News stories from Monday May 31, 1971
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Audie Murphy was among six persons killed in the crash of a light plane near Roanoke, Virginia. [CBS]
- At Arlington National Cemetery, Secretary of State William Rogers placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to commemorate Memorial Day. A Memorial Day parade was canceled in Madison, Wisconsin; the city council declared today a day of mourning and repentance for the Vietnam War and an antiwar parade was held downtown instead. [CBS]
- South Vietnamese forces retreated from Snoul, Cambodia, after heavy fighting.
Four persons were killed by a terrorist bomb in Saigon.
South Vietnamese Vice President Nguyen Cao Ky formally declared himself a candidate for President in the October election.
[CBS] - Only 13 of 660 North Vietnamese POWs being held in South Vietnam are willing to return to North Vietnam, according to the Red Cross. [CBS]
- The hijacked Pan Am plane still in Havana, Cuba; it is believed that Fidel Castro may be retaliating for the U.S. seizure of four Cuban fishing boats last week. [CBS]
- The U.S. customs bureau seized 200 pounds of heroin in San Juan, Puerto Rico; over 150 pounds were seized in Miami. [CBS]
- There are new developments in the mass murders of migrant workers in Yuba City, California. Police have placed Roy DeLong in protective custody; DeLong says that he saw one victim getting into a truck belonging to murder suspect Juan Corona. [CBS]
- The United Steel Workers reached agreement on new contracts with several aluminum producers; the contracts include large wage increases. There has been no reaction to the agreement from the White House. [CBS]
- Commerce Secretary Maurice Stans says that now may be the time for a new conference on world trade. Britain is considering joining the European Common Market, although most people in Britain don't like idea. Prime Minister Heath's government wants Britain to join. [CBS]
- A government report states that the U.S. Bureau of Mines is lenient in enforcing coal mine regulations. [CBS]
- The Associated Press discovered that South Vietnam Vice President Nguyen Cao Ky sells traffic conviction records to everyone, including credit rating agencies. [CBS]
- 80% of China's population works on the land. Communes increase the efficient use of resources; they take care of peasants' food, housing, medical care and education plus provide a cash income of $50-60 per year. Communes are nearly self-sufficient. [CBS]
- Two men who are wanted for the murder of an Israeli diplomat are now holding a 14-year-old girl hostage in a house in Kartal, Turkey. [CBS]
- The Peru earthquake occurred one year ago today. 70,000 people in Huaras were killed by the quake; although international assistance has been one of the largest in history, the reconstruction of Huaras has barely begun. Only 20% of the money needed for reconstruction is available. [CBS]