FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction over the areas of broadband access, fair competition, radio frequency use, media responsibility, public safety, and homeland security.

The FCC was formed by the Communications Act of 1934 to replace the radio regulation functions of the Federal Radio Commission. The FCC took over wire communication regulation from the Interstate Commerce Commission. The FCC’s mandated jurisdiction covers the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the territories of the United States. The FCC also provides varied degrees of cooperation, oversight, and leadership for similar communications bodies in other countries of North America. The FCC is funded entirely by regulatory fees. It has an estimated fiscal-2022 budget of US $388 million. It has 1,482 federal employees as of July 2020.

TODAY’S ALMANAC

Juneteenth (Emancipation Day)

Juneteenth, also called Emancipation Day, celebrates the end of slavery and freedom on June 19, 1865, in eastern Texas and portions of the surrounding states. On that day, General Gordon Granger landed with Federal troops in Galveston, Texas, with the intention of enforcing President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863. The end of slavery was a gradual process, occurring as news of the proclamation reached outlying towns and states. Juneteenth was probably a shortened version of June 19th. A proclamation from the president stated that all slaves were now free, and the relationship between master and slave was now employer and employee: “The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.” Beginning the year following this Texas event, 1866, large celebrations to rival the Fourth of July began, including prayer services, inspirational speakers, reading of the Emancipation Proclamation, storytelling by former slaves, and traditional food and games. Soon neighboring states such as Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma were adding celebrations. Throughout Texas, ex-slaves purchased land for their Juneteenth gatherings. June 19 was declared a legal holiday in Texas in 1980. For more on this holiday, visit the Texas State Library and Archives Commission or The Worldwide Juneteenth Celebration.

Father’s Day

Like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day has a modern origin. The idea came to Mrs. John Dodd as she sat listening to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909. Her father, William Smart, had raised his children alone on his Washington farm after his wife died giving birth to their sixth child. Mrs. Dodd proposed to the Spokane Ministerial Association and the YMCA that they celebrate a “father’s day” on June 5, her father’s birthday. The idea received strong support, but the good ministers of Spokane asked that the day be changed to give them extra time to prepare sermons on the unexplored subject of fathers. The first Father’s Day was observed on June 19, 1910, in Spokane, Washington, and soon other towns had their own celebrations. In spite of widespread support, Father’s Day did not become a permanent national holiday until 1972, when President Richard Nixon signed a law declaring that it be celebrated annually on the third Sunday in June.

Question of the Day

What is the widest tree known to man?

The tree with the largest circumference ever recorded was 190 feet around, a European chestnut known as the “Tree of the Hundred Horses” on Mount Etna, Sicily. Measured in 1770, the tree is now in three, widely separated parts. The biggest tree in the United States is the giant sequoia “General Sherman” in Sequoia National Park, California, with a girth of 102.6 feet.

Advice of the Day

Knowledge and timber shouldn’t be used until they are seasoned.

Home Hint of the Day

When you paint a window sash, allow a slight bead of paint to come over onto the glass, covering the window putty. This ensures keeping water out. It takes a little practice to do, but it’s worth it.

Word of the Day

Anthophobia

Fear of flowers

Puzzle of the Day

Great help (Rearrange these words into a single word describing a speedy means of communication.)

Telegraph

Born

• Blaise Pascal (mathematician and physicist) – 1623
• Guy Lombardo (band leader) – 1902
• Lou Gehrig (baseball player) – 1903
• Salman Rushdie (author) – 1947
• Phylicia Rashad (actress) – 1948
• Kathleen Turner (actress) – 1954
• Paula Abdul (singer & television personality) – 1962
• Blake Woodruff (actor) – 1995

Died

• J. M. Barrie (author) – 1937
• Ethel and Julius Rosenberg (convicted spies) – 1953
• Ed Wynn (actor) – 1966
• James Gandolfini (actor) – 2013

Events

• First real baseball game with set rules was played in Hoboken, New Jersey– 1846
• Slavery abolished in U.S. territories– 1862
• The first Father’s Day was observed in Spokane, Washington– 1910
• The U.S. government adopted an 8-hour day for all its employees– 1912
• Mine disaster occurred in Hillcrest, Alberta– 1914
• Establishment of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States, regulating interstate and foreign communications by radio, telegraph and cable– 1934
• Wham-O filed to register Hula Hoop trademark– 1958
• Garfield the Cat made his comic strip debut– 1978
• A 5.0-magnitude earthquake hit off the northern California coast– 2005

Weather

• New Brunswick, New Jersey, was hit by a tornado– 1835
• Cloudburst near Custer Creek, Montana, dumped an estimated 4 to 7 inches of rain– 1938
• Hurricane struck fishing fleet from Escuminac, New Brunswick– 1959
• 100 degrees F, Billings, Montana– 1989
• Close to 6 inches of rain fell within 75 minutes, Houston, Texas– 2006

COURTESY www.almanac.com