Better late than never?

As NPR reported, Associated Press correspondent Edward Kennedy was among a small group of reporters taken by Allied military officials to witness the May 7, 1945, surrender by German forces at a schoolhouse in Reims, France. The reporters were sworn to secrecy and could not report the news before the Allies had given the green light. The Germans reported it anyway. Since the jig was up, Kennedy quickly picked up a military phone (thereby avoiding the censors) and filed his dispatch to the AP's London bureau. The story -- the biggest scoop in AP history -- was broadcast over the wires within minutes. Allied commanders had a conniption fit and expelled Kennedy from France. Piling on, the AP condemned his actions and then fired him. Today, the AP apologized for the WWII-era incident. Kennedy, who had long sought public vindication from his old employer, died in 1963. Thanks AP, you're only 24,469 days late and a dollar short.