victor Records, Nelson Eddy recorded "Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life." The song was from the film, "Naughty Marietta." Later, Eddy recorded the song with Jeanette MacDonald. 
    1937 - An audience of 21,000 jitterbuggers crowded the Paramount Theatre in New York City to see the ‘King of Swing’, Benny Goodman.
http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3jtrbg.htm
http://www.savoystyle.com/
    1938 – “Jezebel”, directed by William Wyler, opened in United States theaters. The film starred Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, George Brent, and Fay Bainter. Davis won her second Oscar as a ruthless Southern belle who goes too far to make fiancé Fonda jealous. Bainter received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar, and the film was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. Bette Davis starred in a series of acclaimed films that won her Best Actress nominations for five consecutive years: “Jezebel” (1938), “Dark Victory” (1939), “The Letter” (1940), “The Little Foxes” (1941), and “Now, Voyager” (1942). In 1950, she won the New York Film Critics' Best Actress Award for her stunning performance as actress Margo Channing in “All About Eve”. Her career tapered off in the late 1950s but revived in 1962 with her leading role in “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?” She spent most of the 1970s doing television work until cancer forced her to slow down. In 1977, she became the first woman to receive the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award, and her filmography includes more than 80 works. She wrote two autobiographies, “The Lonely Life” in 1962, “This 'N' That” in 1987, and has been the subject of many biographies.  In addition, she became a song title in 1981.  "Bette Davis Eyes" was written by Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon and was made popular by Kim Carnes. It spent nine weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was Billboard’s biggest hit of the entire year for 1981. The recording won the 1982 Grammy Awards for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year.  She died of cancer in 1989.
    1938 - The day: the 10th of the month. The movies being celebrated were for the year 1937, whose numbers add up to 10 (1+9, 3+7); and it was the 10th Annual Academy Awards. We wonder if these winners were superstitious or had some reason to think that the number 10 was lucky. Two awards were won by "The Life of Emile Zola," a Warner Bros. movie, produced by Henry Blanke, Best Picture honors and Best Actor in a Supporting Role to Joseph Schildkraut. Other lucky recipients of the coveted prize awarded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at Los Angeles’ Biltmore Hotel were Leo McCarey as Best Director for "The Awful Truth;" Spencer Tracy for his Best Actor role (Manuel) in "Captains Courageous;" Luise Rainer for her Best Actress role (O-Lan) in "The Good Earth;" Alice Brady as the Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Molly O’Leary "In Old Chicago") and Harry Owens for his Best Music/Song, "Sweet Leilani" from "Waikiki Wedding."
    1939 – “The Little Princess,” starring Shirley Temple and based on Frances Hodgson Burnett's novel, opened in United States theaters.
    1940 - Dean Torrance of the surfing music duo of Jan and Dean was born in Los Angeles. He went to the same high school I did, University High School in Los Angeles. He really was a “surfer.” In 1959, Dean and Jan Berry had their first top-ten hit, "Baby Talk," which was arranged by the then-unknown Herb Alpert. Their biggest success came in 1963 with the number-one song "Surf City," written by Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. In 1966, Jan Berry suffered brain damage when his car rammed into a parked truck in Los Angeles. That ended Jan and Dean's career, although they have performed together occasionally since Berry's recovery in 1973. Dean Torrance turned to designing album covers as head of Kitty Hawk Graphics in Hollywood.
http://www.jananddean.com/
    1940 – Actor Chuck Norris was born Carlos Ray Norris in Ryan, OK.
