News stories from Wednesday November 29, 1978
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Seven dazed and elderly survivors of the People's Temple in Guyana arrived by plane in New York and were quickly aided by city social workers to a bus for connecting flights to California. The survivors had decided not to give interviews in New York.
Autopsies are to be performed on the Rev. Jim Jones, two of his close aides and four bodies randomly selected from the mass deaths in Guyana, a Justice Department official said in announcing the reversal of an earlier decision.
California's plethora of cults, which have come to attention through several recent tragedies, has grown steadily over the last decade. Some say the major reason for the proliferation of cults, sects and movements, which has been accompanied by an undertone of violence, is an unceasing migration of people who are seeking new lives, roots and satisfaction.
[New York Times] - Liberal Democrats were defeated when leaders of the party's National Committee voted tentatively to reject seven changes in the rules for next week's midterm party conference. The liberals had proposed the changes in hopes of getting more debate about issues on the floor at the Memphis meeting. [New York Times]
- The presidency will be sought by a former migrant worker who rose to be a millionaire management consultant. Benjamin Fernandez announced he would wage a $15 million campaign for the Republican nomination in 1980. The 53-year-old Californian has never before run for office but said that he had gained political experience raising funds for President Nixon. [New York Times]
- James Earl Ray's motive for assassinating the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. could have been an alleged $50,000 offer made by two St. Louis businessmen, a House committee said. The panel added that although it had been unable to establish a direct link between Mr. Ray and the two men, "they met the necessary criteria for being considered participants in a serious conspiracy." [New York Times]
- Marijuana as a possible aid in decreasing the severity of glaucoma may be tested scientifically. The National Eye Institution said it was soliciting research proposals from scientists to determine whether smoking the drug has a valid medical use as a treatment for the eye disease afflicting one million Americans. [New York Times]
- A company co-founded by Governor Byrne of New Jersey was criticized before a congressional committee as one of several concerns that pressure the elderly to buy unneeded health insurance policies. Mr. Byrne was one of the founders of the company, Intercontinental Life Insurance, before he ran for office. His shares were later placed in a blind trust, and he said through a spokesman: "I don't even know if I still own any shares of Intercontinental. I haven't taken an active interest in the company in six years." [New York Times]
- A homosexual rights bill lost again in New York City. Voting 26 to 16, the City Council defeated a motion to release the measure from a committee for consideration by the Council. Councilman Henry Stern of Manhattan said he would soon introduce another bill that would ban discrimination in jobs, public accommodations and housing based on sexual orientation. [New York Times]
- A limit on American arms sales was announced by President Carter. He said he had placed a ceiling of $8.43 billion on the total value of the sales in the 1979 fiscal year to nations not allied with the United States. The modest reduction from the 1978 fiscal year's total is the second successive cut in two years. [New York Times]
- A drastic revision of policy in relying upon large-scale retaliation for averting a nuclear war with the Soviet Union is being actively considered by the Carter administration. Officials said that the thrust of several Pentagon initiatives would give Washington an increased ability to wage limited nuclear conflict in addition to its capability for large-scale warfare. [New York Times]
- Russian consumers would gain under plans announced by Moscow for a substantial increase in food supplies and other consumer goods next year. The new policy followed demands for such rises by Leonid Brezhnev, the Soviet leader. The government also acknowledged shortfalls this year in production of oil and coal and set only modest targets for increases of both energy sources next year. [New York Times]
- No purge of Chinese leaders will result from a major Communist Party meeting now underway in Peking, according to Deputy Prime Minister Teng Hsiao-ping. He sought to project an image of unity in China in a meeting with a Japanese leader. [New York Times]
- Rumania's independent foreign policy was pressed by President Ceausescu, who called a special session of Communist Party leaders to support his defiance of Moscow. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 790.11 (-14.03, -1.74%)
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* |
| November 28, 1978 | 804.14 | 95.15 | 22.74 |
| November 27, 1978 | 813.84 | 95.99 | 19.79 |
| November 24, 1978 | 810.12 | 95.79 | 14.59 |
| November 22, 1978 | 807.00 | 95.48 | 20.01 |
| November 21, 1978 | 804.05 | 95.01 | 20.76 |
| November 20, 1978 | 805.61 | 95.25 | 24.44 |
| November 17, 1978 | 797.73 | 94.42 | 25.17 |
| November 16, 1978 | 794.18 | 93.71 | 21.34 |
| November 15, 1978 | 785.60 | 92.71 | 26.28 |
| November 14, 1978 | 785.26 | 92.49 | 30.62 |