This Day In 1970's History: Friday January 9, 1981
- Iran raised more questions about the American proposals for freeing the hostages, leading Deputy Secretary of State Warren Christopher to extend his talks in Algeria with the Algerian intermediaries, a spokesman for the State Department said. [New York Times]
- Alexander Haig warned the Senate Foreign Relations Committee of the dangers of uncontrolled Soviet military power as he deflected critical questions about Watergate and his role as White House chief of staff under President Nixon at the start of confirmation hearings on his appointment as Secretary of State by President-elect Ronald Reagan. He said he believed that former President Nixon "was entitled to the presumption of innocence," and "in that context I worked hard within the boundaries of the law and the advice of lawyers to support him." [New York Times]
- A general rise in producer prices continued in December, and declines in food prices were more than offset by brisk advances in energy, capital equipment and other goods, the Labor Department reported.
Employment rose slightly in December but not enough to pull the job market out its sharp slump of early 1980, according to the monthly report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The jobless rate was 7.4 percent of the total workforce compared with 7.5 percent in November. Since May the rate has been 7.4 to 7.6 percent. [New York Times]
- A federal job discrimination suit was settled when the Carter administration agreed, over the objections of Ronald Reagan's transition team, to replace one of the government's basic Civil Service examinations. Members of minority groups charged in a suit begun two years aim that the test, which screens applicants for 118 white collar jobs, discriminated against blacks and Hispanic-Americans. [New York Times]
- California faces a fiscal crisis and will have no budget surplus when its fiscal year ends on June 30 because of the sharp loss of revenue brought about by Proposition 13, approved by voters two and a half years ago. The proposition, which limited property taxes, has cut off about $7 billion a year in local government income. [New York Times]
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