    1941 - The Brooklyn Dodgers announced their players would wear batting helmets for the 1941 season. General Manager Larry McPhail correctly predicted all baseball players would wear the new devices soon 
    1941 - Birthday of American composer Gary Edwards, Spokane, WA.  Samples of his finished musical works and books:
http://edwardsmusicpublishing.com/cart/agora.cgi
    1944 - Vibraphone player David Friedman born New York City
http://www.dmprecords.com/CD-503.htm
    1945 - ATKINS, THOMAS E., Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company A, 127th Infantry, 32d Infantry Division. Place and date: Villa Verde Trail, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 10 March 1945. Entered service at: Campobello, S.C. Birth: Campobello, S.C. G.O. No.: 95, 30 October 1945. Citation: He fought gallantly on the Villa Verde Trail, Luzon, Philippine Islands. With 2 companions he occupied a position on a ridge outside the perimeter defense established by the 1st Platoon on a high hill. At about 3 a.m., 2 companies of Japanese attacked with rifle and machinegun fire, grenades, TNT charges, and land mines, severely wounding Pfc. Atkins and killing his 2 companions. Despite the intense hostile fire and pain from his deep wound, he held his ground and returned heavy fire. After the attack was repulsed, he remained in his precarious position to repel any subsequent assaults instead of returning to the American lines for medical treatment. An enemy machinegun, set up within 20 yards of his foxhole, vainly attempted to drive him off or silence his gun. The Japanese repeatedly made fierce attacks, but for 4 hours, Pfc. Atkins determinedly remained in his fox hole, bearing the brunt of each assault and maintaining steady and accurate fire until each charge was repulsed. At 7 a.m., 13 enemy dead lay in front of his position; he had fired 400 rounds, all he and his 2 dead companions possessed, and had used 3 rifles until each had jammed too badly for further operation. He withdrew during a lull to secure a rifle and more ammunition, and was persuaded to remain for medical treatment. While waiting, he saw a Japanese within the perimeter and, seizing a nearby rifle, killed him. A few minutes later, while lying on a litter, he discovered an enemy group moving up behind the platoon's lines. Despite his severe wound, he sat up, delivered heavy rifle fire against the group and forced them to withdraw. Pfc. Atkins' superb bravery and his fearless determination to hold his post against the main force of repeated enemy attacks, even though painfully wounded, were major factors in enabling his comrades to maintain their lines against a numerically superior enemy force.
    1945 - 300 United States B-29 bombers devastated Japan's capital in what became known as the Great Tokyo Air Raid in World War II. The firestorm they created killed 100,000 people.
http://history.independence.co.jp/ww2/eng/phtop.html
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/04/11/1018333400535.html
    1946 – The late NC State basketball coach, Jim Valvano (d. 1993), was born in Queens.  His Wildcats upset the Phi Slamma Jamma University of Houston for the 1983 NCAA championship.  Later, as he was dying of cancer, he was featured in the 1993 ESPY Awards for his stirring speech that included the plea. “Never give up, don’t ever give up,” a short 8 weeks prior to his death.
    1948 - Zelda Fitzgerald and eight other women were killed in a sanitarium fire in Asheville, North Carolina. Trapped on the third story, she died at age 48. Both she and her husband were alcoholics, which affected her earlier than it did F. Scott. (Here is corroboration of the date but go back to the beginning and read the chronological series of her life to better understand their “condition.” Simply put: Once you become a pickle, you can’t go back to being a cucumber).
More information of Zelda Fitzgerald:
http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/zeldabib.html
http://www.zeldafitzgerald.com/chronology/chronology_30.asp
    1949 - Top Hits
“Far Away Places” - Margaret Whiting
“Powder Your Face with Sunshine” - Evelyn Knight
“Galway Bay” - Bing Crosby
“Don’t Rob Another Man’s Castle” - Eddy Arnold
    1951 - Mario Lanza's "Be My Love" hits #1
    1951 – FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover declined an offer to become Commissioner of Major League baseball.
    1952 – Fulgencio Batista led a successful coup in Cuba and appointed himself as the "provisional president."  History would repeat itself later in the decade when Batista was overthrown by Fidel Castro.
    1955 - Trumpeting their new signing, RCA Victor places a half-page ad in Billboard announcing Elvis Presley as the "new singing rage."
    1956 - Louisa May Alcott's popular novel, “Little Women,” was again adapted for the screen, and opened in movie theaters on this date. This version starred June Allyson, Peter Lawford, Margaret O'Brien, Elizabeth Taylor, Janet Leigh, Rossano Brazzi, and Mary Astor. The film won an Oscar for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color (1949). 
    1956 – Bobby Darin singing "Rock Island Line" on CBS-TV's “Dorsey Brothers Stage Show,” made his first television appearance.
