News stories from Thursday August 9, 1973
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Police are unraveling the details of mass murders in Houston, Texas. Twelve bodies have been found, all teenage boys. Most of them were sexually tortured before death. Elmer Henley admits killing Dean Corll, the alleged mass murderer. Henley claims he brought the victims to Corll, but says he killed Corll in self-defense after a paint-sniffing sex party. Henley confessed to being involved in 25-30 murders. More bodies are reportedly buried elsewhere in the state. [CBS]
- A search is underway for a small boy and his father in the mountains near Chilili, New Mexico. The boy called for help over the citizens' band radio, and is thought to be near Chilili in an overturned truck with his father either hurt or dead. Searchers on the ground and in the air are combing the area without any luck so far. [CBS]
- U.S. war planes continued heavy bombing in Cambodia to try to ease Communist pressure on Phnom Penh. Reports have been belatedly released regarding three more accidental U.S. bombings of Cambodian villages. [CBS]
- The Senate Armed Services Committee continued hearings into secret U.S. military involvement in Indochina. Deputy Defense Secretary William Clements and Admiral Thomas Moorer presented top secret orders to the committee regarding the Cambodia bombing in late 1969. General Earl Wheeler and then-Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird authorized those orders. Senator Harold Hughes asked if the orders included entering false targets in the records. Clements said he believed that a cover story was used for the protection of U.S. troops, and offered his opinion that it seemed to be a well-organized operation and no one should apologize for it. Clements testified he didn't know that the Senate Armed Services Committee was receiving incorrect reports. [CBS]
- The Agriculture Department predicted record crops in wheat, corn and soybeans for this year, but the actual crop reports are coming in lower than expected. Foreign demand for U.S. grain is exploding; Russia, Japan and China all buy from the United States. Wheat prices continue to hit record highs at the Chicago Board of Trade. Some rumors exist that the U.S. has promised to export more wheat than is available.
Chicago Board of Trade member Fred Uhlmann believes that the U.S. is headed for high prices and grain shortages. Domestic needs must be filled first; foreign buyers won't be able to rely on the U.S. for grain much longer. The corn crop report indicates lower output this year. Feed grain prices have soared and cattleman can't afford to raise beef without passing on higher meat prices to the consumer. Bread prices are also expected to skyrocket.
[CBS] - A Cost of Living Council spokesman stated that the beef price freeze has restrained prices without widespread shortages, and he believes the overall beef supply is only 15-20% below normal. In New York City, beef supplies are at just 57% of normal, and the shortage is expected to worsen. Many supermarkets are now going directly to the farmer to buy meat and use a meatpacker to slaughter the beef. But kosher meat processors are in a bind and some will close soon.
Arthur Strauss runs a kosher meat store in Atlanta, but his meat supply is low. Strauss won't stoop to using the black market in beef, although he may be forced to close. Beef on supermarket shelves in Atlanta is in good supply because consumer demand has dropped. Restaurants are complaining about poor meat quality.
Beef is available in Chicago. Small independent shops are suffering from shortages, but the major supermarket chains custom-slaughter their beef. Critics say that custom-slaughtered beef may not measure up to standards, however. Demand exceeds supplies.
In Los Angeles, most large markets are operating with approximately 80% of usual beef supplies; smaller stores have little or no beef. Beef supplies will soon drop however, as 21 packing houses will close over the weekend.
[CBS] - Vice President Spiro Agnew refused to grant the U.S. Attorney in Baltimore access to his financial records.
Maryland Governor Marvin Mandel defended Agnew. Mandel stated that Agnew is being tried in the court of public opinion, and believes the Attorney General should investigate the source of the accusations along with press leaks. Whether indictments are returned or not, Agnew has been hurt.
[CBS] - The Senate Watergate Committee went to court to force the President's release of the subpoenaed White House tapes and files. Senate committee lawyers filed a complaint and issued a summons to President Nixon through the White House counsel. The committee insists that "executive privilege" has been misused and demanded that the President release the subpoenaed material. President Nixon was urged to answer the complaint within 20 days, though committee counsel Sam Dash insists that the matter is too urgent for any delay in action. [CBS]
- The California state Board of Equalization voted to investigate President Nixon's San Clemente property taxes. [CBS]
- A Nixon administration commission on criminal justice goals and standards issued its report which was presented to Attorney General Elliot Richardson. The highly controversial report includes outlawing handguns and dropping jail sentences for certain crimes. The commission's intended goal is to reduce the incidence of major violent crimes by half within ten years. Richardson stated that the administration wants to reduce crime, but each proposed recommendation must be viewed separately. [CBS]
- The U.S. 8th infantry division in Germany has withdrawn its plans to help commanders recognize and report dissidence. The Army now says the plan is inappropriate. [CBS]
- Balloonist Bobby Sparks was forced to abandon his balloon trip across the Atlantic after bad weather set in. [CBS]
- The Justice Department filed antitrust suits against Goodyear and Firestone, charging those companies with monopolizing the tire industry. [CBS]
|
Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 910.49 (+8.47, +0.94%)
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 8, 1973 | 902.02 | 105.55 | 12.44 |
| August 7, 1973 | 911.95 | 106.55 | 13.51 |
| August 6, 1973 | 912.78 | 106.73 | 12.32 |
| August 3, 1973 | 908.87 | 106.49 | 9.94 |
| August 2, 1973 | 910.14 | 106.67 | 12.08 |
| August 1, 1973 | 912.18 | 106.83 | 13.53 |
| July 31, 1973 | 926.40 | 108.22 | 13.53 |
| July 30, 1973 | 933.77 | 109.25 | 11.17 |
| July 27, 1973 | 936.71 | 109.59 | 12.91 |
| July 26, 1973 | 934.53 | 109.85 | 18.41 |