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Aug. 6, 2024

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Colleagues,

Good Tuesday morning on this Aug. 6, 2024,

A presidential hug on an airport tarmac, 33 years apart, with the world watching. Two pictures, so poignant and moving, filled with joy, as two journalists who were doing their job return home.

That was my thought when I saw Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich being greeted with a hug by President Joe Biden last Friday at Joint Base Andrews in Washington after he was among those released by Russia in a historic hostage exchange. Evan was held by the Russian government for 16 months on false charges of spying.

It took me back to one of my favorite pictures from the time when AP Beirut bureau chief Terry Anderson was greeted with a hug by AP President/CEO Lou Boccardi in 1991 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York after his release from nearly seven years of captivity.

The joy in both photos is something to behold.

Thanks to Sulome Anderson, daughter of Terry, for her story in Monday’s Connecting and to Mark Mittelstadt for assembling great issues of our newsletter for last Friday and yesterday that focused on the hostage release.

ON POST’S NEWS MOVEMENT DROPPING AP in Monday’s issue. AP’s Lauren Easton, vice president for corporate communications, said that WaPo's News Movement did not drop AP. "Our contract with them ended and we did not renew it."

It was good to escape the Midwest heat for a stay in Colorado, and as you will read, I landed upon a new correspondent for Connecting who has a definite nose for news.

Here’s to a great day – be safe, stay healthy, live it to your fullest.

Paul

An AP image that shows up everywhere

Keith Myers - Thought you might find this campaign literature that showed up in my mailbox interesting/disturbing (re use of AP photographer Evan Vucci's image from the assassination attempt on former President Trump). Dagmar Wood is running for assessor in Platte County and the other guy is running for Missouri Attorney General.

The Hermans of AP

Ken Herman - As a Ken Herman (have been since birth), I was relieved to read in Connecting that I am not the Ken Herman who is the father of one of the Steve Hermans of AP. (See last week’s issues.) It would be a little late in life to find out I have a third child (though I'd be proud that he worked for AP).

Perhaps not surprisingly, and like the Steve Herman who is the son of the other Ken Herman, my family has ties to Russia. My grandfather made the Russia to The Bronx journey in the late 19th century.

If we can find one more Herman with AP ties, I'm going to call for a meeting.

Wanted: Editorial Board Members for Established News Publication

Salon.com, a politics-focused, US-based news website, is looking for a small group of experienced journalists to join its Editorial Board. Salon EB members will regularly assess content published on the site using preset criteria. These will include balance and accuracy, as well as originality, style, context, legality, and so on - assigning a score to each article assessed.

Although the time commitment required is flexible, ideal candidates would be able to dedicate 10-15 hours per week to the project. Experience in editing stories covering U.S. politics and all that entails is essential. These are paid positions and remuneration will be provided.

Contact Robert Galster for more information - robert.galster@find.co 

On photo limits for remote cameras

Steve Paulson - Regarding photo limits on remote cameras at missile launches by the United Launch Alliance that prevents photographers from using their photos for personal purposes or selling prints, I also am baffled. In 1969 I designed a remote barrel with a light switch connected to a motorized Nikon (pictured above) that I would put near a launch pad before they started fueling. We had an understanding that if there was an accident, I would not get the film back (assuming there was anything left). I got some great photos for the Orlando Sentinel, including one requested by one of the Apollo 15 astronauts (pictured below). There were no other restrictions, and I don’t see how they can prevent someone from copying a photo from the Internet and reposting. 

John Slack, a photographer for USA Today, was the first to come up with a sound activated device that he used to capture one of the great photos of Apollo 11. He scattered bird seed next to a lagoon and when Apollo 11 lifted off, so did the birds. Others, including me, were quick to follow. NASA and the Air Force would take us outside the security fence days before the launch where we could scout out places for our cameras and set them up. I put one in the cattails (pictured below), one on top of the Vertical Assembly Building, 526 feet high looking down, and one on the block house for an Air Force launch.

When I joined the AP, I gave the remote to Wick Temple, who passed it on to the photo department. I never did find out if the AP used it.

 

Bray tell...Meet your newest Connecting correspondent

Ye Olde Connecting Editor can easily spot a nose for news - and this dude certainly has it.