    1957 - Top Hits
“Young Love” - Tab Hunter
“Young Love” - Sonny James
“Round and Round” - Perry Como
“There You Go” - Johnny Cash
    1957 – Osama bin Laden was born in Saudi Arabia and was killed May 2, 2011 in Pakistan.
    1958 – Actress Sharon Stone was born in Meadville, PA.
    1959 - Tennessee William's play, "Sweet Bird of Youth," opened at the Martin Beck Theatre in New York City, starring Geraldine Page, Paul Newman, Rip Torn and Diana Hyland. Critics called Page “fabulous” and said Newman was “the perfect companion piece.” 
    1959 - Elvis Presley's "I Need Your Love Tonight" backed with "A Fool Such as I" is released on RCA Records. The following day, based on advanced orders for the disco totaling nearly one million, RCA ships a gold record for the platter to Elvis, who is stationed in Germany.
    1960 - A heavy snowstorm left 10 inches in Georgia, 22 inches in Tennessee, 24 inches in Kentucky and 15 inches in Virginia. Many buildings collapsed from the weight of the snow.
    1961 – Sportscaster Pam Oliver was born in Dallas.
    1961 - Twenty-two-year-old songwriter Jeff Barry, whose "Tell Laura I Love Her" was a Top Ten hit for Ray Peterson, signs an exclusive writing and recording deal with Trinity Music. In 1962, he hooks up with Phil Spector, Shadow Moaton, and with his new wife, Ellie Greenwich, they start cranking out the hits. They include "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me" (Crystals), "Be My Baby" (Ronettes), "Chapel of Love" (Dixie Cups), "Do Wah Diddy" (Manfred Mann), "Leader of the Pack" (Shangri-Las) "River Deep, Mountain High" (Ike and Tina Turner), "Hanky Panky" (Tommy James) and "Cherry Cherry" (Neil Diamond).
    1961 – 49ers guard and center Jesse Sapolu was born in Samoa.  With Randy Cross, he was the anchor of the great offensive line that won four Super Bowls in the 1980s.  Unbelievably, neither is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
    1962 - Bruce Channel's "Hey Baby" sat at the top of the Pop chart.
    1962 - Due to the policy of not housing black players at the Jack Tar Harrison Hotel, the Philadelphia Phillies move to Rocky Point Motel, 20 miles outside Clearwater, Florida, their spring training site.  The irony here is that the Phillies were among the vilest, if not the most, in their treatment of Jackie Robinson during his rookie year in 1947.
    1963 – Wilt Chamberlain, of the San Francisco Warriors scored 70 points vs Syracuse Nationals.  The Nationals would move to Philadelphia after the Warriors moved to SF, to become the 76ers.
    1963 - Three days after an emotional public service, Patsy Cline was buried quietly at Shenandoah Memorial Park in Winchester, VA.  Her home in Winchester is now a museum
    1963 – Pete Rose played in his first spring training game. The 22-year-old Rose, who went 2 for 2 in his debut against the Chicago White Sox, made the Reds’ opening day roster at 2B and went on to win the NL Rookie of the Year Award.
    1964 – Simon and Garfunkel recorded “The Sounds of Silence.”
    1965 - Top Hits
“My Girl” - The Temptations
“The Jolly Green Giant”- The Kingsmen
“Eight Days a Week” - The Beatles
“I’ve Got a Tiger by the Tail” - Buck Owens
    1965 - Walter Matthau and Art Carney opened in one of Neil Simon’s greatest theatrical triumphs, "The Odd Couple,” which would also become a television hit starring Tony Randall as the tidy Felix Ungar and Jack Klugman as slovenly sportswriter, Oscar Madison.  It had a short-lived reprise on CBS with Matthew Perry as Oscar and Danny Jacobson as Felix, debuting on Feb 19, 2015.
    1965 - Heather Farr (d. 1993), golfer, was born at Phoenix, AZ. Farr was an outstanding amateur golfer and a promising member of the LPGA tour when she was stricken with breast cancer in 1988. Radical treatment allowed her to fight the disease with great courage for five years without losing her spirit or sense of humor. In Farr’s honor, the LGPA annually present the Heather Farr Player Award to the golfer, “who, through her hard work, dedication, and love of the game of golf, has demonstrated determination, perseverance and spirit in fulfilling her goals as a player.”
