News stories from Monday December 22, 1980
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Some of the hostages may be in jail in Iran, a State Department spokesman said as the administration expressed concern over the treatment being given the Americans. The spokesman, John Trattner, said he was providing information about the status of the hostages in rebuttal to a statement by an Iranian official Sunday that the Americans were living in hotels and were very well-treated.
The hostages face being put on trial if the United States does not meet Iran's demands -- $29 billion in "guarantees" for the return of frozen Iranian assets and the late Shah's wealth -- the Speaker of Iran's Parliament said, repeating a threat made periodically since they were seized.
[New York Times] - Five more cabinet members were nominated by President-elect Ronald Reagan, leaving two cabinet posts or Cabinet-level posts still unfilled. The five nominees include the first woman, the first black, and the first southerner named to Mr. Reagan's cabinet. James Watt, a Colorado lawyer, and proponent of economic development of federal lands, was chosen as Secretary of the Interior; Jonn Block, tormer Illinois Director of Agriculture, was named Secretary of Agriculture; Samuel Pierce, a black who is a New York lawyer and former state judge, was named Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; James Edwards, former Governor of South Carolina, was named Secretary of Energy, and Jeane Kirkpatrick, a Democrat and professor of government at Georgetown University, was appointed United States representative to the United Nations. [New York Times]
- Ties between Mayor Koch of New York City and the Reagan administration already have been established through the Mayor's direct contacts with the President-elect and his top aide. A Reagan transition aide said that he expected Mr. Koch, who was often critical of President Carter during the campaign, to have easier access to the White House than will other big-city Democrats. [New York Times]
- Chrysler's union rejected an appeal by the company for a freeze on wages and benefits aimed at helping the auto maker build up its deteriorating financial condition. The Chrysler council of the United Automobile Workers union agreed, however, to reopen its contract with Chrysler under certain conditions. It wants its bargainers to review the situation directly with the government's Chrysler Loan Guarantee Board to ascertain "the true requirements that must be met." [New York Times]
- "Crime has gone berserk" in Miami, in the words of a lawyer in the city's business district. His concerns are reflected in crime statistics for one of the nation's principal tourist cities: Homicides rose from 70 in all of 1979 to 235 at the start of this week. Rapes in Miami Beach in the first 10 months of the year were up 200 percent and robberies rose 100 percent. [New York Times]
- A 68,000-mile, eight-month journey has been completed by the Navy's second Indian Ocean nuclear battle group, a post-World War II record for Navy deployment of ships. [New York Times]
- A Boeing 727 jet taken from an airport in California Saturday night apparently on behalf of its owner, described as an Arab industrialist, was flown zig-zag fashion to points in the West, and was finally landed at MacArthur Airport on Long Island. The crew boarded a helicopter and was taken to Kennedy International Airport where they flew to London. Local and federal law enforcement authorities thought they had a major theft case, but it seems that the plane's owner and a repair service had quarreled. [New York Times]
- Dr. Herman Tarnower's fatal wound was fired at close range, a ballistics expert testified at the White Plains trial of Jean Harris, who is accused of shooting him. The specialist, Detective Joseph Reich of the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, said that the wound, a shot that entered the rear of the doctor's right shoulder and followed a downward course, was fired "from a distance of 12 to 15 inches." The prosecution is seeking to prove that the physician's wounds were "not consistent with a struggle for a gun." [New York Times]
- The Soviet leadership paid tribute to former Prime Minister Aleksei Kosygin, who died last week at the age of 76. Leonid Brezhnev and nine other members of the Politburo took turns in forming a guard of honor at Mr. Kosygin's flower-covered bier in the Central Soviet Army Club in Moscow. [New York Times]
- Japan will raise its defense spending by a smaller amount than the United States had hoped for. The Finance Ministry announced a draft budget for the fiscal year starting in April in which defense outlays will rise 6.6 percent to $11.5 billion, a far lower figure than Washington would like. [New York Times]
- The Georges Bank dispute was settled after three years of litigation involving Massachusetts, commercial fishermen, conservation groups, the Commerce Department and the Interior Department. The agreement approved by Judge John McNaught of the Federal District Court in Boston will allow private exploration for oil and gas to proceed in exchange for a greater government commitment to protect the future of the rich fishing grounds. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 958.79 (+21.59, +2.30%)
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 19, 1980 | 937.20 | 133.70 | 50.67 |
| December 18, 1980 | 930.20 | 133.00 | 69.57 |
| December 17, 1980 | 928.50 | 132.89 | 50.81 |
| December 16, 1980 | 918.09 | 130.60 | 41.62 |
| December 15, 1980 | 911.60 | 129.45 | 39.69 |
| December 12, 1980 | 917.15 | 129.23 | 39.53 |
| December 11, 1980 | 908.45 | 127.36 | 60.24 |
| December 10, 1980 | 916.21 | 128.26 | 49.31 |
| December 9, 1980 | 934.04 | 130.48 | 53.22 |
| December 8, 1980 | 933.70 | 130.61 | 53.60 |