Got an idea for his byline name? Send it along...

Now, I need to remember to send him an advance (what do donkeys eat?). His title: Connecting Cripple Creek Correspondent.

For almost 100 years, he and his buddies (and their predecessors) have roamed free in the Colorado gambling and gold mining community.

If you would like to join the Two-Mile High Club and support them, click here for further information.

Connecting wishes Happy Birthday

David Sedeno

Stories of interest

Bloomberg apologizes for premature story on prisoner swap and disciplines the journalists involved (AP)

BY DAVID BAUDER

Bloomberg News apologized and disciplined employees on Monday for prematurely publishing a story last week that revealed a prisoner exchange involving the United States and Russia that led to the release of detained American journalist Evan Gershkovich.

Bloomberg’s story, released before the prisoners had actually been freed, violated the company’s ethical standards, John Micklethwait, Bloomberg’s editor-in-chief, said in a memo to his staff.

The company would not say how many employees were disciplined and would not identify them. The story carried the bylines of Jennifer Jacobs, senior White House reporter for Bloomberg News, and Cagan Koc, Amsterdam bureau chief.

“We take accuracy very seriously,” Micklethwait said in the memo. “But we also have a responsibility to do the right thing. In this case we didn’t.”

Besides Wall Street Journal reporter Gershkovich, the exchange freed Paul Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive jailed since 2018, and Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist with dual U.S.-Russia citizenship. In return, the U.S. and other countries gave up Russians who had been charged or convicted of serious crimes.

Read more here. Shared by Myron Belkind, Mark Mittelstadt.

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Prosecutors plan to charge former Kansas police chief over his conduct following newspaper raid (AP)

BY JOHN HANNA

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Two special prosecutors said Monday that they plan to charge a former central Kansas police chief with obstruction of justice over his conduct following a police raid last year on the local weekly newspaper.

Prosecutors Marc Bennett and Barry Wilkerson concluded in their 124-page report that the staff at the Marion County Record committed no crimes before former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody led a raid on its offices and the home of its publisher. They said police warrants signed by a judge to allow the searches contained inaccurate information from an “inadequate investigation” and that the searches were not legally justified.

Police body camera footage of the 2023 raid on Publisher Eric Meyer’s home shows his 98-year-old mother, Joan Meyer, visibly upset and telling officers, “Get out of my house!” She co-owned the paper, lived with her son and died of a heart attack the next afternoon.

Prosecutors found no evidence officers “believed they were posing a risk to Mrs. Meyer’s life,” but they allege Cody obstructed an official judicial process in the weeks after the raid. He resigned as chief last October. It wasn’t clear whether officials planned to charge him with a felony or a misdemeanor, and either is possible. The criminal complaint had not been filed as of Monday.

Read more here.

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Google illegally maintains monopoly over internet search, judge rules (AP)

BY MATTHEW BARAKAT AND MICHAEL LIEDTKE

WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge on Monday ruled that Google’s ubiquitous search engine has been illegally exploiting its dominance to squash competition and stifle innovation in a seismic decision that could shake up the internet and hobble one of the world’s best-known companies.

The highly anticipated decision issued by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta comes nearly a year after the start of a trial pitting the U.S. Justice Department against Google in the country’s biggest antitrust showdown in a quarter century.

After reviewing reams of evidence that included testimony from top executives at Google, Microsoft and Apple during last year’s 10-week trial, Mehta issued his potentially market-shifting decision three months after the two sides presented their closing arguments in early May.

“After having carefully considered and weighed the witness testimony and evidence, the court reaches the following conclusion: Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,” Mehta wrote in his 277-page ruling. He said Google’s dominance in the search market is evidence of its monopoly.

Read more here. Shared by Myron Belkind, Mark Mittelstadt.

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Secretaries of state urge Musk to fix AI chatbot spreading false election info (Washington Post)

By Sarah Ellison and Amy Gardner

Five secretaries of state plan to send an open letter to billionaire Elon Musk on Monday, urging him to “immediately implement changes” to X’s AI chatbot Grok, after it shared with millions of users false information suggesting that Kamala Harris was not eligible to appear on the 2024 presidential ballot.

