News stories from Saturday August 7, 1971
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Apollo 15 splashed down 300 miles north of Hawaii. The splashdown was harder than usual because only two of the three parachutes opened. President Nixon will telephone his congratulations to the astronauts. [CBS]
- Secretary of State William Rogers will discuss the East Pakistani refugee problem with United Nations Secretary U Thant on Monday. In East Pakistan, rebels have sabotaged railroads and bridges. West Pakistani soldiers burned the town of Ludhiana, India, after a nearby railroad line was sabotaged; rebel activity is increasing. [CBS]
- The Soviet Union and its Eastern European allies have agreed on an economic integration plan which includes transferable currency, the standardization of machinery and coordination of five-year plans. [CBS]
- China rejected Russia's proposal for a "Big 5" conference to limit the spread of nuclear arms. Japanese demonstrators called for the abolition of all nuclear weapons on the 26th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima yesterday.
An underground nuclear test is scheduled to be held on Amchitka Island in Alaska. Senator Mike Gravel claims that the test could result in earthquakes, tidal waves and radioactive contamination of water. The Atomic Energy Commission said that there is little chance that the test could trigger an earthquake, or that radioactivity will escape from the shaft. A spokesman for the Federation of American Scientists stated that the test is of a weapon of only minimal use to anti-ballistic missile development, and that gains from the test are not significant enough to warrant the risk. President Nixon will decide whether to approve the test later this month.
[CBS] - A House-Senate committee proposed revising the currency exchange rates between industrial nations. The Treasury Department says that the answer to the current balance of trade payments deficit is a healthier domestic economy. [CBS]
- Former Georgia Governor Lester Maddox said that his generation, not youth, is to blame for America's problems. [CBS]
- CBS sports reporter Heywood Hale Broun found a baseball prospect in a report he filed two years ago. Pitcher J.R. Richard has moved up in the Houston Astros' minor league system the past two years to reach Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City 89'ers general manager Dick King says that Richard is one of few players in the league who fans specifically come to see. 89'ers first baseman John Mayberry noted that Richard and major-league pitcher Vida Blue use different styles but throw the ball equally fast. Richard says he has to think more about each hitter now, but is gaining more confidence as he learns how to pitch. Richard isn't bothered by comparisons to Blue, and believes that he can play in the major leagues. [CBS]