    1966 - FISHER, BERNARD FRANCIS, Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Major, U.S. Air Force, 1st Air Commandos. Place and date: Bien Hoa and Pleiku, Vietnam, 10 March 1966. Entered service at: Kuna, Idaho. Born: 11 January 1927, San Bernardino, Calif. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. On that date, the Special Forces camp at A Shau was under attack by 2,000 North Vietnamese Army regulars. Hostile troops had positioned themselves between the airstrip and the camp. Other hostile troops had surrounded the camp and were continuously raking it with automatic weapons fire from the surrounding hills. The tops of the 1,500-foot hills were obscured by an 800-foot ceiling, limiting aircraft maneuverability and forcing pilots to operate within range of hostile gun positions, which often were able to fire down on the attacking aircraft. During the battle, Maj. Fisher observed a fellow airman crash land on the battle-torn airstrip. In the belief that the downed pilot was seriously injured and in imminent danger of capture, Maj. Fisher announced his intention to land on the airstrip to effect a rescue. Although aware of the extreme danger and likely failure of such an attempt, he elected to continue. Directing his own air cover, he landed his aircraft and taxied almost the full length of the runway, which was littered with battle debris and parts of an exploded aircraft. While effecting a successful rescue of the downed pilot, heavy ground fire was observed, with 19 bullets striking his aircraft. In the face of the withering ground fire, he applied power and gained enough speed to lift-off at the overrun of the airstrip. Maj. Fisher's profound concern for his fellow airman, and at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in the highest traditions of the U.S. Air Force and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.
    1966 - Military Prime Minister of South Vietnam Nguyen Cao Ky sacked rival General Nguyen Chanh Thi, precipitating large-scale civil and military dissension in parts of the nation.
    1967 - DETHLEFSEN, MERLYN HANS,  Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Major (then Capt.), U.S. Air Force. Place and date: In the air over North Vietnam, 10 March 1967. Entered service at: Royal, Iowa. Born: 29 June 1934, Greenville, Iowa. Citation: Maj. Dethlefsen was 1 of a flight of F-105 aircraft engaged in a fire suppression mission designed to destroy a key antiaircraft defensive complex containing surface-to-air missiles (SAM), an exceptionally heavy concentration of antiaircraft artillery, and other automatic weapons. The defensive network was situated to dominate the approach and provide protection to an important North Vietnam industrial center that was scheduled to be attacked by fighter bombers immediately after the strike by Maj. Dethlefsen's flight. In the initial attack on the defensive complex the lead aircraft was crippled, and Maj. Dethlefsen's aircraft was extensively damaged by the intense enemy fire. Realizing that the success of the impending fighter bomber attack on the center now depended on his ability to effectively suppress the defensive fire, Maj. Dethlefsen ignored the enemy's overwhelming firepower and the damage to his aircraft and pressed his attack. Despite a continuing hail of antiaircraft fire, deadly surface-to-air missiles, and counterattacks by MIG interceptors, Maj. Dethlefsen flew repeated close range strikes to silence the enemy defensive positions with bombs and cannon fire. His action in rendering ineffective the defensive SAM and antiaircraft artillery sites enabled the ensuing fighter bombers to strike successfully the important industrial target without loss or damage to their aircraft, thereby appreciably reducing the enemy's ability to provide essential war material. Maj. Dethlefsen's consummate skill and selfless dedication to this significant mission were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Air Force and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.
    1967 - Sonny and Cher guest star as "Jerry and Ramona" on tonight's "The Hot Number Affair" episode of the NBC-TV spy spoof “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”.
    1968 - César Chávez breaks his fast at a mass in Delano's public park with 4,000 supporters at his side, including Senator Robert Kennedy.
    1968 - A Green Beret camp was overrun by about 2000 North Vietnamese troops after a 72-hour siege. About 200 U.S. and South Vietnamese troops were killed or captured at the Special Forces base in the Ashau Valley.
    1969 - James Earl Ray was sentenced in Memphis, Tennessee, to 99 years in prison for the murder of Martin Luther King Jr. in April 1968. The King family believes he is not the one who pulled the trigger.  He died in prison in 1998.
