News stories from Friday May 9, 1980
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- A ship struck a bridge in Florida, killing 32 persons when a bus and three cars plunged 140 feet from the broken span into Tampa Bay. Most of the dead were passengers on the bus, which was bound from Chicago to Miami. The 15-mile Sunshine Skyway Bridge was closed after a 1,000-foot span section was torn away. [New York Times]
- Inflation rose only ½ of one percent last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which issued its monthly Producer Price Index report. That figure represented the smallest increase since May 1979. However, economists cautioned that it would be unrealistic to expect the inflation rate to continue to rise in this fashion. [New York Times]
- President Carter eulogized the 8 men who died in Iran two weeks ago after an aborted attempt to rescue the American hostages. Joining the President in the ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery were an unusual number of dignitaries, including the new Secretary of State, Edmund Muskie; Secretary of Defense Harold Brown, General David Jones, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Chief Justice Warren Burger, and several dozen members of Congress. [New York Times]
- Edmund Muskie took over his new post as Secretary of State to the cheers of 700 State Department employees. In what amounted to a pep talk, Mr. Muskie was applauded when he indicated that he, not Zbigniew Brezinski, would be the President's "principal adviser."
The President traveled to Philadelphia for his first speaking trip outside Washington in more than six months. Addressing a "town meeting" of 1,500 people, Mr. Carter said he hoped that Secretary of State Muskie would avoid becoming "bogged down" in administrative details that had plagued his predecessor, Cyrus Vance, and expected that Mr. Muskie would be "a more evocative spokesman for our nation's policy."
[New York Times] - An influx of refugees has caused a rift among Floridians, with angry Cuban Americans on one side of the argument and Anglos, blacks and non-Cuban Hispanic Americans on the other. Cuban Americans believe the state should welcome everyone who can escape the Castro regime. The non-Cuban majority believes that only those refugees who have families in the state should be allowed to resettle there. [New York Times]
- A push for the equal rights amendment is under way in Illinois, the only northern industrial state that has withheld support for the measure that would ban sex-based discrimination. It needs the approval of three states before June 1982. A loss in Illinois could be a sharp blow to supporters of the amendment, who have not won a victory in three years. The Illinois legislature, which failed to ratify it two years ago by a couple of votes, might reconsider it as early as next week. [New York Times]
- Libya agreed to withdraw four men who were accused by federal officials of harassing Libyans who live in this country. That announcement ended a dispute that began a week ago when the four self-styled diplomats, called "would-be assassins" by President Carter, were ordered to leave the country. [New York Times]
- Iran's President has won support for his struggling government from Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. President Bani-Sadr had made three demands -- the appointment of a prime minister, the power to place the armed forces under his control and assurance that the state radio and television would serve the Islamic republic. In a taped radio broadcast, the 80-year-old Khomeini said, "I agree." [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 805.80 (-9.39, -1.15%)
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* |
| May 8, 1980 | 815.19 | 106.13 | 39.29 |
| May 7, 1980 | 821.25 | 107.18 | 42.59 |
| May 6, 1980 | 816.04 | 106.25 | 40.16 |
| May 5, 1980 | 816.30 | 106.38 | 34.08 |
| May 2, 1980 | 810.92 | 105.58 | 28.14 |
| May 1, 1980 | 808.79 | 105.46 | 32.48 |
| April 30, 1980 | 817.06 | 106.29 | 30.85 |
| April 29, 1980 | 811.09 | 105.86 | 27.93 |
| April 28, 1980 | 805.46 | 105.64 | 30.61 |
| April 25, 1980 | 803.58 | 105.16 | 28.59 |