News stories from Saturday May 8, 1971
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Secretary of State Rogers sent Assistant Secretary Joseph Sisco to Egypt to brief leaders on Israel's new position. Israel has agreed to Egypt's limited crossing of the Suez Canal, and Egypt may show new flexibility as well. In Rome today, Rogers met with Italian leaders and Pope Paul. [CBS]
- West Germany and France blame the U.S. for the international monetary crisis and those nations have called on Common Market countries to abandon support of the U.S. dollar. [CBS]
- Reverend Carl McIntire led a "Victory in Vietnam" march in Washington, DC, where 15,000 people marched to the Washington Monument; a telephone call from South Vietnam Nguyen Cao Ky to the marchers was accidentally disconnected. McIntire said that President Nixon has not made the Communists afraid, and withdrawal of our troops from Vietnam makes the U.S. unfaithful to its duty. [CBS]
- 12 people were killed in South Vietnam despite the weekend cease-fire. [CBS]
- UPI reports that former Senator Charles Goodell and Republican representatives Pete McCloskey and Donald Riegle are planning a nationwide "Dump Nixon" campaign. [CBS]
- Ralph Nader has created a new consumer group to represent dissatisfied airline passengers. [CBS]
- Rep. John Byrnes suggested a substitute for the Nixon administration's revenue sharing plan; his idea would involve a credit system for states and cities against federal taxes. [CBS]
- The federal government spent over $1 million handling the antiwar demonstrations which just concluded. President Nixon congratulated D.C. police chief Jerry Wilson for his handling of the situation. There were 13,426 arrests during the protests; normal arrest procedures had to be abandoned. Assistant Attorney General William Rehnquist said that Washington, DC laws give police the right to order public areas cleared. [CBS]
- Former President Harry Truman celebrated his 87th birthday today. [CBS]
- Gravediggers, garbage collectors, plumbers and marriage license are officials on strike in Rome, Italy. [CBS]