News stories from Wednesday May 17, 1972
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Alabama Governor George Wallace's doctor reports that there is less than a 50-50 chance that Wallace will ever walk again. Wallace read news accounts of his primary victories in Maryland and Michigan from his hospital bed in Silver Spring, Maryland.
A neurosurgeon said that x-rays show a bullet in the spinal canal, and other studies show the free passage of spinal fluid. The operation to remove the bullet will reveal more about possible nerve damage. A family member said that Wallace is continuing to campaign from his bed. Campaign manager Charles Snider has returned to Montgomery, Alabama, to begin the next phase of the campaign.
[CBS] - The FBI has increased the number of its agents at the Baltimore County jail after a threat on Arthur Bremer's life was telephoned in to a newspaper. Bremer's father William and his brother Roger visited Arthur in jail. The Bremers flew to Baltimore under the assumed names of William James and Ralph Stemler; the eldest Bremer son decided to stay with his mother instead.
Authorities in Miami say that another Bremer brother, 32-year-old William Allen Bremer, is wanted on fraud charges in connection with a weight-reducing program. He is currently free on bond in Arkansas, awaiting extradition to Florida.
[CBS] - Hubert Humphrey resumed the campaign which he suspended when George Wallace was shot; George McGovern will restart his campaign tomorrow. Both were hurt by Wallace's victories in Maryland and Michigan yesterday. Wallace is now second in the Democratic presidential delegate race. McGovern leads and Humphrey is third.
The Vietnam war was a major issue in Michigan, but busing stirred the voters more. Republicans crossed party lines to vote for Wallace. Detroit residents rejected a hike in property taxes to pay for schools. Humphrey failed to win labor votes, though he was supported by blacks.
[CBS] - A House-Senate conference committee agreed on a compromise anti-busing provision in the education bill; the compromise would impose an 18-month moratorium on court-ordered busing. The vote was decided at 3:00 a.m. when Senators Schweiker and Williams were awakened to cast their proxy. Rep. Joe Waggonner offered a tougher anti-busing resolution, but it was defeated by a motion from Speaker Carl Albert. Congress' acceptance of the compromise is said to be chancy. [CBS]
- Enemy gunners downed a U.S. cargo plane at Kontum airport in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam; seven of the nine Americans on board were killed. At Pleiku, an enemy barrage destroyed an ammunition dump. Communists also blew up a bridge between Hue and Danang. [CBS]
- U.S. bombers raided targets near Hanoi again today. One American pilot was rescued after bailing out over the Gulf of Tonkin. The Pentagon released photos showing the results of bombing in North Vietnam. Photos of a warehouse that was hit by bombs near Haiphong harbor was shown, along with photos of an attack on a key North Vietnamese railroad bridge.
Much of the bombing of North Vietnam is being carried out by Navy carriers in Tonkin Gulf. U.S. aircraft carriers have been involved in the mining of North Vietnamese ports and in air strikes against strategic military supply targets in the North. 40,000 Americans are currently on duty in Vietnamese waters. Lt. Commander Jack Cartwright said that although bombs will never bring peace, the U.S. cannot allow the North Vietnamese to get away with acts of aggression. Lt. John Nisbet said that pilots have considered the possibility that they may become POWs, but stated that he is in Vietnam of his own free will, for the best interests of his country. Nisbet believes that his actions will enable the POWs to get home quicker, and POWs hearing American bombs have their morale boosted.
[CBS] - President Nixon is moving an 11,000-man U.S. Marine air unit from the Philippines to Bien Hoa AFB in South Vietnam. In San Diego, the aircraft carrier Ticonderoga has sailed for Vietnam. The carrier had been scheduled for short training cruises off the California coast; last week, all leaves were canceled. The Ticonderoga sailed today, prepared for anti-submarine warfare in the Gulf of Tonkin. She carries 60 propeller aircraft which seek and destroy submarines. The ship's captain, over a loudspeaker, said that the ship will return when its job is complete. No official destination was given. [CBS]
- The Vietnamese press reports that the Saigon government has added a new line of defense: Montagnard tribesmen have been supplied with crossbows and poison arrows. [CBS]
- West Germany's non-aggression treaties with Poland and the Soviet Union were approved by the country's lower legislative body, but Chancellor Willy Brandt may have to call new elections. [CBS]
- Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Maryland, released a picture of George Wallace recovering from his wounds. Advocates of tougher gun control laws hope to push through new legislation on the basis of the assassination attempt in Wallace, even though the governor has opposed such laws in the past.
In June of 1968, Wallace said that it is not a gun, but the heart and mind of the gun's owner which kills. Wallace vowed that he would not observe gun control laws, and he opposed legislation that was proposed after the assassination of Senator Robert Kennedy. The Senate Juvenile Delinquency Subcommittee is now considering trying to pass those laws again, and Senator Birch Bayh says that a law banning handguns altogether is being considered. The FBI has reported that half of all murders in the United States are committed with handguns.
[CBS] - A committee of judges and legal experts from the American Bar Association believes that too many people are being arrested in the United States. They suggest that police be given alternatives to arrest in cases of drunkenness, fights and crowd control. The committee also said that police should not have the right to strike. [CBS]
- The FDA reported that congressional investigators found unsanitary conditions at 40% of the nation's food processing plants. The FDA will step up its inspection and enforcement efforts. [CBS]
- An Egyptian newspaper reported that the U.S. has been asked to withdraw half of its diplomatic mission in Egypt within one month, due to U.S. support of Israeli aggression. [CBS]
- The price of gold reached $58 per ounce, setting records on European markets. [CBS]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 941.15 (+1.88, +0.20%)
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 16, 1972 | 939.27 | 106.66 | 14.07 |
| May 15, 1972 | 942.20 | 106.86 | 13.60 |
| May 12, 1972 | 941.83 | 106.28 | 13.99 |
| May 11, 1972 | 934.83 | 105.77 | 12.90 |
| May 10, 1972 | 931.07 | 105.42 | 13.87 |
| 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 |