News stories from Saturday September 15, 1973

Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:

The first major industrial strike of 1973 got off to an outwardly quiet start as most of the 117,000 Chrysler Corporation production workers stayed home and prepared to man picket lines on Monday. The United Automobile Workers struck Chrysler at midnight on Friday, ending an extraordinary period of labor peace that had prevailed since before the beginning of the year. Each party to the strike said it was hopeful of an early agreement as negotiations resumed under a blackout this morning. [New York Times] The Senate Watergate committee, understaffed, pressed for time and faced with growing political pressures, intends to examine only samples of abuses in its coming hearings on campaign finance irregularities, according to committee officials. The committee does not plan, the officials said, to delve its public hearings into such broad matters as the relationship between the Nixon administration and the connection, if any, between campaign contributors and the presidential pardon of James Hoffa, the former president of the teamsters' union. [New York Times] The widow of President Salvador Allende of Chile confirmed army and police accounts that her husband had shot himself to death with a submachine gun given to him by Premier Fidel Castro of Cuba. Mrs. Allende spoke in a telephone interview with a Mexican television station from Santiago. Meanwhile, the Mexican Embassy in Santiago said that it became a haven for 332 people seeing asylum. [New York Times] Senate liberals, accusing the Nixon administration of covering up the full extent of United States aid to South Vietnam's police force and prison system, are planning a major floor fight to delete all police support from the pending foreign aid bill. The legislation, which now provides for $376 million in economic aid for Southeast Asia -- about half the finds sought by the administration -- is scheduled for a Senate vote next week. Many Senators reportedly expressed willingness to delete prison and police support from the bill, At issue is the growing public evidence that political opponents of the government of President Nguyen Van Thieu are still being jailed and tortured. [New York Times] King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden died in the hospital at Halsingborg. He was 90 years old and had reigned for nearly 23 years. The king had been taken to the hospital 20 days ago for an emergency operation. Crown Prince Carl Gustav immediately became King Carl XVI Gustav. A formal investiture will be held within three days. [New York Times]