News stories from Wednesday May 12, 1982
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- An extra spending bill was passed by voice vote in the House. The supplemental authorization would add nearly $6 billion to this year's budget for student loans, mortgage subsidies and a dozen other popular programs that affect middle-class taxpayers. The measure exceeds administration requests by about $2.5 billion. [New York Times]
- Braniff began suspending all flights, domestic and foreign, in an action viewed as a prelude to a declaration of bankruptcy. The airline, one of the nation's top 10 trunk carriers, would be the first major domestic airline ever to fail. Braniff urged passengers holding reservations to make alternative arrangements and said that none of its 9,500 employees should report to work tomorrow unless told to do so. [New York Times]
- John W. Hinckley's father testified, "I am the cause of John's tragedy." John W. Hinckley Sr. described as "the greatest mistake of my life" the March 7, 1981, meeting when he told his son he could not return home. The defendant, who has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to shooting President Reagan and three other men 23 days after his father rejected him, stared into space. [New York Times]
- Child molestation is more widespread and a more violent crime than previously supposed, according to new research. Investigators, by studying the patterns of offenders, are offering parents new insights about how to protect children from abuse. [New York Times]
- Dozens of tornadoes swept across an area from West Texas to Nebraska, killing seven persons and crushing many buildings. Scores of people also suffered injuries as violent thunderstorms unleashed heavy rain that caused flash floods. [New York Times]
- Edward Kennedy would defeat President Reagan if a presidential election were held now, and former Vice President Walter Mondale would run even with the President, according to the Gallup Poll. The Senator was the choice of 51 percent of voters polled; Mr. Reagan was preferred by 45 percent. [New York Times]
- Science and mathematics education has become so deplorable that it threatens the nation's military and economic security, President Reagan said, but top administration officials announced that Mr. Reagan was not ready to propose significant funds to correct the problem. [New York Times]
- An extraordinary change in Venus was suggested by an analysis of scientific data from an American spacecraft. The data indicated that the planet, which is now scorchingly hot and dry, may have once had a benign climate and been covered by an ocean of water several billion years ago. Scientists said that what presumably occured on Venus could someday occur on Earth. [New York Times]
- Frederick Richmond will be the focus of what fellow Representatives on the House Ethics Committee said would be a "preliminary inquiry" into "public allegations" against him. The investigation involving the four-term Brooklyn Democrat was announced as a federal grand jury pressed an inquiry into Mr. Richmond's financial dealings. [New York Times]
- Two Argentine jets were shot down when they attacked a British warship off the Falklands, the Defense Ministry announced. Reports reaching London said that the two American-made A-4 Skyhawks had been escorting transport planes trying to run the British blockade when they were brought down in dense fog and clouds by missiles about 25 miles west of the islands. [New York Times]
- Foreign journalists were abducted or detained in Buenos Aires. One American journalist was said to be under detention, and two Norwegians were reported by Norwegian diplomats to have been put on separate planes and sent out of the country. [New York Times]
- Military aid for El Salvador totaling $60 million was approved overwhelmingly by the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The Reagan administration's request was granted after a heated debate in which the panel struck down proposals to halt or limit the assistance. [New York Times]
- Pope John Paul II was menaced in Fatima, Portugal, by a young man wearing clerical garb and holding a knife. But security guards at the shrine of Fatima overpowered the assailant before he reached the Pope, who was not hurt. [New York Times]
- Billy Graham, in leaving Moscow, told journalistss he had seen no evidence of religious repression there. The Protestant minister, whose visit has stirred controversy, suggested that the churches he had visited were at least as full as those in his hometown, Charlotte, N.C. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 865.77 (-0.10, -0.01%)
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 11, 1982 | 865.87 | 119.42 | 54.67 |
| May 10, 1982 | 860.92 | 118.38 | 46.30 |
| May 7, 1982 | 869.20 | 119.47 | 67.18 |
| May 6, 1982 | 863.20 | 118.68 | 67.54 |
| May 5, 1982 | 854.45 | 117.67 | 58.86 |
| May 4, 1982 | 854.45 | 117.46 | 58.72 |
| May 3, 1982 | 849.03 | 116.81 | 46.48 |
| April 30, 1982 | 848.35 | 116.44 | 48.03 |
| April 29, 1982 | 844.94 | 116.13 | 51.33 |
| April 28, 1982 | 852.64 | 117.26 | 50.52 |