News stories from Sunday January 21, 1973

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

Gunmen who have been holding off police from inside a sporting goods store in Brooklyn (New York) have given themselves up. Four terrorists said to be Black Muslims took refuge in the store on Friday afternoon when police arrived in response to a robbery alarm. The hostages escaped while the gunmen were investigating noises made by the police; surrender came shortly thereafter.Police evacuated the neighborhood during the shooting. One gunman was badly wounded; a black doctor and nurse went into the store to treat him. The hostages escaped via a hidden stairway behind a plaster wall. The store owner knew of the stairway and led the others to safety while the gunmen were occupied with fighting off the police. The gunmen, members of the militant Black Muslim sect, said they were ready to die to protest black oppression. The mother of one of the gunmen pleaded for her son and his friends to surrender. The Brooklyn district attorney says that no deal was made to get them to surrender. [NBC] General Alexander Haig returned to Washington and met with Henry Kissinger and President Nixon. Haig had been meeting with President Thieu in South Vietnam. It appears that Thieu has given his approval to the cease-fire agreement. Thieu's objections to the cease-fire proposals were mainly political, dealing with the structure of the South Vietnamese government after the cease-fire. He may have a freer hand after the U.S. pulls out.A Canadian M.P. returning from a visit to Hanoi said North Vietnamese officials told him that North Vietnam has agreed to a tentative cease-fire. Deposed Cambodian Prince Sihanouk says that his followers will not observe an Indochina cease-fire and will continue fighting the government of Lon Nol. In Paris, technical experts met again to work out the details of the cease-fire agreement. Kissinger leaves for Paris tomorrow to wrap up the agreement. South Vietnam Foreign Minister Tran Van Lam has left Saigon for Paris to attend the final phase of the negotiations, and Viet Cong representative Madame Nguyen Thi Binh returned to Paris after a one-month absence. The Viet Cong insists on political equality with the South Vietnamese government; South Vietnam won't accept this. [NBC] A Communist broadcast in Vietnam offered to release 130 South Vietnamese POW's. South Vietnam said it was a trick to halt the shelling of Viet Cong positions in an area of South Vietnam that was under heavy attack. [NBC] George McGovern spoke at Oxford University in England, saying that the U.S. Congress is timid and weak and President Nixon is too powerful. [NBC] Last year Congress passed the equal rights amendment for women, which 38 states must ratify in order for it to be adopted. Opposition to the amendment is growing among many women. Older, middle-aged and conservative women are opposed to equal rights. They fear being drafted, and having to use same restrooms as men. [NBC] Crews are working to clean up 200,000 gallons of oil which spilled into San Francisco Bay. The spill was caused by vandals who deliberately opened oil storage tank valves. [NBC] Agriculture Secretary Butz forecasts lower chicken prices by spring and lower pork prices by fall. [NBC] In Illinois, the state's former governor is on trial. Otto Kerner served two terms as governor in the 1960's. President Johnson appointed him chairman of a committee to investigate the causes of racial disturbances. Later LBJ appointed Kerner as a federal judge. Now Kerner is accused of bribery, mail fraud, tax evasion and perjury in connection with the buying and selling of racetrack stock in Illinois. The government's chief witness, William Miller, was chairman of the racing board under Governor Kerner. [NBC] Irish police are searching for a terrorist bomber in Dublin. [NBC] Congressman Les Aspin announced that the Navy will sue Litton Industries for millions in overcharges. [NBC] A U.S. fishing boat was released by Peru after the captain paid $100,000 in fines. [NBC] Philippine police found bombs in two Catholic churches in Manila, and made 42 arrests. [NBC] President Nixon wrapped up the inaugural weekend with an ecumenical service given by a priest, a rabbi, and Billy Graham. Graham suggested that the Ten Commandments be read daily in classrooms. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger said that this would involve constitutional questions. [NBC] Inauguration ceremonies continued into the early hours today, as President Nixon visited all of the inaugural balls. Nixon said that Bob Hope won't have to entertain troops in Vietnam during Christmas in 1973. [NBC]