    1970 - The U.S. Army accuses Capt. Ernest Medina and four other soldiers of committing crimes at My Lai in March 1968. The charges ranged from premeditated murder to rape and the "maiming" of a suspect under interrogation. Medina was the company commander of Lt. William Calley and other soldiers charged with murder and numerous crimes at My Lai 4 in Song My village. The My Lai massacre became the most publicized war atrocity committed by U.S. troops in Vietnam. Allegedly, a platoon had slaughtered between 200 and 500 unarmed villagers at My Lai 4, a cluster of hamlets in the coastal lowlands of I Corps Tactical Zone. Only 14, including Calley and Medina, were eventually charged with crimes. All eventually had their charges dismissed or were acquitted by courts-martial except Calley, who was found guilty of murdering 22 civilians. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, but his sentence was reduced to 20 years by the Court of Military Appeals and further reduced later to 10 years by the Secretary of the Army. Proclaimed by much of the public as a "scapegoat," Calley was paroled in 1974 after having served about three years.
    1971 - Manager Allan Klein, picked by John, George, and Ringo to handle the Beatles' affairs in the wake of Brian Epstein's death, was forbidden from managing the group after Paul, who instead preferred his father-in-law Eastman, sued for dissolution of the group. As night fell, the other three members allegedly visit Paul's home on Cavendish Avenue in London and threw a brick through one of the windows.
    1971 – The Senate lowered the voting age to 18.
    1973 - Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" was released in America, where it would spend over 740 weeks on the chart.
    1973 - Top Hits
“Killing Me Softly with His Song” - Roberta Flack
“Dueling Banjos” - Eric Weissberg & Steve Mandell
“Love Train” - O’Jays
“’Till I Get It Right” - Tammy Wynette
    1977 - Pink Floyd's album "Animals" was certified platinum - one million copies sold - in the US.
    1977 – Scientists discovered rings around the planet Uranus.
    1978 - “The Incredible Hulk” premieres on TV. A wonderfully campy action series based on the popular Marvel comic books as well as a modern-day Jekyll and Hyde story. Bill Bixby played the erudite scientist, Dr. David Banner, who accidentally exposed himself to a gamma radiation. When provoked, Banner metamorphosed into the shirt-shredding, body-baring, green-skin, snarling Neanderthal Hulk. The 6’5” 275-lb former Mr. Universe, Louis Ferrigno, played the largely non-speaking part of the Hulk.
    1978 - The Bee Gee's "Night Fever" moves into the #1 spot on the chart. It replaces another Gibb Brothers tune, "Stayin' Alive."
    1979 - Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" hits #1
    1980 – Madeira School headmistress Jean Harris shot and killed Scarsdale diet doctor Herman Tarnower.
    1981 - New Denver Broncos owners Edgar F. Kaiser, Jr., named Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Dan Reeves head coach. In 12 seasons, Reeves took the Broncos to three Super Bowls and compiled a 117-79-1 record.
    1981 - Top Hits
“I Love a Rainy Night” - Eddie Rabbitt
“9 to 5” - Dolly Parton
“Keep on Loving You” - REO Speedwagon
“Do You Love as Good as You Look” - The Bellamy Brothers
    1982 - Known as the Jupiter effect, the much-talked-about and sometimes-feared planetary configuration of a semi-alignment of the planets on the same side of the sun occurred on this date without causing any of the disasters or unusual natural phenomena that some had predicted.
    1985 - The Dallas Mavericks' Dick Motta became the fourth coach in the National Basketball Association to win 700 games as the Mavs beat the New Jersey Nets 126- 113. The three other coaches in NBA history to have that many wins were: Red Auerbach (938 games), Jack Ramsey (733 games) and Gene Shue (717).
    1985 - Konstantin Chernenko, Soviet leader for just 13 months, died at age 73. His death was announced on March 11th. Politburo member Mikhail S. Gorbachev was chosen to succeed him.  This paved the way for Gorbachev to respond to President’s Reagan’s overtures – Glasnost – in what eventually precipitated the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
    1986 - Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes hit Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. A total of 19 tornadoes occurred. 3 of the tornadoes in Indiana reached F3 intensity (winds 158-206 mph). A densely populated subdivision of southeast Lexington, Kentucky was heavily damaged by a tornado. 20 people were injured and 900 homes were damaged or demolished. A very strong thunderstorm downburst hit the Cincinnati area. At the Greater Cincinnati airport, windows were blown out of the control tower, injuring the 6 controllers on duty. At Newport, Kentucky, 120 houses were destroyed from winds estimated from 100 to 140 mph.
