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Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Today in Chicago History: Tribune reporters among last American journalists to leave Vietnam after Saigon falls
Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on April 30, according to the Tribune's archives. Is an important event missing from this date? Email us. Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago) High temperature: 91 degrees (1942) Low temperature: 30 degrees (1873) Precipitation: 2.22 inches (2003) Snowfall: 0.1 inches (1907) 1922: Pitcher Charlie Robertson threw the first perfect game for the Chicago White Sox. 1926: Aviatrix Bessie Coleman died while practicing for a performance in Jacksonville, Florida. Her Jenny aircraft turned over, dropping Coleman out of the aircraft at about 2,000 feet. She plummeted to the ground and died. That road O'Hare is on? It's named for Bessie Coleman, who 100 years ago became the first Black woman pilot in America Funerals were held for Coleman in Jacksonville, Orlando and Chicago, where 2,000 people crowded Pilgrim Baptist Church on May 7, 1926. Coleman was buried in Lincoln Cemetery, and for several years, pilots dropped floral tributes to her from the sky. Bessie Coleman Drive at O'Hare International Airport is named in her honor and a postage stamp featuring her image was released in 1995. 1975: Tribune correspondents Ronald Yates — who was one of the last American journalists to leave Phnom Penh when the Cambodian capital fell to insurgents just weeks earlier — and Philip Caputo lost contact with the newspaper in South Vietnam just before Saigon was overtaken by communist North Vietnam. 'April 29, 1975, is a day I will never forget, not only because I wasn't sure if I would get out of Vietnam in one piece but because I still consider it one of the greatest betrayals in American history – the disastrous and shameful exodus from Afghanistan in 2021 notwithstanding,' Yates recalled in his blog about the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon. Yates and Caputo had been evacuated via helicopter, then delivered to the vessel off the South Vietnamese coast and taken to the Philippines. Yates' first story post-evacuation was about the 'confusion and uncertainty' in the American embassy's last days in Saigon. 1987: Less than 1 ½ years after overseeing raids on taxi drivers in the U.S. illegally, Chicago district director for immigration services A.D. Moyer detailed plans to open four centers to help immigrants with paperwork to become legal U.S. residents. The effort was part of the Immigration Reform and Control Act, a law passed by Congress and signed by President Ronald Reagan to offer a path to legal residence for people in the U.S. illegally since Jan. 1, 1982. 2007: Lisa Stebic, mother of two, was last seen by her husband Craig Stebic. That same day, her divorce attorney sent her papers to have her husband evicted from the home they shared in Plainfield, though Craig Stebic said he knew nothing about that. The next day, she was reported missing by Craig Stebic. There were massive searches, billboards, hotlines, rewards, and television appearances. Then former WMAQ-Ch. 5 reporter Amy Jacobson accepted an invitation to speak with Craig Stebic and swim with him and his kids at the Stebics' backyard pool. Lisa Stebic has not been found. Though no one has ever been officially declared a suspect, investigators said then that they consider Craig Stebic the sole person of interest in the case. He has not been charged. 2015: President Barack Obama selected Chicago as the site of his library and museum. The presidential center is under construction in Jackson Park and slated to open in 2026. Also in 2015: Chicago hosted the NFL draft for the first time since December 1963. With the No. 7 pick in the first round, the Chicago Bears selected West Virginia wide receiver Kevin White. 2021: Arlington Park opened for its last season. The horse track closed its gates on Sept. 25, 2021. The Chicago Bears finalized a deal to buy the site in February 2023. 2022: Dinkel's Bakery, open since 1922 and owned by three generations of the Dinkel family, who made countless cakes to celebrate and grieve over the decades, closed at 3329 N. Lincoln Ave. Vintage Chicago Tribune: Shuttered local bakeries where we wish we could shop this holiday season Subscribe to the free Vintage Chicago Tribune newsletter, join our Chicagoland history Facebook group, stay current with Today in Chicago History and follow us on Instagram for more from Chicago's past. Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Kori Rumore and Marianne Mather at krumore@ and mmather@
Chicago Tribune
30-04-2025
- Climate
- Chicago Tribune
Today in Chicago History: Tribune reporters among last American journalists to leave Vietnam after Saigon falls
Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on April 30, according to the Tribune's archives. Is an important event missing from this date? Email us. Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago) High temperature: 91 degrees (1942) Low temperature: 30 degrees (1873) Precipitation: 2.22 inches (2003) Snowfall: 0.1 inches (1907) 1922: Pitcher Charlie Robertson threw the first perfect game for the Chicago White Sox. 1926: Aviatrix Bessie Coleman died while practicing for a performance in Jacksonville, Florida. Her Jenny aircraft turned over, dropping Coleman out of the aircraft at about 2,000 feet. She plummeted to the ground and died. Funerals were held for Coleman in Jacksonville, Orlando and Chicago, where 2,000 people crowded Pilgrim Baptist Church on May 7, 1926. Coleman was buried in Lincoln Cemetery, and for several years, pilots dropped floral tributes to her from the sky. Bessie Coleman Drive at O'Hare International Airport is named in her honor and a postage stamp featuring her image was released in 1995. 1975: Tribune correspondents Ronald Yates — who was one of the last American journalists to leave Phnom Penh when the Cambodian capital fell to insurgents just weeks earlier — and Philip Caputo lost contact with the newspaper in South Vietnam just before Saigon was overtaken by communist North Vietnam. 'April 29, 1975, is a day I will never forget, not only because I wasn't sure if I would get out of Vietnam in one piece but because I still consider it one of the greatest betrayals in American history – the disastrous and shameful exodus from Afghanistan in 2021 notwithstanding,' Yates recalled in his blog about the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon. Yates and Caputo had been evacuated via helicopter, then delivered to the vessel off the South Vietnamese coast and taken to the Philippines. Yates' first story post-evacuation was about the 'confusion and uncertainty' in the American embassy's last days in Saigon. 1987: Less than 1 ½ years after overseeing raids on taxi drivers in the U.S. illegally, Chicago district director for immigration services A.D. Moyer detailed plans to open four centers to help immigrants with paperwork to become legal U.S. residents. The effort was part of the Immigration Reform and Control Act, a law passed by Congress and signed by President Ronald Reagan to offer a path to legal residence for people in the U.S. illegally since Jan. 1, 1982. 2007: Lisa Stebic, mother of two, was last seen by her husband Craig Stebic. That same day, her divorce attorney sent her papers to have her husband evicted from the home they shared in Plainfield, though Craig Stebic said he knew nothing about that. The next day, she was reported missing by Craig Stebic. There were massive searches, billboards, hotlines, rewards, and television appearances. Then former WMAQ-Ch. 5 reporter Amy Jacobson accepted an invitation to speak with Craig Stebic and swim with him and his kids at the Stebics' backyard pool. Lisa Stebic has not been found. Though no one has ever been officially declared a suspect, investigators said then that they consider Craig Stebic the sole person of interest in the case. He has not been charged. 2015: President Barack Obama selected Chicago as the site of his library and museum. The presidential center is under construction in Jackson Park and slated to open in 2026. Also in 2015: Chicago hosted the NFL draft for the first time since December 1963. With the No. 7 pick in the first round, the Chicago Bears selected West Virginia wide receiver Kevin White. 2021: Arlington Park opened for its last season. The horse track closed its gates on Sept. 25, 2021. The Chicago Bears finalized a deal to buy the site in February 2023. 2022: Dinkel's Bakery, open since 1922 and owned by three generations of the Dinkel family, who made countless cakes to celebrate and grieve over the decades, closed at 3329 N. Lincoln Ave. Want more vintage Chicago?
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Reagan Is Back in Style but Not in Spirit
This Easter, we've hidden a dozen colorful, egg-centric stories across Hop around the site to find them—or click here to see them all in one basket. The Oval Office, a room famous for its distinct ovum—er, oval—shape, has become synonymous with American democracy and the president himself. It's no wonder that each executive has sought to personalize their backdrop. The room has been the main executive office since President William Howard Taft ordered a southward extension of the West Wing in 1909. The expansion was meant to mimic the shape of the Blue Room, the White House's other oval-shaped room, which incorporated a semicircle design overseen by President George Washington. Washington was the only president to never live in the White House, but his preference for oval-shaped rooms to receive guests with presidential drama and formality has become customary. Administrations succeeding Taft's have since altered the Oval Office's decor to suit each president's preferences. Shortly after returning to the White House for his second term, President Donald Trump removed the dark blue Clinton-era rug brought out of retirement by Joe Biden and replaced it with the lighter, egg-colored rug used by Ronald Reagan. Since Trump entered the world of politics, he has fancied himself a successor of Reagan and his policies. But unlike when he unveiled the Reagan rug at the beginning of his first term, there's a lot more evidence now that Trump and Reagan share little else in common. One stark difference is Trump's immigration policies. While Reagan sought to tighten border security with the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, he also granted amnesty for nearly 3 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States. Less than 100 days under Trump's direction, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) currently detains close to 48,000 migrants and controversially shipped 238 individuals in ICE custody to El Salvador, raising serious due process concerns and legal questions. Trump may even have acted in contempt of court by defying a federal judge's order to turn around the El Salvador–bound planes. So far, it seems Trump's immigration crackdown has been anything but "reasonable, fair, orderly, and secure," as was Reagan's objective. Trump