Channel Partners Capital Webinar
Free – Today, May 20, Wednesday, 3:00pm ET

Join us next for a live webinar to learn more about
- Channel Partners Capital

Channel Partners Capital is a leading provider of working capital ranging from $10,000 to $250,000. They recently added equipment financing to their product suite. Channel Partners will continue to work exclusively through equipment finance companies offering flexible partner programs, tools and technology to help your customers grow.

AACFB will draw 15 brokers from the attendee list to receive one year of American Association of Commercial Finance Broker membership for free courtesy of Channel Partners Capital.

Register Here:
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_--9Z0h9nS2SHWXomjlOL9g

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As more and more states move towards reopening their economies, health experts are warning that lifting restrictions too soon could have dire consequences. “There is a real risk that you will trigger an outbreak that you may not be able to control,” the U.S. government’s top expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said in a Senate hearing last week, pointing out that a widely feared second wave of infections would also be detrimental to economic recovery.

Apparently, parts of the American public share such concerns as a recent Morning Consult poll revealed. Fifty-one percent of the 2,000 registered voters polled between May 8 and 10 said that businesses and public spaces across the nation are opening too quickly, while only 15 percent think that the nation isn’t reopening fast enough. Interestingly, people are less worried about their own surroundings than they are about the nation as a whole, as only 37 percent of respondents said their own state was lifting restrictions too quickly while another 37 percent approved of their state’s approach to reopening.

Unsurprisingly, there’s a steep partisan divide with respect to reopening the economy. While 68 percent of Democrats think the nation is moving too quickly, only 31 percent of Republicans agree with that notion.

By Felix Richter, Statista
https://www.statista.com/chart/21741/public-opinion-on-reopening-of-economy/

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It's a Numbers Game

Sales Makes it Happen by Scott Wheeler, CLFP

Originators in the commercial equipment leasing and finance industry must pay attention to the numbers. As financial advisors, the numbers count. Everything can be measured though the numbers and reveal steps forward for top producers. 

• Origination is a numbers game. How many cold calls will produce enough opportunities to feed your pipeline? How many of your vendors have a sustainable business model to propel them through the recovery? How many key accounts do you have? How many do you need? If you needed to make 35 calls in January to generate a lead, today you may need to make 60 calls to generate that same lead. Are you willing to hit the new number?

• Portfolio performance and the actual numbers matter. Every portfolio has been affected by the current crisis. How does your portfolio stack up to others? Are your personal portfolio's delinquencies higher than others? The numbers are strongly suggesting that you need to pivot now. You need to reinvent yourself and look for new channels of business. The numbers don't lie - use the numbers to motivate yourself toward the future.

• If a minimum acceptable credit score on your application-only program has increased from 660 to 700, how are you going to present your current product? What does this score change mean to you and your customers?

• If, in the recent past, financial analysis was the responsibility of the credit department and now you are being asked to pre-qualify more transactions, do you know what the numbers mean?  Can you review balance sheets and income statements to determine strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and solutions? Can you dissect the numbers?

Originators in the commercial equipment leasing and finance industry sell the benefits of "time value of money." Originators sell cash flow benefits. Every activity of an originator is related to the numbers. You must fully understand the numbers to formulate your personal path forward. 

Scott A. Wheeler, CLFP
Wheeler Business Consulting
1314 Marquis Ct.
Fallston, Maryland 21047
Phone: 410 877 0428
Fax: 410 877 8161
Email: scott@wheelerbusinessconsulting.com
Web: www.wheelerbusinessconsulting.com 

Sales Makes it Happen articles:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Legacy/index.html

 

Time

The Ultimate Hire by Ken Lubin, ZRG Partners

It is all we have! It is our most valued resource and is also the most wasted!

Have you ever seen the person who is waiting to die?  You may not realize it but they are surrounding us all over the place. They are waiting for the world to come to them; they are at the bar complaining how hard they have it; they are complaining about how their sports team lost, they are waiting to win the lottery;, they believe that the raise should be given to them; they feel entitled, but aren’t willing to work for it and are just wasting time waiting; waiting to die, vs. taking responsibility for living.

The successful person is grabbing the bull by the horns. They hold themselves accountable, utilize every minute possible to become faster, better and smarter.  They use “NET” time: No extra time, to learn, to stretch, and grow.  They listen to books when they drive, they have their running shoes in the car ready to go, and they take action. They know that their only real commodity is time and that any minute that is squandered is being used by others to become faster, better, and smarter than them.

What can you do this minute to live the life you want to live?  It can all change in a heartbeat. Just have the courage to make it happen!

Ken

Ken Lubin
Managing Director
ZRG Partners, LLC
Americas I EMEA I Asia Pacific
C: 508-733-4789
https://www.linkedin.com/in/klubin/
Ken Lubin is a Managing Director with ZRG Partners, Founder of Executive Athletes, Founder of the Ultimate Hire, US Olympic Committee Career Advisor, and Death Race Winner. Ken is a master in getting people out of their comfort zone.  He helps people achieve their dreams and companies achieve their goals by helping them realize the high performance life

While he leads the global executive search initiative in several specialty finance niches;  Ken is also the Founder of Executive Athletes LLC, an online community which consists of over 18k+ business professionals www.executiveathletes.com that compete globally in high level athletics and are leaders in the world of business. In addition to being an initial founder of The 431 Project, he is on the board of the Friends of Tuckerman Ravine.

