News stories from Tuesday July 3, 1973
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Marine Sgt. Abel Kavanaugh was buried yesterday; he committed suicide after being accused of misconduct for aiding the enemy during his captivity in Vietnam. Charges against the other ex-POW's have been dropped for lack of evidence, and because the men suffered enough as POW's. Air Force Col. Theodore Guy filed the charges despite being discouraged from doing so by Air Force attorneys. A spokesman denied that dropping the charges was related to Kavanaugh's death, and he claimed that paperwork caused a delay in making the announcement previously. Charges are still pending against Navy Capt. William Wilbur and Marine Col. Edison Miller. These charges are reportedly also going to be dropped.
Col. Guy spoke about the decision to drop the misconduct charges. Guy said that he promised his men to see this thing through, and he has done so. He will abide by the decision to drop the charges. Kavanaugh's widow said the decision shows that the government realizes its responsibility for Kavanaugh's death.
[CBS] - The U.S., Canada, and most European nations opened historic talks in Helsinki, Finland.
35 foreign ministers (including Russia's Andrei Gromyko and U.S. Secretary of State William Rogers) are attending a conference on security and cooperation in Europe. They were greeted by President Urho Kekkonen and United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim.
The conference was Russia's idea. Gromyko also proposed a summit meeting with heads of state following the conference, and offered a document pertaining to security. Much of the conference's business will be done backstage. This is only the beginning of a long series of meetings to reorder the world.
[CBS] - Fallout from a Chinese nuclear bomb is drifting across the Pacific Ocean, but the U.S. is not among the nations which are protesting. The White House ordered that there be no condemnation of the Chinese nuclear test; this represents a 180 degree turnabout in policy, as diplomatic needs now take precedence over moral and medical opposition to atmospheric testing.
Henry Kissinger will visit China to reaffirm the triangular relationship between the U.S., Russia and China. He will seek help with the cease-fire in Cambodia and arrange a visit to America by Premier Chou En-lai or Mao Tse-tung.
[CBS] - The American Automobile Association offered three suggestions for July 4th holiday travelers regarding gasoline -- start out with a full tank, fill up when it is half full, and don't drive at night.
Federal officials are considering gasoline allocation programs, but have ruled out rationing. The option of rationing crude oil passed the Senate by a vote of 85-10. The major oil companies want the government to handle fuel allocation in order to avoid lawsuits. William Simon, the chairman of the government's Oil Policy Committee, opposes government regulations but conceded that mandatory fuel allocation may be necessary. New energy czar John Love opposes mandatory allocations. The discussion of other options is to allow Love to change his mind without losing face.
[CBS] - Watergate prosecutor Archibald Cox denied a Los Angeles Times report that he has opened an inquiry into the purchase of President Nixon's San Clemente and Key Biscayne homes. Cox said that he's assembled information regarding the homes so as to be able to answer reporters' questions. Reaction from San Clemente was strong.
Press secretary Ron Ziegler denied charges of wrongdoing regarding Nixon's San Clemente home and he called the stories "unfair attacks". On May 26, the White House announced that the government spent $39,525 on improvements to the San Clemente residence. The White House referred questions to the General Services administration after that. On May 28, the GSA reported that $109,385 was actually spent, and on June 13 raised the figure to $414,000; then to $456,352 on June 14, and $702,367 on June 21. Ziegler denied that any funds from political campaigns, labor unions or corporations were used in the purchase of the home. The White House's position now is that any further questions are part of a smear campaign against the President.
[CBS] - Weiss and Company held a liquidation sale; nine other firms on the New York Stock Exchange are reportedly in trouble and 59 others are on a warning list. The Dow Jones average is now back to where it was in 1964. The total value of the stock market declined $109 billion between January and June. Barron's Weekly editor Robert Bleiberg says that the reasons are the devaluation of the dollar, the loss of confidence due to equity companies failing, and Watergate; he predicts a recession. Critics claim that the stock market needs to be centralized and computerized, and the brokerage system needs to be reformed. Trading volume is down; reforms are slow on Wall Street. [CBS]
- Attorney General Richardson ordered an investigation into an Alabama birth control clinic regarding its involuntary sterilization of young girls. [CBS]
- Elizabeth Taylor said that she hopes her separation from husband Richard Burton is temporary. [CBS]
- Actress Betty Grable died yesterday of lung cancer. Her best known movies were "Million Dollar Legs", "Follow the Fleet", and "How to Marry a Millionaire." [CBS]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 874.17 (-6.40, -0.73%)
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* |
| July 2, 1973 | 880.57 | 102.90 | 9.83 |
| June 29, 1973 | 891.71 | 104.26 | 10.77 |
| June 28, 1973 | 894.64 | 104.69 | 12.76 |
| June 27, 1973 | 884.63 | 103.62 | 12.66 |
| June 26, 1973 | 879.44 | 103.30 | 14.04 |
| June 25, 1973 | 869.13 | 102.25 | 11.67 |
| June 22, 1973 | 879.82 | 103.70 | 18.47 |
| June 21, 1973 | 873.65 | 103.21 | 11.63 |
| June 20, 1973 | 884.71 | 104.44 | 10.60 |
| June 19, 1973 | 881.55 | 103.99 | 12.97 |