News stories from Thursday January 25, 1973
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Despite the pending cease-fire, the Vietnam war continues until Saturday. One American was killed today during enemy shelling of Bien Hoa AFB, and there was increased enemy activity throughout Vietnam. [CBS]
- The POW airlift will begin early next week. In Paris, Viet Cong representative Madame Binh said that President Nixon is entering into the cease-fire agreement with the "wrong spirit." Madame Binh will sign the treaty for the V.C.; Nguyen Duy Trinh will sign for North Vietnam. U.S. Secretary of State Rogers departs for Paris tomorrow.
Rogers met today with United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim and Canadian Foreign Secretary Mitchell Sharp. Hungary, Poland, Indonesia and Canada will make up the International Control Commission that will supervise the peace. Waldheim says that the United Nations is ready to help, but peace is up to the parties involved. Sharp expects planes to be leaving immediately from Canada to Vietnam with the first group of observers.
[CBS] - Cambodian Prime Minister Hang Thun Hak stated that Cambodia will unilaterally stop all offensive acts after Saturday. [CBS]
- President Thieu called the International Control Commission "useless", and said that the best guarantee of peace is a strong army. Thieu stated that North Vietnam cannot win over South Vietnam politically or militarily unless it violates the cease-fire. Near Saigon along Highway 13, anti-Communist signs are plentiful. Thieu's party has set up centers in many hamlets lining route 13. The South Vietnamese people say they don't believe peace is coming. [CBS]
- Former President Lyndon Johnson was buried at the L.B.J. ranch in Texas after funeral services were held in Washington, DC. Former aide Marvin Watson asked people to remember Johnson for devotion to his country and for his restraint. [CBS]
- Ford Foundation researcher David Freeman blamed the fuel oil shortage on the Nixon administration's import policies. [CBS]
- In its second report on the energy crisis, CBS traces the reasons for the fuel shortage. In Washington there has never been a steady policy of encouraging the development of fuels. Today some government programs actually accentuate the fuel crisis: the U.S. keeps foreign oil out of the country, but the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management has been slow in opening up government land for exploration. The Treasury Department's tax policy makes it more attractive to search for oil overseas. The Transportation Department's Federal Highway Administration builds roads that encourage the use of cars. At least 73 different agencies have a hand in energy policy. The Environmental Protection Agency limits the use of coal. To meet pollution regulations, utilities and large manufacturers use oil and gas rather than coal. Environmental objections delay offshore drilling for oil as well as the construction of refineries and nuclear power plants.
The oil industry blames government price regulations for the shortage of natural gas because the regulation of gas prices makes oil exploration not profitable enough. Demand for natural gas exceeds supply by 3% nationwide. Companies say that the potential for exploration won't materialize until an economic incentive exists. Presently, companies get about 15% profit.
[CBS] - In Chile, President Allende ordered food rationing two weeks ago. Now he has ordered liquor rationing. [CBS]
- The Chicago teachers strike has been settled. The agreement calls for higher pay, smaller classes and a shorter work year. [CBS]
- Bardstown, Kentucky, population 6,000, lost 12 men in Vietnam. Even though peace has now been reached, people still have more of a sense of loss than jubilation. Mayor Gus Wilson says that people are glad the war is over. Janice Thompson Adams lost her husband in war and is now remarried. Adams said that she hopes the war was not fought for nothing. [CBS]