News stories from Friday March 2, 1973
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- American Ambassador Cleo Noel and American Charge d' Affaires Curtis Moore were executed in Khartoum, Sudan, by members of the "Black September" Arab terrorist organization who were holding them hostage. Belgian Charge d' Affaires Guy Eid is reportedly still alive. Earlier reports stated that Eid was also executed.
The terrorists demand the release of Arab guerrillas held prisoner in Jordan, and they also demand the release of Sirhan Sirhan, Robert Kennedy's assassin. Earlier, State Department official William Macomber was sent to Khartoum to negotiate the release of the diplomats, but reports say that his plane was not permitted to land in Sudan.
[CBS] - The run on the dollar is getting worse. At a press conference today, President Nixon assured America that the dollar is sound, and he blamed the current run on the dollar on speculators. The President also talked about aid to North Vietnam, saying that it is designed to give Hanoi a stake in peace. On other topics, Nixon said that he feels amnesty would insult all who fought in Vietnam, and announced that he will meet with South Vietnam President Thieu April 2-3. Congress agrees with Nixon on amnesty, according to polls. [CBS]
- International money markets were closed today, but in unofficial trading the value of the dollar continued to plunge. Common Market countries will meet and discuss the issue on Sunday in Brussels. In London, commercial banks are busy buying and selling dollars. One banker said that businesses are losing confidence in paper money in general, and if this trend continues it could lead to a severe depression. British Prime Minister Edward Heath and West German Chancellor Willy Brandt are holding a meeting in Bonn on the monetary crisis; the value of the dollar is down 6% since yesterday. Heath said that there is little rational explanation for this new crisis.
Former West German Economic Minister Karl Schiller believes that major national companies are selling dollars because they know its value is too high and must drop. He identified some speculators as companies such as Ford, General Motors and IBM. All three companies denied that they are speculating with the dollar.
[CBS] - The Environmental Protection Agency released a study on air pollution which says that pollution in large cities gives a person the same risk of chronic bronchitis as smoking. The report also says that there has been a significant increase in pneumonia and acute bronchitis among young children whose parents smoke. [CBS]
- Armored personnel carriers moved into the area around Wounded Knee, South Dakota, where 200 members of the American Indian Movement have taken over the town. The hostages who were held earlier by the Indians have been released, but some are remaining with the Indians by choice. South Dakota Senators George McGovern and James Abourezk met with the Indians today; the Indians want Congress to investigate the loss of Indian lands and they want the Bureau of Indian Affairs to be investigated for corruption.
The Indians were angered by news that the home of an AIM member was fire-bombed in nearby Pine Ridge. Authorities said that the house caught fire because of "faulty wiring". Food supplies are running low in Wounded Knee. AIM leaders Clyde and Vernon Bellecourt have asked the United Nations to look into the plight of the American Indian.
[CBS] - A court ruled that Boston schools are segregated; $7 million in federal aid could be withheld as a result. [CBS]
- At Bailey's Crossroads, Virginia, several floors of the new Skyline Towers collapsed when a large crane on the 24th story of the high-rise, which is still under construction, fell through freshly laid cement and cut the building in half. At least six people are dead and 17 are missing. Rescue efforts are difficult because bodies are trapped under tons of debris. The building suffered $10 million damage, and the whole structure may topple. [CBS]
- 106 American POWs are to be released by North Vietnam on Sunday; 30 prisoners held by the Viet Cong may be released Monday. [CBS]
- In Paris, 12 nations signed an agreement designed to guarantee Vietnam peace. But with the ink barely dry on the agreement, the Chinese foreign secretary accused South Vietnam of cease-fire violations. Senator Mike Mansfield said that the conference is a further indication that the U.S. should be out of Indochina. Senator Hugh Scott replied that President Nixon ended the war sooner than his critics could have. [CBS]
- Reports say that demonstrators in South Vietnam have surrounded the headquarters of the Communist members of the Joint Military Commission in Danang. [CBS]
- A leftist coalition won a narrow majority in general elections in Ireland. Liam Cosgrave replaces Jack Lynch as Taoiseach. [CBS]
- Senator Walter Mondale called President Nixon's budget for social programs a "disaster." [CBS]
- Records reveal that some George McGovern campaign workers drew their full government pay while working for the campaign. A McGovern spokesman claims that this has been done often, and he cited the campaigns of Barry Goldwater, Robert Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy as examples. [CBS]
- In Tuskegee, Alabama, black men were deliberately denied treatment for syphilis so that government experimenters might find out what happens when the disease runs its full course. The program (which began in 1932) was ended in 1972 when it was exposed, but blacks still can't get treatment.
Thirty blacks were used as human guinea pigs to determine the effects of syphilis; 28 died because of lack of treatment. So far a citizens panel has been unable to force the Department of Health, Education and Welfare to help those who survived. A citizens panel spokesman claimed that from last October through March no treatment was given to the survivors. William Watson of the National Center for Disease Control said that because the research project was terminated, they cannot help anyone.
[CBS]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 961.32 (+11.67, +1.23%)
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* |
| March 1, 1973 | 949.65 | 111.05 | 18.21 |
| February 28, 1973 | 955.07 | 111.68 | 17.95 |
| February 27, 1973 | 947.92 | 110.90 | 16.13 |
| February 26, 1973 | 953.79 | 112.19 | 15.86 |
| February 23, 1973 | 959.89 | 113.16 | 15.45 |
| February 22, 1973 | 971.78 | 114.44 | 14.57 |
| February 21, 1973 | 974.34 | 114.69 | 14.88 |
| February 20, 1973 | 983.59 | 115.40 | 14.02 |
| February 16, 1973 | 979.23 | 114.98 | 13.32 |
| February 15, 1973 | 973.13 | 114.45 | 13.94 |