News stories from Wednesday March 8, 1972
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- A caller warned TWA yesterday that four of its jets would be bombed unless $2 million ransom was paid. One bomb was found on a plane in New York City, another blew up an empty plane in Las Vegas. Lufthansa, BOAC, and United Airlines were also threatened.
The TWA plane in Las Vegas had been searched before leaving New York City, again in the air, and upon landing at McCarran International Airport. But a concealed bomb ripped the cockpit apart even while the plane was being guarded. The FBI and the Federal Aviation Administration are searching for clues. TWA has intensified security with complete checks on all planes; passengers and luggage are inspected before boarding. At O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, TWA ticket agents said that business was about normal. Passengers who flew despite the bomb scare said that TWA may be safer now due to the many security checks.
[CBS] - The FAA announced that it is discontinuing the sky marshal program, with most marshals being assigned ground duty at airports. [CBS]
- With 93% of the precincts counted in New Hampshire, Edmund Muskie leads George McGovern 15 to 5 in delegates to the Democratic national convention; President Nixon won all 14 Republican delegates. An unprecedented number of voters in New Hampshire turned out for the primary. McGovern says that he was supported by those who voted for the late Senator Robert Kennedy and Senator Eugene McCarthy in '68. Muskie noted that he could have had a higher percentage in New Hampshire by campaigning more there, but he considers other primaries to be important also.
The anti-Muskie campaign of William Loeb, publisher of the Manchester Union Leader, probably worked. His candidate, Sam Yorty, got 12% of the vote in Manchester but only 6% statewide.
Republican Rep. Pete McCloskey plans to continue his candidacy, as he received 20% of the New Hampshire Republican vote; he will enter the Massachusetts and Rhode Island primaries.
[CBS] - With 22 primaries to go, the candidates have left New Hampshire for Florida. Eleven Democrats are campaigning in Florida; the state is diverse and provides a broad test for their appeal. Florida Governor Reubin Askew says that Florida voters reflect the concerns of the entire country: the economy, tax reform and busing. Wallace supporters, blacks, Jews, Cubans, the aged, youth -- Askew noted that they all vote in Florida. Humphrey and Muskie are fighting for the center ground, Wallace and Jackson are to the right, McGovern and Lindsay to the left. [CBS]
- The House voted for a tough anti-busing provision in the education bill which is now before the conference committee. [CBS]
- The Senate Judiciary Committee continued its probe of the Justice Department-ITT affair. Former antitrust chief Richard McLaren accused Senator Edward Kennedy of trying to discredit him. [CBS]
- After a year-long study by the National Security Council, President Nixon ordered changes in government classification procedures. He reduced the number of officials who may wield the "top secret" stamp, and set up a system of gradual automatic declassifications of some material. [CBS]
- U.S. air raids over North Vietnam were reported. Despite the intensive U.S. bombing campaign, North Vietnamese troops still appear to be preparing for an offensive. [CBS]
- A government agricultural official was shot in Northern Ireland on the border with Ireland. Four explosions were reported in Londonderry. In Belfast, a Protestant extremist group vowed to assassinate 10 Catholics for each policeman or British soldier who is killed.
There is a growing Protestant backlash in Northern Ireland; the "Ulster Vanguard" may be the beginning of Protestant militancy. Vanguard leader William Craig, who was fired as Home Affairs Minister because of his hard-line against the Catholic civil rights movement, stated that his group will ensure Ulster's independence from the Republic of Ireland.
[CBS] - The widow of astronaut Virgil "Gus" Grissom, who was killed in a launch pad fire, sued for $20 million in damages from the Rockwell Corporation; she has settled for payment of $350,000. [CBS]
- Nine-year-old Michele Wiby was kidnapped from her home in Visalia, California. Her father, a car dealer, left $300,000 for the kidnappers in a suitcase. A passer-by picked up the suitcase, found the money, and called the police. The kidnappers released Michele unharmed despite not receiving any money. [CBS]
- Last month in Gordon, Nebraska, a 51-year-old Sioux Indian was found dead in a car lot. Eight days earlier another Indian, Raymond Yellow Thunder, had been humiliated by whites at an American Legion dance. Five people were charged, three of them accused of manslaughter. One thousand Sioux Indians descended on Gordon to protest. The Nebraska legislature has ordered the state Attorney General to investigate. [CBS]
- The Senate Agriculture Committee is considering a bill which would result in the government-ordered destruction of millions of mother hens. The overproduction of eggs is causing low prices. [CBS]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 945.59 (-1.28, -0.14%)
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* |
| March 7, 1972 | 946.87 | 108.87 | 22.64 |
| March 6, 1972 | 950.18 | 108.77 | 21.00 |
| March 3, 1972 | 942.43 | 107.94 | 20.42 |
| March 2, 1972 | 933.77 | 107.32 | 22.20 |
| March 1, 1972 | 935.43 | 107.35 | 23.67 |
| February 29, 1972 | 928.13 | 106.57 | 20.32 |
| February 28, 1972 | 924.29 | 106.19 | 18.20 |
| February 25, 1972 | 922.79 | 106.18 | 18.18 |
| February 24, 1972 | 912.70 | 105.45 | 15.86 |
| February 23, 1972 | 911.88 | 105.38 | 16.77 |