The Supreme Court, Marconi and Cold

1. On Dec. 12, 1870, South Carolina's Joseph H. Rainey (1832-1877) was elected to Congress. Born into slavery, Rainey was the second black member of the House of Representatives and served for four consecutive terms - a record broken by Chicago's Rep. William Levi Dawson, who served of from 1947 to 1970. 

2. On this date in 1901, the first transatlantic radio signal was received by Guglielmo Marconi at Signal Hill in St John's, Newfoundland.

3. On Dec. 12, 2000, The U.S. Supreme Court released its historic decision in Bush v. Gore and declared George W. Bush the 43rd President of the United States.

4. What are you doing this week? The is on Dec. 15 from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. at Community Business Partnership offices in Springfield. Come and mix and mingle, enjoy some holiday cheer and browse the twenty two vendors selling holiday gifts. There is no need to register for this free event.

5. The weather this afternoon will be partly sunny with a high near 46 degrees. The evening will be clear with a low temperature of 23, according to the National Weather Service. 

Stay warm today!