News stories from Thursday May 3, 1979
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- The Conservative Party won a sizable victory in Britain's general election. Early returns, along with computer projections by news organizations, suggested that the swing from Labor to the Conservatives was large enough to give Margaret Thatcher, the Tory leader, what she had campaigned for -- a clear majority over all other parties combined and a strong mandate for change. [New York Times]
- At least one cancer death attributable to the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island was predicted by Joseph Califano, Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, who had previously said that no one would die because of the accident. He said that the radiation released from the Pennsylvania plant could be expected to cause at least one, and possibly 10, cancer deaths. He said that later measurements showed radiation levels had been nearly twice as high as earlier estimates. [New York Times]
- Mass cult deaths led to criticism of the State Department in a government report. The study accused officials of "errors and lapses" in handling and evaluating data about the People's Temple before the mass murders and suicides in Jonestown, Guyana, last Nov. 18. But the report stresses that officials felt they were bound by severe legal restraints that prevented them from investigating deeply conditions at the jungle settlement. [New York Times]
- Iowa will welcome back Jimmy Carter tomorrow in his second visit as President. His initial victory there propelled him into the national spotlight in 1976. But political insiders say that his publicized triumph in the state's Democratic precinct caucuses could haunt him on Jan. 31, when the same caucuses will provide the first test of presidential strength in 1980. [New York Times]
- A move for Senator Edward Kennedy to run for President was made by Cleveland's Democratic Party, despite what its chairman called a "pro forma" request from the Senator's office to block the effort. The county committee put itself in a position to offer the first organization challenge to President Carter's renomination at a county convention May 26 [New York Times]
- Reopening the Don Bolles murder case is the aim of a mounting drive in Arizona by a group of more than 300 people. They are acting on behalf of Max Dunlap, one of two men sentenced to die for the murder of the reporter. Mr. Dunlap's friends have raised more than $30,000 and hired a private detective to seek out new evidence. [New York Times]
- Abraham Ribicoff will retire after his third Senate term expires next year, he announced. The 69-year-old Democrat is the most influential elected Connecticut official in modern times. Senator Ribicoff, who has held many major posts, dismissed any suggestion that he would accept a cabinet post or an ambassadorship.
The retirement of Senator Ribicoff stunned Democratic and Republican politicians in Connecticut and set off a scramble among aspirants to move up the political ladder. The expected maneuvering to fill the vacancy could open up several of the state's six congressional seats and a number of other state legislative posts.
[New York Times] - Terrorists struck in Rome. Urban guerrillas raided the Rome area headquarters of Italy's dominant Christian Democratic Party, wrecked two floors with bombs, killed a policeman, wounded two and escaped. The raiders sprayed the walls with symbols of the Red Brigades group. [New York Times]
- Korean peace efforts are being pressed by Secretary General Kurt Waldheim of the United Nations, who left North Korea saying he was taking "several new elements for discussion" to South Korea. [New York Times]
- Five Asian nations are gaining stature after joining together 12 years ago in the Association of South East Asian Nations to aid each other. The association, which groups Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines, is being courted by the major powers, both Communist and non-Communist, and by third-world nations. [New York Times]
- An anti-Communist rally in Iran was generated by hundreds of thousands of chanting and weeping mourners during the funeral procession for Ayatollah Motahari, the slain reputed chief of the Revolutionary Council. The throngs in Teheran repeatedly shouted, "Down with Communism!" [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 857.59 (+2.08, +0.24%)
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* |
| May 2, 1979 | 855.51 | 101.72 | 30.51 |
| 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 |