King abdicates throne, $5 million heist at airport: News Journal archives, week of Dec. 10

"Pages of history" features excerpts from The News Journal archives including the Wilmington Morning News and the Evening Journal.

Dec. 12, 1936, Wilmington Morning News

Edward starts exile after adieu to realm; George VI begins rule

Edward David Windsor of England sailed today into exile after bidding a dramatic farewell to the empire he renounced for “the woman I love.”

Twelve hours after becoming a private citizen, the former monarch dashed to Portsmouth from Belvedere where he had gone following his radio farewell.

Edward, with the Queen Mother Mary and the new king at his side, broadcast his address to the half billion people in the realm he once ruled, now in the hands of his brother, King George VI.

Edward told the world he lay down the scepter of his forefathers only because he could not carry on without “the woman I love,” the American-born, twice-divorced Wallis Warfield Simpson.

He sought to dispel for all time the last vestige of reports of bitterness between himself and Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, the man who told his king he must not marry Mrs. Simpson and keep his crown …

Dec. 12, 1978, Evening Journal

$5 million robbery went ‘like clockwork’

NEW YORK – Armed bandits who stole up to $5 million cash from Kennedy Airport in what may be the nation’s biggest currency theft ever should have no difficulty spending the money, mostly in old, unmarked bills, authorities said.

“It went off like clockwork,” said one official. “It was well-planned, well-organized and well-executed.”

The bandits – said to number five by police but put at seven by some witnesses – breached security at a Lufthansa Airline cargo hold early yesterday and made off in a black van with jewels and sacks of foreign and U.S. currency that had been flown from Frankfurt, Germany for transfer to the Chase Manhattan Bank and the Federal Reserve….

Karl Koepcke, a Lufthansa spokesman, put the value of the jewels at $300,000.

If the $5 million figure is confirmed, it would be the largest cash theft in U.S. history, topping the $4.3 million loss at Purolator Security in Chicago in October 1974 …

The thieves overpowered and handcuffed 10 workers in making their way into the vault of the German airline without tripping an alarm …

One official at Chase Manhattan Bank said the theft appears to be an “inside job.”

Recent crime news: Spree of daylight armed robberies at Delaware banks leads to suspect in New Jersey

Dec. 14, 2000, The News Journal

A presidential winner at last; Gore concedes to Bush

After 36 days of waiting, George W. Bush at last laid claim to the presidency last night with a pledge to “seize this moment” and deliver reconciliation and unity to a nation divided …

Al Gore exited the tortuously close race, exhorting the nation to put aside partisan rancor and support its new chief executive …

In a televised address that lasted less than 10 minutes, Gore mixed words of unity with the unmistakable message that he felt wronged by the 5-4 Supreme Court ruling that stopped the Florida recount and prompted his concession.

“While I strongly disagree with the court’s decision, I accept it,” he said …

Gore topped his GOP rival by more than 300,000 votes out of 103 million ballots cast nationwide. But Florida’s 25 electoral votes, to be cast Dec. 18 and counted Jan. 6, will give Bush a total of 271 needed to win the presidency. And thus closed an election for the history books, the closest in 124 years …

Catch up on history: Coal and rail strikes, Live Aid concerts: The News Journal archives, week of July 9

Dec. 15, 2012, The News Journal

27 massacred in Connecticut shooting

A man killed his mother at their home and then opened fire yesterday inside a Newtown, Connecticut, elementary school, killing 26 people, including 20 children, as youngsters cowered in fear to the sound of gunshots reverberating through the building and screams echoing over the intercom.

The 20-year-old killer, carrying at least two handguns, committed suicide at the school, bringing the death toll to 28.

Panicked parents looking for their children raced to Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, a prosperous New England community of about 27,000 people 60 miles northeast of New York City …

Children at the kindergarten-through-fourth-grade school – some crying – were escorted by police from the school through a parking lot in a line, hands on each other’s shoulders …

The rampage, coming less than two weeks before Christmas, was the nation’s second-deadliest school shooting, exceeded only by the Virginia Tech massacre that claimed 33 lives in 2007.

“Our hearts are broken today,” a tearful President Barack Obama said, struggling to maintain his composure. He called for “meaningful action” to prevent such shootings. “As a country, we have been through this too many times.”

Police shed no light on the motive for the attack. The gunman, Adam Lanza, was believed to suffer from personality disorder and lived with his mother.

Investigators believe Lanza attended the school several years ago but appeared to have no recent connection. At least one parent said Lanza’s mother was a substitute teacher there, but her name did not appear on a staff list ….

Reach reporter Ben Mace at rmace@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: King gives up throne, $5 million heist: News Journal archives, Dec. 10