Way back when: Today in history
BY GENE CURTIS
Monday, December 10, 2012
12/10/12 at 2:28 AM
1933 - Guard mobilized
The National Guard was mobilized to help law enforcement officers prevent the lynching of murder suspect Audry (Jack) Wisdom at Kingfisher after rumors spread that a lynch mob planned to head for Kingfisher from Wichita. But the rumors were just that and the Guard was demobilized. However, the 26-year-old cowboy who was charged with killing Mr. and Mrs. Harry Pritchard, operators of a small Wichita store, over a $21.50 bogus check was taken to Kansas for safekeeping at the state reformatory at Hutchinson. Wisdom confessed the next day that he shot the Pritchards and hid their bodies in culverts in Oklahoma because he feared prosecution on the bogus check that he had given the store owners.
1992 - Packwood apologizes
Oregon Sen. Bob Packwood, who had been accused by former women employees or acquaintances of sexual harassment, apologized for what he called "unwelcome and offensive" actions but refused to resign. Packwood, 60, spoke at a news conference in Washington, his first public appearance since 16 women led by former Oregon Supreme Court Justice Betty Roberts accused him of improper sexual conduct. Roberts said rumors that Packwood harassed women had circulated for years in Oregon and that lobbyists were advised to send a woman when they wanted something from the senator. Packwood resigned in 1995 after the Senate Ethics Committee unanimously recommended that he be expelled from the Senate.
1999 - Scientist arrested
Computer scientist Wen Ho Lee was arrested on charges that he had taken nuclear secrets from secure computers at the Los Alamos weapons lab. Lee maintained that he never provided secrets to anyone and investigators were unable to link him to espionage involving China or any other country. Lee pleaded guilty to one of 59 counts of violating the federal Espionage Act by downloading restricted data. The other 58 counts were dropped
2006 - Million protest in Beirut
An estimated million Hezbollah members and their allies crowded downtown Beirut to demand that the Lebanese government resign. The huge throng congregated on the 10th day of street protests against Prime Minister Fuad Saniora who was given "a few days" to accept their demand to form a national unity government or face an escalating campaign to oust him.
Associated Images:
Lebanese supporters of Hezbollah and their allies wave flags in central Beirut in 2006. AP file
|
