News stories from Wednesday April 19, 1972
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- North Vietnamese MiG planes attacked U.S. ships off the Vietnam coast, with help from North Vietnamese ships. One MiG was shot down and two enemy boats were sunk. The American frigate Warden, which was struck earlier this week, is said to have been hit accidentally by U.S. jets today. [CBS]
- The Senate debated the renewed U.S. bombing of North Vietnam. Democrat Alan Cranston organized the discussion, hoping that it would be rational.
Barry Goldwater accused the Democrats of starting all American wars and said he hopes that we hit every Russian ship in Haiphong harbor; John Tower blamed the Soviet Union for North Vietnam's latest offensive. Robert Dole denounced the debate as an effort to undermine and defeat the president. Only two Democratic Senators (Byrd and Allen) supported the president; only one Republican (Hatfield) attacked him.
Secretary of State Rogers appeared before the House regarding the Vietnam war. Rogers blamed the press for emphasizing Soviet aid to North Vietnam during the current offensive and perhaps jeopardizing the upcoming U.S.-USSR summit conference. The administration is trying to soften its line against Russia so that President Nixon's trip to Moscow can take place. Some U.S. officials, however, hinted at new air attacks over Hanoi and Haiphong.
[CBS] - U.S. B-52s have dropped 4 million pounds of bombs throughout South Vietnam, but North Vietnam's offensive has not slowed; three U.S. planes were shot down since yesterday, killing four crewmen. In the costal highlands, Communist troops overran a South Vietnamese battalion at Hoai An. The enemy attacked South Vietnamese reinforcements between Lai Khe and Ben Cat on Highway 13, 40 miles northwest of Saigon. [CBS]
- A British judge blamed demonstrators for inciting the British army gunfire which killed 13 civilians last January in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. [CBS]
- Apollo 16 astronauts are now in lunar orbit. Astronauts Young and Duke will descend to the moon's surface tomorrow while Mattingly orbits above them. [CBS]
- The Commerce Department reported that the rate of inflation for the first quarter of 1972 was 6.2%, three times greater than the previous quarter. Commerce Secretary Peter Peterson noted that fighting inflation is a tough challenge; Democratic party chairman Lawrence O'Brien called for stronger controls on profits and interest rates. [CBS]
- The government's right to control wages upheld by a Baltimore judge, who enjoined A&P food stores from paying a wage increase of 22% to the meatcutters union. [CBS]
- The federal government cut aid to schools in Ferndale, Hawaii, for failure to desegregate. [CBS]
- The Bradley, Arkansas, school district agreed to stop segregating pupils on school buses, ending the Justice Department's contempt action against the district. [CBS]
- The Supreme Court approved the construction of a ski resort by Walt Disney Enterprises on federal land in the Sierra Nevadas of California. The court rejected the Sierra Club's effort to block the development. [CBS]
- George McGovern will enter the Ohio presidential primary. Senators Humphrey and Muskie also plan to campaign there. [CBS]
- Presidential aide Peter Flanigan agreed to expand his Senate testimony on the settlement of ITT's antitrust case. The Senate Judiciary Committee heard from California Lt. Governor Ed Reinecke, who stated that he met last spring with then-Attorney General Mitchell and ITT lobbyist Dita Beard, but the Republican national convention was not discussed. [CBS]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 964.78 (-4.14, -0.43%)
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* |
| April 18, 1972 | 968.92 | 109.77 | 19.41 |
| April 17, 1972 | 966.59 | 109.51 | 15.39 |
| April 14, 1972 | 967.72 | 109.84 | 17.46 |
| April 13, 1972 | 965.53 | 109.91 | 17.99 |
| April 12, 1972 | 966.96 | 110.18 | 24.69 |
| April 11, 1972 | 962.60 | 109.76 | 19.93 |
| April 10, 1972 | 958.08 | 109.45 | 19.47 |
| April 7, 1972 | 962.60 | 109.62 | 19.90 |
| April 6, 1972 | 959.44 | 109.42 | 22.83 |
| April 5, 1972 | 954.55 | 109.00 | 22.96 |