News stories from Sunday June 24, 1973
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- The summit meeting between Soviet party leader Leonid Brezhnev and President Nixon is over. Brezhnev and Nixon signed a communique today that is not to be made public until tomorrow. The President stated his profound hope that world peace will be initiated by the new agreement against nuclear threats from the U.S. and Soviet Union.
Skylab astronauts Pete Conrad, Paul Weitz and Joseph Kerwin met the two leaders at San Clemente. At the El Toro Marine Base, Brezhnev hugged actor Chuck Connors, who gave him a set of Colt 45's. The unpredictable Brezhnev also held an impromptu news conference with reporters. He then flew back to Camp David, Maryland, and will leave tomorrow for Paris for a meeting with French President Georges Pompidou. Brezhnev leaves behind many friends that he made in the United States by his charm and wit.
[NBC] - Skylab astronauts Weitz, Conrad and Kerwin took part in another ceremony today. Before the astronauts could return to the carrier Ticonderoga, a welcoming ceremony by residents of San Diego was given. Weitz said that he enjoyed every minute of the 28-day mission, but it's good to be back. The astronauts undergo more tests before flying to Houston and then home. [NBC]
- The Senate Watergate hearings resume on Monday with former White House counsel John Dean testifying. The committee is more interested in what President Nixon did and said than it is in Dean's actions. White House logs of meetings between Dean and the President are puzzling and have raised more questions. Since the President can't be forced to testify, Dean may be a necessary link. [NBC]
- Fires destroyed 11 homes in Rolling Hills, California; they were started by boys playing with firecrackers. [NBC]
- Tennis player Nikki Pilic is on probation for refusing to play in the Davis Cup tournament. In sympathy, most of the top-ranked male players in the world will not play in the prestigious tennis tournament at Wimbledon, England. Last year's winner, Stan Smith, is playing in a different London tournament rather than Wimbledon. Ilie Nastase must play in Wimbledon because the Romanian Tennis Federation requires it. Nastase is one of the few big names on the men's side this year. The major women players will participate at Wimbledon as well. [NBC]