News stories from Friday February 11, 1972
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- More small-scale enemy attacks were reported in South Vietnam, in what may be the first stages of a Tet offensive. American and South Vietnamese air attacks have increased to try to thwart enemy activity. U.S. planes are taking off from aircraft carriers to bomb the Central Highlands and block the Communist offensive. Admiral Damon Cooper, commander in the Gulf of Tonkin, says that the Navy's role in Vietnam is no longer decreasing, but is expanding. Carriers are being used as floating air bases to replace closed-out land bases. [CBS]
- American dollars that were used to build and staff hospitals in South Vietnam are being withdrawn along with U.S. troops. An international group of physicians complained to President Nixon and the American Medical Association about the situation. [CBS]
- President Nixon must contend with Republican as well as Democrat critics of his Vietnam peace plan and other issues. In New Hampshire, Rep. Pete McCloskey is trying to gain acceptance as a serious presidential candidate with a dove platform. Rep. John Ashbrook takes a conservative stance, and Pat Paulsen is on the ballot for comic relief. A Boston Globe poll shows McCloskey with 14% of the Republican primary vote while President Nixon carries 71%. Nixon says publicly that he's too busy running the country to worry about Ashbrook or McCloskey. Privately, his aides say that he doesn't take McCloskey seriously but worries a bit about Ashbrook. New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller will lead a rally for Nixon in New Hampshire. [CBS]
- Mrs. David Everson, the Minnesota coordinator for an organization of relatives of American POWs, refused the request of Republican official John Lofton to condemn Democratic presidential candidate Hubert Humphrey for signing a petition to end the war. [CBS]
- In New York City, a grand jury heard a police handwriting expert testify that the signatures of Howard Hughes on documents in the Clifford Irving book affair are forgeries. Swiss authorities are maintaining fraud charges against Mrs. Clifford Irving. Newspapers reported that Irving tried to make a deal with the Swiss, and that Irving and researcher Richard Suskind now admit they never met Hughes. Irving's lawyer denied the reports and Irving said that the press has distorted the story, making the whole episode seem "unreal" to him. [CBS]
- The National Institute of Mental Health reported that marijuana may be useful in treating glaucoma, epilepsy, skin problems, sinus conditions, and alcoholism. Dr. Bertrand Brown, director of the institute, called for loosening penalties for marijuana users. [CBS]
- In 1968 in Houston, Texas, black activist Lee Otis Johnson was sentenced to 30 years in prison for giving a marijuana cigarette to an undercover agent. Three weeks ago a federal judge ruled that Johnson did not get a fair trial, and officials were ordered to release him or give him a new trial. Houston officials are appealing the ruling, and if the appeal fails they will retry Johnson, who remains in jail. [CBS]
- The U.S. and USSR have agreed to cooperate on research into cancer, heart disease and environmental problems. Health, Education and Welfare Secretary Elliot Richardson says that both countries will profit. [CBS]
- A Norwegian cruise ship, the Lindblad Explorer, ran aground in Antarctica on King George Island. [CBS]
- The coal miners strike in Britain is causing portions of country to be plunged into cold and darkness on a rotating basis, as the government has ordered sharp cutbacks in power. [CBS]
- At Oregon State University, one girl is dead and three others have been attacked. It is feared that a psychopath is on the loose. [CBS]
- Agriculture Secretary Earl Butz told a farm conference in Iowa that President Nixon may be forced to freeze food prices, though Butz will fight it. [CBS]
- A grand jury in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, indicted 14 black youths for murder and inciting riots in connection with last months confrontations there. TV newsman Bob Johnson, who was beaten, is still in a coma. [CBS]
- The EPA postponed exhaust emission standards for trucks and buses for one year. The new standards will take effect on 1974 models. [CBS]
- A Chinese delegate to the United Nations died of unexplained causes. [CBS]
- Without any advance notice, White House press secretary Ron Ziegler chose the members of the press who will accompany him to China. [CBS]
- Life magazine called Clifford Irving's purported autobiography of Howard Hughes a hoax, and canceled its agreement with McGraw-Hill to publish excerpts. [CBS]
- In Moscow, the Soviet Chess Federation denounced American Bobby Fischer for failing to agree with Russia's Boris Spassky on a site for their world championship chess match. [CBS]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 917.59 (-3.69, -0.40%)
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* |
| February 10, 1972 | 921.28 | 105.59 | 23.46 |
| February 9, 1972 | 918.72 | 105.55 | 19.85 |
| February 8, 1972 | 907.13 | 104.74 | 17.39 |
| February 7, 1972 | 903.97 | 104.54 | 16.93 |
| February 4, 1972 | 906.68 | 104.86 | 17.89 |
| February 3, 1972 | 903.15 | 104.64 | 19.88 |
| February 2, 1972 | 905.85 | 104.68 | 24.07 |
| February 1, 1972 | 901.79 | 104.01 | 19.60 |
| January 31, 1972 | 902.17 | 103.94 | 18.25 |
| January 28, 1972 | 906.38 | 104.16 | 25.00 |