News stories from Saturday May 16, 1970
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Communists stormed into Kompong Cham, Cambodia; civilians fled. The town is beyond the U.S.' 21-mile limit. 5,000 Americans have withdrawn from the area but 10,000 are left. A South Vietnamese official claimed that South Vietnam's pullout will be at approximately the same time as the United States'. [CBS]
- Armed Forces Day ceremonies were overshadowed by antiwar protests and some military bases canceled festivities altogether. At Fort Dix, N.J., 2,000 protested at the base gate. The Army used no ammunition but fixed bayonets barred demonstrators from entering. A minor police confrontation was ended with pepper gas.
At Fort Bragg, N.C., actress Jane Fonda led 4,000 in a peaceful rally. Fonda was arrested for passing out literature. Pro-war speakers shared the platform with antiwar speakers however the crowd was calm.
[CBS] - Israeli jets attacked Egyptians forces and sank two ships. [CBS]
- Elections in the Dominican Republic are calmer than the campaigns. Five years ago the U.S. sent 20,000 troops to prevent a Communist takeover, but the outlook for democracy is still bleak because the people are poor. President Joaquin Balaguer pays voters to support him and maintains a military machine. Past political opponents have been killed. Ex-President Juan Bosch has been repressed and is boycotting the election; other candidates are weak. [CBS]
- President Nixon said that he is saddened by the killings at Jackson State College. [CBS]
- The Justice Department is aiding Mississippi's segregated private schools and is arguing for continuing their tax-exempt status. In Canton, Mississippi, the enrollment at private, white Canton Academy jumped from 160 to 1,400 after integration was ordered; the public schools are now all-black. Parents must pay high tuition for private schooling and are feeling the financial squeeze, but they won't send their kids to school with Negroes. [CBS]
- National Police Week is not being widely celebrated on campuses but efforts are being made to improve police-student relations.
Princeton University students are being recruited for the police department. Sgt. David Durk urged students there to consider a police career. Durk is an Amherst College grad. At college campuses, he speaks of his experiences as a police officer and gets a good response. Sgt. Durk is on a one-year leave of absence, traveling the country and visiting colleges to try to establish better police-youth relations. New York City has a 15-month waiting list for police department applicants. It appears that Durk's college tour is a success.
[CBS]