News stories from Saturday December 20, 1975
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- President Ford said that he had won a "100 percent" victory in principle in his battle with Congress over tax legislation and predicted that he would be elected next year on his record. At a surprise, informal news conference in the White House, Mr. Ford said that the tax bill passed by Congress Friday night was a compromise, but represented a complete victory for his insistence that tax cuts be tied directly to controls on federal spending. He said that he had made substantial progress not only in economic policy but in foreign policy as well and that he would be judged on his record in 1976. He appeared unconcerned that recent polls showed him trailing Ronald Reagan, who is also seeking the Republican presidential nomination. [New York Times]
- Boarding buses that were headed for cities across the country, from New York to Los Angeles, 68 Vietnamese men, women and children, the last group of 140,000 refugees from Indochina, left the Fort Chaffee military base in Arkansas. The departure of this final group ended the large resettlement efforts of the United States government and many welfare agencies. The wave of refugees has fanned out over 50 states, Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico and 24 other countries. [New York Times]
- The strike threatened by the Metropolitan Opera Company's orchestra on Jan. 1 is the latest in a series of labor disputes that have closed down orchestras in major cities across the nation. In the 1974-1975 and 1975-1976 seasons increasingly militant classical musicians have stopped work in Dallas, Denver, Detroit, New Jersey, Omaha, Pittsburgh and Kansas City. All the strikes have been settled, except in Kansas City. At the Metropolitan Opera the main issue is money. [New York Times]
- Under orders from the commander of Argentina's air force, fighter planes strafed and bombed an air base held by rebellious airmen seeking to overthrow President Isabel Martinez de Peron. There were no casualties, but two of the rebels' planes were knocked out and runways were damaged, neutralizing the only base of rebel operations. The rebel airmen said that they would retaliate by bombing Government House in Buenos Aires, where Mrs. Peron was in her office, with ministers, labor leaders and leaders of the Peronist party, but there was no attack. Without support from other military forces, the airmen's revolt seemed to be under control. The command of the army and navy announced that all units were loyal to their "natural commanders" and were on full alert. [New York Times]
- Using emergency powers, the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of India appears to be trying to make fundamental changes in the press that could suppress the publication of political criticism long after the emergency is lifted. The government, according to documents and other information reaching the United States, is trying to merge India's two nationwide news agencies into one that would be heavily dependent on government support. It is also trying to alter the management of at least two newspaper groups to shift power from critics of Mrs. Gandhi to newcomers approved by the government. This may result in the ouster of some of India's best-known editors. [New York Times]