News stories from Thursday December 16, 1971
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Pakistani forces surrendered to Indians in Dacca, East Pakistan. Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi proclaimed Bangladesh a free nation and ordered a unilateral cease-fire in western India, but Pakistani President Yahya Khan vowed that fighting will continue.
East Pakistani villagers, who hate the West Pakistani army because of atrocities that have been committed, are treating the Indians as liberators. The Indian army had to protect captured West Pakistani soldiers from vengeful Bangladesh citizens. Indians say that they are not resentful of America's role in the war, just a bit annoyed.
[CBS] - Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, in a note to President Nixon, charged that the U.S. could have prevented the war by obtaining Pakistan's release of Bangladesh leader Sheik Mujibur Rahman. Nixon is reportedly disgusted that India would cast blame for the war on America, and White House Press Secretary Ron Ziegler reaffirmed India's role in starting the war.
The U.S. is still offering the 7th fleet for India's use in evacuating Pakistani prisoners. Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto said that the U.S. and China may be called on for more aid to Pakistan on the western front.
[CBS] - Cuba is calling the captured Miami-based freighter "Johnny Express" a pirate ship. The White House stated that Cuba's seizure of the ship is deplorable and demanded the release of captain Jose Villa. Villa's family appealed to the President for help, but it's unclear what the U.S. government can do. [CBS]
- A federal commission on medical malpractice heard testimony that 10,000 Americans die each year from unnecessary surgery. An associate of Ralph Nader called the estimate conservative; the A.M.A. had no comment. One doctor said that the fear of malpractice suits inspires doctors to order more tests, contributing to the high cost of medical care. [CBS]
- A Senate committee is considering the discontinuation of government aid in predator control. Coyotes face extinction if such controls are not stopped. A spokesman for Western sheep ranchers offered contrary testimony, claiming that the coyote population has actually grown. [CBS]
- The jury is deliberating the case of Col. Oran Henderson, who is on trial for allegedly covering up the My Lai massacre. [CBS]
- Mary Ann Harbert, who was recently released along with Richard Fecteau from a Chinese prison, described her 3½ years there. Harbert was captured when her yacht strayed into Chinese waters; her companion, Gerald McLaughlin, allegedly committed suicide. She kept was kept incommunicado when she refused to do propaganda for the Chinese, but she was not tortured or imprisoned -- she served time on a farm commune, under guard. [CBS]
- New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller is refusing to return an escaped convict to Alabama; an aide to Alabama Governor George Wallace condemned the action. Escapee James Harris, a burglar, says that he is rehabilitated. Rockefeller's action is attributed to the spirit of the Christmas season. [CBS]
- A House-Senate committee compromised on the foreign aid bill, giving aid to Israel, limiting aid to Cambodia and dropping the Mansfield end-the-war amendment. [CBS]
- A federal court granted three environmental groups an injunction to delay oil leases off the Louisiana coast. The House Public Works Committee approved a water pollution control bill to clear up pollution by 1985, similar to the Muskie bill passed by the Senate. EPA head William Ruckelshaus called the approach unwise and "too simple", and criticized the political motivation behind the bill. [CBS]
- Edmund Muskie's undeclared presidential candidacy was boosted by the endorsement of New Hampshire Senator Thomas McIntyre. [CBS]
- A heat wave hit the east coast, bringing record high temperatures. Cherry trees are blooming four months early in Washington, even as the White House Christmas tree was being lit. At the lighting of the national Christmas tree, Vice President Spiro Agnew said that the Christmas season is the time to remember Americans who were killed or are missing in Vietnam; Agnew ignored hecklers. [CBS]
- Mrs. Richard Nixon visited two ghetto areas of Washington, DC to see voluntary rehabilitation projects. [CBS]
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Dow Jones Industrial Average: 871.39 (+7.63, +0.88%)
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* |
| December 15, 1971 | 863.76 | 98.54 | 16.89 |
| December 14, 1971 | 855.14 | 97.67 | 16.07 |
| December 13, 1971 | 858.79 | 97.97 | 17.02 |
| December 10, 1971 | 856.75 | 97.69 | 17.51 |
| December 9, 1971 | 852.15 | 96.96 | 14.71 |
| December 8, 1971 | 854.85 | 96.92 | 16.65 |
| December 7, 1971 | 857.40 | 96.87 | 15.25 |
| December 6, 1971 | 855.72 | 96.51 | 17.48 |
| December 3, 1971 | 859.59 | 97.06 | 16.76 |
| December 2, 1971 | 848.79 | 95.84 | 17.78 |