The Ultimate Hire Collection:
http://leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/ultimate.html

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Trucking Has Likely Bottomed, Recovery Will Be Slow
By James Menzies, Editor, Today’s Trucking

Trucking conditions likely bottomed in mid-April, but a speedy recovery isn’t anticipated.

Avery Vise
VP, Trucking
FTR/Transpiration Intelligence

That was the takeaway from a Mid-Year Economic Outlook webinar by industry forecaster FTR. Avery Vise, FTR/Transportation Intelligence (intel.com)’s vice-president of trucking, pointing to the company’s Truck Recovery Index, noted “we are not seeing any sustained acceleration.”

The refrigerated segment moved briefly into recovery territory before retreating, Vise noted, and automotive has yet to begin to recover. Vise cautioned the trucking recovery will be slow but also suggested spot market rates also seem to have bottomed.

FTR’s lead economist Bill Witte pointed out the Q1 GDP contraction of -4.8% was much worse than it looked, considering the quarter took into account a strong January and February, before the COVID-19 crisis reared its head. This means GDP likely crashed about 18% in March.

The economic shutdown saw U.S. unemployment soar to 14.7% in April, the worst monthly level on record.

“There’s an enormous amount of uncertainty,” Witte said. However, he feels the worst is behind us and the public should brace for another wave of brutal second quarter data before an improving economy begins to be reflected in the numbers.

“Right now, I think the economy is about at the bottom,” he said. “From here forward, things are going to improve.”

Witte anticipates Q2 GDP to contract 22%. “That’s probably a pretty optimistic number,” he admitted. “It’s at the high end of the projections I’ve been seeing in the media. There is so much going on in the economy right now, it’s so unprecedented, there’s nothing historically you can look at that is anything like this.”

A “very bad April” should be followed by a May that “doesn’t show much improvement” and then the economy should begin to recovery in June, Witte predicted. He’s expecting a 16.3% GDP rebound in the third quarter, followed by a deceleration. It’ll be the end of 2021 before the economy returns to pre-pandemic levels

Trailer Orders 97% Down from March
98% Down Same Month Last Year

 

That all-time low volume resulted from a combination of weak new order placement and disappointingly high cancellations.

Frank Maly, Director CV Transportation Analysis and Research at ACT Research, said, “The impact of COVID-19 pressure on commercial vehicle business conditions is obvious in these preliminary April results.”

He added, “Weak new order placement was the result of fleets swiftly moving to the sidelines as freight volume and lower freight rates resulted in disappointing financial results. While some fleets continued to benefit from the movement of essential goods and materials, that support was beginning to wane as the month closed. Those fleets began to join the industrial, consumer goods, and retail-oriented carriers, where the lockdowns have depressed freight volumes.

"Preliminary results indicated that less than 6,000 new trailer orders were placed in April. However, cancellations almost completely offset those new orders, as fleets backed away from prior commitments in a rapid reaction to the unprecedented business conditions generated by the economic shutdown. Indications are that both the dry van and reefer segments posted more cancellations than new orders in April. Don’t expect any significant rebound in order placement until improvement in business conditions and an unwinding of the economic shutdown begins to improve freight volumes.”

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

Credit reports are now free, every week
By Cathlin Tully, Federal Trade Commission

Now it’s easier than ever to check your credit more often. That’s because everyone is eligible to get free weekly credit reports from the three national credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, and Transunion. To get your free reports, go to AnnualCreditReport.com. The credit reporting agencies are making these reports free for the next year.

If you’re one of the many Americans struggling to pay your bills right now because of the Coronavirus crisis, here’s what you can do:

• Contact the companies you owe money to. Ask if they can postpone your payment, put you on a payment plan, or give you a temporary forbearance.

• Check your credit report regularly to make sure it’s correct — especially any new payment arrangements or temporary forbearance. The recently passed CARES Act generally requires your creditors to report these accounts as current.

• Fix any errors or mistakes that you spot on your credit report. Notify the credit reporting agencies directly. You can find out more by reading Disputing Errors on Credit Reports.

Find more advice and tips on handling the financial impact
of the Coronavirus: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/taxonomy/term/935

Labrador Retriever
Highland Park, Illinois  Adopt-a-Dog

Max is a 3 year old male, 65 lbs.  Max knows his basic command; sit, stay. He is crate trained and housebroken. He loves to go for car rides and enjoys retrieving the tennis ball. Max is good with dogs and people. Max would do best with a family at home.

Chicagoland Lab Rescue, Inc.
1954 First Street #164
Highland Park, Il  60035
clrinfo99@gmail.com
phone: 951-262-3446

Adoption Fee: $325.00

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Free Thursday Webinar on TV Value
Mastering Time Value of Money Calculations
Thursday, May 21 11:00am - 12:00pm PDT

TimeValue Software is presenting a webinar for our TValue Online (SaaS), our cloud-based loan amortization software. TValue is the industry standard for calculating and amortizing loan and lease payments. Many of our customers currently use TValue Online to restructure equipment loans and leases with deferred or skip payments for COVID-19 situations.

 There is limited space available for this FREE product training so be sure to register today. I encourage to forward this learning opportunity to a colleague or a friend.

 We look forward to helping you become more familiar with our TValue Online (SaaS) loan amortization software.

