News stories from Wednesday June 7, 1972
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- George McGovern may now be unbeatable for the Democratic presidential nomination after winning yesterday's primaries in California, New Mexico, New Jersey and South Dakota; George Wallace made a strong showing in New Mexico. McGovern now has 910 delegate votes, Wallace 326, Hubert Humphrey 313, Edmund Muskie 157; others have 108, 467 are uncommitted. McGovern anticipates a win in New York.
McGovern said that California was a tough campaign but he survived it, even if his margin wasn't as great as predicted. McGovern also stated that he would go to Hanoi or anywhere else in order to shorten the Vietnam war.
[CBS] - McGovern's victory came from a broad base of support in California, according to a CBS news survey. He carried the under-40 vote, tied Humphrey among 40-60 year olds and lost only the over-60 age group. Humphrey carried aerospace workers 44 to 31%. McGovern won with whites, Mexican-Americans and blacks. [CBS]
- California Rep, Pete McCloskey, an antiwar Republican, won renomination to the House from his district in California. California voters rejected the Proposition 9 ("Clean Air Initiative") environmental measure. [CBS]
- Like George McGovern, Hubert Humphrey also visited the National Governors Conference in Houston. Humphrey insisted that he is still a candidate, and he emphasized that Democrats must recognize George Wallace's vote appeal if they are to beat President Nixon in November. Humphrey said that if Wallace accepts the Democratic party platform, he would be eligible for the vice-presidential nomination, but that would be highly unrealistic.
Mississippi Governor William Waller believes that Humphrey more nearly represents the thinking of the mainstream America than McGovern does, but Wisconsin Governor Patrick Lucey stated that there is no evidence of a "Stop McGovern" drive.
[CBS] - Ironically, McGovern is being stung in California by the same numbers comparison by which he stung Senator Muskie in New Hampshire -- he didn't win as big as he was supposed to. The Field poll in California projected a 20% margin of victory for McGovern and he only won by 5%. Field says that Humphrey picked up voters who were undecided at the time the poll was taken, and the poll may have created a reverse bandwagon effect, with voters wanting to prove the polls wrong. [CBS]
- American jets dropped bombs in North Vietnam within 20 miles of China, knocking out a highway bridge and a railroad yard. A power plant near Hanoi was also bombed. [CBS]
- Communist forces cut Highway 1 in South Vietnam at two points in the costal highlands, and between Saigon and Cambodia. North Vietnam's offensive represents the ultimate test of Vietnamization. The South Vietnamese army is showing old weaknesses, but new strengths.
South Vietnamese infantry is still stalled on the road to An Loc, with an over-dependence on American air power. In the Central Highlands, South Vietnamese troops drove the enemy out of Kontum, but North Vietnam still controls vital highways in Binh Dinh province. After losing Quang Tri city, ARVN forces have dug in to the north to defend Hue.
[CBS] - The U.S. Army announced the nomination of 62 colonels for promotion to Brigadier General; five of the colonels on the list are black. [CBS]
- The government is urging airlines to get tough with hijackers and put more reliance on the FBI. Assistant Transportation Secretary Benjamin Davis told a meeting of airline pilots that they are often too quick in giving in to hijackers' demands. Davis suggested that pilots carry guns. The FAA fined United Airlines and Pacific Southwest Airlines $1,000 each for not properly screening passengers who turned out to be hijackers. [CBS]
- The Supreme Court will rule on a Texas court decision that financing schools by property taxes is unconstitutional and unfair to children in poorer communities. [CBS]
- The Supreme Court upheld the authority of the Federal Communications Commission to require large cable TV operators to originate some of their own programming. [CBS]
- The Supreme Court ruled that unless there is negligence, the government cannot be held responsible for property damage caused by the sonic booms of military airplanes. [CBS]
- President Nixon endorses no-fault auto insurance. In a telegram to National Governors Conference in Houston, he said that he opposes federal action to reform the auto insurance system, urging state action instead. [CBS]
- Senator Mike Mansfield said that George McGovern may win the Democrat nomination on the first ballot. Republicans are now directing all of their political fire at McGovern, assuming that he will be the Democratic nominee. McGovern's California victory was by approximately the same margin that Robert Kennedy had over Eugene McCarthy four years ago; opinion polls wildly overestimated McGovern's margin. Humphrey noted the possibility of George Wallace as his running mate, and McGovern plans visit to Wallace in the hospital. [CBS]
- The Pay Board has ordered a reduction in deferred wage increases for Philadelphia meatcutters, even though the raises were negotiated before the wage-price freeze. [CBS]
- The price of gold advanced as the value of the U.S. dollar continues to decrease. Gold was up $2 an ounce in London and $4 in Paris. Gold closed at $66.04 an ounce in Milan, Italy. The Treasury Department denied rumors that the U.S. and the Soviet Union made a secret deal to raise the price of gold above $38 an ounce.
International money expert Paul Volcker is not resigning from Treasury Department, as had been speculated.
[CBS] - Miami Beach, which is hosting both the Democrat and Republican national conventions this year, hopes to avoid the kind of trouble which plagued Chicago in 1968. Fines will be levied against protesters who march on city streets without a permit. Mayor Chuck Hall wants to use a local golf course as a campsite for demonstrators who are expected to arrive for the conventions. The city council postponed action on the issue, angering residents who want the proposal defeated, as well as representatives of protest groups who want it passed. [CBS]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 944.08 (-7.38, -0.78%)
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* |
| June 6, 1972 | 951.46 | 108.21 | 15.98 |
| June 5, 1972 | 954.39 | 108.82 | 13.45 |
| June 2, 1972 | 961.39 | 109.73 | 15.40 |
| June 1, 1972 | 960.72 | 109.69 | 14.91 |
| May 31, 1972 | 960.72 | 109.53 | 15.23 |
| May 30, 1972 | 971.18 | 110.35 | 15.81 |
| May 26, 1972 | 971.25 | 110.66 | 15.73 |
| May 25, 1972 | 969.07 | 110.46 | 16.48 |
| May 24, 1972 | 965.46 | 110.31 | 17.87 |
| May 23, 1972 | 962.30 | 109.78 | 16.41 |