News stories from Friday July 20, 1973
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- President Nixon said that he has no plans to slow down or resign because of his recent bout with viral pneumonia. Nor will Watergate keep him from running the government. After his release from Bethesda Naval Hospital, Nixon thanked the hospital staff, saying that his quick recovery was due to good medical attention and all the support he received from the American people.
The President returned to the White House and was welcomed by White House staff. He stated that the illness has not caused him to slow his schedule and definitely has not made him think of resigning, adding that his administration will not wallow in Watergate, but will continue with the business at hand. After meeting with senior staffers, President Nixon goes to Camp David, Maryland, for the weekend.
[CBS] - The President's bullish character today may have been caused by Senate passage of the War Powers bill, which limits the chief executive's ability to make war without congressional approval. Senators from both parties, liberal and conservative, joined together in passing the bill. Senator Jacob Javits claimed that the bill won't tie the President's hands, and stated that the President should come to Congress before involving America in war anyway. The House already passed a similar bill, but there is no certainty that President Nixon won't veto it. Senator Hugh Scott, the minority leader, pledged to override a presidential veto if necessary. [CBS]
- Special Watergate prosecutor Archibald Cox reported that Ashland Oil Company's Orin Atkins has admitted making a contribution of illegal corporate funds to President Nixon's 1972 re-election campaign. The contribution was allegedly solicited by Maurice Stans, who was the chairman of the campaign committee. [CBS]
- Former assistant Attorney General Robert Mardian continued his testimony before the Senate Watergate Committee. Questions centered around the budget which was used to finance the Watergate break-in and other illegal acts. Mardian stated that he asked campaign assistant Fred LaRue if LaRue knew about the Watergate activities beforehand, and LaRue confirmed that he did. LaRue confirmed to Mardian that John Mitchell also knew in advance, though he believed that Mitchell would deny any knowledge of the plan.
Mardian reported the concern of associate FBI director William Sullivan that FBI director J. Edgar Hoover "might use the tapes (records of wiretaps of newsmen and White House aides) for the purpose of preserving his position as director of the FBI." Mardian testified that President Nixon told him to get reports from Sullivan and give them to John Ehrlichman; Mardian says he did as he was told. Mardian also stuck to his story of "reluctantly" participating in the Watergate cover-up to the end, even after assistant Watergate committee counsel James Hamilton pointed out inconsistencies with that characterization.
Gordon Strachan, former assistant to White House chief of staff H.R. Haldeman, testified before the committee after Mardian finished. Strachan contended that Jeb Magruder never reported G. Gordon Liddy's plan in detail to him, and stated that Magruder called Strachan after the March 30 meeting with John Mitchell and Fred LaRue, and said only that an "intelligence gathering" system was approved with a budget of $300,000.
[CBS] - Convicted Watergate conspirator G. Gordon Liddy went before the House Armed Services Committee which is probing CIA involvement in Watergate. Liddy refused to take the oath prior to testifying.. [CBS]
- The government reported that the cost of living was up 0.7% for June. [CBS]
- Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors intend to ask the federal government for price increases under Phase IV for their new models which are coming out in September. The increases could amount to as much as $150 per car. [CBS]
- An investigating committee headed by Senator Henry Jackson began hearings on last year's wheat deal with Russia to determine if that sale was illegal and led to higher U.S. food prices. Former assistant Agriculture Secretary Clarence Palmby testified that he believed the sale was in the best interest of the nation; though he admitted that the grain sale contributed to higher prices, he noted that other factors were responsible too. Responding to Senator Jackson, Palmby stated that the rise in flour prices was responsible for higher bread costs, but confirmed that the grain sale played a role in price increases for poultry, meat and eggs.
Bernard Steinweg, vice president of the Continental Grain Company, spoke about his conversations with assistant Agriculture Secretary Brunthaver regarding the grain deal. Steinweg said that he personally told Brunthaver about the deal with two of Steinweg's assistants present, If the grain deal had been made public, farmers would have profited more and grain companies would have been given government subsidies to make up for the difference between the price paid to farmers and the sale price to Russia.
