News stories from Thursday October 26, 1972

Kissinger confirmed October 31 as the tentative cease-fire date, but said that President Thieu is refusing to go along without further guarantees. Kissinger believes that the remaining details can be settled in one more negotiating session with North Vietnam. The basic agreement contains nine points, including American recognition of Vietnam's independence and its right to be unified; a cease-fire including the end of bombing and U.S. troop withdrawal; the return of POW's; a three-party national council to supervise elections in South Vietnam, and U.S. aid to rebuild Southeast Asia. Laos and Cambodia are included in the cease-fire. Kissinger said that the U.S. will not be stampeded into an agreement nor deflected from one, until and if the provisions are right. He asserted that the Nixon administration's motivation for peace is non-political, noting that North Vietnam, not the United States, is the one which set the date and revealed the plan prior to the U.S. presidential election. [CBS]

In Gary, Indiana, many steelworkers admit they were almost sick when McGovern was nominated, but they have been lured back into the fold by his honesty. Black, blue-collar Democrats should provide a strong base for McGovern here. No one seems perturbed, however, with the reported scandal in the Republican administration. In Long Beach, California, losses and layoffs plague the West coast aerospace industry; workers are worried about losing their jobs and they resent the Pay Board for cutting off raises. Their union, the UAW, endorsed McGovern. Many workers, however, will vote for President Nixon because McGovern will cut defense spending. [CBS]