To Register:
https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/4437197225782232331

News Briefs----

Stanford finds no COVID-19 infections in 2019 swabs
analysis 1,700 stored specimens/Stanford detected no COVID-19 virus
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/19/coronavirus-stanford-finds-no-covid-19-infections-in-2019-swabs/

Uber cuts 3,000 more jobs
   as coronavirus devastates ride-hailing
https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Uber-cuts-3-000-more-jobs-as-coronavirus-15277946.php 

Layoffs jolt Airbnb, YMCA San Jose
    Planned layoffs in Bay Area approach 30,000 mark for May
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/19/coronavirus-unemployment-layoffs-jolt-airbnb-ymca-san-jose-tech-job-retail-travel-restaurant-hotel-economy/

Pier 1 Imports to close all 540 stores
    after 58 years
https://nypost.com/2020/05/19/pier-1-imports-to-close-all-540-stores-after-58-years/

JCPenney to permanently close 242 stores
    amid bankruptcy
https://nypost.com/2020/05/18/jcpenney-to-permanently-close-242-stores-amid-bankruptcy/

Walmart's $3 billion experiment with Jet is over
   as Walmart e-Commerce Sales Jump 74% 1st Q
https://chainstoreage.com/walmart-ground-jetcom

State Farm cuts auto rates by $2.2 billion as Americans
   continue to stay home during the COVID-19 pandemic
https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-coronavirus-illinois-state-farm-auto-rate-cuts

Tesla tells employees Fremont factory has approval to restart this week
https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Tesla-tells-employees-that-Fremont-factory-got-15276512.php

 

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You May Have Missed---

For 2020 grads, jobs that were plentiful as semester started
   vanished as it ends
https://www.stltoday.com/business/columns/david-nicklaus/nicklaus-for-2020-grads-jobs-that-were-plentiful-as-semester-started-vanished-as-it-ends/article_e9ceede9-1e6b-579a-a8c9-32832b3670e8.html

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Sports Briefs---

Pro sports could return in California by June,
    Gov. Gavin Newsom says
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/18/coronavirus-pro-sports-could-return-in-california-by-june-gov-gavin-newsom-says/

Twenty NFL rookies who could make instant impacts in 2020 season
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/draft/2020/05/19/nfl-draft-instant-impact-rookies/5178787002/

NFL will change Rooney Rule,
  extending teams' interview requirements
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/NFL-will-change-Rooney-Rule-extending-teams-15279156.php

Giants full-time employees to keep jobs but lose pay,
    with part-timers furloughed
https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/article/Giants-tell-full-time-employees-they-will-keep-15281701.php

LeBron James reveals time he considered playing in NFL,
    and what Cowboys owner Jerry Jones did
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/cowboys/2020/05/18/cowboys-star-lebron-james-during-nba-lockout-jerry-jones-considered/5218539002/

Response to positive tests will be key,
   NFL chief medical officer says
http://www.theredzone.org/Blog-Description/EntryId/81804/Response-to-positive-tests-will-be-key--NFL-chief-medical-officer-says

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California Nuts Briefs---

Napa County 1st in Bay Area allowed to reopen dine-in restaurants
https://abc7news.com/society/napa-co-1st-in-bay-area-allowed-to-reopen-dine-in-restaurants/6197514/

Two Sacramento area casinos set reopen dates,
   despite pleas from Gov. Newsom to delay
https://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/casino/article242851346.html

Coronavirus: Another Bay Area tech firm says employees
   can work from home permanently
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/18/coronavirus-another-bay-area-tech-firm-says-employees-can-work-from-home-permanently

Revenue losses, layoffs for East Bay businesses
    37 percent of East Bay businesses have chopped jobs: survey
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/19/coronavirus-economy-huge-revenue-loss-layoff-east-bay-business-unemployment-tech-retail-restaurant-hotel-job/

The Mountain Winery wants to be a part of Saratoga,
   but residents aren’t having it
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/19/the-mountain-winery-wants-to-be-a-part-of-saratoga-but-residents-arent-having-it/

South Bay DUI Suspect Charged With Rare
   'Watson' Murder: Report
https://patch.com/california/losgatos/south-bay-dui-suspect-charged-rare-watson-murder-report

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“Gimme that Wine”

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

How E. & J. Gallo Winery's Barefoot Wine is
   navigating huge spike in at-home drinking
https://www.campaignlive.com/article/e-j-gallo-winerys-barefoot-wine-navigating-huge-spike-at-home-drinking/1683381

Restaurants and bars look ahead
https://www.sfchronicle.com/restaurants/article/Imagining-the-Bay-Area-bar-and-restaurant-scene-15273527.php

Some Restaurant Owners Want to Close.
   The Problem Is, It’s Not That Simple.
https://www.eater.com/2020/5/18/21257531/restaurant-owners-need-government-help-to-close-coronavirus-covid-19-impact

Kosher wine sold in a can, bubbles and all
https://www.timesofisrael.com/kosher-wine-sold-in-a-can-for-the-first-time/

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

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

US/International Wine Events
http://www.localwineevents.com/

Leasing News Wine & Spirits Page
http://two.leasingnews.org/Recommendations/wnensprts.htm

This Day in History

    