The letter, spearheaded by Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon and signed by his counterparts Al Schmidt of Pennsylvania, Steve Hobbs of Washington, Jocelyn Benson of Michigan and Maggie Toulouse Oliver of New Mexico, urges Musk to “immediately implement changes to X’s AI search assistant, Grok, to ensure voters have accurate information in this critical election year.”

Within hours of President Biden’s announcement that he was suspending his presidential campaign on July 21, “false information on ballot deadlines produced by Grok was shared on multiple social media platforms,” the secretaries wrote.

Read more here. Shared by Mark Mittelstadt.

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McClatchy announces planned merger with magazine giant behind Us Weekly, Woman’s World (Charlotte Observer)

BY MICHAEL WILNER

McClatchy, one of the oldest and largest local media companies in the United States, plans to merge with accelerate360, a major magazine publisher and distribution business, the two companies announced Friday. Both McClatchy and accelerate360 are owned by Chatham Asset Management, a New Jersey-based hedge fund with other assets in journalism and communications.

The boards of both companies voted to approve the intent to merge this week. Tony Hunter, McClatchy’s chairman and CEO, would take the helm as chairman and CEO once the new entity is formed. The merger would fuse a local newspaper company that has won more than 50 Pulitzer Prizes with a line of glossy lifestyle and celebrity magazines – an unconventional marriage in the media industry that comes with cultural and ethical challenges. But McClatchy executives said that accelerate360’s tabloid publications, including the National Enquirer, Star, National Examiner and Globe, would be excluded from the merger, and that its most famous consultant – David Pecker – would not be associated with the new organization.

Read more here. Shared by Mark Mittelstadt.

The Final Word

Shared by Charlie Monzella

Connecting '80s/'90s Club   

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Connecting publishes this list at the beginning of each month. If you are qualified for one of the age groups and would like to be listed, drop me a note. Please let me know of any errors.)   

90s:   

Norm Abelson

Malcolm Barr

Henry Bradsher  

Joseph Carter  

Phil Dopoulos

Hoyt Harwell  

Joe McGowan  

Charlie Monzella  

Arlon Southall

Lou Uchitelle   

Sal Veder   

Doris Webster

Joe Young

80s:       

Hank Ackerman

Paul Albright

Rachel Ambrose   

Peter Arnett   

Harry Atkins   

Frank Aukofer

Jim Bagby 

Myron Belkind  

Ed Bell  

Dan Berger  

Adolphe Bernotas  

Brian Bland  

Lou Boccardi   

Hal Bock   

William Roy Bolch Jr.

Ed Breen

David Briscoe   

Charles Bruce   

Ford Burkhart  

Harry Cabluck

Jim Carrier   

Sibby Christensen   

Shirley Christian   

Norm Clarke  

Steve Crowley   

Don Dashiell   

Bob Daugherty

Linda Deutsch   

Mike Doan  

Bob Dobkin  

Bob Dubill

Harry Dunphy   

John Eagan   

Claude Erbsen   

Dodi Fromson  

Joe Galu  

Bill Gillen   

Steve Graham   

Bob Greene

Bob Haiman

Jerry Harkavy   

Paul Harrington

Mike Harris  

Chick Harrity

Merrill Hartson

Frank Hawkins

Monte Hayes

Jerry Jackson

Spencer Jones   

Doug Kienitz   

Dean Lee  

Pierce Lehmbeck   

Warren Lerude

Edie Lederer   

Carl Leubsdorf

Jim Limbach   

Bruce Lowitt  

David Liu   

Jim Luther

Larry Margasak

John Marlow   

Dave Mazzarella   

Chuck McFadden  

Yvette Mercourt   

Reid Miller

Karren Mills

David Minthorn

Peggy Mooney   

Bill Morrissey 

Harry Moskos

Ron Mulnix

Bruce Nathan

Greg Nokes

Larry Paladino   

Jay Perkins  

Lyle Price   

Charles Richards  

Bruce Richardson

Carl Robinson

Mort Rosenblum

Michael Rubin

Frank Russell   

Denis Searles  

Richard Shafer

Susanne Shaw

Nancy Shipley   

Mike Short

Victor Simpson   

Rick Spratling  

Ed Staats   

Karol Stonger

Barry Sweet

Mark Thayer  

Marty Thompson   

Hilmi Toros   

Kernan Turner

Jeffrey Ulbrich  

Jack Walker  

Mike Waller  

Bob Walsh   

Dean Wariner  

Don Waters

Lew Wheaton

Jeff Williams

William Winter

Byron Yake   

Johnny Yost   

Kent Zimmerman   

AP classes, by the year...

