News stories from Monday October 22, 1979
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Criticism of reactor operators at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant was expressed by a presidential commission, which said in its final draft report that the utility lacked "sufficient knowledge, expertise and personnel to operate the plant or maintain it adequately." The report also said the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was lax in assuring the safety of reactors, but it stopped short of proposing a halt in the construction of new ones. [New York Times]
- Exxon Corporation profits rose by 119 percent to a record $1.15 billion in the third quarter of the year on a relatively moderate increase in total sales. The report seemed certain to touch off new protests from critics who hold that the oil industry has profited unduly from shortages of its products. [New York Times]
- Prospects for producing alcohol fuel from garbage and other sources are being studied by a federal panel, whose members circled high in helicopters over the vast trash dumps on Staten Island and New Jersey's Hackensack Meadowlands. Commission staff members believe that about 320 million gallons of methyl alcohol could be produced from the garbage deposited annually at the dumps. [New York Times]
- Capital punishment resumed in Nevada after 18 years as Jesse Walter Bishop was executed for first degree murder. After his death, officials said he had told them he committed 18 murders for hire, but a detective said the prisoner gave no names or locations. The convict had resisted all offers from officials and lawyers for help. [New York Times]
- Bias by Sears, Roebuck was charged in five suits filed by the federal government, accusing the world's largest retailer of discrimination against women, blacks and Hispanics. The filing of the charges in New York City and four other cities marked the latest round in the government's nearly seven-year inquiry into the company's employment practices. [New York Times]
- Senator Edward Kennedy spoke out strongly against "leadership that abdicates its responsibility or blames the people for malaise." He told Democrats in Philadelphia that the American people want inspiring leadership and "action, not excuses." [New York Times]
- Feminist groups stress inflation, as well as the impact of unemployment and recession on women, in preparation for the 1980 presidential election. Ratification of the equal rights amendment remains the key theme for the groups, but economic problems have displaced other issues. [New York Times]
- A New Jersey legislator was indicted on extortion charges. State Senator David Friedland, Democrat of Jersey City, and his father were accused by a federal grand jury of extorting $360,000 in bribes in return for arranging $4 million in loans from a Teamsters' union pension fund. [New York Times]
- American military aid to Morocco has been approved by President Carter. In a policy shift, he decided to seek congressional approval of the sale of armed reconnaissance planes and helicopter gunships for use against guerrillas contesting Morocco's control over the Western Sahara. Opposition by key members of Congress is anticipated. [New York Times]
- Israel's settlement policy was set back as the Israeli supreme court ordered the dismantling of a disputed outpost in the occupied West Bank set up on lands seized from Arabs. But government officials said that the unanimous ruling did not nullify earlier decisions authorizing the requisition of land from private owners for settlements deemed vital for security, or ban settlement on state land in occupied areas. [New York Times]
- A major Israeli account was censored by a board of five cabinet members. It barred former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin from publishing his report of the expulsion of 50,000 Palestinian civilians from their homes near Tel Aviv during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. The account, which was to have appeared in Mr. Rabin's newly published memoirs, attributes the decision to David Ben-Gurion and says that some Israeli soldiers refused to take part. [New York Times]
- Cuba's best-known political prisoner arrived in Costa Rica, where a welcoming crowd burst into applause and cheers. Hubert Matos was freed Sunday in Havana after serving a full 20-year prison term, but he said, "It is here where I feel truly free." [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 809.13 (-5.55, -0.68%)
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* |
| October 19, 1979 | 814.68 | 101.60 | 42.43 |
| October 18, 1979 | 830.12 | 103.61 | 29.59 |
| October 17, 1979 | 830.72 | 103.39 | 29.66 |
| October 16, 1979 | 829.52 | 103.19 | 33.76 |
| October 15, 1979 | 831.06 | 103.36 | 34.85 |
| October 12, 1979 | 838.99 | 104.49 | 36.39 |
| October 11, 1979 | 844.62 | 105.05 | 47.55 |
| October 10, 1979 | 849.32 | 105.30 | 81.62 |
| October 9, 1979 | 857.59 | 106.63 | 55.57 |
| October 8, 1979 | 884.04 | 109.88 | 32.61 |