News stories from Wednesday May 27, 1981
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- The President vowed a defense buildup that would not use treaties as a substitute for military hardware as he addressed graduates of the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. Asserting that America's "era of self-doubt is over," Mr. Reagan reaffirmed his commitment to the volunteer Army and proposed to increase pay in a merit system to fill its ranks. [New York Times]
- A Navy carrier accident took 14 lives off the northern coast of Florida. An electronic combat aircraft crashed into the flight deck of the Nimitz and plowed forward, erupting into a ball of fire that injured 45, destroyed three fighters and damaged 16 aircraft. Navy spokesmen said that the carrier's nuclear propulsion system suffered no damage. The spokesman said that the Navy lost 110 aircraft in accidents last year and 39 so far this year. [New York Times]
- Tax-reduction legislation advanced. Bob Dole, the Republican chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Dan Rostenkowski, the Democratic chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said they had narrowed their differences over tax relief and that the next concession should come from the administration. [New York Times]
- Optimism on coal-labor negotiations was expressed by both the United Mine Workers and the major Eastern and Middle Western coal operators after a bargaining session of nearly seven hours. They said they were close to an accord that could end the 62-day strike by 160,000 miners. [New York Times]
- Lawyers for the accused assailant of President Reagan tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a plea bargain for their client, according to Justice Department officials. They said that under the proposed arrangement, the prisoner, John W. Hinckley, would have pleaded guilty under a law designed to promote the rehabilitation of "youth offenders" by authorizing indeterminate sentences and early parole. [New York Times]
- Chicago's transit crisis worsened. The Regional Transportation Authority, which has repeatedly warned since mid-March that it was about to run out of funds, used up the last of its money. But there was no immediate indication that the six-county system would stop running. [New York Times]
- Houston is at a critical pass. In the last two decades, it became the gleaming new space metropolis of the Southwest and the cosmopolitan capital of a dynamic energy-producing region. But the city's public services are now under increasing attacks by critics who cite a jarring mix of achievement and ineptitude. Nonetheless, Houston has a robust economy, and many people believe it will become a major metropolis of civilized activity. [New York Times]
- Ex-Gov. Ray Blanton defended himself at his trial on charges of having accepted kickbacks in return for liquor licenses in Tennessee. He testified that he expected members of the state Alcoholic Beverage Commission to "help" his friends, but he denied ever telling the commission to approve any specific licenses. [New York Times]
- Philip Habib was recalled to Washington for consultations on what the United States should do next in seeking to avert an Israeli-Syrian clash, over Syria's stationing of antiaircraft missiles in Lebanon. Mr. Habib, the special American envoy, has been in the Middle East for three weeks. Officials said that the main diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis were being left to Saudi Arabia until Mr. Habib returned to the region, probably late next week. [New York Times]
- Israel pledged to back further efforts to solve its differences with Lebanon peacefully, but Prime Minister Menachem Begin charged that Syria had mobilized reserves and increased the deployment of missiles in Syria in apparent preparation for battle. [New York Times]
- The U.N. acknowledged subsidies totaling $432,000 that it gave to 15 foreign newspapers to publish supplements promoting the organization's view on aid to the third world. [New York Times]
- Protests erupted in South Africa, which is observing 20 years as a republic after its withdrawal from the Commonwealth. A bomb ripped through an army recruiting station in Durban, but no one was injured. In Johannesburg, riot policemen stormed onto a university campus where a South African flag had been burned by students. [New York Times]
- A central figure in the crisis in Italy is Licio Gelli, the grandmaster of the Masonic lodge that attracted the membership of hundreds of leading figures in a scandal that has toppled the cabinet. Mr. Gelli is a self-made industrialist with alleged ties to the underworld and right-wing groups. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 993.14 (+9.18, +0.93%)
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* |
| May 26, 1981 | 983.96 | 132.77 | 42.76 |
| May 22, 1981 | 971.72 | 131.33 | 40.70 |
| May 21, 1981 | 976.59 | 131.75 | 46.79 |
| May 20, 1981 | 976.86 | 132.00 | 42.37 |
| May 19, 1981 | 980.01 | 132.09 | 42.21 |
| May 18, 1981 | 985.77 | 132.54 | 42.51 |
| May 15, 1981 | 985.95 | 132.17 | 45.46 |
| May 14, 1981 | 973.07 | 131.28 | 42.75 |
| May 13, 1981 | 967.76 | 130.55 | 42.59 |
| May 12, 1981 | 970.82 | 130.72 | 40.34 |