News stories from Tuesday August 21, 1979
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- No illegal Carter campaign aid was given to the President's committee in the 1976 general election by the agency that handled the committee's advertising, the Federal Election Commission has concluded. The inquiry did not touch on the primary campaign, in which the agency, Gerald Rafshoon Advertising Inc., extended $645,000 in credit to the Carter campaign committee. That issue is being investigated by the Justice Department, and officials said that the inquiry was nearing completion. [New York Times]
- Official optimism about the economy was expressed by President Carter in a radio call-in show in which many questioners expressed confidence in him. The President blamed consumers for the domestic manufacture of gasoline-gorging cars. He spoke soon after arriving in Davenport, Iowa, on the riverboat Delta Queen. [New York Times]
- Wider control over nuclear plant sites was urged by Gov. Dick Thornburgh of Pennsylvania. He said that state officials and citizens must be given a stronger voice in deciding the locations, but he said he was uncertain whether the states should have veto power over the choice. [New York Times]
- Legal gasoline prices In 20 major cities are listed in a guide released by the Department of Energy. The guide is approximate because the figures were valid as of Aug. 6 and have been subject to change since then. [New York Times]
- Homosexual clergymen are the subject of rising conflict in most Christian denominations. Perhaps the most bitter divisions are in the Episcopal Church, which will struggle with the issue at a convention next month. The Roman Catholic, Methodist and Reformed churches are seeking to suspend homosexual clerics. [New York Times]
- More than $2 million was stolen from a Brink's Inc. armored truck by two armed men in the underground loading area of the Chase Manhattan Bank's downtown headquarters. The police said that the thieves transferred more than 30 bags of cash into a stolen truck and seized two captives, who were later found unhurt in the truck, which was left near the Brooklyn Bridge.
Ten more banks were held up in New York City. Police Commissioner Robert McGuire announced the formation of two new bank-robbery units and he accused the banking industry of having become lax in dealing with potential holdups. Two arrests were made in today's holdups, which brought the total for the first three weeks of this month to 119, compared with 632 for all of last year.
[New York Times] - Pioneer 11 is due to approach Saturn late this month more than six years and two billion miles since it left Earth. American Scientists prepared for man's closest view of the planet with its famous rings and covering of swirling gases. [New York Times]
- U.S. foreign-affairs officials agreed on Middle East policy recommendations to President Carter that were said to include dropping plans to propose a resolution on Palestinian rights in the U.N. Security Council. The accord appeared to strengthen the role of Robert Strauss, the special Middle East envoy, who returned to Washington Monday convinced that such a resolution would interfere with American diplomatic efforts because of strong opposition by Israel and Egypt. [New York Times]
- A black group was rebuked for its support of the cause of the Palestine Liberation Organization by Yehuda Blum, Israel's chief delegate at the United Nations. He said that leaders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, who had announced unconditional support for a Palestinian "homeland," had spoken out precipitously and that diplomatic issues were best left to nations involved. [New York Times]
- Eighteen Kurdish rebels were executed and five more Western reporters were ordered expelled by Iranian authorities. The regime announced that 26 newspapers and magazines had been closed in a continuing crackdown on what it regards as criticism of the Iranian revolution. [New York Times]
- Sweeping rights for Nicaraguans were promised under a document announced by the new revolutionary government that specifies equal rights under the law, an orderly process of justice and freedom of expression within certain limits. The document abolished the death penalty and detailed many liberties, but it said that all but a handful could be suspended for reasons of national security, public order or a grave "emergency." [New York Times]
- Moscow has been rebuffed by Nigeria, according to Pentagon officials. They said that the key African country had asked Moscow to slash its air force training mission in Nigeria and that the Russians, who train Nigerians to fly MiG-21 fighters, would be reduced next year from about 40 to five. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 886.01 (-0.51, -0.06%)
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* |
| August 20, 1979 | 886.52 | 108.83 | 32.30 |
| August 17, 1979 | 883.36 | 108.30 | 31.63 |
| August 16, 1979 | 884.04 | 108.09 | 47.01 |
| August 15, 1979 | 885.84 | 108.25 | 46.14 |
| August 14, 1979 | 876.71 | 107.52 | 40.91 |
| August 13, 1979 | 875.26 | 107.42 | 41.98 |
| August 10, 1979 | 867.06 | 106.40 | 36.74 |
| August 9, 1979 | 858.28 | 105.49 | 34.63 |
| August 8, 1979 | 863.14 | 105.98 | 44.97 |
| August 7, 1979 | 859.81 | 105.65 | 45.41 |