News stories from Friday October 6, 1978
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- The U.S. Embassy in Beirut came under mortar fire and two Marine guards were wounded as Syrian troops pursued their relentless drive to shell Lebanese Christian militias into submission. The Syrian gunners pummeled Christian positions with increased fury despite Thursday night's shelling by Israeli gunboats, which Israeli officials said was intended as a warning to Syrian President Hafez Assad. Observers said the Israeli attack, which did little damage, may have had the opposite effect by angering Syrian artillery officers. [Washington Post]
- Ayatollah Khomeini, a leading symbol of conservative Moslem opposition to the Shah of Iran, arrived in Paris from Iraq, apparently seeking asylum. Khomeini fled to Iraq in 1963 after opposing the land reforms of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. He has continued to speak out against the Shah, and that was believed to be the reason Iraqi authorities sought to expel him. [Washington Post]
- The Senate voted to add $5.8 billion in extra tax cuts for middle-income taxpayers and corporations to the $22.9 billion tax bill, despite protests by President Carter that the measure would bust the budget. The Senate approved a proposal to enlarge the bill's tax cuts for individuals by $4.5 billion, with most of the extra relief going to taxpayers in the $10,000 to $30,000 a year range. The action came after the Senate rejected, 60 to 36, a scaled-back version of the Republican-sponsored Roth-Kemp tax cut plan that would have slashed federal income tax rates by 33 percent over three years. [Washington Post]
- Jubilant backers of the Equal Rights Amendment were given three more years to win ratification of the E.R.A. and immediately predicted a new momentum that could carry them to victory. The Senate completed action on the unprecedented extension today, voting 60 to 36 to extend the time limit for ratification until June 30, 1982. The deadline had been March 22, 1979.
Disappointed opponents of the amendment said the extension will be challenged in the courts, adding that they are confident the states that have refused to ratify the proposal will stand firm until the E.R.A. dies. President Carter said he was delighted by the extension.
[Washington Post] - The Carter administration today turned down Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith's request to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery on the ground that it would be a "partisan" attempt to influence U.S. policy. Smith, who will arrive in the Washington area on Sunday, had asked permission to lay the wreath at the outset of his controversial visit to seek American support for his transitional government in Rhodesia. [Washington Post]
- Former F.B.I. informer Gary Rowe, sought by Alabama authorities in the 1965 slaying of a civil rights worker, was arrested on a murder warrant in Savannah. Ga. Rowe posted $5,000 bond and was released. He has said he will fight extradition to Alabama. [Washington Post]
- A temporary dam near a nuclear power plant at Lake Keowee (S.C.) collapsed, killing seven construction workers caught in a rush of water and concrete. Five workmen inside the dam and two on top either drowned or were crushed by concrete pilings when the walls of the semicircular structure caved in. The cause of the collapse was not immediately known. [Washington Post]
- Teachers and other school employees in Cleveland are waiting to see how far a judge will go to force them to end their 30-day-old strike, while teachers in Tucson are fighting the school board's attempts to win a back-to-work order.
A strike by 1,300 teachers in Camden, N.J., closed all 32 schools today, disrupting classes for the district's 20,000 students. In Burnsville, Minn., some 10,800 pupils are to return to school Monday for the first time since Sept. 19. In New Castle County, Del., teachers authorized a strike for Oct. 16 if they don't have a new contract by then. Strikes continued today in small districts in Michigan and Oregon, as well as several others in Ohio. A walkout also occurred at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut.
[Washington Post] - Rep. Edward Roybal (D-Calif.) appears to be rallying support from minority groups for a floor fight against his recommended censure by the House committee that found him guilty of lying about taking money from South Korean lobbyist Tongsun Park. Hispanic groups held press conferences in Washington and Los Angeles to condemn the proposed penalty, and members of the Congressional Black Caucus also expressed interest in the Hispanic Congressman's cause by talking with members of the investigating committee and Speaker Tip O'Neill (D-Mass.). [Washington Post]
- The United Nations Security Council gave its approval to an American call for a cease-fire in the fighting in Lebanon after President Carter personally obtained pledges of cooperation for American efforts at the U.N. from Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and other world leaders. Meeting in an emergency session, the 15-member Security Council unanimously endorsed a cease-fire resolution that diplomats predicted would be accepted by the Syrian army, which has raked Christian areas of Beirut with heavy bombardments for a week. [Washington Post]
- The U.N. Secretariat has launched a $500,000 public relations campaign to promote Palestinian rights and create a moderate image for the Palestine Liberation Organization in the United States and other Western countries. The campaign will use pamphlets, a newsletter, a photographic exhibit and a film called "Palestinians Do Have Rights" in which P.L.O. chief Yasser Arafat will play a leading role and will be depicted in a wholly positive light. [Washington Post]
- Kenya's only political party named interim President Daniel Arap Moi to succeed the late President Jomo Kenyatta. Moi, 56, was unopposed. He will become President Tuesday when he gives his nomination papers to the attorney general's office. Moi was Vice President under Kenyatta, who died six weeks ago. [Washington Post]
- President Hafez Assad of Syria ended two days of talks with Soviet leaders in Moscow today, issued a joint denunciation of the Camp David accords, and flew home to turn his attention to the Lebanese crisis. Assad and his host, Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev, repeated their calls for an overall Middle East peace settlement involving all parties including the Palestine Liberation Organization. [Washington Post]
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Dow Jones Industrial Average: 880.02 (+3.55, +0.41%)
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* |
| October 5, 1978 | 876.47 | 103.27 | 27.81 |
| October 4, 1978 | 873.96 | 103.06 | 25.10 |
| October 3, 1978 | 867.90 | 102.60 | 22.54 |
| October 2, 1978 | 871.36 | 102.96 | 18.52 |
| September 29, 1978 | 865.82 | 102.54 | 23.62 |
| September 28, 1978 | 861.31 | 101.96 | 24.33 |
| September 27, 1978 | 860.19 | 101.66 | 28.37 |
| September 26, 1978 | 868.16 | 102.62 | 26.33 |
| September 25, 1978 | 862.35 | 101.86 | 20.97 |
| September 22, 1978 | 862.44 | 101.84 | 27.96 |