News stories from Wednesday April 26, 1972
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Democratic presidential primary results: Hubert Humphrey won big in Pennsylvania with significant support from blacks, and he vowed to beat George Wallace in Indiana; George McGovern won handily in Massachusetts, supported by union members and youth. Most of the Democrat presidential candidates are now converging on Ohio for the next big primary fight. But Edmund Muskie has canceled his trip to Toledo, and he will hold a press conference in Washington, DC tomorrow; Muskie may drop out of the campaign.
McGovern took the lead in delegates by winning in Massachusetts and he is now seen as the new front-runner among Democrats. George Wallace finished second in the popular vote in Pennsylvania, but McGovern placed second in the number of delegates earned there. Humphrey says that he won the battle for the "progressive center" of the Democratic party; McGovern denied that he is a left-wing candidate and called such labels meaningless. Muskie is the big loser so far.
[CBS] - President Nixon will address the nation on Vietnam and U.S. troop withdrawals tonight at 10:00 p.m. EST. A secret document on the ability of South Vietnam to withstand an invasion such as the present one was disclosed in Washington.
In 1963, the French tried a "Vietnamization" program. President Nixon now endorses Vietnamization though it is still a controversial program. A recently-leaked 1969 study shows that top military and civilian advisers agreed that the ARVN (South Vietnamese army) could not withstand a North Vietnam-Viet Cong attack without U.S. aid. Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird was most pessimistic about the ARVN's capabilities. The Pentagon now claims that the ARVN has improved since the study was commissioned, and it is blunting the current Communist offensive. U.S. military aid is still essential, however.
[CBS] - In Paris, the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese agreed with an allied proposal to resume the peace talks tomorrow. North Vietnamese negotiator Xuan Thuy said that Le Duc Tho may return from Hanoi, perhaps for secret talks. Henry Kissinger may have met with Tho during his recent secret trip to Moscow. His meeting with Communist leader Leonid Brezhnev is what has prompted the U.S. to return to the Paris talks. [CBS]
- The Communist offensive in Vietnam's Central Highlands has slowed. South Vietnamese defenses north of Kontum bent but have not yet been broken; U.S. B-52's hit the area with 2.5 million pounds of bombs. North Vietnamese tanks are massing in Cambodia for an attack on Kontum; 50 miles south of Kontum, the allies recaptured An Khe pass. If North Vietnam is trying to divide South Vietnam on Highway 19 between Pleiku and Qui Nhon, it would have to control that pass.
30 miles north of Qui Nhon, Fire Base Salem was abandoned after a stiff fight. In the south, An Loc was attacked again by North Vietnam; an American C-130 transport plane was downed over An Loc. On Highway 1 in Cambodia, 10 miles from Phnom Penh, two more newsmen were taken prisoner: Terry Reynolds of United Press International and Alan Hirons, a free-lance Australian photographer. 22 reporters are currently missing in Cambodia.
[CBS] - The Senate Judiciary Committee is delaying its confirmation vote on acting Attorney General Richard Kleindienst, recalling him for more testimony on the ITT affair. His previous testimony has been contradicted by that of White House aide Peter Flanigan. [CBS]
- Martin Sweig, former aide to former House Speaker John McCormack, has been paroled from prison; he had been convicted of perjury. The Parole Board denied the release of magazine publisher Ralph Ginzburg, who was convicted of distributing pornography though the mail. [CBS]
- Police photos of the September, 1971, uprising at Attica prison in New York have been made public; a commission is holding hearings on the riot. The photos include prisoners on catwalks, holding knives at the throats of hostages. Police opened fire as riot gas was dropped from a helicopter. Inmates surrendered and were made to crawl; they were also made to strip for a weapons search. 43 people were killed by police gunfire, including 10 hostages. [CBS]
- The Labor Department had reported that retail food prices increased 0.1% in March; the Agriculture Department now says that food prices actually dropped 0.4% in March. [CBS]
- The Commerce Department reported that leading economic indicators were up 0.9% in March, and said that the data is a clear sign of economic expansion. [CBS]
- The Labor Department reports that the cost of living is now $11,000 a year for an average family of four. The least expensive city to live in is Austin, Texas; the most expensive is Anchorage, Alaska. Also costly are Honolulu, New York City, Boston, and San Francisco. [CBS]
- East and West Germany have agreed on ways to improve traffic between their two countries, which could mean that East Germans will be allowed to visit West Germany for the first time in 11 years.
West German Chancellor Willy Brandt faces a vote of confidence in Parliament. Success of the vote would mean success for treaties with Russia and Poland, which brought Brandt last year's Nobel Peace Prize. The Christian Democratic Party is attempting to topple Brandt's government. Opposition leader Franz Josef Strauss says that he too wants non-aggression pacts with Russia and Poland, but Brandt's treaties go further than that.
[CBS] - Apollo 16 astronauts are speeding toward splashdown, which is set for 2:44 pm EST tomorrow. [CBS]
- Former President Lyndon Johnson has been released from Brooke Army Hospital and returned to his ranch to convalesce from a recent heart attack. [CBS]
- The two American musk oxen which were given to the Peking Zoo are suffering from a skin disease. The musk oxen, Matilda and Milton, have lost most of their hair. The State Department is investigating. [CBS]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 946.94 (+0.45, +0.05%)
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 25, 1972 | 946.49 | 107.12 | 17.03 |
| April 24, 1972 | 957.48 | 108.19 | 14.65 |
| April 21, 1972 | 963.80 | 108.89 | 18.20 |
| April 20, 1972 | 966.29 | 109.04 | 18.19 |
| April 19, 1972 | 964.78 | 109.20 | 19.18 |
| 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 |