News stories from Tuesday July 10, 1973
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Former Attorney General and Nixon campaign chairman John Mitchell admitted trying to keep the lid on the Watergate scandal and shield the President from knowledge of the cover-up. Mitchell denied authorizing the Watergate bugging.
During his Senate testimony today, Mitchell recalled telling G. Gordon Liddy to destroy the plans to bug the Watergate. Chief counsel Sam Dash asked why Liddy was not thrown out of the office; Mitchell replied that he should have thrown him out the window. He rejected Jeb Magruder's statement that Mitchell signed off on the Watergate bugging plan at a meeting in Key Biscayne. Mitchell denied almost all of the allegations against him by Magruder, John Dean and other witnesses. Mitchell did admit joining with White House aides John Ehrlichman, H.R. Haldeman and Dean in covering up illegal acts that were sponsored by the White House. He testified that all four had an innate fear that stories might be leaked during the campaign, and Mitchell believed that such leaks would be unfair to President Nixon and the re-election campaign. Mitchell volunteered no information about President Nixon's involvement in any illegal activities.
Senator Herman Talmadge questioned why Mitchell didn't tell the President the truth about Watergate. Mitchell replied that he didn't want to involve the President at all. Talmadge asked if Nixon's re-election was more important than telling the President about the conspiracies surrounding him. Mitchell said he considered that statement to be correct.
[CBS] - Reporters spoke with Jeb Magruder about the contradictions between his testimony and that of John Mitchell. When asked if he might have been confused in thinking that the Watergate bugging plan was approved by Mitchell, Magruder stated that he stands by his testimony and claimed that he told no lies. [CBS]
- The Agriculture Department issued a rosy crop forecast for this year. Bumper crops are expected to stabilize food prices and guard against shortages. But some believe that the report is overly optimistic, and many indicators point toward a worse crop year than is being predicted.
Spring floods took a toll on the cotton crop in the Mississippi Valley, so cotton prices will remain high. Many farmers switched to soybean crops. Soybean yields will be good according to Agriculture Department reports. If that is the case, then farmers feel that export bans should be lifted because farmers depend on exports. The heavy spring rains helped the rice crops, and good yields are expected there.
[CBS] - Cost of Living Council deputy director James McLane stated that price increases will likely continue at a moderate rate after Phase IV is put into effect. Tight food supplies and accelerated foreign demand for American products are blamed for the increases. [CBS]
- In Washington, Agriculture Secretary Earl Butz made his own price predictions. Butz said that food prices would remain high for the rest of this year because of bad weather, farmers' reaction to the price freeze, and the price freeze itself. Don Paarlberg, a professor of agricultural economics, believes that Butz may be proven wrong with the new Phase IV controls. Based on crop yield reports, food may be plentiful with lower prices resulting. [CBS]
- The Internal Revenue Service will conduct a nationwide audit of the oil industry to determine if there have been violations of price controls. [CBS]
- The dollar rose in value on foreign money markets today. In Zurich and Hong Kong the price of gold dropped to $123 an ounce. [CBS]
- The Bahamas announced its independence from Great Britain and applied for admission to the United Nations. In Nassau, a ceremony preceded the official lowering of the Union Jack and raising of the Bahamian flag. Prince Charles was present for festivities, and he formally proclaimed the nation's freedom to Prime Minister Lynden Pindling. Bahamians don't expect their problems to be solved just because of their new independence. Black poverty remains the most pressing problem. [CBS]
- A section of land around the Berlin wall has been landscaped in order to make escaping more difficult. Debris and weeds were removed to keep escapees from finding cover during attempts to flee to West Berlin. [CBS]
- Explosions ripped through a munitions plant in Cleburne, Texas, killing at least four people. [CBS]
- For the past two years, marijuana laws in Ann Arbor, Michigan, have been very lenient. The city council has changed that by voting in stricter laws, such as sending dealers to jail for four years. Previously there was only a $5 fine for the possession or sale of marijuana. Mayor James Stephenson believes that Ann Arbor had a bad image, and rampant drug dealing in the city caused robberies. College students in Ann Arbor noted that Prohibition didn't work, and they are skeptical that the new laws will stop people from smoking marijuana; it will just be a little harder to obtain. [CBS]
- A commission headed by Louisiana Attorney General William Guste concluded that the deaths of two Southern University students was "unnecessary". The shotgun deaths occurred during a police-student confrontation last year in Baton Rouge. [CBS]
- A new variation on an old game has been discovered by Brazilians. Dr. Mario Terrino invented a new game called "autobowl". It is a cross between soccer and automobile driving. Small foreign cars and a large ball are used in the game. Autobowl is a tough game, but not deadly when small cars are used. If large American cars were used, the sport could become a disaster. [CBS]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 888.32 (+11.06, +1.26%)
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* |
| July 9, 1973 | 877.26 | 102.14 | 11.56 |
| July 6, 1973 | 870.11 | 101.28 | 9.98 |
| July 5, 1973 | 874.32 | 101.78 | 10.50 |
| July 3, 1973 | 874.17 | 101.87 | 10.56 |
| July 2, 1973 | 880.57 | 102.90 | 9.83 |
| June 29, 1973 | 891.71 | 104.26 | 10.77 |
| June 28, 1973 | 894.64 | 104.69 | 12.76 |
| June 27, 1973 | 884.63 | 103.62 | 12.66 |
| June 26, 1973 | 879.44 | 103.30 | 14.04 |
| June 25, 1973 | 869.13 | 102.25 | 11.67 |