[goofywife]

1944: Rationing ends for most meats

All meats, except for beef steaks and beef roasts, are available ration free in the U.S. as of midnight today, the Office of Price Administration announced during World War II. The OPA also said that the monthly allotment for red points, which are needed to purchase butter, margarine, cheese, evaporated milk, beef steaks and roasts, would be cut in half, giving citizens less of these staples.

"Announcement that the Office of Price Administration has suspended the point-rationing system for all kinds of meat, with the exception of choice cuts and roast of beef, brings to an end one of the least glorious battles on the home front – the battle of the butcher shop," an editorial in the Valley Morning Star explained on May 12, 1944. "In a world which was visibly tottering under the weight of an atrocious assault on free institutions, a world in which whole races were being systematically exterminated and in which whole innocent and unoffending nations had been overrun and starved, the self-appointed spokesmen the American people acted as though the worst atrocity of all time was a system which limited their right to buy as much meat as they chose and at as high prices as they could afford."

NOTE: According to OPA Administrator Chester A. Bowles, rationing restrictions changed due to reduced Army and Navy demand, the stopping of lend-lease pork buying and the hope that more meat would be brought to the market over the summer.

1979: Thatcher wins Britain's general election

Margaret Thatcher, leader of Britain's Conservative Party, won today's general election to become the country's first female prime minister. "Though Mrs. Thatcher was withholding a victory statement until the 318 seats for majority were declared, the pro-Tory London evening papers pushed her into the premiership," explained The Daily Intelligencer on May 4, 1979.

1975: Ford commissions USS Nimitz

President Ford commissioned the 95,000-ton aircraft carrier USS Nimitz today in Norfolk, Virginia. "When she has taken board an air wing of 100 tactical aircraft, the Nimitz will be not only the largest but the most powerful surface warship in the world, according to Navy sources," informed The Post Crescent on May 4, 1975. "Powered by two nuclear reactors, she is designed to operate for 13 years without refueling." NOTE: The carrier, which was the first in a class of ships, was also considered one of the largest symbols of the "new U.S. Navy" that was slowly replacing older ships.

1971: Thousands of anti-war demonstrators arrested in Washington

More than 6,000 people were arrested in Washington D.C. today when war protesters tried to disrupt commuter traffic and march on the Pentagon. "Three hours after sunrise, more than 3,000 protesters had been arrested by flying squads of policemen wielding billy clubs and firing volley after volley of tear gas. National Guardsmen were deployed to aid police, and helicopters filled with about 200 Marines landed on the Washington Monument grounds," reported The Newport Daily News on May 3, 1971.

1948: Neighborhood covenants barring minorities deemed unenforceable

In two 6 to 0 decisions today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that private neighborhood covenants that prohibit the sale of real estate to people of a certain race can be voluntarily carried out, but they are not legally enforceable. "In Washington, Thurman L. Dodson, president of the National Bar Association, composed of some 900 Negro lawyers, described the opinions as 'a notable achievement in the Negro's perennial struggle to eradicate his second-class citizenship status,'" the Long Beach Press-Telegram explained on May 4, 1948. NOTE: It wasn't until the Fair Housing Act was enacted on April 11, 1968, that racial discrimination was prohibited in the sale and rental of U.S. residential housing.

1923: Non-stop transcontinental flight is made

Lieutenants John MacReady and Oakley Kelly became the first to fly an airplane non-stop across the U.S. when they landed in San Diego today. "Thousands of cheering people who had stood on the streets through the morning awaiting the coming of the transcontinental flyers felt a thrill of pride in the newest accomplishment of American aviators," reported the Modesto Evening News on May 3, 1923. NOTE: The plane, which left Hempstead, New York, was in the air for over 26 hours.

1999 Oklahoma/Kansas Tornado Outbreak

A total of 74 tornadoes touched down across the two states in less than 21 hours. At one point, there were as many as four tornadoes reported on the ground at the same time. The strongest tornado, rated a maximum F-5 on the Fujita Tornado Scale, tracked for nearly an hour and a half along a 38-mile path from Chickasha through south Oklahoma City and the suburbs of Bridge Creek, Newcastle, Moore, Midwest City and Del City.

As the skies cleared, the states counted 46 dead and 800 injured, more than 8000 homes damaged or destroyed, and total property damage of nearly $1.5 billion.

Despite these grim statistics, there were significantly fewer losses because of applied knowledge and new technologies developed through years of tornado research by NOAA scientists. The National Severe Storms Laboratory and other NOAA Research laboratories and joint institutes helped develop some of the primary tools used by the National Weather Service to forecast and nowcast the Oklahoma/ Kansas tornado outbreak. These tools include the NEXRAD Doppler radar, the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System, the Warning Decision Support System and NOAA's Profiler Network.

NOAA's effort to modernize the National Weather Service paid off in this single event. Researchers estimate that more than 600 lives were saved as a result of timely and accurate warnings and the public's knowledge of tornado safety.