News stories from Wednesday May 10, 1972
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- American planes flew deep into North Vietnam, attacking towns and rail lines. Hanoi, Haiphong and Yen Bai were hit. Jets struck within 80 miles of the Chinese border. The U.S. says that only military targets were hit; North Vietnam stated that civilian population centers were hit. American ships in the Gulf of Tonkin bombarded Haiphong and Phantom jets dueled with Russian-built North Vietnamese MiGs. The U.S. reported that seven MiGs were shot down; North Vietnam claims that 16 U.S. jets were downed and their pilots captured.
Mines in seven North Vietnamese ports are scheduled to become active tomorrow. Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird stated that the United States will stop the delivery of supplies to North Vietnam by taking any necessary action. The Soviet Union accused the U.S. of attacking two Russian ships in Haiphong harbor; the U.S. replied that the ships could have been hit in retaliation for firing on planes which were mining the harbors.
[CBS] - President Thieu has declared martial law in South Vietnam, warning that an enemy attack on Saigon is imminent. The U.S. lost a large helicopter 20 miles northeast of Saigon; 32 Americans aboard were killed. Three American jets were shot down near the DMZ. In the Central Highlands, fighting was reported at Ben Het; American advisers evacuated. [CBS]
- Nine members of Henry Kissinger's staff are protesting the mining of North Vietnamese ports. Some of the nine had participated in a 1969 study which concluded that mining would be ineffective. Public outcry against President Nixon's move caused the closure of public galleries of the House of Representatives today. Speaker Carl Albert ordered the closure when he learned that antiwar protesters planned to disrupt Congress.
The Nixon administration has launched a major public relations offensive to build support for the new Vietnam initiative. Defense Secretary Laird says that this is no time for quitters or for talk of instant surrender. The White House claims to have received 20,000 telegrams, running over 80% in favor of the new plan. Republican Senators released a poll showing that the public favors the President's new peace terms and the mining of North Vietnamese ports by a 3 to 1 margin.
Senator George McGovern said that Republicans don't want criticism; they want to run the country as if the President were a king instead of an elected official. McGovern further stated that he refuses to be silent on a move which could plunge the nation into World War III.
[CBS] - Protests against the Vietnam war erupted in dozens of American cities. 900 arrests have been made since Monday night. Many of the protests have been peaceful, but some were violent; at the University of New Mexico, two students were shot. 2,500 New York City area students massed on Park Avenue in front of the world headquarters of ITT to demonstrate against ITT's defense contracts and the new escalation of the war in Indochina. Tiny parachutes with mock bombs were dropped from the Waldorf-Astoria hotel and students blocked rush hour traffic. Angry protesting students confronted police at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. A car was set on fire; police responded with riot sticks, tear gas and pepper gas. [CBS]
- In the West Virginia primary, Hubert Humphrey beat George Wallace 2 to 1 in the popularity contest (no delegates awarded). In Nebraska, George McGovern prevailed over Humphrey, with Wallace in third place. But Humphrey may edge McGovern in Nebraska convention delegates. [CBS]
- With nine presidential primaries remaining, California is by far the most important. Senators Humphrey and McGovern face a showdown in California. McGovern has a massive state-wide organization which will canvass California. A McGovern staffer stated that a media campaign was discarded in favor of a more personal approach. A Humphrey staffer said that although activists may support McGovern, voters will stand by Humphrey; he claimed that organized labor in California supports Humphrey. San Francisco Mayor Joseph Alioto says that McGovern can't beat Nixon -- Democrats would suffer as badly as Republicans did with Goldwater. [CBS]
- Candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination have spent $8 million so far in Campaign '72. The Associated Press calculated that figure based on a minimum estimate from public documents. Edmund Muskie spent $1.9 million before withdrawing, Hubert Humphrey and George McGovern have spent approximately $2 million each; George Wallace has spent $500,000. [CBS]
- Israeli doctors have little hope for the survival of a Belgian woman who was wounded when Israeli soldiers stormed the hijacked Sabena Airlines jet. Two other wounded passengers are out of danger and are resting.
International Red Cross representatives negotiated with the Arab guerrilla hijackers, who threatened to blow up the plane and its passengers unless 100 Arab guerrillas were freed by Israel. Israeli soldiers, disguised as airplane mechanics, burst through the doors and escape hatches, guns blazing. Passengers leaped from the plane while soldiers dueled with the hijackers, killing two of the men, wounding one woman and capturing the other.
[CBS] - United Mine Workers president W.A. "Tony" Boyle appeared before a grand jury in Pittsburgh. The grand jury is investigating the murders of UMW official Joseph Yablonski and his family which took place in December, 1969. A union fund which was set up to pay for Yablonski's murder is in question. [CBS]
- Vice-President Spiro Agnew wrote to the governor of Maine, Kenneth Curtis, and sent back a bedspread that Curtis had given him. Antiwar demonstrators had protested Agnew during his visit to Maine; Agnew believes that Curtis, a Democrat, encouraged the protests, which Curtis has denied. [CBS]
- Two men were rescued from the Sunshine Silver Mine fire in Kellogg, Idaho. The two miners emerged from the mine weak from hunger, but otherwise in good condition. Ron Flory said that he and Tom Wilkinson had given up hope just 45 minutes before their rescue. He then saw lights and began beating on pipes. Flory ruled out ever going back to the mines, but Wilkinson said that he probably will. The search still continues for miners who are missing. [CBS]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 931.07 (+5.95, +0.64%)
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* |
| May 9, 1972 | 925.12 | 104.74 | 19.91 |
| May 8, 1972 | 937.84 | 106.14 | 11.25 |
| May 5, 1972 | 941.23 | 106.63 | 13.21 |
| May 4, 1972 | 937.31 | 106.25 | 14.79 |
| May 3, 1972 | 933.47 | 105.99 | 15.90 |
| May 2, 1972 | 935.20 | 106.08 | 15.37 |
| May 1, 1972 | 942.28 | 106.69 | 12.88 |
| April 28, 1972 | 954.17 | 107.67 | 14.16 |
| April 27, 1972 | 945.97 | 107.05 | 15.74 |
| April 26, 1972 | 946.94 | 106.89 | 17.71 |