News stories from Friday June 23, 1972
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Some of the biggest rivers in the eastern U.S. are flooding, driving thousands of people from their homes. Critical areas include Virginia, New York and Pennsylvania. President Nixon declared five states as disaster areas -- Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia and Florida. The death toll from Hurricane Agnes is now 73, and rain continues to fall in many hard-hit areas.
Near Buffalo, N.Y., the Allegheny River has swelled to historic heights; massive evacuation continues. In Wellsville, N.Y., a hospital wing collapsed. Residents of Olean and Salamanca have fled from their homes. At Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, the Potomac River meets the Shenandoah River in a torrent. Roads are washed out and communications have been cut. The Potomac River is still rising in the Washington, DC area. The James River is 25 feet above flood stage in Richmond; the industrial area is flooded. Harrisburg, Pa. has been hard-hit by the rising Susquehanna River; upstream, the cities of Kingston and Wilkes-Barre have been evacuated.
[CBS] - President Nixon signed the $20 billion education bill which provides student grants and aid to colleges. But the President criticized the bill for not ordering a moratorium on court-ordered school busing. He has threatened to seek a constitutional amendment forbidding busing if Congress does not take action on his anti-busing proposal. Democrats claim that the President has failed to give the nation leadership on school integration, including busing. [CBS]
- The Price Commission is considering imposing a 30-day freeze on retail meat prices. But White House press secretary Ron Ziegler cautioned that it may not happen. [CBS]
- The Democratic national convention's platform and rules committees are trying to resolve disputes using reform procedures. The platform committee beat down a Florida move to hold up proceedings until its challenged delegation is officially seated. Richard Neustadt was elected committee chairman, with four female vice-chairmen. A slate of 15 delegates was chosen to draft the platform.
The rules committee voted to recommend a woman chairman for the 1976 convention and proposed the abolishment of winner-take-all primaries; a federal judge in California rejected the suit by the four defeated candidates to take away half of the delegates which George McGovern won there and reapportion them on the basis of the percentage of votes each candidate received.
The credentials committee faced a challenge to the Illinois delegation which is led by Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. Chicago alderman William Singer and civil rights leader Jesse Jackson criticized Daley supporters who shouted down challenges with racial and anti-Semitic slurs.
[CBS] - George McGovern is searching for the last few delegates to assure him a first-ballot nomination at the Democratic national convention. Frank Mankiewicz, McGovern's national political coordinator, thinks there's no doubt that McGovern will have enough delegates to win the nomination, but he hopes that the other candidates will officially drop out so there can be a unified convention. Mankiewicz said that some blocs (including Illinois delegates and previously uncommitted blacks) plus scattered delegates should put McGovern over the 1,509 mark. Assistant campaign director Richard Stearns corrected the misconception that most McGovern delegates are novices in politics. They understand that their stands on some issues will have to be sacrificed in order to win in November. [CBS]
- North Vietnamese troops drove across the My Chanh River above Hue, South Vietnam. U.S. B-52 bombers hit them with the heaviest air strikes of the war. Offshore, the U.S. 7th fleet ships fired on the enemy with the most intense naval bombardment since Korea. [CBS]
- Henry Kissinger returned home from five days of high-level talks in China. At the White House, Kissinger briefed President Nixon and Secretary of State Rogers. He will further discuss the talks, which centered on peace in Vietnam, with the President at Camp David. [CBS]
- Israel and Lebanon exchanged fire across their border. The United Nations Security Council called an emergency session to deal with the conflict. [CBS]
- Sixteen days ago in Jacksonville, Florida, 66-year-old Lonnie Cross turned himself in to the sheriff after 37 years in hiding from a 1935 murder charge. Florida officials dropped the murder charge today, saying that Cross was rehabilitated without confinement. [CBS]
- An American Airlines jet has been hijacked en route from St. Louis, to Tulsa, Oklahoma. The hijacker is asking $500,000 million ransom. He allowed 80 passengers to get off upon the plane's return to St Louis, but is still holding 14 male passengers and seven crew members as hostages. [CBS]
- George Wallace will not launch another third party presidential campaign. He's been accepted by the Democrats, he's in severe physical condition, and he lacks money. [CBS]
- The Miami Beach city council voted against establishing campsites for demonstrators and other non-delegates during the political conventions. The city will allow them to camp on Watson Island. A dissatisfied youth threw a pumpkin pie at a councilman. 150 door locks have been changed at the convention center for security purposes. [CBS]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 944.69 (-6.02, -0.63%)
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 22, 1972 | 950.71 | 108.68 | 13.41 |
| June 21, 1972 | 951.61 | 108.79 | 15.51 |
| June 20, 1972 | 948.22 | 108.56 | 14.97 |
| June 19, 1972 | 941.83 | 108.11 | 11.66 |
| June 16, 1972 | 945.06 | 108.36 | 13.01 |
| June 15, 1972 | 945.97 | 108.44 | 16.94 |
| June 14, 1972 | 946.79 | 108.39 | 12.32 |
| June 13, 1972 | 938.29 | 107.55 | 15.71 |
| June 12, 1972 | 936.71 | 107.01 | 13.39 |
| June 9, 1972 | 934.45 | 106.86 | 12.79 |