News stories from Saturday June 3, 1972
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- An intercontinental flight of 20 hours and 7,200 miles ended for a hijacked and his female companion when the Western Airlines jet he had commandeered landed at Maison Blanche Field in Algiers. With $500,000 he received as ransom in San Francisco, the tough-talking air pirate had directed the plane to Kennedy Airport, where the 36 hostages were released, and then across the Atlantic. The bomb he used was two books and a shaving kit. [New York Times]
- With all signs pointing to a victory for Senator George McGovern in the California primary Tuesday, his campaign managers were voicing concern that overconfidence might impair the drive to get the voters out. Advisers in the camp of Senator Hubert Humphrey were glum following adverse poll reports. Weekend plans for both candidates focused on their final television debate. [New York Times]
- Fearful that the candidacy of Senator George McGovern would lead to an electoral debacle, a group of Democratic governors is laying plans to deny him the nomination. The anti-McGovern governors, mainly from Southern and border states, appear to have possibly awakened too late, for their actions come when it appears the Senator may be within range of a first-ballot nomination. [New York Times]
- Vowing that it will put an end to a quarter century of periodic cold war crises, the Foreign Ministers of the Soviet Union, United States, France and Britain today signed the first comprehensive agreement on the divided city of Berlin. The treaty will in part allow for the simultaneous entry into the United Nations of East and West Germany and the normalization of relations between the two German states. [New York Times]
- A severe recession is gripping South Vietnam and could, according to Pham Kim Ngoc, the Minister of Economy, lead to street rioting and political upheavals. American officials say part of the problem can be traced to the North Vietnamese offensive, while the South Vietnamese say the recession is directly tied to the pullout of American forces. [New York Times]