News stories from Wednesday December 27, 1972
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Harry Truman's casket was taken to the Truman Library in Independence, Missouri; the public came to honor the former president. Tomorrow a small private funeral will be held and Truman will be buried in the courtyard of the library. President and Mrs. Nixon and Lyndon Johnson and his wife attended today's services at the Truman Library. 87-year-old Bess Truman, fatigued by the strain of recent weeks, did not attend the ceremony. She was visited by the Nixons and the Johnsons. [CBS]
- An American B-52 and fighter-bomber were downed over North Vietnam. Four men died and two were wounded in the B-52; the other pilot is missing.
The Pentagon issued a report on the details of the first week of intense bombing. The U.S. carried out 500 B-52 strikes and 1,000 fighter-bomber raids. North Vietnam retaliated with heavy surface-to-air missile fire. The U.S. reported the loss of 12 B-52's, eight fighter-bombers and 75 men. North Vietnam claims to have downed 26 B-52's and 35 other jets, and captured 100 airmen. The Pentagon report lists 68 targets. The Pentagon issued its report partly in response to international charges that America is bombing civilian areas and hospitals. Pentagon spokesman Jerry Friedheim stated that the U.S. is bombing in the suburbs of Hanoi and can't estimate civilian casualties. He denied reports that Hanoi's largest hospital was struck.
[CBS] - The Communists vowed that there won't be any peace talks until the U.S. quits bombing. [CBS]
- For first time in 12 years the annual crime rate did not rise, according to FBI reports. Better police efficiency was given as the reason for the crime rate's stability, along with increased funds for big city police departments. Babies born in the postwar population boom are now coming out of their adolescent years (which are a person's most crime-prone years). Rape was up 13% this year, however. University of Pennsylvania professor Marvin Wolfgang noted that women are now more willing to report rape than in past years, and he added that ghetto-dwellers are moving out into general society more than before. [CBS]
- The President's Council of Economic Advisors called the 1972 economy a success as chairman Herbert Stein hinted at the next phase of price controls. Phase III might exempt retailers, phase out rent controls, simplify the enforcement mechanism and change the profit margin standard for price increases. The council is looking for a system that will work without being a drag on the economy. [CBS]
- Economic indicators were up 1.9% for November. [CBS]
- The U.S. trade deficit was $559.2 million for November. [CBS]
- A cattle truck collided with a bus on a narrow bridge near Fort Sumner, New Mexico; 19 people were killed, 16 injured. The truck hit a railing on the narrow bridge and jackknifed, and the bus collided head-on. The bus was carrying teenagers from the Woodlawn Baptist Church of Austin, Texas, to a resort near Santa Fe, where they planned to ski and attend religious meetings. [CBS]
- In Managua, Nicaragua, the government ordered looters to be shot; several have already been executed. The government also ordered the evacuation of the city. Refugee camps are being set up in the country, but no relief is provided to those who remain in the city. The demolition of an 18 square block area of downtown will begin today. [CBS]
- The Environmental Protection Agency proposed new regulations for service stations to offer lead-free gasoline by 1974. It delayed until 1975 the start of a three-year program to reduce lead in all gas. EPA administrator William Ruckelshaus denied that pressure from the Nixon administration was responsible for the delay. [CBS]
- Dr. Peter Glaser suggested to the American Association for the Advancement of Science that an orbiting power station could convert the sun's heat into electricity. [CBS]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 1007.68 (+0.98, +0.10%)
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* |
| December 26, 1972 | 1006.70 | 116.30 | 11.12 |
| December 22, 1972 | 1004.21 | 115.83 | 12.54 |
| December 21, 1972 | 1000.00 | 115.11 | 18.29 |
| December 20, 1972 | 1004.82 | 115.95 | 18.49 |
| December 19, 1972 | 1009.18 | 116.34 | 17.00 |
| December 18, 1972 | 1013.25 | 116.90 | 17.54 |
| December 15, 1972 | 1027.24 | 118.26 | 18.30 |
| December 14, 1972 | 1025.06 | 118.24 | 17.93 |
| December 13, 1972 | 1030.48 | 118.56 | 16.54 |
| December 12, 1972 | 1033.19 | 118.66 | 17.04 |