News stories from Thursday December 7, 1972

Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:

After a 2 hour and 40 minute delay due to pressurization and computer problems, Apollo 17 lifted off last night. Moon landing is set for Monday afternoon. Astronauts Cernan, Evans and Schmitt got little sleep due to the launch delay. [CBS] Public and private Vietnam peace were talks held in Paris today. At the Hotel Majestic the talks were low-key and brief. Viet Cong negotiator Madame Binh castigated the U.S. and Saigon for holding up the settlement. Henry Kissinger lunched with French Foreign Minister Maurice Schumann, then attended an afternoon meeting with North Vietnam's Le Duc Tho at Gif-sur-Yvette near Paris. Another meeting is scheduled for tomorrow. [CBS] Last week in Vietnam the U.S. had no soldiers killed, one missing and seven wounded. South Vietnam had 336 dead, and claim to have killed 1,247 enemy. [CBS] The wife of President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines was attacked by an assassin during a civic award ceremony. She suffered cuts on her arms and hands from the assassin's knife. The attacker was killed by security police; his identity is still unknown. 75 stitches were required for Mrs. Marcos' wounds. [CBS] The government announced that wholesale prices rose 0.6% during November; the index is up 5.4% for the year. This is higher than the rate before wage-price controls were implemented. White House press secretary Ron Ziegler declared that the administration is making progress in slowing inflation. [CBS] President Nixon named oil executive and racing buff Claude Brinegar as his new Transportation Secretary. Current Transportation Secretary John Volpe will become the U.S. ambassador to Italy. Ron Ziegler praised Brinegar's work as president of the Union Oil Company of California. One of Volpe's unsuccessful battles was to break open the highway trust fund to allow $800 million for use in mass transit programs. Brinegar said that he has no view on the problem at this point. But environmentalists pointed out that the Union Oil Company lobbied against the use of gasoline tax money for mass transit programs in California, and they called Brinegar's appointment an outrage. [CBS] Hearings are being held regarding the Illinois Central commuter train collision in Chicago which occurred last month; 45 people died and 300 were injured in that collision. The National Transportation Safety Board has opened hearings to determine the cause of the collision. Chairman John Reed said that the crash was caused by a series of human errors, as one train backed up without using flags as required. Train operators had been reprimanded before for ignoring rules. Ernest Cummings, the conductor on the reversing train, refused to testify and took the fifth amendment. Passenger Colleen Karaker stated that she saw the conductor jump off the train just before the collision. Psychiatrists at the University of Chicago have launched group therapy sessions for passengers; a social worker said that the passengers involved in the crash are now afraid of trains. It is hoped that the crash will serve as a warning to other trains to be more careful. [CBS] The Senate investigation into non-prescription drugs that are used against colds heard testimony today condemning the overuse of prescription antibiotics. Dr. Henry Simmons, director of the Bureau of Drugs, said that the use of antibiotics leads to many deaths every year by creating antibiotic-resistant bacteria. [CBS] 88-year-old former President Harry Truman remains in critical condition in a Kansas City hospital. Mrs. Margaret Truman Daniel said that her father smiled and seemed better this morning. [CBS] A military judge sentenced a 19-year-old sailor to five years for sabotage on the Navy carrier Forrestal. Sailor Jeffrey Allison was found guilty of setting a fire which caused $7.5 million damage. Dustin Allison, the father of the defendant, said he believes his son's claim of innocence, and defense attorney Stanley Sachs will appeal the decision. Navy prosecutor Kenneth Green observed that drugs and shipboard activities don't mix; Allison allegedly uses LSD. [CBS] The National Council of Churches elected Reverend W. Sterling Cary as president. Cary is the first black president of the group. [CBS] The Democratic national committee began a three-day meeting in Washington, DC today. Democratic governors have called for the replacement of chairman Jean Westwood, a McGovern appointee, by former party treasurer Robert Strauss. Strauss was an associate of President Lyndon Johnson. The St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported that Strauss was a partner in a big Dallas, Texas, apartment complex which was built with the support of HUD. Depreciation on the investment gives Strauss a tax deduction of $80,000 a year. Strauss declined to talk about his personal finances. [CBS] At the NATO meeting in Brussels, the United States, England and France announced plans to open contacts with East Germany. [CBS] The U.S. faces a dilemma in its relations with Cuba with regard to hijackings. Last night three Cuban refugees showed up requesting asylum in the United States. Cuba insists on the U.S. returning such people to Cuba if Cuba returns U.S. hijackers. [CBS]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 1033.26 (+5.72, +0.56%)
S&P Composite: 118.60 (+0.59, +0.50%)
Arms Index: 0.79

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	748	9.56
Declines	685	6.94
Unchanged	366	2.82
Total Volume		19.32

* in millions of shares

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*
December 6, 1972	1027.54	118.01	18.61
December 5, 1972	1022.95	117.58	17.80
December 4, 1972	1025.21	117.77	19.73
December 1, 1972	1023.93	117.38	22.57
November 30, 1972	1018.21	116.67	19.34
November 29, 1972	1018.81	116.52	17.38
November 28, 1972	1019.34	116.47	19.21
November 27, 1972	1017.76	116.72	18.91
November 24, 1972	1025.21	117.27	15.76
November 22, 1972	1020.54	116.90	24.51