BALTIMORE – During the performance at the Zoo tonight two leopards jumped the barrier, landing among the audience. A boy, Louis Long, was badly clawed about the face and neck, and a panic that would almost certainly mean the loss of many lives was averted by the prompt action of Police Sargeant Barranger in closing the exit door and allowing only one or two of the terrified people to descend the stairs at a time. The leopards were cornered, one in the office of the Zoo, and the other in one of the dressing rooms, by trainers and were returned to their cages.

50 years ago, 1958

AUGUSTA – Maine Civil Defense said Wednesday it will supply tape-recorded announcements for life saving procedures to all Maine radio stations for use during “Operation Alert 1958” May 6-7. State CD Broadcasting Chief Norman G. Gallant said the tapes will be kept by the stations in a restricted file and would be readily available for use in case of a disaster. When used during the practice alert, they will be preceded and followed by announcements that they are part of a test exercise. The same information in more detail will be printed during Operation Alert in most Maine daily and weekly newspapers.

WASHINGTON – A sales psychologist urged Congress Wednesday to refund 10 percent of last years income taxes to the people as a dramatic move to snap the country out of the recession. George Katona, University of Michigan professor of economics and psychology, told Senate monopoly investigators Congress should do this to show the government really means business. He heads the university’s economic behavior research program, which studies why and whether people plan to buy.

25 years ago, 1983

CHICAGO – Prominent black political leaders, meeting in a closed-door session this weekend, vowed to “accelerate ” their efforts to increase black impact on the selection of a Democratic presidential candidate in 1984. Although the group stopped short of saying it would endorse a black candidate for president, several participants said they thought civil rights activists and some black leaders were moving in that direction.