also differs from Reagan over his second-largest agenda item: tariffs. In only his first three months, Trump has rattled markets worldwide due to the unpredictability of his trade war. The fallout from his "Liberation Day" tariff announcement prompted many to quote none other than Reagan himself on the dangers of engaging in trade wars. Reagan advocated for free trade, believing that high tariffs only hurt Americans in the long run and that trade wars "weake[n] our economy, our national security, and the entire free world." In contrast, even though Trump instituted a 90-day pause for his tariffs, tensions with China have only continued to rise, leading to tariffs as high as 245 percent for certain goods. So while Trump may have brought back Reagan's rug, it's clear he's cracked away from much of the former president's legacy. Style is easy to replicate, but substance is harder to come by. The post Reagan Is Back in Style but Not in Spirit appeared first on
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alan K. Simpson, three-term Wyoming senator, dies at 93
Alan Simpson, the former three-term U.S. senator from Wyoming known for his humor, plain-speech and willingness to work through partisan differences, died in hospice care in Cody, Wyoming. He was 93 years old. 'Al Simpson was an amazing friend, an incredible statesman, a thoughtful courageous politician, and a wonderful human being who brought humor, wisdom, and razor-sharp insight to any situation,' wrote Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon. 'Wyoming has lost a true light.' He was a member of the prolific and influential Wyoming Simpson family and the second son of Milward Simpson, a well-known lawyer and one-time governor of Wyoming. Following a struggle to recover from a hip broken in December, he died 'surrounded by his family and friends' early Friday morning, according to a published statement from his family and The Buffalo Bill Center of the West. Simpson was a gigantic figure in American politics both figuratively and literally, standing 6-foot-7 and wearing size 15 shoes. He was first elected to public office in 1964 as a member of the Wyoming House of Representatives, where he served until 1977. The following year he was elected to the U.S. Senate, which was a seat he held for 18 years until 1997, which included a decade-long run as Republican Whip. In 1985, he worked closely with democratic colleagues to put together the Immigration Reform and Control Act, which is lauded today as a benchmark of bipartisan cooperation. In 2022, Simpson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Joe Biden. Former President George W. Bush wrote that he 'was one of the finest public servants ever to have graced our nation's capital,' in a statement released Friday. Bush quoted the eulogy Simpson gave for his father to celebrate the 'humble, funny, strong man' he was. 'Those who travel the high road of humility in Washington, D.C., are not bothered by heavy traffic.' He was known for his folksy language and acerbic wit. During negotiations over The Clean Air Act in 1990, he referred to his democratic colleague, Henry Waxman, as being 'tougher than a boiled owl.' Another time, he said that 'we have two political parties in this country, the Stupid Party and the Evil Party. I belong to the Stupid Party.' While he believed that 'humor is the universal solvent against the abrasive elements of life,' he also said that 'telling the truth is the essence of leadership. If you have integrity, nothing else matters. And if you don't have integrity, nothing else matters.' Simpson is survived by his wife Ann, whom he was married to for 70 years; brother Peter; and children William, Colin and Susan; as well as grandchildren.
Los Angeles Times
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Former Sen. Alan Simpson of Wyoming, who bridged partisan gaps with his quick wit, dies at 93
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Former Sen. Alan Simpson, a political legend whose quick wit bridged partisan gaps in the years before today's political acrimony, has died. He was 93. Simpson died early Friday after struggling to recover from a broken hip in December, according to a statement from his family and the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, a group of museums where he was a board member for 56 years. 'He was an uncommonly generous man,' Pete Simpson, his older brother, said in the statement. 'And I mean generous in an absolutely unconditional way. Giving of his time, giving of his energy — and he did it in politics and he did it in the family, forever.' Along with former Vice President Dick Cheney, Simpson was a towering Republican figure from Wyoming, the least-populated state. Unlike Cheney, Simpson was famous for his humor. 