News stories from Tuesday March 17, 1970

Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:

Fourteen Army officers including the West Point commander were accused of a coverup regarding the 1968 My Lai incident. They are charged with dereliction of duty and failure to obey regulations. General Samuel Koster received a standing ovation from West Point cadets after announcing that he had been implicated in the My Lai case. West Point graduate Lt. Louis Font is seeking his discharge as a conscientious objector, and he said that the U.S. is engaged immorally in violence. [CBS] The hijacked U.S. munitions freighter Columbia Eagle and 13 crewmen are being held in the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville. The two mutineers were granted asylum in Phnom Penh. [CBS] North Vietnamese and Viet Cong representatives ignored Cambodia's demand for Communist withdrawal, and they want compensation for their sacked embassies. Communists routinely infiltrate from Cambodia into South Vietnam, and some believe that the infiltration has increased due to Cambodian demands for the Communists to get out. [CBS] The U.S.' Sam Thong support base in Laos was evacuated in the face of a North Vietnamese advance; Sam Thong is one of two major defense positions for the Laotian army. Secretary of State William Rogers revised his Laos statement, saying that there are no "present" plans for U.S. ground troops in Laos. Rogers would not rule out the possibility of having ground troops there in the future, however. [CBS] Secretary of State Rogers noted that the United States is bearing the major NATO burden. The Nixon administration is considering a cutback of U.S. forces in Europe. [CBS] A Marine commander stated that some Marines may be discharged one year early in order to meet troop reduction goals in Vietnam. [CBS] H. Rap Brown's prosecutor asked judge Harry Dyer to step aside due to Dyer's published statements that Brown will probably win his case. [CBS] Senate Republican Leader Hugh Scott reported that President Nixon will ask for new anti-bombing legislation (domestic bombing). [CBS] President Nixon ended the freeze on federally-assisted construction projects and asked Congress to subsidize loans to savings and loan associations in order to spur more home construction. [CBS] A University of North Carolina highway researcher told a Senate committee that small car drivers are more likely to be killed or injured in accidents than drivers of large cars. [CBS] Georgia Governor Lester Maddox's son was arrested for robbing a gas station; it was his second offense. [CBS] Virginia Democrats got a jolt when Senator Harry Byrd announced that he prefers running for re-election as an independent rather than staying on the national Democratic party ticket. Some say that Byrd is avoiding the Democratic primary because he might not survive it. Political repercussions are forthcoming. [CBS] George Wallace campaigned at the University of Alabama, attempting to give a speech while students jeered. [CBS] Los Angeles Mayor Sam Yorty announced that he will run for California governor. [CBS] Nazi Dr. Horst Schumann was charged with mass World War II murders. [CBS]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 767.42 (+2.37, +0.31%)
S&P Composite: 87.29 (+0.38, +0.44%)
Arms Index: 0.77

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	649	4.57
Declines	632	3.44
Unchanged	310	1.08
Total Volume		9.09

* in millions of shares

Arms Index is the ratio of volume per declining issue to volume per advancing issue; a figure below 1.0 is bullish.

Market Index Trends
Date	DJIA	S&P	Volume*
March 16, 1970	765.05	86.91	8.91
March 13, 1970	772.11	87.86	9.56
March 12, 1970	776.47	88.33	9.14
March 11, 1970	778.12	88.69	9.18
March 10, 1970	779.70	88.75	9.45
March 9, 1970	778.31	88.51	9.76
March 6, 1970	784.12	89.44	10.98
March 5, 1970	787.55	90.00	11.37
March 4, 1970	788.15	90.04	11.85
March 3, 1970	787.42	90.23	11.70