Today in News History

On June 24, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1604, Samuel de Champlain encounters the mouth of the Saint John River, site of Reversing Falls and the present-day city of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. In 1938, Pieces of a meteorite land near Chicora, Pennsylvania. The meteorite is estimated to have weighed 450 metric tons when it hit the Earth's atmosphere and exploded. In 1943, Birgit Grodal, Danish economist and academic (died 2004) was born. In 1944, Jeff Beck, English guitarist and songwriter (died 2023) was born. In 1948, Cold War: Start of the Berlin Blockade: The Soviet Union makes overland travel between West Germany and West Berlin impossible. In 1975, Eastern Air Lines Flight 66 encounters severe wind shear and crashes on final approach to New York's JFK Airport killing 113 of the 124 passengers on board, making it the deadliest U.S. plane crash at the time. This accident led to decades of research into downburst and microburst phenomena and their effects on aircraft. In 1978, Juan Román Riquelme, Argentinian footballer was born. In 1984, Clarence Campbell, Canadian businessman (born 1905) passed away. In 1994, A Boeing B-52 Stratofortress crashes at Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane, Washington, killing four. In 2022, In Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the U.S. Constitution does not assign the authority to regulate abortions to the federal government, thereby returning such authority to the individual states. This overturns the prior decisions in Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992). Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.