News stories from Sunday December 20, 1970
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Polish Communist party chief Wladyslaw Gomulka has been fired. President Marian Spychalski and others were also fired; Edward Gierek replaced Gomulka. The country is calm today, compared to the past few days of rioting. Warsaw has been untouched by riots but people oppose the increases in food prices just before Christmas. The new government vowed to improve the situation. [NBC]
- A fire at the Pioneer Hotel in Tucson, Arizona, killed 29 persons. Many were trapped in their rooms; the cause of the fire is unknown. Investigators report that the sprinkler and alarm systems were inadequate. Three people were killed and four injured in a San Francisco fire which destroyed three buildings. [NBC]
- New York City taxi drivers ended their strike. [NBC]
- United Farm Workers leader Cesar Chavez has been in jail for two weeks now due to the lettuce boycott. [NBC]
- The House Banking Committee reported that the Penn Central Railroad lost $21 million on jet cargo and taxi schemes; money was wasted on big deals such as those. [NBC]
- Communists launched 18 rocket attacks in South Vietnam. In Saigon, six South Vietnamese were killed in their sleep; bomb scares are frequent. Three South Vietnamese soldiers were killed when their patrol train hit a mine. [NBC]
- East Germany blocked traffic to West Berlin to protest West German political activity in West Berlin. [NBC]
- The USSR and the People's Republic of China signed a agreement setting international river boundaries. [NBC]
- In Okinawa, Japan, a mob attacked a U.S. Air Force base and burned buildings and cars. [NBC]
- Chilean President Salvador Allende wants a constitutional amendment to nationalize the copper industry. Business is worried about Allende's socialist reforms. Allende wants free milk for children and the nationalization of American copper mines, and claims that he will reimburse companies for their holdings. Allende's strength is growing. [NBC]
- British Prime Minister Edward Heath stated that he supports the U.S. bombing of North Vietnam if it is necessary to protect troop withdrawals. [NBC]
- Palestinians attacked Jerusalem with rockets; no one was hurt. Jordan blacklisted 43 companies including 12 from America for violating the Arab boycott of Israel. [NBC]
- Guinea President Sekou Toure says that Portugal is planning a second invasion; troops are massing on Guinea's borders. [NBC]
- The Soviet lunar rover sent data on the moon's soil to Earth. [NBC]
- Three hundred soldiers returning to Vietnam are stuck in San Francisco. They were to fly to South Vietnam in a Boeing 747, but it wasn't known if the destination airport's runway is long enough. [NBC]