News stories from Wednesday August 4, 1976
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Pennsylvania public health pressed their laboratory search for an unidentified organism whose death toll rose to 22 persons who attended a Philadelphia convention in July. Noting no evidence of "secondary transference" to members of the victims' families, they doubted that the killer was swine influenza. An Allentown physician reported successful treatment of three cases under his care with the antibiotic tetracycline on the premise that the disease was ornithosis, a viral malady transmitted through droppings and discarded feathers of birds. [New York Times]
- Missouri Democratic politics were in confusion following the death of Representative Jerry Litton who had won the party primary for the Senate nomination but was killed with his family in a plane crash on his way to the victory celebration. He had defeated ex-Governor Warren Hearnes and Representative James Symington who had been the favorite to succeed to his father's Senate seat. The Democratic State Committee is empowered to make the new choice of a candidate. [New York Times]
- Jimmy Carter, the Democratic presidential candidate, said in a New York Times interview that he expected the Republicans to nominate President Ford but not John Connally as his running mate. Mr. Carter said that on the issue of public trust, maybe only Governor George Wallace stood lower in the polls than Mr. Connally. [New York Times]
- The Senate Government Operations Committee approved a bill that would end nearly all government spending programs that fail to win specific approval over a five-year review cycle. The so-called "sunset" bill, whose chief sponsor is Senator Edmund Muskie, chairman of the new Senate Budget Committee, corresponds to Jimmy Carter's "zero-based budgeting." Enactment this year is considered doubtful but not impossible. [New York Times]
- South African police opened fire at least twice when Soweto students challenged a security cordon as they headed for Johannesburg to protest the detention of students arrested seven weeks ago. A Johannesburg newspaper said police bullets caused at least three deaths, but the police commissioner, acknowledging 13 casualties, said the only known fatality was a black man with a broken neck. The students succeeded in barring most of the black suburb's commuters to Johannesburg. [New York Times]
- The Sudanese government radio announced the execution of 81 people convicted of taking part in the July 2 attempt to overthrow President Gaafar Nimeiry. The court found the accused had received military training "in a foreign state." Both Mr. Nimeiry and President Anwar Sadat of Egypt have accused Libya of helping in the coup attempt. Libyan officials have denied the charge against their country. [New York Times]
- The United States and West Germany have agreed on a common gun and engine for their new main battle tanks, in a major step toward standardizing weapons among the Atlantic allies. Before the United States XM-1 tank goes into production, its turret will be redesigned to handle either a 105-millimeter gun or the 120-millimeter guns developed in West Germany and under development in Britain. [New York Times]
- Lord Thomson of Fleet, who rose from poverty in Canada to build a vast publishing empire, crowned by ownership of both the Times of London and the Sunday Times, died in London at the age of 82. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 992.28 (+1.95, +0.20%)
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* |
| August 3, 1976 | 990.33 | 104.14 | 18.50 |
| August 2, 1976 | 982.26 | 103.19 | 13.87 |
| July 30, 1976 | 984.64 | 103.44 | 14.83 |
| July 29, 1976 | 979.29 | 102.93 | 13.33 |
| July 28, 1976 | 981.33 | 103.05 | 16.00 |
| July 27, 1976 | 984.13 | 103.48 | 15.58 |
| July 26, 1976 | 991.51 | 104.07 | 13.53 |
| July 23, 1976 | 990.91 | 104.06 | 15.87 |
| July 22, 1976 | 991.08 | 103.93 | 15.60 |
| July 21, 1976 | 989.44 | 103.82 | 18.35 |