News stories from Monday March 31, 1980
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Washington gave Iran until tomorrow to announce steps to remove the American hostages from the control of Islamic militants or face new American economic and political retaliation, administration officials said. There was a mood of anticipation at the White House that Iran's Revolutionary Council would take charge of the captives, but because expectations have been dashed so often, officials commented very cautiously.
Iran's policy on the American hostages is expected to be announced in a major speech by President Abolhassan Bani-Sadr, who conferred tonight with representatives of the militants holding the captives.
[New York Times] - The use of unofficial intermediaries by the Carter administration to help resolve the hostage crisis in Iran was disclosed amid a flurry of reports about official and unofficial messages between Washington and Teheran. Administration sources said that because normal diplomatic ties had been cut the administration had turned to a small group of foreign lawyers to carry messages to Teheran. [New York Times]
- Cancer in the Shah may have spread to other parts of his body, according to suggestions from his doctors and medical sources in Cairo, where the enlarged spleen of the deposed Iranian ruler was removed Friday. Dr. Michael DeBakey, who headed the operating team, said that the Shah would resume the chemotherapy treatments used to try to control the cancer affecting his lymphatic system. [New York Times]
- The 13-week strike in Britain against the nationalized Steel Corporation, the longest national labor dispute since World War Il, may end soon despite the opposition of union militants. The strike has seriously damaged relations between the unions and the government, which refused to intervene. The breakthrough came in an arbitration panel's recommendation of a 15.5 percent increase. [New York Times]
- Jesse Owens died of lung cancer at the age of 66. He was perhaps the greatest and most famous athlete in track and field history. Mr. Owens, who was black, won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin at a time when Adolf Hitler was proclaiming Aryan supremacy. [New York Times]
- A revised and balanced budget for the next fiscal year was sent to Congress by President Carter. He said that the proposal, which calls for cuts in federal services and benefits across a broad front, would help to check inflation without bringing on a severe recession. The revised version proposes spending of $611.5 billion and a surplus of $16.5 billion. [New York Times]
- Edward Kennedy drew spirited crowds on the eve of Wisconsin's open, cross-over presidential primary as he accused President Carter of losing touch with the country. Among the Republican aspirants, George Bush appeals to traditionalist party members, Ronald Reagan has backing from some blue-collar Democrats and Representative John Anderson seems to be strong among suburban and campus Democrats.
President Carter and Ronald Reagan are expected to be big winners in tomorrow's presidential primary in Kansas because they are being challenged by liberals in one of the nation's more conservative states. Registered Democrats and Republicans cannot cross over, but many independents may vote for Mr. Reagan to protest the President's economic policies.
[New York Times] - Political patronage could be curbed by a Supreme Court decision. The Court, in a 6-to-3 ruling, held that public employees cannot ordinarily be dismissed solely on the basis of their party affiliation. [New York Times]
- Major losses from silver trading of $400 million more than was previously disclosed led Nelson Bunker Hunt and W. Herbert Hunt to surrender oil and gas properties. The action to help cover their mounting losses from the sharply lower price of silver raised questions about the remaining worth of the two Dallas brothers, who are heirs to the Hunt oil fortune and usually described as billionaires. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 785.75 (+8.10, +1.04%)
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* |
| March 28, 1980 | 777.65 | 100.68 | 46.71 |
| March 27, 1980 | 759.98 | 98.22 | 63.77 |
| March 26, 1980 | 762.12 | 98.68 | 37.35 |
| March 25, 1980 | 767.83 | 99.19 | 43.79 |
| March 24, 1980 | 765.44 | 99.28 | 39.22 |
| March 21, 1980 | 785.15 | 102.31 | 32.22 |
| March 20, 1980 | 789.08 | 103.12 | 32.58 |
| March 19, 1980 | 800.94 | 104.31 | 36.52 |
| March 18, 1980 | 801.62 | 104.10 | 47.34 |
| March 17, 1980 | 788.65 | 102.26 | 37.01 |