News stories from Saturday December 2, 1972
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- President Nixon announced that Henry Kissinger would continue to serve as his chief foreign policy adviser in his second administration, ending speculation about Mr. Kissinger's possible return to Harvard University. The President also said that a number of other top-level White House staff members will also remain in their present jobs, including John Ehrlichman, assistant for domestic affairs, and H.R. Haldeman, Mr. Nixon's chief of staff. The presidential announcement also confirmed reports that Donald Rumsfeld, director of the Cost of Living Council, will be leaving that post and "taking on a major new assignment in the next term." [New York Times]
- Henry Kissinger and the North Vietnamese chief negotiator, Le Duc Tho, are expected to arrive at a final negotiated peace settlement, substantially along the lines disclosed in October, after two or three days of talks in Paris this week, informed South Vietnamese sources close to the negotiations said today. The sources said they expected that Mr. Kissinger and Mr. Tho would initial the agreement next week and then the United States and North Vietnam would sign it formally, perhaps a week later, by about Dec. 15, inviting the Viet Cong and Saigon to sign the accord too. [New York Times]
- The last of the Apollo moonships, Apollo 17, stands ready for launching Wednesday night on a mission that will bring to an end the Apollo space project announced by President Kennedy in May, 1961. [New York Times]
- The Irish government prepared for a series of arrests of members of the outlawed Irish Republican Army following explosions Thursday night that killed two persons and injured 126. Prime Minister John Lynch, who has been voted emergency powers, met with his security officials and ordered the police and army put on 24-hour alert. The deaths were the first by bombing in Dublin in years and many people in the city were clearly sensing the fear and nervousness that has so long prevailed in Belfast. [New York Times]
- The Australian Labor party ousted the conservative government of Prime Minister William McMahon by a comfortable majority in the national elections. Gough Whitlam, 56 years old, the party leader, will succeed Mr. McMahon as Prime Minister. Labor's victory will end 23 consecutive years in power for a coalition of the Liberal and Country parties. [New York Times]
- With a Republican-controlled and presumably cooperative General Assembly to work with, Gov. Thomas Meskill of Connecticut says he expects in the next two years to see enacted such legislation as a widened and newly defined death penalty, mandatory jail terms for first offenses on drunken driving, and less cumbersome wiretap laws. The Governor said in an interview that he would like to see the death penalty extended to rapists and possibly to illegal drug traffickers. [New York Times]