    1638 – Dorchester, MA voted to establish a property tax to support public schools: “It is ordered the 20th of May, 1639, that there shall be a rent of twenty pounds a year for ever imposed upon Tomsons Island to be paid by every person that hath property in the said island according to the proportion that any such person shall from time to time enjoy and possess there.”
    1704 – Elias Neau founds school for slaves in New York.  His real name was Elias Naud. He was from France, a seaman who sailed to Haiti before arriving in New York.
    1759 - William Thornton (1759-1828) architect, who designed the United States Capitol, was born in the British Virgin Islands.
    1768 – Dolley Madison, a widow, married James Madison.  During the British invasion of Washington, D.C., in the War of 1812, she escaped with valuable state papers from the White House before it was burned by the British.  Strong-willed, she hung her wash in the East Room of the White House to show her disdain for those who thought the presidency was royalty. She was a noted and charming hostess in the complex game of Washington society.   She acted as hostess for George Washington and reportedly her charm and social grace were great aids in Madison being nominated for President.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/firstladies/dm4.html
http://www.vcdh.virginia.edu/madison/exhibit/index.html
    1775 – The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence is claimed by some to be the first such declaration made in the Colonies during the Revolutionary War. It was supposedly signed on May 20, 1775, at Charlotte, NC, by a committee of citizens of Mecklenburg County, who declared independence from Great Britain after hearing of the Battle of Lexington. If true, the Mecklenburg Declaration preceded the US Declaration of Independence by more than a year. The authenticity of the Mecklenburg Declaration has been disputed since it was first published in 1819, forty-four years after it was reputedly written. There is no conclusive evidence to confirm the original document's existence and no reference to it has been found in extant newspapers from 1775.  The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence was first published on April 30, 1819, in an article written by Dr. Joseph McKnitt Alexander in the “Raleigh Register and North Carolina Gazette” newspaper.  "It is not probably known to many of our readers," wrote the editor of the “Raleigh Register” in an introduction to the article, "that the citizens of Mecklenburg County, in this State, made a Declaration of Independence more than a year before Congress made theirs.  According to Dr. Alexander, his father, John McKnitt Alexander, had been the clerk at a meeting convened in Charlotte on May 19, 1775. Each militia company in the county had sent two delegates to the meeting, where measures were to be discussed regarding the ongoing dispute between the British Empire and the Colonies. Relations between the colonies and the mother country had reached a crisis in Boston following the 1774 passage of the Coercive Acts by the British Parliament. During the meeting in Mecklenburg County, the delegates received official news that the Battle of Lexington had been fought in Massachusetts one month earlier. Outraged by this turn of events, wrote Dr. Alexander, the delegates unanimously passed the resolutions at about 2:00 a.m. on May 20.  North Carolinian James Street insisted that this “was the first explicit declaration by any Colony in favor of complete separation from Britain.”  (Street,”The Revolutionary War” (1954), pg. 79).
    1777 - The first treaty between states after the Declaration of Independence was concluded between Georgia and South Carolina at DeWitt's Corner, SC.  Under its provisions, the Cherokees were forced to retire behind a line running southwest through Georgia from the straight part of Pickens County on the North to a point just below the mouth of the Tallulah at the western tip of the state. Since settlers began landing on the continent, the natives were moved further and further from their original “homeland.” From an estimated population, some say well into the millions, the population shrank to several hundred thousand, due primarily to disease brought from the old world to humans and animals.  http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2002/03/mann.html
    1818 – William Fargo (1818-1881) was born in Pompey, NY.  In 1844, he organized, with Henry Wells (1805–1878) and Daniel Dunning, the first express company, Wells & Co, to engage in the carrying business west of Buffalo. The lines of this company (which first operated only to Detroit via Cleveland) were rapidly extended to Chicago, St. Louis, and other western points.  In March 1850, through a consolidation of competing lines, the American Express Company was organized; Wells became president and Fargo secretary. In 1851, with Wells and others, he organized the firm of Wells Fargo & Company to conduct an express business between New York and San Francisco by way of the Isthmus of Panama and on the Pacific coast, where it long had a virtual monopoly.  In 1861, Wells Fargo bought and reorganized the Overland Mail Co., which had been formed in 1857 to carry the United States mails, and of which Fargo had been one of the original promoters.  The litany of M&A involving Wells Fargo is lengthy and included expansion into traditional banking services as well in the late nineteenth century.  Today, Wells Fargo Bank is the nation’s fourth largest by capitalization and total assets, and is headquartered in San Francisco.
    1825 - Birthday of Antoinette Brown (1825-1921), the first woman minister in U.S. History, in Henrietta, NY. A graduate in theology from Oberlin College in 1850, she was refused ordination by a number of churches, but finally was accepted by the Congregational Church in South Butler, New York (1852-54.) She married into the renowned Blackwell family (Elizabeth was the first woman physician in U.S. history and her sister Emily, also a physician, was one of the organizers of the first woman's hospital). Antoinette had six children and abandoned her battles for women's rights. Later, she resumed her women's rights activities to become one of the most sought-after speakers in the nation. She also published a number of well received books; her last book, “The Social Side of Mind and Action” (1915), was written when she was 90. She lived to 96, long enough to see women get the vote.
