News stories from Sunday August 9, 1970

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

There is an unconfirmed report that American hostage Dan Mitrione was shot by his terrorist captors in Uruguay after their demands weren't met. The kidnappers struck again two days ago, taking American agriculture expert Dr. Claude Fly. The Uruguayan government won't negotiate with the Tupamaro terrorists. [CBS] Israeli jets hit Arab guerrilla positions in Lebanon and ground troops fought Palestinian commandos; rival guerrilla groups fought each other in Amman, Jordan. Along the Suez Canal, shelling and bombing have stopped but Israeli soldiers are staying alert. [CBS] Communist troops have been reported on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. [CBS] New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller criticized the Nixon administration's "southern strategy" and stated that the administration has no clear desegregation policy. [CBS] Sidney Marland is the leading contender for the post of education commissioner in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, replacing James Allen who was fired by President Nixon. [CBS] The nation's governors are meeting in Missouri at the Lake of the Ozarks. It is a holiday-type weekend where governors get the use of yachts, chauffeured sedans and other luxuries. Indiana Governor Edgar Whitcomb says that problems are better approached with people feeling good.The November elections are a major topic of the conference. [CBS] House Commerce Committee chairman Harley Staggers returned the rented Lincoln Continental he gets from Ford Motors at 80% off. [CBS] Time magazine reported that Martin Luther King softened his criticism of the FBI after director J. Edgar Hoover blackmailed King with tapes of talks with his girlfriend. [CBS] The Marine Corps has the highest desertion rate of all U.S. military services, and that rate is up 30% this year. Vietnam casualties are high; 60% of enlistees say they are just trying to avoid being drafted. The Marines' reaction to the Vietnam troop cutbacks and a reduction in the size of the corps will help the desertion problem. [CBS]