[CBS] - Senator John Stennis has called for a review of the CIA's charter because of its role in domestic surveillance and its activities in Laos. [CBS]
- On Wednesday FBI agents shot and killed Milton Leon Scott, a Black Muslim, as they tried to arrest him for Army desertion in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The FBI admitted today that they killed the wrong man. The man they were looking for is currently in San Quentin prison. Agents said that Scott was shot after he attacked an agent when they tried to get Scott to go with them. [CBS]
- In Memphis, Tennessee, a human drama almost ended in tragedy. After being fired from his job with the Wells Fargo company, Fred Sims took his four-year-old son from the home of his estranged wife and threatened to kill the boy with a knife if police tried to stop him. Sims was walking to the Wells Fargo office to make his getaway with his son when police jumped him; the boy is safe. Sims is being charged with assault and intent to commit murder. [CBS]
- Hijackers have taken over a Japanese jet shortly after its take-off from Amsterdam. The hijackers claim to be Japanese supporters of Palestinian Arabs, and they are demanding the release of the lone survivor of the Japanese suicide squad who shot up the Tel Aviv airport last year. The hijacked plane is currently somewhere in the Middle East. [CBS]
- Cairo radio says that Colonel Muammar Kaddafi has resigned after staking his career on the Egypt-Libya merger. President Sadat of Egypt is not very enthusiastic about the merger, and Egyptian authorities are trying to stop the Libyan "unity march" to Cairo. [CBS]
- The dollar fluctuated on foreign markets but decreased in value at the close of the trading day. [CBS]
- American soldiers in Germany are now at the mercy of West German landlords; Phase IV is not helping soldiers. Colonel Allen Wilder wants landlords to lower rents for U.S. families until the dollar stabilizes. Wilder said that he is trying to set an example for other U.S. commanders in Germany and also hopes to influence landlords. Dollar devaluation hurts low ranking soldiers the worst. Bob and Doris Ingerson say that living expenses exceed their income, therefore Pvt. Ingerson must send his family home because they can't afford to stay together. Ingerson doesn't think that his landlord will lower the rent.
Colonel Wilder talked with some landlords and three of them agreed to lower rents for U.S. soldiers.
[CBS] - Another sterilization controversy has emerged, this one in Aiken, South Carolina. Mrs. Bob Brown is expecting her fifth child but was told by three doctors she would receive no medical help unless she submitted to sterilization. The family is on welfare temporarily until her husband is released from jail on theft charges.
Dr. Kenneth Owens and Dr. C.H. Pierce had no comment on their action regarding Mrs. Brown. A third doctor, Niles Borop, told CBS that it's best for society if welfare cases limit the number of children they have. The state welfare department and the federal Department of Health, Education and Welfare called the doctors' actions unconstitutional. Mrs. Brown says that she and her husband love children and want another one. County commissioner Jo Ann Price stated that she will conduct her own probe, and she feels that sterilization should be voluntary. Because of the publicity, Mrs. Brown now has a new doctor and the delivery of her baby will be funded by Medicaid.
[CBS]
|
Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 910.90 (+4.22, +0.47%)
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 19, 1973 | 906.68 | 106.55 | 18.65 |
| July 18, 1973 | 905.40 | 106.35 | 17.02 |
| July 17, 1973 | 898.03 | 105.72 | 18.75 |
| July 16, 1973 | 897.58 | 105.67 | 12.92 |
| July 13, 1973 | 885.99 | 104.09 | 11.39 |
| July 12, 1973 | 901.94 | 105.50 | 16.40 |
| July 11, 1973 | 908.19 | 105.80 | 18.73 |
| July 10, 1973 | 888.32 | 103.52 | 15.09 |
| July 9, 1973 | 877.26 | 102.14 | 11.56 |
| July 6, 1973 | 870.11 | 101.28 | 9.98 |