News stories from Sunday March 30, 1975
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- The North Vietnamese took over Da Nang following the collapse of government resistance and the panicky flight of tens of thousands of refugees. There were reports that North Vietnamese troops were advancing south along the coast of South Vietnam, and that the cities of Qui Nhon and Tuy Hoa were threatened. American officials and South Vietnamese were being evacuated from these coastal cities. Qui Nhon airport was reportedly packed with soldiers and families vainly seeking to get out by plane. Virtually all flights to Qui Nhon were stopped because of the panic at the airport.
The Ford administration gave elaborate assurances that the United States Navy ships ordered to assist in the evacuation of refugees from South Vietnam's coastal cities would not become involved in hostilities.
[New York Times] - A major question in Saigon was how Vietnamese Communist forces could accomplish in three weeks, almost effortlessly, what had been far beyond their reach for a quarter of a century. The Communist gains in the last three weeks were far greater than the worst fears of the Saigon leaders and their American allies. Even the American officials who believed consistently over the years in an ultimate victory over the Communists are suddenly letting it be known that they feel defeat is near. [New York Times]
- Deceptions and errors are draining away hundreds of millions of dollars budgeted to feed hungry Americans under the federal food stamp program. This is the conclusion of the Department of Agriculture's latest and, according to most observers, most accurate statistics on the rapidly growing food stamp program. Losses resulting from "errors" -- deceptive practices and simple mathematical mistakes -- are estimated at $740 million a year. [New York Times]
- Grim disclosures of misery and profiteering in the care of aged Americans are being made with increasing frequency around the country. While those since last year have focused on the New York metropolitan area, reports from a score of states indicate that the scandal in the nursing-home industry has reached nationwide proportions. [New York Times]
- Israeli-bound cargo aboard ships of other nations as well as Israeli ships will be barred from passage through the Suez Canal when it is opened to international shipping in June, Egyptian officials said. They explained that one of the main objectives in barring Israel's use of the canal was to "isolate Israel diplomatically" and rebut Israeli charges that Egypt was not ready for peace. [New York Times]