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a listing of Connecting colleagues who have shared the year and the bureau where they started with the AP. If you would like to share your own information, I will include it in later postings. Current AP staffers are also welcome to share their information.)

NEWEST ADDITIONS:

Robert Burns and Jim Drinkard, Jefferson City, 1977

Dave Mazzarella, Newark, 1962

1951 - Norm Abelson (Boston)

1953 – Charles Monzella (Huntington, WVa)

1955 – Henry Bradsher (Atlanta), Paul Harrington (Boston), Joe McGowan (Cheyenne)

1957 - Louis Uchitelle (Philadelphia)

1958 – Roy Bolch (Kansas City)

1959 – Charlie Bruce (Montgomery)

1960 – Claude Erbsen (New York), Carl Leubsdorf (New Orleans)

1961 – Peter Arnett (Jakarta, Indonesia), Strat Douthat (Charleston. WVa), Warren Lerude (San Diego), Ed Staats (Austin)

1962 – Paul Albright (Cheyenne), Malcolm Barr Sr. (Honolulu), Myron Belkind (New York), Dave Mazzarella (Newark), Peggy Simpson (Dallas), Kelly Smith Tunney (Miami)

1963 – Hal Bock (New York)

1964 – Rachel Ambrose (Indianapolis), Larry Hamlin (Oklahoma City), John Lengel (Los Angeles), Ron Mulnix (Denver), Lyle Price (San Francisco), Arlene Sposato (New York), Karol Stonger (Indianapolis), Hilmi Toros (New York)

1965 – Bob Dobkin (Pittsburgh), Harry Dunphy (Denver), John Gibbons (New York), Jim Luther (Nashville), Larry Margasak (Harrisburg), Rich Oppel (Tallahassee)

1966 – Shirley Christian (Kansas City), Mike Doan (Portland, OR), Edie Lederer (New York), Nancy Shipley (Nashville), Mike Short (Los Angeles), Marty Thompson (Seattle), Nick Ut (Saigon), Kent Zimmerman (Chicago)

1967 – Dan Berger (Los Angeles), Adolphe Bernotas (Concord), Lou Boccardi (New York), Linda Deutsch (Los Angeles), Don Harrison (Los Angeles), Frank Hawkins (New York), Doug Kienitz (Cheyenne), David Liu (New York), Bruce Lowitt (Los Angeles), Chuck McFadden (Los Angeles), Martha Malan (Minneapolis), Bill Morrissey (Buffalo), Larry Paladino (Detroit), Michael Putzel (Raleigh), Bruce Richardson (Chicago), Richard Shafer (Baltimore), Victor Simpson (Newark), Michael Sniffen (Newark), Kernan Turner (Portland, Ore)

1968 – Lee Balgemann (Chicago), John Eagan (San Francisco), Joe Galu (Albany/Troy), Peter Gehrig (Frankfurt), Charles Hanley (Albany), Jerry Harkavy (Portland, Maine), Herb Hemming (New York), Brian King (Albany), Samuel Koo (New York), Karren Mills (Minneapolis), Michael Rubin (Los Angeles), Rick Spratling (Salt Lake City), Barry Sweet (Seattle)

1969 - Ann Blackman (New York), Ford Burkhart (Philadelphia), Dick Carelli (Charleston, WVa), Dennis Coston (Richmond), Mary V. Gordon (Newark), Daniel Q. Haney (Portland, Maine), Mike Harris (Chicago), Brad Martin (Kansas City), David Minthorn (Frankfurt), Cynthia Rawitch (Los Angeles), Bob Reid (Charlotte), Mike Reilly (New York), Doug Tucker (Tulsa), Bill Winter (Helena)

1970 – Richard Boudreaux (New York), Richard Drew (San Francisco), Bob Egelko (Los Angeles), Steve (Indy) Herman (Indianapolis), Tim Litsch (New York), Lee Margulies (Los Angeles), Chris Pederson (Salt Lake City), Brendan Riley (San Francisco), Larry Thorson (Philadelphia)