http://www.oberlin.edu/external/EOG/OYTT-images/NettyBlackwell.html
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0935312048/avsearch-bkasin-20/002-0667839-4443242
    1851 - Birthday of Emil Berliner (1851-1929), Jewish immigrant, who came to the United States in 1870 from Germany and later worked for Alexander Graham Bell's telephone company. In 1877, the year after Graham invented the telephone, Berliner developed an improved telephone receiver. Ten years later, Berliner dramatically improved the phonograph when he developed the flat gramophone record, which quickly replaced Thomas Edison's recording cylinder. He also developed a method for mass-producing records. He also invented the microphone among other achievements.
http://memory.loc.gov/mmem/berlhtml/ http://www.hebrewhistory.org/factpapers/berliner27-II.html
    1856 - Revolutionizing communication, David Edward Hughes of Louisville, KY, received a patent on a telegraph ticker that successfully printed type.  He then sold his rights to the Commercial Company for $100,000 on November 1, 1855, a huge sum of money for the day, perhaps the first “dot commer” of the “communication revolution” to follow. The modern teleprinter, telex system and computer keyboards are all direct descendants of this invention.  http://www.acmi.net.au/AIC/HUGHES_BIO.html
    1861 - Kentucky proclaimed its neutrality, which lasted until September 3 when Confederate forces entered the state. Meanwhile, North Carolina seceded from the Union.
    1862 - President Lincoln signed the Homestead Act opening millions of acres of government-owned land in the West to settlers or “homesteaders,” who had to reside on the land and cultivate it for five years. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/may20.html
    1872 - Madeline McDowell Breckinridge’s (1872-1920) birthday in Woodlake, KY.  U.S. social activist who began by organizing and taking part in grassroots movements in her native Kentucky battling for educational and health facilities.   She campaigned for juvenile courts, branched out into fighting political corruption while heading charity organizations and was even instrumental in building a tuberculosis hospital (a disease she suffered from most of her life).   She headed the Kentucky Equal Rights organization which not only successfully passed suffrage in a southern state, but also obtained rights for married women that "allowed" them to keep their own earnings, have joint custody of their own children, etc.
http://www.womeninkentucky.com/site/reform/m_breckinridge.html http://www.womeninkentucky.com/site/reform/motherssphere.html
    1873 - Levi Strauss secures the necessary patents for canvas pants with copper rivets to reinforce the stress points. Born in Buttenheim, Bavaria, in 1829, the young Levi Strauss immigrated to the United States in 1847. He arrived in San Francisco in 1853 with a load of merchandise that he hoped to sell in the California mining camps. Unable to sell a large supply of canvas, Strauss hit on the idea of using the durable material to make work pants for miners. Strauss' canvas pants were an immediate success among hardworking miners who had long complained that conventional pants wore out too quickly. In 1872, Strauss received a letter from Jacob Davis, a customer and tailor who worked in the mining town of Reno, Nevada. Davis reported that he had discovered canvas pants could be improved if the pocket seams and other weak points that tended to tear were strengthened by copper rivets. Davis' riveted pants had proven popular in Reno, but he needed a patent to protect his invention. Intrigued by the copper-riveted pants, Strauss and his partners agreed to undertake the necessary legal work for the patent and begin large-scale production of the pants. Davis' invention was patented on this day in 1873. In exchange for his idea, Strauss made the Reno tailor his production manager. Eventually, Strauss switched from using canvas to heavyweight blue denim, and the modern "blue jeans" were born. Since then, Levi Strauss & Company has sold more than 200 million pairs of copper-riveted jeans. By the turn of the century, people outside of the mining and ranching communities had discovered that "Levi's" were both comfortable and durable. Eventually, the jeans lost most of their association with the West and came to be simply a standard element of the casual American wardrobe.  Currently, Levi Strauss employs over 15,000 worldwide.  In 2018, it generated nearly $6 billion in revenues that produced net income of over $280 million.
    1891 - The first public display of Edison’s prototype Kinetoscope.
    1899 - The first traffic ticket in the US…and wouldn’t you know, it was in NYC.  New York City taxi driver Jacob German was arrested for speeding while driving 12 miles per hour on Lexington Street.
    1901 - Pianist Jimmy Blythe (1901-31) was born in Louisville, KY. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/x.dll?UID=8:52:12|PM&p=amg&sql=B10175
    1902 – Cuba gained independence from the US.  After the Spanish–American War, Spain and the United States signed the 1898 Treaty of Paris, by which Spain ceded Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam to the United States for the sum of $20 million.  Under Cuba's new constitution, the U.S. retained the right to intervene in Cuban affairs and to supervise its finances and foreign relations. Under the Platt Amendment, the U.S. leased the Guantanamo Bay naval base from Cuba.
    1907 - Forty-one Igorrote, head-hunters and dog-eaters from the wild districts of Bontac providence in the northern part of Luzon, were brought to this country by the steamer Nippon Maru, arriving Friday. Despite the cold air the Igorrotes, almost naked, stood about the steerage deck of the liner and gazed with awe upon the surrounding evidence of civilization. The rumor spread on board that the head-hunters had been imported by Patrick Calhoun for the purpose of breaking the car strike, but this was denied by R. Schneidewind, who is bringing the Igorrotes to this country.
