News stories from Sunday June 20, 1971
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Newsweek magazine reports that Daniel Ellsberg is believed to be responsible for leaking the classified Pentagon report to the New York Times; Ellsberg says that he tried to interest both the White House and doves in Congress in the secret study. Newsweek reported that Ellsberg told them of meetings with presidential adviser Henry Kissinger and undersecretary of state John Erwin; Kissinger denied the details of Ellsberg's account of the meeting. Senator George McGovern refused to take the Pentagon report from Ellsberg, but McGovern said that it shows that former President Johnson deceived the American people as to his plans for American involvement in South Vietnam.
Newsweek reported that persons close to former President Johnson believe that the report was inspired by Senator Robert F. Kennedy.
[CBS] - The British government said that defecting Soviet space expert Anatoly Fedoseyev has been granted permission to remain in England. [CBS]
- Neo-Fascists celebrated their election victories in Rome, as 100,000 people attended an election victory rally; Fascists now have the confidence to appear as a group in public for the first time since World War II. [CBS]
- Communists shelled three cities and 14 bases in South Vietnam. [CBS]
- Labor Secretary James Hodgson announced a $20 million program to train migrant workers for year-round employment. [CBS]
- With Charles Evers running for governor, there has been a resumption of civil rights activity in Mississippi. In Tallahatchie County, white voter registration workers are registering blacks for the upcoming elections. Black registration worker Robert Williams says that he is getting help from whites with guilt complexes and from those who want the American system to work in all parts of the country. [CBS]
- The FTC reports that the cold cereal industry is making profits far above competitive levels, and that cereal makers spend more for ads than the rest of the food industry. [CBS]
- Ralph Nader's consumer protection group accused the First National City Bank of New York of approving high-cost consumer loans that poor people are unable to repay; the bank chairman said that the accusations are based on misconceptions of the banking system. [CBS]
- An explosion destroyed part of a paint factory in Huntington, West Virginia; one fireman was killed and 17 others injured fighting the fire. [CBS]