Although the traditional Columbus Day is October 12th, in the United States, the second Monday in October is observed as the Federal holiday. In April 1934, as a result of lobbying by the Knights of Columbus, Congress and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt made October 12 a federal holiday under the name Columbus Day. Since 1971, the holiday has been fixed to the second Monday in October, coincidentally the same day as Thanksgiving in neighboring Canada (which was fixed to that date in 1959). Three states do not recognize Columbus Day: Hawaii, South Dakota, and Nevada. Hawaii instead celebrates Discoverer's Day. South Dakota celebrates the day as officially a state holiday known as "Native American Day." in Nevada, although Columbus Day is not a legal holiday, it is observed, but schools and state, city and county government offices are open. The city of Berkeley, California has replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous People's Day since 1992. Virginia celebrates two legal holidays today, Columbus Day and Yorktown Victory Day, which honors the final victory at the Siege of Yorktown in the Revolutionary War.
October 11th is also designated National Coming Out Day to promote civil awareness for coming out and discussion about gay, lesbian, bisexual, asexual and transgender (LGBT) issues, as well as National Kick Butt Day, the day we get our butts in gear and move forward in our lives.
Yesterday, someone literally threw a book at President Obama during a Philadelphia campaign rally. The Coast Guard is searching off the coast of New Jersey for six men who failed to return from a weekend overnight fishing trip. Search engine giant Google announced yesterday that it has been testing robotic cars on U.S. city streets. Virgin Galactic's space tourism rocket SpaceShipTwo achieved its first solo glide flight yesterday.
For those watching TV tonight, the TV Guide Hot List includes: "Chuck" (NBC, 8/7c), "Giuliana & Bill" (Style, 8/7c), "Monday Night Football - Vikings vs. Jets" (ESPN, 8:30/7:30c), "Reviving Ophelia" (Lifetime, 9/8c), "Carlos" (Sundance, 9/8c), "God in America" (PBS, 9/8c), and "Hawaii Five-0" (CBS, 10/9c). The MLB playoffs also continue on TBS (Giants vs. Braves Game 4).
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