1971 – Harry Atkins (Detroit), Jim Bagby (Kansas City), Larry Blasko (Chicago), Jim Carlson (Milwaukee), Jim Carrier (New Haven), Chris Connell (Newark), Bill Gillen (New York), Bill Hendrick (Birmingham), John Lumpkin (Dallas), Kendal Weaver (Montgomery)

1972 – Hank Ackerman (New York), Bob Fick (St. Louis), Joe Frazier (Portland, Ore.), Terry Ganey (St. Louis), Mike Graczyk (Detroit), Denis Gray (Albany), Lindel Hutson (Little Rock), Brent Kallestad (Sioux Falls), Tom Kent (Hartford), Nolan Kienitz (Dallas), Andy Lippman (Phoenix), Ellen Miller (Helena), Mike Millican (Hartford), Lew Wheaton (Richmond)

1973 - Jerry Cipriano (New York), Susan Clark (New York), Norm Clarke (Cincinnati), Jim Drinkard (Jefferson City), Joe Galianese (East Brunswick), Merrill Hartson (Richmond), Mike Hendricks (Albany), Tom Journey (Tucson), Steve Loeper (Los Angeles), Tom Slaughter (Sioux Falls), Jim Spehar (Denver), Paul Stevens (Albany), Jeffrey Ulbrich (Cheyenne), Owen Ullmann (Detroit), Suzanne Vlamis (New York), John Willis (Omaha), Evans Witt (San Francisco)

1974 – Norman Black (Baltimore), David Espo (Cheyenne), Dan George (Topeka), Robert Glass (Philadelphia), Steve Graham (Helena), Tim Harper (Milwaukee), Elaine Hooker (Hartford), Sue Price Johnson (Charlotte), Dave Lubeski (Washington), Janet McConnaughey (Washington), Lee Mitgang (New York), Barry Shlachter (Tokyo), Bud Weydert (Toledo), Marc Wilson (Little Rock) 

1975 – Peter Eisner (Columbus), Bill McCloskey (Washington), David Powell (New York), Eileen Alt Powell (Milwaukee)

1976 – Brad Cain (Chicago), Judith Capar (Philadelphia), Dick Chady (Albany), Steve Crowley (Washington), David Egner (Oklahoma City), Marc Humbert (Albany), Steven Hurst (Columbus), Richard Lowe (Nashville), Mike Mcphee (Boston), John Nolan (Nashville), Charlotte Porter (Minneapolis), Chuck Wolfe (Charlotte)

1977 – Bryan Brumley (Washington), Robert Burns (Jefferson City), Charles Campbell (Nashville), Carolyn Carlson (Atlanta), Dave Carpenter (Philadelphia), Jim Drinkard (Jefferson City), Ken Herman (Dallas), Mike Holmes (Des Moines), Brad Kalbfeld (New York), Scott Kraft (Jefferson City), John Kreiser (New York), Peter Leabo (Dallas), Kevin LeBoeuf (Los Angeles), Ellen Nimmons (Minneapolis), Dan Sewell (Buffalo), Estes Thompson (Richmond), David Tirrell-Wysocki (Concord)

1978 – Tom Eblen (Louisville), Ruth Gersh (Richmond), Monte Hayes (Caracas), Doug Pizac (Los Angeles), Charles Richards (Dallas), Reed Saxon (Los Angeles), Steve Wilson (Boston)

1979 – Jim Abrams (Tokyo), Brian Bland (Los Angeles), Scotty Comegys (Chicago), John Daniszewski (Philadelphia), Frances D’Emilio (San Francisco), Pat Fergus (Albany), Brian Friedman (Des Moines), Sally Hale (Dallas), Jill Lawrence (Harrisburg), Warren Levinson (New York), Barry Massey (Kansas City), Phillip Rawls (Nashville), John Rice (Carson City), Linda Sargent (Little Rock), Joel Stashenko (Albany), Robert Wielaard (Brussels)

