News stories from Thursday June 21, 1973
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- The Supreme Court handed down two major decisions regarding hard-core pornography and school segregation outside the South. In Denver, Colorado, officials manipulated school district boundaries to concentrate blacks and Mexicans in one area. Justice William Brennan said that Denver must eliminate school segregation completely, a move which could involve busing more than 40,000 students. Brennan left a loophole in his ruling, however -- if Denver officials can prove that their segregation didn't affect the inner-city school system, then their plan is acceptable. Dissenting justices Lewis Powell and William Rehnquist are concerned that a flood of cases will spring up over Brennan's loophole in many northern cities.
Chief Justice Warren Burger ruled on pornography, throwing out the old obscenity ruling. Burger stated that it is not a violation of the first amendment if books, theaters, etc. are suppressed for depicting actual or simulated sex acts; juries in each community can outlaw material offensive to that area. Obscenity lawyer Robert Smith believes that the ruling will cause chaos, and censorship will abound. Justices White, Powell, Rehnquist and Blackmun voted with Burger to approve the ruling.
[CBS] - Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and President Nixon returned to Washington, DC today to sign two important agreements. Nixon and Brezhnev were in a jovial mood as they signed serious agreements limiting nuclear arms and sharing information for the peaceful use of nuclear energy. The two leaders agreed to meet again to discuss a new nuclear arms treaty before the end of 1974.
Sharing information on nuclear energy is important for the fusion reactor, which is a possible key to a cheaper, non-polluting source of electricity. Atomic Energy Commission chairman Dixy Lee Ray said that positive project results will come sooner if the U.S. and Russia combine their efforts and pool information.
As far as limiting nuclear arms, the "MIRV" project was the subject of the talks; MIRV fires three nuclear rockets at once. Henry Kissinger stated that the MIRV talks are a step toward permanent arms limitation and stockpile control. Kissinger hinted at a possible surprise announcement by Brezhnev, and perhaps the suspension of underground testing of nuclear weapons.
[CBS] - Former White House counsel John Dean's testimony before the closed Senate Watergate committee is leaking out. Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield said that he hopes the Ervin committee will take steps to stop further leakage. Senator Minority Leader Hugh Scott believes the leaks are coming from all sides. [CBS]
- The Washington Post reported that Watergate burglar E. Howard Hunt testified that Charles Colson ordered him to break into Arthur Bremer's apartment. Bremer is the man who attempted to assassinate Alabama Gov. George Wallace last year. Hunt said that Colson wanted to link Bremer with radical, left-wing groups. Because of the risk involved, the break-in order was not carried out. Colson denied Hunt's accusation. [CBS]
- The Long Island Newsday newspaper reports that former Attorney General John Mitchell is ready to admit that he approved payments to the Watergate burglars, though Mitchell still denies approving plans to bug Democratic party headquarters. [CBS]
- Misconduct charges have been filed against two more POW's. Admiral James Stockdale mailed charges against former POWs to the Pentagon. [CBS]
- Former Notre Dame football coach Frank Leahy died in Portland, Oregon. [CBS]
- The Senate Finance Committee voted a 5.5% increase in Social Security benefits and attached the proposal to a bill raising the national debt ceiling. The increase goes into effect on January 1. There is no Social Security tax increase, but the Nixon administration opposes the bill. [CBS]
- The Labor Department reported that the cost of living for May was up 0.6%. Egg and meat prices were down. The purchasing power of the average consumer was down 0.1%. The Commerce Department stated that corporate profits were up $6 ½ billion after taxes for the first quarter of this year. [CBS]
- The Chicago Board of Trade suspended soybean trading today because of rumors of soybean depletion by September. The Agriculture Department says that the soybean supply may be gone sooner than that. The trading halt was done in order to keep the price down. The 1972 soybean crop was good but the demand exceeds the supply, and increased prices are the only alternative. Soybean trading will resume tomorrow under restrictions and limitations. [CBS]
- The clean air campaign has had economic consequences for the factory town of San Juan Bautista, California. Half of the city's population work at a cement company, but California's strict clean air laws are forcing the company to close. The mayor said that environmental protection is out of control; it has crushed the town and its livelihood. The town will have cleaner air, but no people. Workers must move elsewhere to find jobs. [CBS]
- Senator Norris Cotton of New Hampshire announced that he will not seek re-election for a fourth term. Congressman Louis Wyman said that he will be a candidate. Eugene McCarthy may possibly run for the Senate seat. [CBS]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 873.65 (-11.06, -1.25%)
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* |
| June 20, 1973 | 884.71 | 104.44 | 10.60 |
| June 19, 1973 | 881.55 | 103.99 | 12.97 |
| June 18, 1973 | 875.08 | 103.60 | 11.46 |
| June 15, 1973 | 888.55 | 105.10 | 11.97 |
| June 14, 1973 | 902.92 | 106.40 | 13.21 |
| June 13, 1973 | 915.49 | 107.60 | 15.70 |
| June 12, 1973 | 927.00 | 108.29 | 13.84 |
| June 11, 1973 | 915.11 | 106.70 | 9.94 |
| June 8, 1973 | 920.00 | 107.03 | 14.05 |
| June 7, 1973 | 909.62 | 105.84 | 14.16 |