This Day In 1970's History: Monday January 8, 1973
- For the last two days, the downtown New Orleans Howard Johnson hotel has been the scene of a search for a sniper or snipers who are believed to be hiding on the hotel's roof. Since the ordeal began, seven persons have been killed (three police officers, one hotel employee, two guests and one sniper) and at least 17 have been wounded.
Police attacked a utility structure on the roof that was believed to be a sniper's hiding place. Three officers were wounded slightly by their own ricocheting bullets. No sniper was found. The incident started with simultaneous fires, which killed three people, in several parts of the hotel; police and firemen were then shot at by a sniper. The dead include the New Orleans deputy police superintendent. It now appears that either there only ever was one sniper, or a second sniper escaped through police lines, but neither conclusion seems likely. [CBS]
- The U.S. and North Vietnam resumed secret peace talks at Gif-sur-Yvette, France. Henry Kissinger, William Sullivan and the North Vietnamese delegation led by Le Duc Tho met again today to discuss peace in Vietnam. Both sides appeared grim.
North Vietnam compared President Nixon with Adolf Hitler and warned the Soviet Union not to push North Vietnam into a quick settlement of the war; the negotiators want the U.S. to sign the October agreement. They say that after the October settlement was reached, Kissinger changed his mind and demanded that North Vietnamese troops withdraw from South Vietnam, and they claim he also demanded that neutralists be dropped from the proposed International Committee for Reconciliation, leaving only pro- and anti-Communist blocs. Hanoi rejected both of those demands. Nobody feels that "peace is at hand" any longer. [CBS]
- Seventeen thousand pounds of bombs fell on Danang Air Force Base in South Vietnam today. Ten Americans were injured, seven aircraft were damaged and four fuel tanks destroyed. Officials acknowledge that U.S. warplanes accidentally bombed the base. An investigation has been ordered. [CBS]
- Defense Secretary Laird stated that no more than 5,500 men will be drafted this year; the draft is set to expire in June. [CBS]
- The trial of seven men who are accused of bugging the Democratic party's national headquarters at the Watergate hotel last June has begun in Washington. The first defendant to arrive was James McCord, an ex-security consultant to the Nixon re-election campaign. G. Gordon Liddy, who served as counsel to the finance Committee to Re-Elect the President, arrived smiling. E. Howard Hunt, an ex-White House consultant, also arrived. The four other defendants are Eugenio Martinez, Frank Sturgis, Virgilio Gonzales and Bernard Barker. Assistant U.S. attorney Earl Silbert read a list of 60 witnesses the government plans to call, among them Jeb Magruder, deputy director of President Nixon's re-election campaign.
Jury selection got underway. Defense Attorney Henry Rothblatt said that he might consider a guilty plea for his clients if a good deal is offered. Apparently the prosecution does not plan to call major GOP campaign officials associated with the case, such as John Mitchell and Maurice Stans. [CBS]
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