1980 – Alan Adler (Cleveland), Christopher Bacey (New York), Jeff Barnard (Providence), Mark Duncan (Cleveland), Bill Kaczor (Tallahassee), Mitchell Landsberg (Reno), Kevin Noblet (New Orleans), Jim Rowley (Baltimore), David Speer (Jackson), Hal Spencer (Providence), Carol J. Williams (Seattle)

1981 – Paul Davenport (Phoenix), Dan Day (Milwaukee), John Flesher (Raleigh), Len Iwanski (Bismarck), Ed McCullough (Albany), Drusilla Menaker (Philadelphia), Kim Mills (New York), Mark Mittelstadt (Des Moines), Roland Rochet (New York), Lee Siegel (Seattle), Marty Steinberg (Baltimore), Bill Vogrin (Kansas City)

1982 – Dorothy Abernathy (Little Rock), Al Behrman (Cincinnati), Tom Cohen (Jefferson City), John Epperson (Chicago), Ric Feld (Atlanta), Nick Geranios (Helena), Howard Gros (New Orleans), Robert Kimball (New York), Rob Kozloff (Detroit), Bill Menezes (Kansas City), David Ochs (New York), Cecilia White (Los Angeles)

1983 – Donna Cassata (Albany), Scott Charton (Little Rock), Sue Cross (Columbus), Mark Elias (Chicago), David Ginsburg (Washington), Diana Heidgerd (Miami), Sheila Norman-Culp (New York), Carol Esler Ochs (New York), Jim Reindl (Detroit), Amy Sancetta (Philadelphia), Rande Simpson (New York), Dave Skidmore (Milwaukee)

1984 – Owen Canfield (Oklahoma City), Wayne Chin (Washington), Jack Elliott (Oklahoma City), Kelly P. Kissel (New Orleans), Joe Macenka (Richmond), Eva Parziale (San Francisco), Walt Rastetter (New York), Keith Robinson (Columbus), Cliff Schiappa (Kansas City), David Sedeño (Dallas), Andrew Selsky (Cheyenne), Patty Woodrow (Washington)

1985 – Beth Grace (Columbus), Betty Kumpf Pizac (Los Angeles)

1986 – Joni Baluh Beall (Richmond), David Beard (Jackson), Tom Coyne (Columbia, SC), Dave DeGrace (Milwaukee), Alan Flippen (Louisville), Jim Gerberich (San Francisco), Howard Goldberg (New York), Mark Hamrick (Dallas), Sandy Kozel (Washington), Arlene Levinson (Boston), Robert Meyers (London), David Morris (Harrisburg)

1987 – Donna Abu-Nasr (Beirut), Dave Bauder (Albany), Chuck Burton (Charlotte), Beth Harris (Indianapolis), Lynne Harris (New York), Steven L. Herman (Charleston, WVa), Elaine Kurtenbach (Tokyo), Rosemarie Mileto (New York), John Rogers (Los Angeles)

1988 – Chris Carola (Albany), Peg Coughlin (Pierre), Kathy Gannon (Islamabad), Steve Hart (Washington), Melissa Jordan (Sioux Falls), Bill Pilc (New York), Kelley Shannon (Dallas)

1989 – Ted Bridis (Oklahoma City), Charlie Arbogast (Trenton), Ron Fournier (Little Rock)

1990 – Frank Fisher (Jackson), Dan Perry (Bucharest), Steve Sakson (Baltimore), Sean Thompson (New York)

1991 – Amanda Kell (Richmond), Santiago Lyon (Cairo), Lisa Pane (Hartford), Ricardo Reif (Caracas), Bill Sikes (Buffalo)

1992 – Kerry Huggard (New York)

1993 – Jim Salter (St. Louis)

1995 – Elaine Thompson (Houston), Donna Tommelleo (Hartford)

1996 – Patricia N. Casillo (New York)

1997 – J. David Ake (Chicago), Pamela Collins (Dallas), Madhu Krishnappa Maron (New York), Jim Suhr (Detroit), Jennifer Yates (Baltimore)

1998 – Alan Clendenning (New Orleans), Guthrie Collin (Albany)

1999 – Melinda Deslatte (Raleigh)

2000 – Gary Gentile (Los Angeles)

2005 – Ric Brack (Chicago)

2006 – Jon Gambrell (Little Rock)

Today in History – Aug. 6, 2024

By The Associated Press

Today is Tuesday, Aug. 6, the 219th day of 2024. There are 147 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Aug. 6, 1945, during World War II, the U.S. B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, resulting in an estimated 140,000 deaths.

