News stories from Thursday August 11, 1977
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- A 24-year-old postal worker alleged to be the night stalker known as "Son of Sam" was arraigned on murder and other charges and held for psychiatric tests as the New York City police wound down a year-long investigation of a shooting spree in which six young people were murdered. A parking ticket and a neighbor's suspicions helped crack the .44- caliber case.
Detective Gerald Shevlin said "for more than a year I had been hoping for just one thing -- a chance to talk to the Son of Sam, a chance to ask him why". Detective Shevlin, of the special homicide task force, had his chance a little after 2 A.M. Thursday.
Sam Carr, a 64-year-old answering service owner who lived around the corner from David Berkowitz in Yonkers, learned that his neighbor had been identified by the police as the "Son of Sam," and he, himself, as "Sam." He said that he had had a "gut feeling" since April that Mr. Berkowitz, who in that month had shot and wounded Mr. Carr's dog, might be the .44-caliber killer.
The arraignment of David Richard Berkowitz, the "Son of Sam" murder suspect, in Brooklyn Criminal Court was brief and pro forma. But the legal steps that will follow are likely to become extraordinarily complex. Those steps began soon after Mr. Berkowitz was arrested and an acting state Supreme Court justice ruled that Mr. Berkowitz may be an "incapacitated person," and sent him to Kings County Hospital for mental observation.
[New York Times] - President Carter heard a report on the progress of the government investigation into Bert Lance's financial affairs before he became budget director. A spokesman for the President carefully avoided defending or expressing confidence in Mr. Lance, and other political confidents of the President were also being cautious. [New York Times]
- A former key official of the Federal Bureau of Investigation said that in 1970 he relayed an order from the bureau's director, the late J. Edgar Hoover, that agents should use "any means necessary" in their search for Weather Underground fugitives. William Sullivan said that he had relayed the order to John Kearney, a former F.B.I. supervisor who is now under indictment for felony charges stemming from illegal wiretaps and mail openings that his men allegedly used in their search for the fugitives. [New York Times]
- Wholesale prices declined in July for the second consecutive month. Lower farm and processed food prices were responsible for last month's drop, the Labor Department said, in reporting a decline of one-tenth of 1 percent from June, following a decline of seven-tenths of 1 percent from May. Industrial prices, however, which economists say reflect the "basic" inflation rate, rose by five-tenths of 1 percent in June. [New York Times]
- Dropping nearly 10 points, the Dow Jones industrial average was at its lowest level since early January 1976. Its fall was a response to the Federal Reserve's moves toward raising short-term interest rates. The stock market weakened progressively through the afternoon and at the close the average was down 9.61 points to 877.43. It had reached a 19-month low Monday and Tuesday, when it finished both days at 879.42. [New York Times]
- American farmers are expected to produce 6.1 billion bushels of corn this fall, slightly smaller than the record predicted by the Agriculture Department last month. The soybean harvest is expected to set a record, with a 27 percent increase over last year, and wheat is expected to set a record for the third consecutive year. But the bumper crops, the department said, would not have an "appreciable" effect on 1977 retail food prices, but would help hold this year's inflationary rise at 6 percent, and slow the rise next year. [New York Times]
- A quirk in the Medicare law, Ralph Nader's consumer organization said, has had the effect of having the government authorize and in part subsidize high income for 6,500 medical specialists. The Nader group cited an unpublished study underwritten by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare that found that radiologists, pathologists and anesthesiologists employed by or under contract to hospitals have average incomes ranging from $49,200 to $138,000. The study found that 15 percent of the pathologists have incomes of more than $180,000 a year. [New York Times]
- Cuba will permit 84 Americans and their families to leave the country. The Americans, married to Cubans, had been free to leave the country, but not with their spouses or children. The policy change was announced by President Fidel Castro and Senator Frank Church, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who completed three days of talks with Mr. Castro. It was a gesture of "good will," Mr. Church said, adding that the United States should match the gesture. [New York Times]
- The White House is preparing for an uphill battle for Senate approval of the proposed new Panama Canal treaty, knowing it faces determined opposition and a skeptical public. A White House source said the administration can count, at this time, on at least 25 Senate votes against the treaty and possibly more. The administration, White House officials, said, will seek to overcome the opposition by getting the support of top Republican leaders. [New York Times]
- Israel's prospects for negotiating peace treaties at least with Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon are good, Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan said in an interview in Jerusalem. But he believed Syria might be more difficult. "On the whole, I feel optimistic," he said. "On substance, we have a good basis for negotiation." [New York Times]
|
Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 877.43 (-9.61, -1.08%)
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* |
| August 10, 1977 | 887.04 | 98.92 | 18.28 |
| August 9, 1977 | 879.42 | 98.05 | 19.90 |
| August 8, 1977 | 879.42 | 97.99 | 15.87 |
| August 5, 1977 | 888.69 | 98.76 | 19.94 |
| August 4, 1977 | 888.17 | 98.74 | 18.87 |
| August 3, 1977 | 886.00 | 98.37 | 21.17 |
| August 2, 1977 | 887.39 | 98.50 | 17.91 |
| August 1, 1977 | 891.81 | 99.12 | 17.92 |
| July 29, 1977 | 890.07 | 98.85 | 20.35 |
| July 28, 1977 | 889.99 | 98.79 | 26.34 |