News stories from Saturday December 21, 1974
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- According to well-placed government sources, the Central Intelligence Agency, in direct violation of its charter, conducted an extensive illegal domestic intelligence operation during the Nixon administration against the antiwar movement and other dissident groups in the United States. An investigation by the New York Times has established that intelligence files on at least 10,000 American citizens were maintained by a special unit of the C.I.A. that reported directly to Richard Helms, then the agency's director and now the Ambassador to Iran. [New York Times]
- The White House announced that President Ford would appoint Vice President Rockefeller as vice chairman of the Domestic Council and would expect him to play a major role in "explaining" the President's domestic and foreign programs "throughout the country." The Vice President will also become the vice chairman of the National Security Council. [New York Times]
- Because the last two years were tumultuous ones politically, the legislative accomplishments received less attention than they might have otherwise. The 93rd Congress, which adjourned Friday night, will go down in history as the Congress that helped expose and depose a President and, in the process, set a precedent for investigation and impeachment, but congressional leaders believe that some of the laws that were enacted may also prove to be historic, among them the legislation affecting pension reform. [New York Times]
- Inflation, unemployment, layoffs and concern over the national economy have produced generally disappointing Christmas sales across the country. Most people apparently have approached the holiday in a sober, even somber mood. They are paring their shopping lists, keeping a tight rein on buying by using cash more than credit and purchasing fewer decorations. [New York Times]
- Recycling, the idea nurtured by environmental awareness that brought millions of Americans into collection centers with their carefully separated newspapers, glass and cans, has been hit hard by the recession. The market for waste material, especially newspapers, a staple of many of the collection drives, has dropped so severely that some centers have had to close. [New York Times]
- The Shah of Iran challenged American businessmen to become "more aggressive and dynamic" in competing for Iranian development contracts worth billions of dollars. In an interview in Teheran, he invited thousands of Americans to go to Iran to alleviate the country's critical manpower shortage. He suggested that American companies advertise to encourage engineers, teachers, nurses, technicians and other skilled workers to apply for jobs. "In our current five-year plan," the Shah said, "we shall be spending $80 billion to $90 billion on the purchase of capital goods and services to complete planned projects." [New York Times]
- A bomb exploded in Harrods, one of London's leading department stores, and set fire to part of the third floor, but the almost simultaneous discovery of the bomb by an employee and a telephone warning gave shoppers time enough to evacuate the store without injury, except for one minor casualty. The warning was telephoned to a newspaper. The caller was said to have an Irish accent. [New York Times]
- Congress's approval Friday of trade legislation that, among other things, extends to the Soviet Union favorable credit terms and lower import tariffs was reported in the Soviet Union with a hint of dissatisfaction. An announcement by the official press agency, Tass, said that the legislation had been adopted with qualifications tacked on by "opponents" of expanding American-Soviet trade. Tass did not explain that the provisions linked the American concessions to freer Soviet emigration. The agency repeated Moscow's statement last week that no arrangement had been made with Washington on the emigration issue. [New York Times]