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News stories from Wednesday May 2, 1979
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Man-made radiation risks are small, according to members of an expert committee of the National Academy of Sciences that has assessed the health effects of low-level radiation, but they disagreed sharply over how small the risks are. Still, both sides in the intense disagreement said they felt that the potential harm to the general population from man-made radiation, especially that stemming from nuclear plants, had been overblown.
Small amounts of radioactive water leak from cooling pipes in at least 15 nuclear power stations, according to government regulators. They said that extensive to moderate corrosion or cracking in the pipes was due to a chemical reaction in steam generators, which causes pipes in the primary cooling system to crack under the pressure of corrosive buildup. [New York Times]
- The White House won the first budget fight of the year in the House with strong support by Democratic leaders. After five hours of floor debate, members approved a $2.6 billion addition to the 1979 budget that had been tailored to draw support from diverse groups in the House for the entire 1980 budget package. [New York Times]
- Creation of a Department of Education was approved in a House committee by a vote of 20 to 19 and the bill headed for an uncertain fate on the House floor. The plan for establishing the cabinet-level department has been passed in the Senate. [New York Times]
- A White House move to rebut critics of administration policies is under way. Gerald Rafshoon, President Carter's media adviser, has compiled a list of prominent opinion makers inside and outside government to be used to respond to editorial and public criticism. The list of several hundred persons was prepared after critical columns and editorials appeared about the new strategic arms treaty being negotiated with Moscow. [New York Times]
- Whether to support The Progressive magazine in its fight against a federal court order barring it from publishing an article about making a hydrogen bomb is a troubling constitutional issue facing the American Society of Newspaper Editors at its annual convention. Most editors would not have published the article and many have serious doubts about its merits. [New York Times]
- The age of sexual consent is expected to revert to 16 years in New Jersey because of widespread fears about a new criminal code that lowers the age to 13. Leaders of the state Assembly said they expected the chamber to approve tomorrow a stopgap measure to restore the former age of consent. [New York Times]
- Chinese and Vietnamese casualties in the four-week war in Vietnam were reported by Peking. It said that 20,000 Chinese and 50,000 Vietnamese were killed or wounded. Pentagon sources said that under a broad assessment of one dead for every three wounded, the Chinese death toll was higher than that for Americans in any four weeks of the Vietnam War.
Vietnamese refugees are fleeing to other Southeast Asian countries in record numbers despite repeated denials by Hanoi that it is aiding the exodus of Chinese, who make up at least two-thirds of the total, and an accord with the U.N. under which Hanoi pledged to ease legal emigration. [New York Times]
- Britain's Laborites are still trailing the Conservatives, according to strong signs on the eve of the general election. Prime Minister Callaghan asserted in his district in Wales that his government had wrought "an economic near miracle" as Margaret Thatcher, the Tory leader, won a rousing reception in her North London district. [New York Times]
- Militant support of the Palestinians was stressed by Foreign Minister Ibrahim Yazdi in an interview on the foreign policy of Iran's new revolutionary Government. Dr. Yazdi outlined a conciliatory approach to the United States and a non-committal attitude toward the Soviet Union. [New York Times]
- Israel celebrated its 31st anniversary of independence and Prime Minister Begin said his government would consider no further major withdrawal from occupied lands in exchange for an overall settlement.
U.S. neutrality in an Arab dispute was sought by the Carter administration. It dissociated itself from a scathing attack on Saudi Arabia Tuesday by President Sadat of Egypt. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 855.51 (0.00, 0.00%)
S&P Composite: 101.72 (+0.04, +0.04%)
Arms Index: 0.98
| Issues | Volume* |
|---|
| Advances | 663 | 12.31 |
| Declines | 715 | 13.07 |
| Unchanged | 495 | 5.13 |
| Total Volume | 30.51 |
* in millions of sharesArms Index is the ratio of volume per declining issue to volume per advancing issue; a figure below 1.0 is bullish.
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| Market Index Trends |
|---|
| Date | DJIA | S&P | Volume* |
|---|
| May 1, 1979 | 855.51 | 101.68 | 31.05 |
| April 30, 1979 | 854.90 | 101.76 | 26.44 |
| April 27, 1979 | 856.64 | 101.80 | 29.63 |
| April 26, 1979 | 860.97 | 102.01 | 32.41 |
| April 25, 1979 | 867.46 | 102.50 | 31.75 |
| April 24, 1979 | 866.86 | 102.20 | 35.54 |
| April 23, 1979 | 860.10 | 101.57 | 25.62 |
| April 20, 1979 | 856.98 | 101.23 | 28.83 |
| April 19, 1979 | 855.25 | 101.28 | 31.12 |
| April 18, 1979 | 860.27 | 101.70 | 29.51 |
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