In this week’s headline news, Al Capone has been sentenced to 11 years in prison and fined $50,000 for evading the payment of his Federal income tax. He was said to owe $215,000 in taxes from his underworld profits. The Government has been trying to rid Chicago of its gangsters and for a few years now. The plan is to send undercover agents into the ring of gangsters and find proof to convict them of evasion of income tax. Capone was the seventh and most important victim. He had been the objective of the plan since day one. During the sentencing, Capone seemed very nervous. He fiddled with his fingers and laughed oddly. Perhaps his days of crime are over.
In other news, Amelie Earhart became the women to complete a flight over the Atlantic ocean. The President sent a message to Earhart saying “You have demonstrated not only your own dauntless courage, but also the capacity of women to match the skill of men in carrying through the most difficult feats of high adventure.” She completed the voyage exactly five years after Charles Lindbergh his transatlantic flight. The flight did not go exactly as planned according to Earhart. Her gasoline gauge broke, causing a leak. She was forced to land prematurely in Londonberry instead of her destined target, Paris. In any case, this truly was a great feat.
On a more somber note, Charles Lindbergh’s 20 month old baby has been stolen. According to the story, the baby was taken during the night right from its crib while it was sleeping. There was no trace of evidence left by the thieves, only a note demanding a $50,000 ransom for the return of the infant. Law enforcement has had no luck finding the kidnappers, and they fear that any knowledge of exposure to thieves would lead to child’s peril. Mrs. Lindbergh is very worried about the baby because it was recovering from a cold. With the weather the way it has been the past few days, she is not sure if the baby could survive in these frigid conditions.
Franklin D. Roosevelt was just elected President in a landslide. It was the most decisive Democratic victory in the history of the country. Republican nominee Herbert Hoover was a distant second in voting. The electoral vote totaled as follows: Roosevelt – 472, Hoover – 59. The total amount of electoral votes needed to win are 226, so as you can see, Roosevelt won by a gigantic margin. The only states that Hoover won were Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Connecticut. Roosevelt is eager to step in and do his best to serve the country.
In one last bit of news, the television was first demonstrated at an Associated Press meeting. The broadcast show was titled “Looking at Tomorrow.” The television showed a picturized review of world affairs from a National Broadcasting Company studio. It was the first time a mobile televisor had been used to depict the news and keep the press informed of new happenings. The program was transmitted to monitors several blocks away from the NBC station. One can only wonder if this new technology will expand to common folk.