Also on this date:

In 1806, Emperor Francis II abdicated, marking the end of the Holy Roman Empire after nearly a thousand years.

In 1825, Upper Peru became the autonomous republic of Bolivia.

In 1890, at Auburn Prison in Auburn, New York, William Kemmler became the first person to be executed via electric chair.

In 1926, Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim across the English Channel.

In 1942, Queen Wilhemina of the Netherlands became the first reigning queen to address a joint session of Congress, telling lawmakers that despite Nazi occupation, her people’s motto remained, “No surrender.”

In 1945, during World War II, the U.S. B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb code-named “Little Boy” on Hiroshima, Japan, resulting in an estimated 140,000 deaths.

In 1962, Jamaica gained independence from the United Kingdom after 300 years of British rule.

In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, prohibiting racial discrimination in voting.

In 1991, the World Wide Web made its public debut as a means of accessing webpages over the Internet.

In 2011, insurgents shot down a U.S. military helicopter during fighting in eastern Afghanistan, killing 30 Americans, most of them belonging to the same elite Navy commando unit that had slain Osama bin Laden; seven Afghan commandos also died.

Today’s Birthdays: Children’s performer Ella Jenkins is 100. Actor-director Peter Bonerz is 86. Actor Louise Sorel is 84. Actor Michael Anderson Jr. is 81. Actor Ray Buktenica is 81. Actor Dorian Harewood is 74. Actor Catherine Hicks is 73. Rock singer Pat MacDonald (Timbuk 3) is 72. Actor Stepfanie Kramer is 68. Actor Faith Prince is 67. R&B singer Randy DeBarge is 66. Actor Leland Orser is 64. Actor Michelle Yeoh is 62. Country singers Patsy and Peggy Lynn are 60. Basketball Hall of Famer David Robinson is 59. Actor Jeremy Ratchford is 59. Actor Benito Martinez is 56. Country singer Lisa Stewart is 56. Movie writer-director M. Night Shyamalan (SHAH’-mah-lahn) is 54. Actor Merrin Dungey is 53. Singer Geri Halliwell Horner is 52. Actor Jason O’Mara is 52. Actor Vera Farmiga is 51. Actor Ever Carradine is 50. Actor Soleil (soh-LAY’) Moon Frye is 48. Actor Melissa George is 48. Rock singer Travis “Travie” McCoy is 43. Actor Leslie Odom Jr. is 43. Actor Romola Garai is 42. U.S. Olympic and WNBA basketball star A’ja Wilson is 28.

Got a photo or story to share?

Connecting is a daily newsletter published Monday through Friday that reaches more than 1,800 retired and former Associated Press employees, present-day employees, and news industry and journalism school colleagues. It began in 2013. Past issues can be found by clicking Connecting Archive in the masthead. Its author, Paul Stevens, retired from the AP in 2009 after a 36-year career as a newsman in Albany and St. Louis, correspondent in Wichita, chief of bureau in Albuquerque, Indianapolis and Kansas City, and Central Region vice president based in Kansas City.

Got a story to share? A favorite memory of your AP days? Don't keep them to yourself. Share with your colleagues by sending to Ye Olde Connecting Editor. And don't forget to include photos!

Here are some suggestions:

- Connecting "selfies" - a word and photo self-profile of you and your career, and what you are doing today. Both for new members and those who have been with us a while.

- Second chapters - You finished a great career. Now tell us about your second (and third and fourth?) chapters of life.

- Spousal support - How your spouse helped in supporting your work during your AP career. 

- My most unusual story - tell us about an unusual, off the wall story that you covered.

- "A silly mistake that you make"- a chance to 'fess up with a memorable mistake in your journalistic career.

- Multigenerational AP families - profiles of families whose service spanned two or more generations.

- Volunteering - benefit your colleagues by sharing volunteer stories - with ideas on such work they can do themselves.

- First job - How did you get your first job in journalism?

- Most unusual place a story assignment took you.

Paul Stevens

Editor, Connecting newsletter

paulstevens46@gmail.com