Good morning.
Clouds today will yield to mostly sunny skies, a high of fifty-six, and winds from 15 to 25 mph (with gusts even higher).
On this day in 1973, a federal judge dismisses charges against Daniel Ellsberg in the Pentagon Papers case (although other issues were yet unresolved):
Los Angeles, May 11 — Citing what he called “improper Government conduct shielded so long from public view,” the judge in the Pentagon papers trial dismissed today all charges against Dr. Daniel Ellsberg and Anthony J. Russo Jr.
And he made it clear in his ruling that the two men would not be tried again on charges of stealing and copying the Pentagon papers.
“The conduct of the Government has placed the case in such a posture that it precludes the fair, dispassionate resolution of these issues by a jury,” he said.
David R. Nissen, the chief prosecutor, said, “It appears that the posture is such that no appeal will be possible.”
Defendants Not Vindicated
But the decision by United States District Court Judge William Matthew Byrne Jr. did not vindicate the defendants; it chastised the Government. Nor did it resolve the important constitutional issues that the case had raised.
Tee original Pentagon Papers (United States – Vietnam Relations, 1945–1967: A Study Prepared by the Department of Defense) are now available online.
On this day in 1955, Wisconsin loses an NBA team:
1955 – Milwaukee Hawks Relocate to St. Louis
On this date the NBA approved transferring the financially strapped Milwaukee Hawks to St. Louis. The Hawks stayed in St. Louis until 1968, then moved to Atlanta. [Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Online]
A geography question from Google’s daily question: “The cities of Amsterdam, including Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht make up what area that is home to more than 40% of the population of The Netherlands?”