1492 – The crew of the Pinta, one of Christopher Columbus’ ships, mistakenly thought that they had spotted land.

1493 – Christopher Columbus left Spain with 17 ships on his second voyage to the Western Hemisphere.

1513 – The Pacific Ocean was discovered by Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa when he crossed the Isthmus of Panama. He named the body of water the South Sea. He was truly just the first European to see the Pacific Ocean.

1690 – One of America’s earliest newspapers published its first and last edition. The “Publik Occurences Both Foreign and Domestik” was published at the London Coffee House in Boston, MA, by Benjamin Harris.

1775 – Ethan Allen was captured by the British during the American Revolutionary War. He was leading the attack on Montreal.

1789 – The first U.S. Congress adopted 12 amendments to the Constitution. Ten of the amendments became the Bill of Rights.

1847 – During the Mexican-American War, U.S. forces led by General Zachary Taylor captured Monterrey Mexico.

1882 – The first major league double header was played. It was between the Worcester and Providence teams.

1890 – The Sequoia National Park was established as a U.S. National Park in Central California.

1890 – Mormon President Wilford Woodruff issued a Manifesto in which the practice of polygamy was renounced.

1919 – U.S. President Woodrow Wilson collapsed after a speech in Pueblo, CO. The speaking tour was in support of the Treaty of Versailles.

1933 – Tom Mix was heard on NBC Radio for the first time. His show ran until June of 1950.

1956 – A transatlantic telephone-cable system began operation between Newfoundland and Scotland.

1957 – 300 U.S. Army troops stood guard as nine black students were escorted to class at Central High School in Little Rock, AR. The children had been forced to withdraw 2 days earlier because of unruly white mobs.

1965 – Willie Mays, at the age of 34, became the oldest man to hit 50 home runs in a single season. He had also set the record for the youngest to hit 50 ten years earlier.

1973 – The three crewmen of Skylab II landed in the Pacific Ocean after being on the U.S. space laboratory for 59 days.

1978 – Melissa Ludtke, a writer for “Sports Illustrated“, filed a suit in U.S. District Court. The result was that Major League Baseball could not bar female writers from the locker room after the game.

1981 – Sandra Day O’Connor became the first female justice of the U.S. Supreme Court when she was sworn in as the 102nd justice. She had been nominated the previous July by U.S. President Ronald Reagan.

1983 – A Soviet military officer, Stanislav Petrov, averted a potential worldwide nuclear war. He declared a false alarm after a U.S. attack was detected by a Soviet early warning system. It was later discovered the alarms had been set off when the satellite warning system mistakenly interpreted sunlight reflections off clouds as the presence of enemy missiles.

1986 – An 1894-S Barber Head dime was bought for $83,000 at a coin auction in California. It is one of a dozen that exist.

1987 – The booty collected from the Wydah, which sunk off Cape Cod in 1717, was auctioned off. The worth was around $400 million.

1990 – The U.N. Security Council voted to impose an air embargo against Iraq. Cuba was the only dissenting vote.

1991 – The U.N. Security Council unanimously ordered a worldwide arms embargo against Yugoslavia and all of its warring factions.

1992 – In Orlando, FL, a judge ruled in favor of 12-year-old Gregory Kingsley. He had sought a divorce from his biological parents.

1992 – The Mars Observer blasted off on a mission that cost $980 million. The probe has not been heard from since it reached Mars in August of 1993.

1995 – Ross Perot announced that he would form the Independence Party.

1997 – NBC sportscaster Marv Albert pled guilty to assault and battery of a lover. He was fired from NBC within hours.

1997 – Mark & Brian received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2001 – Michael Jordan announced that he would return to the NBA as a player for the Washington Wizards. Jordan became the president of basketball operations for the team on January 19, 2000.

2002 – U.S. forces landed in Ivory Coast to aid in the rescue foreigners trapped in a school by fighting between government troops and rebel troops. Rebels had attempted to take over the government on September 19.

2012 – China launched its first aircraft carrier into service.

Update: For Sept 23-26 (Wed-Fri): Wed 9am update.  Air quality is currently UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS to UNHEALTHY in Eastern King and Snohomish Counties due to wildfire smoke. 

We will update this forecast as conditions change. http://www.pscleanair.gov

Wed, Sep 24, 9:40 AM PDT to Thu, Sep 25, 9:45 AM PDT

Air Quality Alert issued September 24 at 9:40AM PDT by NWS Seattle WA

An Air Quality Alert for Smoke has been issued by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency until noon PDT Wednesday for King and Snohomish Counties.

Air quality is currently unhealthy to sensitive groups to unhealthy in eastern Snohomish County and northeast King County this morning.

Westerly winds are expected to pick up this afternoon, which should clear out most of the smoke. No major smoke impacts are expected for the rest of the week.

Try to reduce exposure by limiting time outside, avoiding strenuous outdoor activities, and following tips for cleaner indoor air.

For current air quality conditions and additional information visit pscleanair.gov.

© 2025 National Weather Service

In 1957, nine black students who’d entered Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas were forced to withdraw because of a white mob outside.

By Kathy Gill

Updated on September 23, 2021

The Hatch Act is a federal law that restricts the political activity of executive branch employees of the federal government, District of Columbia government, and some state and local employees whose salaries are paid for partially or entirely with federal money.

The Hatch Act was passed in 1939 to ensure that federal programs “are administered in a nonpartisan fashion, to protect federal employees from political coercion in the workplace, and to ensure that federal employees are advanced based on merit and not based on political affiliation,” according to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.

Examples of Violations

In passing the Hatch Act, Congress affirmed that partisan activity government employees must be limited for public institutions to function fairly and effectively.

The courts have held that the Hatch Act is not an unconstitutional infringement on employees’ First Amendment right to freedom of speech because it specifically provides that employees retain the right to speak out on political subjects and candidates.

All civilian employees in the executive branch of the federal government, except the president and the vice president, are covered by the provisions of the Hatch Act.

These employees may not:

• use official authority or influence to interfere with an election
• solicit or discourage political activity of anyone with business before their agency
• solicit or receive political contributions (may be done in certain limited situations by federal labor or other employee organizations)
• be candidates for public office in partisan elections
• engage in political activity while: on duty
• in a government office
• wearing an official uniform
• using a government vehicle
• wear partisan political buttons on duty

While the Hatch Act has been described as an “obscure” law, it is taken seriously and enforced.

Gill, Kathy. “Hatch Act: Definition and Examples of Violations.” ThoughtCo, Sep. 23, 2021, thoughtco.com/the-hatch-act-3368321.