– January 3, 1948 – News Of The World – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
January 3,1948 – An icy day all around the world – but for different reasons. In the U.S. it was record cold. From the Texas panhandle to the East Coast, the country was slammed with frigid air and blizzards, causing havoc, power and telephone outages and a mounting death toll. New York and the Northeast in general were hardest hit, with hundreds of communities without power and some 16,000 homes in and around New York city virtually cut off with no power, no heat, no gas. Commuters coming into Manhattan were stranded and hotels were overflowing with refugees of the storm. Damage estimates could rise into the millions. The good news came from the Weather bureau who cheerfully announced the worst of the storm was over. The predicted new storm heading to the Eastern seaboard changed direction and blew out to sea.
Meanwhile, in Paris it was icy of another sort. The Schuman government was awaiting the action of the National Assembly who were gathered to vote on the Premier’s anti-inflation bill. It was feared that an unfavorable vote would spell the end of the Schuman government – and judging from the icy reception, the outcome was not expected to be good.
In the rest of the world – Greek troops were busy tracking down guerrilla rear-guard units who had stayed behind retreating rebel forces in an effort to block entry of more government reinforcements into Konitsa.
In Jerusalem, word that Haganah, once referred to as the Jewish Underground, but which has now assumed the proportions and activities of a militia, was convinced it could successfully defend the Jewish state. A spokesperson for the group added that Haganah also felt that such an effort in a partitioned Palestine, though it would be ultimately successful, would take from two to three years, and be costly in lives.
And the United Nations was back in session to discuss the matters of India and Pakistan, who were fighting over the state of Kashmir.
All that, and the year had barely started, via NBC Radio‘s News Of The World for January 3, 1948.