    1989 - Top Hits
“Lost in Your Eyes” - Debbie Gibson
“The Lover in Me” - Sheena Easton
“The Living Years” - Mike & The Mechanics
“I Still Believe in You” - The Desert Rose Band
    1989 – Thirty-four cities in the central and southwestern US reported record high temperatures for the date. The high of 85 degrees at Hanksville, Utah was a record for March and Pueblo, Colorado equaled their March record of 86 degrees. Hill City, Kansas warmed from a morning low of 30 degrees to an afternoon high of 89 degrees.
    1990 - According to Billboard Magazine, New Kids on the Block receive 125,000 calls a day to their 1-900 number.
    1990 - American Jennifer Capriati, at 13 years and 11 months, became the youngest player ever to reach the finals of a professional tennis tournament, an event in Florida.
    1993 - Giants Hire a Woman PA Voice: The San Francisco Giants made baseball history by hiring Sherry Davis to be the team’s public address announcer. Davis, a legal secretary, became the first woman PA voice in the major leagues after having done voice-over work since 1981.
    1993 - Michael Jackson, in a live TV interview with Oprah Winfrey, said he had an inherited disorder that causes skin pigmentation to fade. He denied altering most of his face but did admit to minor cosmetic surgery. Jackson also said he finds the comfort in children and animals that he missed in a friendless, workaholic childhood. In the wake of Jackson's first solo interview in nearly a decade, sales of his "Dangerous" album, released 14 months earlier, skyrocketed
    1995 - Citing the labor unrest as the reason, former Chicago Bulls great Michael Jordan announces he is leaving baseball to return the NBA.
    2000 – The NASDAQ peaked at 5132.52, signaling the beginning of the end of the dot.com boom.
    2003 - Cat Stevens, now known as Yusuf Islam, makes his first recording since leaving the business and becoming a Muslim in 1978, covering his own 1971 hit "Peace Train" in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
    2003 - The Righteous Brothers, AC/DC, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, The Clash, The Police, and Floyd Cramer are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in New York City.
    2004 - When asked by Senator John McCain to renegotiate Major League Baseball's collective bargaining agreement with the players’ association in regard to the use of controlled substances, Donald Fehr, the association’s executive director, refused. Although the union boss condemned the use of steroids, he believed the players oppose random drug testing as a violation of privacy, an argument countered by the Arizona Republican as unacceptable and promised congressional action if the status quo remained…and we all know that worked out!
    2004 - Teenage sniper Lee Boyd Malvo was sentenced in Chesapeake, Va., to life in prison.
    2005 - Michael Jackson showed up at his child molestation trial in Los Angeles an hour late and still in his pajamas. After being threatened with jail time for making the court wait, Jackson listened to testimony from one of his former visitors at his Neverland Ranch, a teenager who testifies that the singer tried to get him drunk on soda cans filled with red wine, which he reportedly called "Jesus' Blood," and white wine or "Jesus Juice."
    2008 - Pop diva Madonna, rocker John Mellencamp, singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen, British Invasion pioneers, The Dave Clark Five, and instrumental Rock legends, The Ventures, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during a ceremony at New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.
    2008 - New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer apologized after allegations surfaced that he had paid thousands of dollars for a high-end call girl, a scandal which eventually led to his resignation.
    2011 - Lawmakers successfully passed the vote to remove nearly all collective bargaining from Wisconsin state employees.
    2014 - The world's largest banana company was created as the Irish fruit company Fyffes merged with U.S. company Chiquita.  The new company, ChiquitaFyffes, is traded on the New York Stock Exchange. 
    2020 – Three months into the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese President Xi Jinping traveled to Wuhan, epicenter of the outbreak, as the rate of daily new infections in China declined to 19 new cases and 17 new deaths.