News stories from Wednesday April 4, 1979
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Human, mechanical and design errors contributed to the major accident at the nuclear power plant near Middletown, Pa., federal safety investigators said in their first official report to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. They said that two key valves had apparently been improperly closed two weeks before the accident, there were other operating errors and that some equipment had failed and had been improperly designed. But the investigators advised against ordering the immediate shutdown of eight other operating reactors built by the same manufacturer or of 61 reactors constructed by other companies.
Seeking to control the nuclear accident, specialists studied a procedure to slowly bring the overheated and damaged reactor under full control with what they hoped would be the fewest possible risks. The top federal official at the Middletown, Pa., plant said that the procedure seemed "very favorable" and would tend to minimize the danger of releasing contaminated water from the reactor.
[New York Times] - A warning on sleeping pills was issued by an expert panel of the National Academy of Sciences. It reported that the prescription pills most widely used were not as hazard-free as many doctors believe and that there was little evidence that sleeping pills in general were effective when used nightly over long periods. The panel recommended that such pills should be prescribed in limited numbers. [New York Times]
- Representative Charles Diggs, who has been convicted of payroll padding and accepting kickbacks from his employees, was accused by the House Ethics Committee of 18 counts of violating House rules. The allegations parallel the federal charges for which Mr. Diggs was convicted by a jury. The Michigan Democrat, who won re-election overwhelmingly after his conviction, received a three-year jail sentence, which he is appealing. [New York Times]
- Twenty-one Ku Klux Klansmen were indicted by a federal grand jury in Birmingham, Ala., on charges that include shooting into the homes of leaders of the N.A.A.C.P. and racially-mixed couples. The indictments were returned on the 11th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who had long been attacked by white supremacy groups. [New York Times]
- A North-South conflict is deepening in Congress. Regional-interest organizations have grown rapidly as the conflict has accelerated on such issues as energy, revenue sharing, parks, military bases, urban financing, transportation and welfare. [New York Times]
- The largest-cash bank robbery in the history of New York City, according to F.B.I. records, occurred at a branch of the Bank of New York, Three men wearing ski masks stole $335,600 only 10 minutes after a large cash shipment had been delivered to the bank in Manhattan's financial district in a security car. No shots were fired and no one was injured in the swift holdup. [New York Times]
- Pakistanis reacted with general calm to the hanging of former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto except for a few minor outbreaks that the police quickly brought under control. The nation seemed stunned by the sudden execution of the charismatic leader, who had been convicted of plotting to murder a political opponent in 1974. Appeals for clemency had been made by dozens of world leaders. [New York Times]
- Forces seeking to depose Idi Amin assaulted the Ugandan capital of Kampala. Sources close to the invading army of Tanzanians and Ugandan exiles said that the forces had seized a prison two miles from the city center. [New York Times]
- An Egyptian-Israeli hot line was opened to permit instant telephone contact between President Sadat and Prime Minister Begin, the Israeli leader told Parliament. [New York Times]
- Spain's leftists were jubilant after an election sweep by the Socialists and Communists in most major municipalities. The victories seemed to presage steps toward increased collaboration among leftists and rising divisions in Spain's politics. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 869.80 (+1.47, +0.17%)
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* |
| April 3, 1979 | 868.33 | 102.40 | 33.53 |
| April 2, 1979 | 855.25 | 100.90 | 28.97 |
| March 30, 1979 | 862.18 | 101.59 | 29.97 |
| March 29, 1979 | 866.77 | 102.03 | 28.51 |
| March 28, 1979 | 866.25 | 102.12 | 39.92 |
| March 27, 1979 | 871.36 | 102.48 | 32.93 |
| March 26, 1979 | 854.82 | 101.04 | 23.42 |
| March 23, 1979 | 859.75 | 101.60 | 33.58 |
| March 22, 1979 | 861.31 | 101.67 | 34.36 |
| March 21, 1979 | 857.76 | 101.25 | 31.12 |