News stories from Wednesday February 16, 1972

Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:

Health, Education and Welfare Secretary Elliot Richardson opposes a constitutional amendment to ban busing because it may hinder integration. In Florida, Governor Reubin Askew will sign a bill to put busing on the primary ballot as a non-binding referendum.Campaigning in Melbourne, Florida, Alabama Governor George Wallace called on President Nixon to halt busing with an executive order. Wallace stated that anti-busing sentiment does not indicate racist attitudes. [CBS] Ten school buses were bombed in Pontiac, Michigan last August; the violent protests against busing in Pontiac showed that the issue is as volatile in the North as it is in the South. Pontiac school superintendent Dana Whitmer says that the school situation is now stabilized. However, anti-busing advocate Irene McCabe reported that violence has increased as a result of busing, and she opposes mixing two social classes in one school environment. Figures show that racial incidents have dropped significantly. [CBS] North Vietnam charged that American jets bombed and strafed populated areas of North Vietnam, and claimed that two jets were shot down. The A.P. is reporting that the U.S. has launched bombing missions over North Vietnam; the Pentagon has no comment. [CBS] The Navy confirmed that aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk will sail for Vietnam to join three other carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin. [CBS] North Vietnam accused the U.S. of bombing a hospital in Tranh Hoa in December. A U.S. reporter filmed the destruction caused by the bombs. The Pentagon replied that the U.S. doesn't bomb North Vietnamese hospitals, and the Defense Department offered speculation of other actions that may have caused the destruction, such as the crash landing of a shot-down jet. [CBS] President and Mrs. Nixon leave tomorrow for their 12-day trip to China. Senators Mike Mansfield and Hugh Scott, other members of Congress and the cabinet wished the Nixons well. [CBS] Treasury Secretary John Connally appeared before Senator William Proxmire's Joint Economic Committee and found himself on the defensive about unemployment. Proxmire pressured Connally about a Treasury Department memo which states that a 4% unemployment rate cannot be attained without substantial inflation. [CBS] An extradition hearing has been set for Mrs. Clifford Irving. Swiss authorities want her in connection with cashing Howard Hughes' check there. [CBS] In Londonderry, Northern Ireland, terrorists pulled a bus driver and part-time soldier from his bus and shot him to death. In Belfast, a British soldier was machine-gunned to death. [CBS] Bombs were set off in police and fire stations in Manchester, New Hampshire; two suspects were arrested. A "People's Liberation Army of New Hampshire" pamphlet was found on the suspects, mentioning plans to blow up President Nixon's campaign headquarters. [CBS] A New Hampshire public television network's poll shows that President Nixon has lost ground while Senator Edmund Muskie gained. [CBS] Organized labor conducted a political poll in Florida and found that Senator Hubert Humphrey leads. An AFL-CIO spokesman predicted the same trend in other regions. [CBS] Senator George McGovern suggested legalizing marijuana and imposing the same controls on it as on alcohol. He also proposed expanding education programs to discourage the use of marijuana. [CBS] Frank Graham, former University of North Carolina president and U.S. Senator, died at age 85. [CBS] A suspect and a gun from the shooting deaths of two New York City policeman were involved in a similar incident in St. Louis. Donald Carter, a member of the "Black Liberation Army", was killed and two others were arrested; a fourth suspect escaped. [CBS]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 922.94 (+8.43, +0.92%)
S&P Composite: 105.62 (+0.59, +0.56%)
Arms Index: 0.59

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	837	13.14
Declines	589	5.42
Unchanged	313	2.11
Total Volume		20.67

* in millions of shares

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 15, 1972	914.51	105.03	17.77
February 14, 1972	910.49	104.59	15.84
February 11, 1972	917.59	105.08	17.85
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