This Day In 1970's History: Thursday November 25, 1971
- Convicts at Rahway State Prison in New Jersey rioted after a movie last night, then took the warden and five guards as hostages. Prison spokesman Thomas Durand estimates that 500-600 inmates are located in the sections where the riots occurred, and he stated that police and other corrections officers are standing by.
Inmates shouted for Governor William Cahill, set fires and put up a sign saying "Remember Attica". New Jersey assemblyman George Richardson said that the prisoners feel harassed, racism is a part of prison life, inmates receive poor medical treatment, and the food is bad and not served on time. [CBS]
- A passenger identified as D. B. Cooper hijacked a Northwest Airlines jet from Portland (Ore.) to Seattle, where he was paid $200,000 ransom. Cooper then escaped by parachute somewhere between Seattle and Reno. 36 passengers got off at the Seattle-Tacoma airport. The hijacker had told the crew that there were explosives in his briefcase. Cooper instructed the pilot to fly low over Oregon, and police feel that he jumped from the plane over Oregon or Washington, but they are looking in four states and around the Reno airport. [CBS]
- AFL-CIO president George Meany, 77, was admitted to George Washington University Hospital for coronary observation. Dr. Marvin Pirkes diagnosed a possible spasm of the coronary artery. [CBS]
- President Nixon called for a Taft-Hartley injunction to force striking dockworkers on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts back to work; 45,000 are on strike. The President asked the Justice Department to seek an 80-day back-to-work order. [CBS]
- A Senate report claims that 1 out of 4 elderly persons are living in poverty, and the report recommends increases in Social Security payments. Approximately 4.7 million people over the age of 65 are living on $2,000 or less per year. [CBS]
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