News stories from Tuesday December 26, 1972
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Former president Harry S. Truman died today at the age of 88. Spokesman Wayne Connery announced Truman's death at 7:50 a.m. at Research Hospital in Kansas City. In Independence, Missouri, Truman's neighbors didn't wait for the presidential proclamation of mourning to lower their flags to half-mast, though the hospital did. Bess Truman and daughter Margaret Truman Daniel and her husband went to Carson Funeral Home where the former president is being prepared for burial. His body will first go to the Truman Library to lie in state for 24 hours. Thursday's funeral will be held in the library's auditorium and Truman will then be buried in a private ceremony. President and Mrs. Nixon will fly to Independence for a wreath-laying ceremony tomorrow. [CBS]
- In 1944, Franklin D. Roosevelt selected Harry Truman as his running mate. When Roosevelt died the Truman years began. Truman approved the United Nations charter in San Francisco and went to Potsdam, Germany, to meet with allied leaders Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin. He authorized the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and ended World War II. Truman recognized the new state of Israel in 1948, and he ordered the Berlin airlift when Russia blockaded that city. He won the 1948 election when nobody thought he could. Truman signed the NATO pact, sent troops to Korea, and relieved General Douglas MacArthur of command when the latter refused to comply with Truman's orders. In 1952 Truman decided not to run for re-election, but campaigned hard for Adlai Stevenson. Then he went home to Independence, Missouri, with his wife and daughter Margaret.
From the Florida White House, President Nixon stated that Truman had farsighted leadership, and Nixon designated Thursday as a national day of mourning. Flags will fly at half-mast and government buildings will be closed. Lyndon Johnson called Truman a "20th century giant". Senator Barry Goldwater said that Truman may become regarded as the best president of the century. Former House Speaker John McCormack said that he and Truman were poker pals and very close friends.
[CBS] - North Vietnam claims to have shot down eight more American B-52's, for a total of 26 downed during the current bombing. [CBS]
- In South Vietnam, 35 enemy rockets struck the base at Danang. One American was wounded. [CBS]
- Premier Olof Palme of Sweden stated that the U.S. bombing of North Vietnam is similar to Nazi atrocities in World War II. A State Department spokesman said that the U.S. protests Palme's remarks. [CBS]
- Nicaraguan officials have issued an urgent appeal for blood donors. They need 20,000-25,000 pints of whole blood for the victims of last Saturday's earthquake in Managua. The U.S. has sent $3 million worth of supplies.
90% of Managua is completely destroyed. The few buildings which are left will be razed because they are unsafe. Armed forces commander-in-chief Anastasio Somoza said that people will live in tents until the government decides what to do with them. Martial law has been declared, and Somoza is personally overseeing demolition operations. A mass inoculation campaign is underway. The estimated number of deaths is 2,000 now, but will mount as the clearing of the city continues and more bodies are found. Bodies which are discovered are being burned for health reasons.
[CBS] - The 16 survivors of a plane crash in Chile, mostly rugby team members from Uruguay, today revealed that they used the dead for food in order to survive. [CBS]
- A dozen major banks raised their prime interest rate to 6 percent. Treasury Secretary George Shultz is disappointed by the hikes, which were touched off last week by New York's First National City Bank. [CBS]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 1006.70 (+2.49, +0.25%)
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 22, 1972 | 1004.21 | 115.83 | 12.54 |
| December 21, 1972 | 1000.00 | 115.11 | 18.29 |
| December 20, 1972 | 1004.82 | 115.95 | 18.49 |
| December 19, 1972 | 1009.18 | 116.34 | 17.00 |
| December 18, 1972 | 1013.25 | 116.90 | 17.54 |
| December 15, 1972 | 1027.24 | 118.26 | 18.30 |
| December 14, 1972 | 1025.06 | 118.24 | 17.93 |
| December 13, 1972 | 1030.48 | 118.56 | 16.54 |
| December 12, 1972 | 1033.19 | 118.66 | 17.04 |
| December 11, 1972 | 1036.27 | 119.12 | 17.23 |