    1908 – James Stewart (1908-97) was born in Indiana, PA.  Stewart was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime Achievement award. Stewart was named the third greatest male screen legend in cinema history by the AFI.  He was a major MGM star. He also had a noted military career and was a World War II and Vietnam War veteran, who rose to the rank of Brigadier General in the Air Force Reserve.
    1913 – William R. Hewlett (1913-2001) was born in Ann Arbor, MI.  Co-founder, with David Packard, of the Hewlett-Packard Company.
    1916 - Norman Rockwell's first cover for The Saturday Evening Post appeared on the May 20 edition.  It depicted a boy having to care for his infant sibling, pushing the baby carriage while his buddies set off to play ball.  His last Post cover appeared in 1963.
    1919 – Comedian George Gobel (1919-1991) was born in Chicago.   
    1920 - The Chicago police, dressed as soldiers and farmers, raid the Wrigley Field bleachers arresting two dozen Cub fans for gambling as Grover Cleveland Alexander blanks the Phillies, 6-0.
    1921 – Hal Newhouser (1921-98) was born in Detroit.  Newhouser was considered to be the most dominating pitcher of the World War II era of baseball, winning a pitcher’s Triple Crown for the Tigers in 1944. He posted a 29–9 record, leading the league in wins and strikeouts (187). His 2.22 ERA was second in the league, as were his 25 complete games and six shutouts. Newhouser was named MVP and won the first Sporting News Pitcher of the Year Award (The Cy Young Award was not created until 1956). In 1945, he became the first and only pitcher to repeat as MVP and helped the team win the World Series. He won the pitcher's Triple Crown, leading the AL in wins (25-9), ERA (1.81) and strikeouts (212). He also led the league in innings pitched, games started, complete games and shutouts. Newhouser pitched four innings of relief on the season's final day as Detroit rallied for the pennant. He won the second Sporting News Pitcher of the Year Award.  In 1946, he went 26–9 with a 1.94 ERA, again leading the league in wins and ERA. His 275 strikeouts were second in the league. Newhouser continued to rate among the game's best pitchers for the next five years. He won 17 games in 1947, led the AL with 21 wins in 1948 and rang up an 18–11 mark in 1949. He ended his career with a record of 207–150 and a 3.06 ERA. While scouting for the Houston Astros, he was angered when the team did not listen to his recommendation to draft Derek Jeter and instead picked Phil Nevin. Newhouser was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992.
    1927 – Bud Grant was born in Superior, WI.  Grant served as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings for eighteen seasons; he was the team's second (1967–83) and fourth (1985) head coach. Before coaching the Vikings, he was a head coach in the CFL for ten seasons, winning the Grey Cup four times. Grant is the most successful coach in Vikings history, and the third most successful professional football coach overall (behind Don Shula and George Halas), with a combined 290 wins in the NFL and CFL.  Grant was elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1983 and to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1994. He was the first coach in the history of professional football to guide teams to the Grey Cup finals and the Super Bowl.
    May 20-21, 1927 - Captain Charles Lindbergh, 25-year old aviator, departed from rainy, muddy Roosevelt Field, Long Island, NY, alone at 7:52am in a Ryan monoplane named Spirit of St. Louis.  He landed at Le Bourget airfield, Paris, at 10:24pm Paris time (5:54pm NY time), May 21, winning a $25,000 prize offered by Raymond Orteig for the first nonstop flight between New York City and Paris, France (3,600 miles).  The "flying fool," as he had been dubbed by some doubters, became "Lucky Lindy," an instant world hero.  Very few in history drew the universal acclaim of this man.
    1931 - Kenton Lloyd “Ken” Boyer (1931-82), baseball player and manager, born at Liberty, MO. Boyer was an exceptional third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals, winning the National League MVP award in 1964, and he was an 11-time All-Star.  He managed the Cards from 1978 through June 8, 1980. Boyer was one of three brothers who played MLB, including Cloyd and Cletis, with whom he has the fourth-most combined HRs in MLB history.
    1932 - Amelia Earhart took off from Newfoundland on the way to becoming the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic.  Because of weather and equipment problems. She landed in Londonderry, Northern Ireland instead of the intended arrival in France
    1939 – Actor Sal Mineo (1939-76) was born in The Bronx.  He was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for his roles in “Rebel Without a Cause” and “Exodus.”  On February 12, 1976, when he was stabbed to death in the alley behind his apartment building near The Sunset Strip in West Hollywood.
    1941 - Harry James records “You Made Me Love You,” putting the band on top!
    1942 - Glenn Miller Band records “I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo.” Victor.
    1942 – Jill Jackson was born in McCamey, TX.  With Ray Hildebrand, they were Paul and Paula whose hit record, “Hey, Paula” rose to #1 in 1963.
    1944 - The Stan Kenton Band with Anita O'Day records “And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine.”
    1944 - Singer Joe Cocker (1944-2014) was born in Sheffield, England.
 http://www.cocker.com/
    1945 – Cher was born Cherilyn Sarkasian LaPier in El Centro, California. She and husband Sonny Bono enjoyed great success beginning in 1965 with the chart- topping "I Got You Babe." Sonny and Cher became household names with their TV series which ran from 1971 to '75. But a marriage breakup also ended their professional career together. Cher went on to a successful career as a singer and an actress, hitting number one with three singles in the early '70s, "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves," "Half-Breed" and "Dark Lady." She revived her singing career in 1988 with two top-20 singles, "I Found Someone" and "We All Sleep Alone." Later, she scored a hit with the resurrected 'I Got You Babe' performed with MTV's Beavis and Butthead.
