News stories from Friday February 9, 1973
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Communists will begin releasing American prisoners on Sunday, releasing about one-fourth of the total number of POWs on that day; 115 POWs will be released by Hanoi and 27 more by the Viet Cong in South Vietnam. Pentagon spokesman Jerry Friedheim said that some sick and wounded POWs will be included in the first group, but exactly who will be released is unknown. The POWs will be flown to Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines for medical checks before being brought to the United States. The diet for the POWs at Clark AFB will be bland, and will include no alcohol. Former POW Lt. Mark Gartley says that readjustment problems are overemphasized and that the reunion with their families should be a happy and carefree time for POWs. [CBS]
- Henry Kissinger arrived in Laos and predicted a cease-fire there and in Cambodia in the near future. A cease-fire in Laos is scheduled to go into effect February 14. The withdrawal of all foreign troops will follow, including Thai irregulars paid by the CIA. Sixty-five thousand North Vietnamese troops are now in Laos; Prince Souvanna Phouma wants them all out. However, the Laotian military is against a cease-fire and has threatened a coup if it goes into effect.
A U.S. reconnaissance plane was shot down over Laos earlier in the week. American planes bombed Communists in Cambodia today.
[CBS] - UPI reported that members of the Joint Military Commission were attacked by a group of South Vietnamese civilians in the Central Highlands. Two Americans, one North Vietnamese and one South Vietnamese were injured by rocks. [CBS]
- Fighting continued in South Vietnam, and was particularly heavy in Quang Tri province. Both sides say they are sick of war and want the truce supervisors to come and help stop the fighting. [CBS]
- The two pilots who refused to take part in the massive bombing of North Vietnam in December are being discharged rather than court-martialed. Capt. Michael Heck and Lt. Dwight Evans were the two servicemen involved. [CBS]
- The leaders of the four main political parties in Northern Ireland, including Protestants and Catholics, agreed to support any British move to halt the bloodshed. The party of Protestant leader Ian Paisley joined in the agreement, but the Irish Republican Army and the Ulster Defense League did not. [CBS]
- The armed forces in Uruguay are threatening to take over the government of Juan Bordaberry unless the defense minister is changed. [CBS]
- The run on the dollar continued abroad. West German, British and French officials are meeting to work out the European position on the crisis. President Nixon is sending former Commerce Secretary Peter Peterson to Europe to discuss the economic situation, and Nixon will ask Congress for tough import controls.
Last year the U.S. trade deficit was $6.5 billion. Speculators are now buying the Japanese yen and German mark because they feel these are undervalued compared to the dollar. International economist Richard Kaufman says that the crisis may just go away, or countries could take steps to avert the crisis. Oil imports are a problem. In 1972 the U.S. spent $4 billion on foreign oil and that amount will go up this year.
[CBS] - The Civil Rights Commission has charged that large scale discrimination still exists and that government agencies have done little to help end the problem. But presidential consultant Leonard Garment says that progress is being made. The Commission praised the departments of Housing and Urban Development, and Health, Education and Welfare but said that most agencies have a long way to go.
For the first time since the Civil Rights Commission was founded in Eisenhower administration, the name of Father Theodore Hesburgh is missing from the report. Hesburgh's resignation was accepted by President Nixon as part of his reorganization of the government.
[CBS] - Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter criticized President Nixon's budget cuts. Carter complained that secrecy surrounds the evolution of the administration's decisions, and governors have no way of knowing what the federal government is planning to do. Governors have no access to Ehrlichman, Haldeman, Ash and others in the administration. Carter stated that there is no way to restore the damage that is done to the nation when the federal government has the attitude that the people are too ignorant to be told what's going on. [CBS]
- Philadelphia teachers are still on strike despite the fact that the strike leaders have been ordered to jail. Union president Frank Sullivan and chief negotiator John Ryan have been jailed for ignoring a back-to-work order. Judge Donald Jamieson said that the leaders chose "anarchy" as their goal. [CBS]
- As an extra-cost option, General Motors will offer air bag safety systems in some of the company's 1974 cars. Federal safety standards call for mandatory air bag systems by 1977. [CBS]
- Senator Vance Hartke, who previously refused to be searched before boarding a plane, says that he will submit to searches from now on although he still feels that such searches are unconstitutional. [CBS]
- Panes of glass are falling out of the 60-story John Hancock Building in Boston during high winds. Consultant Robert Hansen says that either the glass is too weak or the load is stronger than anticipated. [CBS]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 979.46 (+12.27, +1.27%)
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* |
| February 8, 1973 | 967.19 | 113.16 | 18.44 |
| February 7, 1973 | 968.32 | 113.66 | 17.96 |
| February 6, 1973 | 979.91 | 114.45 | 15.72 |
| February 5, 1973 | 978.40 | 114.23 | 14.58 |
| February 2, 1973 | 980.81 | 114.35 | 17.47 |
| February 1, 1973 | 985.78 | 114.76 | 20.67 |
| January 31, 1973 | 999.02 | 116.03 | 14.87 |
| January 30, 1973 | 992.93 | 115.83 | 15.27 |
| January 29, 1973 | 996.46 | 116.01 | 14.68 |
| January 26, 1973 | 1003.54 | 116.45 | 21.13 |