'We have two political parties in this country, the Stupid Party and the Evil Party. I belong to the Stupid Party,' was among Simpson's many well-known quips. Simpson had a huge impact on immigration law and policy. Along with Rep. Romano L. Mazzoli, a Democrat from Kentucky, he sponsored the Immigration Reform and Control Act, often referred to as the Simpson-Mazzoli bill, which offered legal residency to thousands of people living in the country without authorization. The bill, signed into law at the White House by President Reagan in 1986, also made it a crime for employers to knowingly hire someone who is in the country illegally. Reagan hailed the law as a 'truly successful bipartisan effort,' and said: 'Future generations of Americans will be thankful for our efforts to humanely regain control of our borders and thereby preserve the value of one of the most sacred possessions of our people — American citizenship.' A political moderate by current standards, Simpson's three terms as senator from 1979 to 1997 covered the Republican Party's rejuvenation under President Reagan. Simpson played a key role rallying GOP senators around the party's legislative agenda as a top Senate leader during that time. Simpson was better known for holding his own views, though, with sometimes caustic certainty. A deficit hawk with sharp descriptions of people who relied on government assistance, Simpson supported abortion rights — an example of moderation that contributed to his fade in the GOP. His Democratic friends included Robert Reich, Labor secretary under President Clinton, and Norman Mineta, Transportation secretary under President George W. Bush. Simpson and Mineta met as Boy Scouts when Mineta and his family were imprisoned as Japanese Americans in the Heart Mountain War Relocation Center near Simpson's hometown of Cody, Wyo., during World War II. After leaving politics, both promoted awareness of the incarceration of some 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry in camps during the war. Mineta, who died in 2022, recalled that Simpson once was asked what was the biggest difference between them as a Republican and a Democrat. 'Alan thought about it and he said, 'Well, I wear size 15 shoes and he wears a size 8 and a half,'' Mineta replied, according to the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation. Simpson was 'gifted in crossing party lines and building bipartisan consensus,' Colin Simpson, one of his three children and a former Wyoming House speaker, said in the statement. 'Dad and Pete have anchored the extended Simpson family for decades with the same love, humor, compassion and dedication their parents did before them,' he said. 'Dad was a mighty force, and with Mom's steady hand by his side, we are so blessed and proud to have been along for the ride of a lifetime.' In 2010, President Obama tasked Simpson with co-leading a debt-reduction commission that developed a plan to save $4 trillion through tax hikes and spending cuts. The plan lacked support for serious consideration by Congress. At 6-foot-7, Simpson was literally a towering figure — tallest on record in the Senate until Alabama GOP Sen. Luther Strange, who is 6-foot-9, took office in 2017. Big as Simpson's shoes were, he had huge ones to fill politically. His father, Milward Simpson, was a governor, U.S. senator and state legislator. His mother, Lorna Kooi Simpson, was president of the Red Cross in Cody and on the local planning commission. 'I saw Dad loved politics and the law, and I wanted to do that,' Simpson once said. Simpson was born in Denver in 1931. After a childhood of reckless gun-shooting and vandalism in Cody that put him in danger and in trouble with the law, he graduated from Cody High School in 1949 and the University of Wyoming in 1954. Also that year he married Ann Schroll, of Greybull, Wyo., and joined the U.S. Army, where he served in the Fifth Infantry Division and the Second Armored 'Hell on Wheels' Division in Germany. Alan and Ann Simpson celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary with a community ice cream social attended by relatives and hundreds of others in a Cody park last summer. After leaving the Army, Simpson got a law degree from the University of Wyoming in 1958 and joined his father's law practice, where he worked for the next 19 years. He was elected to the Wyoming House in 1964 and served there until his election to the U.S. Senate in 1976. A football and basketball athlete at the University of Wyoming, Simpson fondly described politics as a 'contact sport.' 'I've been called everything,' he said in 2003. 'What the hell. If you don't like the combat, get out.' Simpson's candor made him popular with voters. He also was known as a well-read, hardworking and sometimes hard-nosed politician involved in immigration, veterans affairs and environmental issues. He served on the Immigration Subcommittee and the Veterans Affairs Committee, among others. Simpson opposed sentences of life without parole for juveniles and said he supported review of criminal sentences after a period of time. 'When they get to be 30 or 40 and they been in the clink for 20 years, or 30 or 40, and they have learned how to read and how to do things, why not?' he told the Associated Press in 2009. By 1995, he'd had enough of the Senate and decided not to run again. 'Part of me said I could do this for another three or four years but not six,' he said at the time. 'The old fire in the belly is out. The edge is off.' Others of his family in politics and government included his older brother, Pete, a University of Wyoming historian who served in the Wyoming House and was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for governor in 1986. Alan Simpson's son Colin was speaker of the Wyoming House, and his nephew Milward Simpson directed the state parks department. After leaving the Senate, Simpson taught about politics and the media at Harvard University and the University of Wyoming. In speeches, he often urged college students to be politically involved. In 2022, President Biden awarded Simpson the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Simpson is survived by his wife, Ann; his brother Pete Simpson; sons Colin Simpson and William Simpson; and daughter Susan Simpson Gallagher. Gruver writes for the Associated Press. Times staff writer Steve Padilla contributed to this report.
