News stories from Wednesday July 12, 1972
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- The Democratic national convention will choose its presidential nominee tonight. Five names will be put before the convention; Rep. Wilbur Mills and former Senator Eugene McCarthy withdrew from consideration. George McGovern has enough votes to win on the first ballot. [CBS]
- George McGovern is now considering the choice of a vice-presidential running mate and working on his acceptance speech. Several drafts were compiled by his staff and by Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. and Richard Goodwin. A visit by McGovern to the Chicano Caucus was called off after two men were arrested at the Doral Motel where the Senator is staying. Malik Sonebeyatta of Jackson, Mississippi, was arrested when arms and black nationalist literature was found in his car. Ahmed Obafemi, his associate, was captured later; they are charged with possessing concealed weapons.
McGovern met with Southern governors Marvin Mandel (Maryland), Dale Bumpers (Arkansas), Jimmy Carter (Georgia), David Hall (Oklahoma) and John West (South Carolina). They want Kennedy as vice president on the ticket to improve the party's chances for victory. Wisconsin Governor Patrick Lucey said that Rep. Wilbur Mills has been mentioned as a possible vice president.
Mills announced his exit from the presidential race, but said that he may be available for vice president. Senator Edward Kennedy stated that he will not be a candidate for vice president although he is flattered by the support for him. Kennedy is still McGovern's first choice for vice president; Kennedy's refusal won't be accepted until McGovern calls. The option of UAW president Leonard Woodcock is still open despite the hostility between him and AFL-CIO president George Meany.
[CBS] - Charles Snider, George Wallace's campaign manager, indicated a possible third party candidacy for the Alabama governor after the convention refused to accept any of his proposed platform revisions. AFL-CIO president George Meany and other labor leaders remain unhappy with McGovern. Chicago Mayor Richard Daley has not been seen since the convention refused to seat him and his 58 delegates. Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards says that McGovern cannot carry his state. Colorado Governor John Love, a Republican, is seeking to line up dissatisfied Democrats to support President Nixon. Protest groups are unhappy over McGovern's statement that he would keep some U.S. forces in southeast Asia until American POWs are released.
Young radicals from Flamingo Park called McGovern's plan a "cop out" on Vietnam. Police moved in to make sure that protesters wouldn't cause trouble at McGovern's hotel. McGovern's campaign workers are worried about losing influence with him now that he has secured the nomination. Even the Senator's young delegates are uneasy. They are willing to drop some causes which are considered to be political handicaps -- legalized marijuana, unrestricted abortion, a $6,500 guaranteed family income. Southeast Asia, however, is too basic to be compromised; young McGovern delegates called a stand on Vietnam "crucial". McGovern insists that his position on withdrawing American troops from Indochina has not changed; he said that his statement only meant that some U.S. troops would be retained in Thailand.
[CBS] - Last night's convention session lasted until 6:20 a.m. EDT. Delegates debated and voted on the party platform for 11 hours. Toward the end, most delegates were fighting sleep; some lost. [CBS]
- President Nixon will ask Congress to appropriate $1.7 billion to help rebuild communities which were hit by last month's flooding. Special 1% loans for homeowners and businesses will be made available. The floods resulting from Hurricane Agnes have killed 130 people. The entire city of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., was buried beneath the Susquehanna River; cleanup efforts continue and only a few businesses are open. HUD is shipping mobile homes to the area. [CBS]
- Treasury Secretary George Shultz predicts that retail meat prices will level off next month and then decline due to increased meat imports. Shultz met with representatives of 12 countries which send meat to the United States. [CBS]
- Bobby Fischer staged a brief walkout during game one of his world championship chess tournament with Boris Spassky in Iceland. He was upset by a TV camera in the auditorium. Fischer lost the first game. [CBS]
- Two American planes were shot down today; one near Hanoi, North Vietnam, and one at Quang Tri, South Vietnam. South Vietnamese marines and paratroopers are fighting well-entrenched North Vietnamese troops who have occupied Quang Tri city for two months. [CBS]
- The Paris Peace Talks resumed after a 10-week suspension. President Nixon and Soviet Ambassador Dobrynin met at the Western White House and discussed Vietnam. [CBS]
- In Switzerland, a cable car went out of control backwards into a station. 13 people were killed, two were injured. [CBS]
- Protestants marched in Northern Ireland; the expected violence did not materialize as rain kept the crowds down. Police and British Army security were heavy. [CBS]
- In Oakland, California, the FBI arrested a man connected with the hijacking of a Pacific Southwest Airlines jet which resulted in a shootout. Lubomir Peichev is charged with conspiring to have the plane flown to British Columbia, where he had planned to meet it. [CBS]
- The Washington Daily News announced that today's paper is the last that will be published, as the company is going out of business. [CBS]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 923.69 (-2.18, -0.24%)
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* |
| July 11, 1972 | 925.87 | 107.32 | 12.83 |
| July 10, 1972 | 932.27 | 108.11 | 11.70 |
| July 7, 1972 | 938.06 | 108.69 | 12.90 |
| July 6, 1972 | 942.13 | 109.04 | 19.52 |
| July 5, 1972 | 933.47 | 108.10 | 14.71 |
| July 3, 1972 | 928.66 | 107.49 | 8.14 |
| June 30, 1972 | 929.03 | 107.14 | 12.86 |
| June 29, 1972 | 926.25 | 106.82 | 14.61 |
| June 28, 1972 | 930.84 | 107.02 | 12.14 |
| June 27, 1972 | 935.28 | 107.37 | 13.75 |