http://www.cher.com/
http://www.cherworld.com/
    1946 – “The next Mickey Mantle,” Bobby Murcer (d. 2008) was born in Oklahoma City.
    1948 - In front of only 5,001 fans in Chicago, Joe DiMaggio strokes four extra base hits for the fourth time in his career as he hits for the cycle for a second time in a 13-2 rout of the White Sox. The 'Yankee Clipper' paces the Bombers' 22-hit attack with a two home runs, a triple, a double and a single and drives in 6 runs.
    1949 – The Armed Forces Security Agency, the predecessor to the NSA was established.
    1951 - The first “Ace” to fly a jet was Captain James Jabara of Wichita, KS, a member of the fourth Fighter Interceptor Wing, who shot down his first and sixth enemy Mig jet airplanes over Sinjuiju, northwest Korea.  He eventually defeated 15 Migs over Korea and became the second triple jet Ace.  The first Triple jet Ace was Captain Joseph Christopher McConnell, Jr, who shot down 16 MiG-15s.  He shot down three in one day, May 18. He completed 106 missions in Korea.  His neighbors built him a house in Apple Valley, CA, known as Appreciation House.   He was killed August 24, 1954 at Edwards Air Force base, CA, while testing a new plane, an F-86H.
    1953 - In just their 13th game of the season, the Braves, in their first year in Milwaukee, surpassed their total of 1952 attendance of 28,127, their last year in Boston.
    1954 - Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock" was released on Decca. The record was not a hit until after it was included in the soundtrack of "Blackboard Jungle" the following year.  Written by Max Freedman and James Myers (the latter being under the pseudonym "Jimmy De Knight") in 1952. It was a number one single on both the United States and United Kingdom charts and also reentered the UK Singles Chart in the 1960s and 1970s.  Haley's recording became an anthem for rebellious 1950s youth and is widely considered to be the song that, more than any other, brought rock and roll into mainstream culture around the world. The song is ranked No. 158 on the Rolling Stones magazine's list of The Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2018, it was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or artistically significant." http://www.history-of-rock.com/haley.htm
    1956 - In Operation Redwing, the first United States airborne hydrogen bomb was dropped over Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.
    1956 - Top Hits
“Heartbreak Hotel/I Was the One” - Elvis Presley
“The Wayward Wind” - Gogi Grant
“I'm in Love Again” - Fats Domino
“Blue Suede Shoes” - Carl Perkins
    1957 - Frank Sinatra recorded "Witchcraft"
    1957 - A tornado touched down to the southwest of Kansas City and traveled a distance of seventy-one miles cutting a swath of near total destruction through the southeastern suburbs of Ruskin Heights and Hickman Mills. The tornado claimed the lives of forty-five persons, and left hundreds homeless. It was the worst weather disaster of record for Kansas City. About all that remained of one house was a small table and a fish bowl atop, with the fish still swimming about inside the bowl, rather unconcerned.       
    1960 – Congress’ committee on "payola" indicts eight men accused of receiving $116,580 in illegal payoffs for promoting records. The indictments will lead, two years later, to highly influential DJ Alan Freed's eventual indictment for tax-evasion.
    1960 - A Liverpool band called Johnny and the Moondogs changes their name to the Silver Beetles and embarks on a Scottish tour, backing singer Johnny Gentle. The band members, except for leader John Lennon, take pseudonyms: Paul McCartney becomes Paul Ramon, George Harrison becomes Carl Harrison, and Stu Sutcliffe becomes Stuart de Stael. A punk band called the Ramones would later take their name from McCartney's fake one.
    1961- A white mob attacked a busload of Freedom Riders in Montgomery, Ala., prompting the federal government to send in United States marshals to restore order.
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0520.html
    1964 - Top Hits
“My Guy” - Mary Wells
“Love Me Do” - The Beatles
“Ronnie” - The 4 Seasons
My Heart Skips a Beat - Buck Owens
    1966 - In Windsor, England, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey performed with the rhythm section of the opening act when John Entwistle and Keith Moon were late for the show. When the duo finally arrived, with the show half over, Townshend hit Moon over the head with his guitar.  Keith and John quit the band, but were convinced to return within the week.
    1967 - Only a week after surrendering the top of the R&B chart to Martha & the Vandellas, Aretha Franklin retakes the top spot with "Respect," a tune that will also be Number One on the pop chart. It was originally recorded and written by Otis Redding who would say he prefers Franklin's version to his own.
    1967 - The Beatles premiere their new album, “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,” on Kenny Everett's BBC radio program “Where It's At.” All the tracks are played save "A Day in the Life," which the "Beeb" has banned the day before for its seemingly positive attitude towards drug use. Paul and John give live interviews about the making of the album.
    1971 – Sprint Cup Series champ Tony Stewart was born in Columbus, IN.
    1972 - Top Hits
“The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” - Roberta Flack
“Oh Girl” - Chi-Lites
“I'll Take You There” - The Staple Singers
“Grandma Harp” - Merle Haggard
    1973 - Ken Moore beat 4,030 competitors to win the 63rd Bay-to-Breakers footrace in San Francisco, CA. Moore stepped his way to the finish line in 37 minutes, 15 seconds over a course measured at 7.8 miles.
    1978 - Mavis Hutchinson, 53, made it to New York City to become the first woman to run across America. The 3,000-mile trek took her 69 days. She ran an average of 45 miles each day. Now that's what we call a daily workout.
