News stories from Friday October 6, 1972
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- The London Times reported that there is reason to believe that the U.S. and North Vietnam have reached an agreement on ending the Vietnam war. UPI reported that the U.S. and South Vietnam have agreed on the plan and will present it to North Vietnam before the U.S. presidential election. The agreement calls for South Vietnam President Thieu's resignation, U.S. withdrawal in exchange for the release of American POW's, and North Vietnam's withdrawal from South Vietnam. The American bombing and blockade of North Vietnam will end and negotiations on a cease-fire have begun.
U.S. officials said that the reports are totally speculative, but refused to specifically deny them. Talks between Henry Kissinger and North Vietnam include discussion of such a plan.
[CBS] - Enemy forces staged attacks on Highway 13 north of Saigon, near Lai Khe. They cut the road to An Loc near Phu Cong and Ben Cat. To the southwest, near Hoa Kahn, Communists are threatening Highway 4 to the Mekong Delta. Captured documents indicate that North Vietnam and the Viet Cong want to hit Saigon before the U.S. elections. Police are searching for possible infiltrators who would conduct terrorist activities. Enemy agents have been known to buy their way through checkpoints on the outskirts of Saigon. Near Danang, Viet Cong terrorists attacked an orphanage and a leper colony. [CBS]
- The Senate Armed Services Committee unanimously recommended the confirmation of General Creighton Abrams as Army Chief of Staff. His nomination had been delayed during the investigation of unauthorized bombings of North Vietnam. The committee rejected the customary retirement promotion for Air Force General John Lavelle, who ordered the bombings. [CBS]
- The Pentagon, moving toward an all-volunteer military, announced that recruiting reached a four-year high last month with 50,000 volunteers. [CBS]
- Federal judge John Sirica eased his restrictions on discussing the Watergate case, saying it does not apply to Congress, political debate, or news reporting. Judge Sirica eased his ban on public comment on the Watergate case in the face of two challenges -- House Banking Committee chairman Wright Patman warned the judge about hindering congressional investigations, and Democratic party attorney Joseph Califano said that Democratic candidates would not consider themselves bound by the judge's restraint on their freedom of speech. McGovern campaign director Lawrence O'Brien claimed that Sirica's ruling was engineered by the Nixon administration, which is desperately trying to hide something.
Phillip Hughes, the director of the Office Federal Elections, noted three apparent violations of campaign disclosure law by Democrats. They involve tickets sold to a McGovern rally in Madison Square Garden, contributions by foreign nationals, and a newspaper advertisement which was inadequately identified. Hughes stated that the Democrats' violations do not compare in magnitude with Republican ones, however.
[CBS] - Senator George McGovern met with black leaders in Chicago and charged Republicans with funding militant groups in exchange for keeping minority voters away from the polls. McGovern criticized President Nixon for using the amnesty issue to cover up his own "barbaric" policies in Vietnam. McGovern said that if he moves up in the opinion polls, his campaign may be able to raise more funds. [CBS]
- Unemployment was down 0.1% to 5.5% in September. [CBS]
- The Nixon administration defended the sale of U.S. wheat to Russia as being a step on the road to peace. Commerce Secretary Pete Peterson said that trade can increase the prospects for peace, which is valued highly.
Six grain export companies are benefiting the most from the deal, with excess profits from inside knowledge and government subsidies. Taxpayers, who paid those subsidies, lost. Small wheat farmers who sold early and cheap also lost. Consumers, who will pay more for food, also lost. Consumer advocate Esther Peterson said she is jealous of Russian consumers who will get a better price for bread while Americans will pay more.
Higher wheat prices result in higher flour prices. The baking industry feels that the Price Commission is ignoring its appeals for help. Small baking operations could be forced to close; bakers have applied for a price increase, but most have to absorb increased flour prices while waiting for a decision. Price Commission chairman Jack Grayson defended the slow action by his commission but said that the price increase will probably be granted eventually. The House Agriculture Committee provided figures showing that consumers will pay $290 million in increased prices for flour-based products due to the U.S.-Soviet wheat deal. The cost of grains which are fed to cattle has increased also, therefore meat prices will increase. Consumers will pay an additional $1.2 billion for meat.
[CBS] - 140 passengers died in a train wreck near Saltillo, Mexico; 700 others were injured. The trainload of religious pilgrims left the rails and crashed into a valley. [CBS]
- U.S. Army Sgt. Thomas DeGregorio, who is suspected of killing two MP's and a railroad cleaning woman, is being hunted in northern Germany. DeGregorio had been absent without leave and was being escorted back to his base on a train when the incidents occurred. [CBS]
- A letter-bomb arrived at a Jewish home for the aged in Dusseldorf, West Germany. It had been sent from Malaysia (rather than Amsterdam). [CBS]
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the star of the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team, was arrested in Denver along with teammate Lucius Allen on suspicion of possessing marijuana. Jabbar was not charged due to lack of evidence. [CBS]
- The street shown in the "All in the Family" television show is a real street in Queens, New York. In a house on that street, Mrs. Dianne Tolstet, the wife of a policeman, strangled her three small daughters and then killed herself. [CBS]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 945.36 (+4.06, +0.43%)
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* |
| October 5, 1972 | 941.30 | 108.89 | 17.73 |
| October 4, 1972 | 951.31 | 110.09 | 16.64 |
| October 3, 1972 | 954.47 | 110.30 | 13.09 |
| October 2, 1972 | 953.27 | 110.16 | 12.44 |
| September 29, 1972 | 953.27 | 110.55 | 16.25 |
| September 28, 1972 | 955.15 | 110.35 | 14.71 |
| September 27, 1972 | 947.25 | 109.66 | 14.62 |
| September 26, 1972 | 936.56 | 108.17 | 13.15 |
| September 25, 1972 | 935.73 | 108.05 | 10.92 |
| September 22, 1972 | 943.03 | 108.52 | 12.57 |