On March 10, 1985, Soviet Union General Secretary Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko passed away. He had been General Secretary for only thirteen months before his death, which was caused by complications from pnemonia. With his death, Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev was elected as the new General Secretary.

Corey Haim, star of 1987's The Lost Boys as well as 2007's tv-show The Two Coreys (also featuring Lost Boys co-star Corey Feldman), passed away on Wednesday morning. Los Angeles police state that it may have been a drug overdose - something not entirely unexpected, as Haim had a history of drug problems. Today we'll look at newspaper reviews of The Lost Boys, a highlight in Haim's life.

On March 9, 1976, a cable-car in Calavese, Italy, plunged more than 700 feet into a ravine, killing all but one. Unfortunately, this disaster - which was the worst cable-car disaster ever - was repeated in 1998 when a U.S. Marine Corps airplane flying low snapped a cable on the same lift. Lets take a look at newspaper reports of the first disaster. 

Kathryn Bigelow, director of 1990's Blue Steel, 1991's Point Break and 1995's Strange Days, among others, has become the first woman to win the coveted Academy Award for Best Director for her film The Hurt Locker (which also took Best Film). Let's take a newspaper look at Bigelow:

THE REAL DR. FRANKENSTEIN

The following articles appeared in the Westphalia Times (Kansas), in 1885 and 1886.

November 12, 1885

M.F. Moore sold his drug store to Knapp & Son, and Dr. Frankenstein will conduct it.

Dec 17, 1885

On Thursday, a man opened fire at the Pentagon subway station wounding two officers before he was shot. He died early Friday. This incident reminds me of the 2002 DC sniper shootings, where there is also recent news - Lee Boyd Malvo, the minor working with John Allen Muhammad to orchestrate the killings, has sent a letter in February to one of the shooting victims (who survived), apologizing for shooting him. Let's take a look at the newspaper coverage of the shootings.

The French submarine Eurydice was lost on March 4, 1970, when it exploded deep under water. The Sub was launched in June of 1962 and served successfuly from 1964 until its untimely demise.

On March 3, 1924, the last Caliph (the head of state of a Caliphate, or early Islamic government) was deposed. Caliph Abdulmecid II was exiled from Turkey and fled to France, where he painted for the remainder of his life.

On March 2, 1962, Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a historic basketball game - a record that has never been bested.

Chile was hit by a massive earthquake on Saturday, killing at least 700 and devastating many towns, including Concepcion and the capital Santiago. The quake, though much stronger than the earthquake which struck Haiti, did not cause as much damage to the South American country compared to the recently-ravaged island. This extremely powerful quake brings to mind the Valdivia earthquake, the most powerful earthquake ever recorded, which struck Chile on May 22, 1960 with a magnitude of 9.5.

Team Canada defeated the U.S. 2-0 in women's hockey to take the gold... a match which many Canadians hope will be nearly identical to this Sunday's gold medal match for men's hockey, where the Canadians and Americans seem to be on a crash course. For Canada, this was the third women's hockey gold in a row.

American skiing champion Lindsey Vonn broke a finger on Wednesday during a crash on the first leg of the women's giant slalom. She has medaled twice in the 2010 Olympics, earning a gold in downhill skiing and a bronze in the super-G. She has another chance at a third medal on Friday in the slalom, but with a broken finger, her participation is in doubt.

The world watched on Tuesday as Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochette took to the ice only two days after the unexpected death of her mother. The 24-year-old is in her second Olympics, and after Tuesday's performance, ranks third. The free skating competition is on Thursday, and will determine whether she is awarded a medal.

With the 2010 Winter Olympics, speed skater Apolo Ohno has become the most decorated Winter Olympic athlete of all time, taking his seventh medal (a bronze) on February 20th in the men's 1000 meter short track speed skating championship. He had tied the previous winner, Bonnie Blair, with his sixth medal (a silver) during the men's 1500 meter short track speed skating championship on February 13th.

The United States Olympic hockey team defeated Canada for the first time since 1960. Canada, usually considered significantly better than the U.S., just couldn't gain momentum Sunday. American goalie Ryan Miller stopped 42 out of 45 shots, while Canadian goalie Martin Brodeur let in 5. The victory fell one day short of the 30-year anniversary of the "Miracle on Ice" where U.S.A. defeated the Soviet Union.

On Thursday, February 18th, U.S. figure-skater Evan Lysacek upset Russian Evgeni Plushenko to win the gold. This was the first time since the 1988 Winter Olympics that an American won a gold.

A Historical Newspaper Perspective

The 1988 "duel to watch" was between the U.S. and Canada, with Brian Boitano v. Brian Orser respectively. It has been named the "Battle of the Brians" and remains one of the greatest competitions in figure skating history.

I discovered an interesting tidbit of news today: evidently February 18, 1930, was the first time a cow (Ollie, none-the-less) flew in an airplane. Check out some of the reports from this "historic" day.

On February 17, 1974, disgruntled U.S. Army private Robert K. Preston stole a helicopter from nearby Fort Meade and hovered over the White House. He had been told he could not continue training to be a pilot because of low scores, and so planned the incident to show his skills and bring attention to his plight.

The final resting place of Egyptian Pharaoh King Tutankhamun was opened by Howard Carter on February 16th, 1923. Carter had discovered the site - labeled KV62 - in November of 1922. His team excavated the tomb for three months before they were ready to enter the Burial Chamber.

The XXI Olympic Winter Games began on Friday, February 12, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The opening was overshadowed by the death of Nodar Kumaritashvili, a Georgian luge contender who passed away after a training accident earlier in the day. The games, however, have gone on strong and have been exciting.