Scandals That Rocked the Nation Part 2 Quiz

Answer: Janet Cooke

The article ran on the front page of the "Washington Post" in September 1980. Cooke told the sad story of Jimmy, a heroin-addicted third grader who lived in the projects with his mom and her drug-dealing boyfriend. It soon backfired. When the public wanted to reach out to help Jimmy and his family, Cooke claimed that the boy wanted to remain anonymous. Washington D.C. Mayor Marion Berry must have been suspicious because he assembled a task force to find the boy. Jimmy, of course, was never found.

When confronted by the newspaper, Cooke finally admitted the truth. She claimed she felt pressured into writing a front page story, even one that was fabricated. Cooke later resigned and returned the Pulitzer Prize that she had been awarded.

Answer: Ted Kennedy

Kennedy tried to convince the police that he and Mary Jo had been driving back to the ferry to reach Martha's Vineyard when he drove off a bridge into a pond. He claimed he was unfamiliar with the road and driving too fast. He failed to report the accident until much later, explaining all the while that he tried to free Mary Jo after he himself escaped. According to police reports, the fact that he was unfamiliar with a road he had driven on three times that day seemed odd.

A sheriff's deputy claimed he saw the couple by the turn to the bridge 1˝ hours after Kennedy claimed the accident occurred.

The result? Because of his wealth and political ties, Kennedy never spent a day in jail but the public never forgot the tragic accident. Kennedy's political career was never the same after that.

Answer: Jim Thorpe

After the Olympic games Thorpe returned to the U.S. a hero. The love didn't last. A reporter dug up information that indicated Thorpe wasn't an amateur athlete. At that time only amateurs could participate in the Olympics. The rules were strict. Thorpe had played ball in college for money and admitted as much.

He was subsequently stripped of his medals. He went on to play six years of pro baseball and later coached pro football. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the US Olympic Team Hall of Fame.

His medals were restored in 1983.

Answer: Elian Gonzalez

After his rescue, little Elian was sent to live with his great uncle, Lazaro Gonzalez, in Miami. Meanwhile, his biological father, with whom he had been living in Cuba, fought to regain custody of the boy. He claimed his ex-wife had taken Elian away without his permission. Lazaro refused to hand over the boy when the American government was ready to return him to Cuba. Twenty federal agents armed with machine guns barged into Lazaro's house and took a frightened Elian away at gunpoint.

The Justice Department had tried to negotiate a peaceful handover of the boy but Lazaro refused to negotiate. Elian finally returned to his father in Cuba in June 2000.

Answer: Vanessa Williams

Vanessa Williams has gone on to become an established actress and successful singer. Back in 1984, modeling photos began to appear showing a naked Williams posing in a provocative way with another woman. Although she insisted that she hadn't signed a model release and the pictures were a result of young and foolish behavior, the executive committee of the pageant insisted she return the crown to protect the pageant's good name. Williams stepped down and handed over the crown to the first runner-up, Suzanne Charles. Those provocative photos were later published in "Penthouse" magazine.

Answer: Leopold and Loeb

To make matters even worse, victim Bobby Franks was Richard Loeb's cousin. Since Nathan Leopold's glasses were found at the murder site, the police quickly identified the killers. Defended by the legendary Clarence Darrow, who managed to tug at the jurors' heartstrings by using the "bad childhood" defense, Leopold and Loeb avoided the electric chair but were sentenced to life in prison. Really? Loeb died in prison in 1936 and Leopold was paroled in 1958 and lived out his days a free man until his death in 1971.

Answer: Nancy Kerrigan

At first Tonya Harding denied any involvement in the attack which included not only her ex-husband but her boyfriend and her bodyguard. She later claimed she found out about the clubbing attack after the fact but admitted to helping cover it up. The figure skating officials asked Harding to withdraw from the competition but she refused and filed a lawsuit to prevent them from removing her. Since she had already admitted to hindering the investigation, she was fined $100,000 and was forced to complete 500 hours of community service.

She was also forced to resign from the USFSA, which essentially ended her figure skating career.

Answer: Sally Hemings

During the late 1990s, a pathologist by the name of Eugene Foster ran some tests to discover whether or not Jefferson fathered any of Hemings' six children. Since Jefferson only had daughters with his wife Martha, Foster tested the Y chromosome from Jefferson's uncle and matched it with Hemings' oldest son Eston.

The result? He concluded that Eston was most likely fathered by Jefferson. The Thomas Jefferson Foundation, based on Foster's study, concluded that Jefferson was the father of Eston Hemings.

The Monticello Association, however, came to a different conclusion. Made up of over 700 descendants of Thomas and Martha Jefferson, the association has repeatedly denied membership to any of Hemings' descendants. The rightful heirs, they believe, were conceived by Jefferson and his wife Martha.

Answer: Richard Nixon

The scandal was named for the Watergate Hotel, headquarters of the Democratic National Committee, where burglaries were committed. Members of the Nixon administration had tried to bug the Watergate office complex. They were caught and a whole lot of brown stuff hit the fan. White House counsel, John Dean, eventually admitted to discussing ways to cover up Watergate with President Nixon.

The President, of course, denied all involvement in the break-in. The most damaging evidence came from a former White House aide who revealed that Nixon had been secretly recording his conversations and telephone calls since 1971. Federal prosecutors demanded that Nixon hand over all known tapes having to do with Watergate. One tape in particular proved that Nixon knew who was behind the Watergate break-in. Faced with the choice of resigning or being impeached, Richard Nixon resigned in August 1974 and Gerald Ford was sworn in as President of the U.S.

Answer: Pete Rose

Since the 1919 White Sox scandal that involved eight players who threw the games, betting on baseball games has been strictly forbidden. Despite the fact that Rose, known as "Charlie Hustle," had won three World Series and was voted All-Star seventeen times, he was banned from playing baseball because of his gambling.

He tried in vain to become eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame but a ban was put in place that no player on the ineligible list, which included Rose, could be inducted. Nowadays he sells baseball memorabilia and signs baseballs.