    1980 - Top Hits
“Call Me” – Blondie
“Ride like the Wind” - Christopher Cross
Lost in Love - Air Supply
“Gone Too Far” - Eddie Rabbitt
    1980 - 710 families in the Love Canal area of Niagara Falls, NY, are evacuated.  In 1890, Love Canal was created as a model planned community but was only partially developed. In the 1920s, the canal became a dump site for municipal refuse for the city of Niagara Falls. During the 1940s, the canal was purchased by Hooker Chemical Company which used the site to dump 21,800 short tons of chemical byproducts from the manufacturing of dyes, perfumes, and solvents for rubber and synthetic resins.  Love Canal was sold to the local school district in 1953, after the threat of eminent domain. Over the next three decades, it attracted national attention for the public health problem originating from the former dumping of toxic waste on the grounds. This event displaced numerous families, leaving them with longstanding health issues, high incidents of birth defects, and symptoms of high white blood cell counts and leukemia. Subsequently, the federal government passed the Superfund Law. The resulting Superfund cleanup operation demolished the neighborhood, ending during 2004.
   1982 - TV's "Barney Miller" was seen for the last time in its original network run on ABC-TV. Hal Linden as Barney, Abe Vigoda as Fish and a talented cast continue to bring the fictional 12th Precinct to TV screens through syndication.  http://timstvshowcase.com/bmiller.html
http://www.zxcproductions.com/web/Abe/abe.html
    1983 – The first publication of the discovery of the HIV virus that causes AIDS in the journal “Science” was written by Luc Montagnier.
    1985 - The Dow Jones industrial average broke the 1300 mark for the first time. The Dow gained 19.54 points to close at 1304.88.
    1985 - The game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Cleveland Indians in Cleveland was rained out. Remarkably, this was the first rainout of the season in either league, after a Major League record 485 games had been played without a postponement.
    1985 - Larry Holmes retained the heavyweight boxing title of the International Boxing Federation at Reno, NV by defeating Carl Wilson in 15 rounds. The fight marked the first, heavyweight title fight in Reno since Jack Johnson and Jim Jeffries duked it out in 1910.
    1985 - Daryl Hall and John Oates headlined a concert for the grand re-opening of the legendary Apollo Theatre in Harlem. The show benefited the United Negro College Fund and featured two of the original Temptations, David Ruffin and Eddie Kendrick.
    1987 - The Milwaukee Brewers ended a 12-game losing streak by beating the Chicago White Sox by a 5-1 score. The Brew Crew had opened the season winning 13 games in a row.
    1988 - Frank Sinatra's funeral was held at Beverly Hills' Church of the Good Shepherd, with attendees including Tony Bennett, Bob Dylan, Liza Minnelli, Jack Nicholson, Tony Curtis, Kirk Douglas, Sophia Loren, Bob Newhart, Faye Dunaway, Angie Dickinson, and ex Mia Farrow. Dylan's statement reads, in part, "Right from the beginning, he was there with the truth of things in his voice... He was one of the very few singers who sang without a mask." Ten years later to the day, May 13th was declared Frank Sinatra Day by the Congress of the United States.
    1988 - Thunderstorms in the south central U.S. produced wind gusts to 70 mph at Omaha, NE, and wind gusts to 80 mph at Midland and Dallas, TX. Temperatures in California soared into the 90s and above 100 degrees. San Jose CA reported a record high of 97 degrees.
    1988 - Top Hits
“Anything for You” - Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine
“Shattered Dreams” - Johnny Hates Jazz
“One More Try” - George Michael
“I'm Gonna Get You” - Eddy Raven
    1990 - Thunderstorms produced severe weather across the southeastern quarter of the nation through the day and night. Severe thunderstorms spawned six tornadoes, including one which injured two persons at Algoma, MS, and another which injured nine persons at Rogersville, MO. There were 119 reports of large hail or damaging winds. Thunderstorms produced baseball size hail at Houston, MO and damaging winds which killed one person at Toccoa, GA.
    1993 – The final episode of “Cheers” aired after 275 episodes.  During its run, “Cheers” became one of the most popular series of all time and has received critical acclaim from its start to its end. In 1997, the episodes, “Thanksgiving Orphans” and “Home Is the Sailor,” aired originally in 1987, were respectively ranked No. 7 and No. 45 on TV Guide’s 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.  In 2002, “Cheers” was ranked No. 18 on TV Guide’s 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.  In 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked it as the eighth-best-written TV series and TV Guide ranked it No. 11 on their list of the 60 Greatest Shows of All Time. 
    1995 - Don Henley of The Eagles marries Sharon Summerall in Malibu. Among those present and who performed were Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Sting and Tony Bennett.  They are still married.
    1996 - The Supreme Court ruled, in Romer v. Evans, against a law that would have prevented any city, town or county in the state of Colorado from taking any legislative, executive, or judicial action to protect the rights of gays and lesbians.
    2001 - Barry Bonds becomes 13th player in Major League history to hit home runs in four consecutive at-bats. The Giant outfielder went yard in his final two at-bats yesterday and homers in his first two official turns at the plate today.
    2003 - South Carolina's parole board pardons James Brown of all past offenses committed in the state, even the felonies, spurring James to spontaneously sing "God Bless America" at the conclusion of the hearing.
    2006 - Their hometown of Hawthorne, CA dedicates a monument to the three Wilson brothers in the Beach Boys.
    2013 – An F5 tornado struck the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, killing 24 people and injuring 377 others.