Today in News History

On June 24, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 843, The Vikings sack the French city of Nantes. In 1948, Cold War: Start of the Berlin Blockade: The Soviet Union makes overland travel between West Germany and West Berlin impossible. In 1949, The first television western, Hopalong Cassidy, starring William Boyd, is aired on NBC. In 1950, Apartheid: In South Africa, the Group Areas Act is passed, formally segregating races. In 1973, The UpStairs Lounge arson attack takes place at a gay bar located on the second floor of the three-story building at 141 Chartres Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, US. Thirty-two people die as a result of fire or smoke inhalation. In 1994, A Boeing B-52 Stratofortress crashes at Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane, Washington, killing four. In 2004, In New York, capital punishment is declared unconstitutional. In 2009, Roméo LeBlanc, Canadian journalist and politician, 25th Governor General of Canada (born 1927) passed away. In 2021, The Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside, Florida suffers a sudden partial collapse, killing 98 people inside. 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.