Today in News History

On June 17, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1930, U.S. President Herbert Hoover signs the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act into law. In 1932, Bonus Army: Around a thousand World War I veterans amass at the United States Capitol as the U.S. Senate considers a bill that would give them certain benefits. In 1933, Union Station massacre: In Kansas City, Missouri, four FBI agents and captured fugitive Frank Nash are gunned down by gangsters attempting to free Nash. In 1943, Newt Gingrich, American historian and politician, 58th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives was born. In 1966, Mohammed Ghazy Al-Akhras, Iraqi journalist and author was born. In 1967, Nuclear weapons testing: China announces a successful test of its first thermonuclear weapon. In 1971, U.S. President Richard Nixon in a televised press conference called drug abuse "America's public enemy number one", starting the War on drugs. In 1972, Watergate scandal: Five White House operatives are arrested for burgling the offices of the Democratic National Committee during an attempt by members of the administration of President Richard M. Nixon to illegally wiretap the political opposition as part of a broader campaign to subvert the democratic process. In 1994, Following a televised low-speed highway chase, O. J. Simpson is arrested for the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman. In 2001, Donald J. Cram, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1919) passed away. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.