News stories from Monday April 17, 1972
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- A U.S. ship was attacked by two North Vietnamese patrol boats in the Gulf of Tonkin; the frigate Warden returned to the Philippines for repairs. A U.S. destroyer was also hit from North Vietnamese shore positions. Fifty American ships are now patrolling off the Vietnam coast; six have been hit.
U.S. B-52s continued bombing Hanoi and Haiphong harbor inside North Vietnam. The Soviet Union claims that four of its merchant ships were damaged there yesterday. Three Soviet-built MiG-21s were reportedly shot down over Hanoi; two U.S. jets were downed by ground fire.
South Vietnam regained control of An Loc, although reinforcements on Highway 13 are still under fire. Communist rockets apparently hit an ammunition dump at Lai Khe, causing a giant explosion. Although 6,000 U.S. Army ground troops were withdrawn from South Vietnam last week, the influx of Navy, Air Force and Marine personnel caused overall troop levels to increase by 11,000.
[CBS] - President Nixon said, regarding the U.S. bombing of North Vietnam, "you have to let them have it when they jump on you". Secretary of State Rogers appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to answer questions about the bombing. Rogers stated that the bombing of North Vietnam is being done to protect Americans who remain in Vietnam, to insure continued U.S. troop withdrawals, and to give South Vietnam a chance to defend itself against North Vietnam's invasion. Rogers reiterated that no U.S. ground troops will be sent to Vietnam.
Senator William Fulbright said that he doesn't see how the renewed bombing fulfills President Nixon's 1968 promise to end the war; Senator Charles Percy said that the American people want the U.S. role in Vietnam to end. The President's new strategy forces the Soviets to choose between helping North Vietnam or improving relations with the United States. The committee voted to cut off money for U.S. military operations in southeast Asia on December 31 if North Vietnam releases American POWs.
[CBS] - The North Vietnamese delegate to the Paris Peace Talks stated that the Communists are ready to resume secret peace talks as soon as the U.S. stops bombing North Vietnam. Le Duc Tho is reportedly willing to return to Paris from Hanoi for talks with Henry Kissinger. Secretary of State Rogers called for a halt to North Vietnam's invasion as a condition for restarting the peace talks. [CBS]
- Paint peeling from the Apollo 16 spacecraft is said to be of no significance. Astronauts Mattingly, Duke and Young reached the halfway point of their journey to the moon this afternoon. [CBS]
- In Belfast, Northern Ireland, British troops shot and killed two IRA members; four soldiers and a 9-year-old boy were wounded in the gun battle. Soldiers in armored personnel carriers fired rubber bullets at youths who were throwing rocks at them. Live fire erupted from IRA gunmen and a battle ensued. [CBS]
- The Wall Street consultant whose study became the basis for the settlement of ITT's antitrust case said that when he undertook the job for the White House he was given an analysis written by an ITT director. Richard Ramsden told a Senate hearing that he did not know the source of the analysis until now, and he stated that presidential aide Peter Flanigan never tried to influence his study. [CBS]
- Vice president Spiro Agnew urged supermarket executives to hold down food prices; if they don't, the government may intervene. Speaking at the Supermarket Institute in Houston, Agnew said that the Nixon administration is encouraged by the price stabilization which has occurred since Treasury Secretary Connally's speech. [CBS]
- Brooke Army Hospital reported that former President Lyndon Johnson, who recently had a heart attack, has been experiencing a flurry of extra heartbeats. His heart specialist has been summoned from Atlanta. [CBS]
- Clinton Towl, chairman of the Grumman Corporation, stated that the company can no longer make Navy F-14 jet fighters at the contracted cost. [CBS]
- Ford Motor Company is recalling 1972 model year Ford Torinos and Mercury Montegos for correction of a problem with the rear axle bearing. [CBS]
- Vasteras, Sweden, is the world's only centrally-heated city. Units under sidewalks and streets prevent snow accumulation. 99% of the city's buildings are heated from one central generator plant. Homes don't have furnaces, therefore they produce no air pollution. [CBS]
- A gunman hijacked a Delta Airlines jet en route from Miami to Chicago, but was captured upon landing. [CBS]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 966.59 (-1.13, -0.12%)
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 14, 1972 | 967.72 | 109.84 | 17.46 |
| April 13, 1972 | 965.53 | 109.91 | 17.99 |
| April 12, 1972 | 966.96 | 110.18 | 24.69 |
| April 11, 1972 | 962.60 | 109.76 | 19.93 |
| April 10, 1972 | 958.08 | 109.45 | 19.47 |
| April 7, 1972 | 962.60 | 109.62 | 19.90 |
| April 6, 1972 | 959.44 | 109.42 | 22.83 |
| April 5, 1972 | 954.55 | 109.00 | 22.96 |
| April 4, 1972 | 943.41 | 108.12 | 18.11 |
| April 3, 1972 | 940.92 | 107.48 | 14.99 |