The Eighties Club
The Politics and Pop Culture of the 1980s
The Daily News - December 1980
[NOTE: Some of the events described in a day's news may have occurred on the previous day.]

John Lennon autographs album for Mark David Chapman
on December 8, just hours before Chapman murders him.

Monday, 1 December 1980
Military analysts predict USSR will intervene in Poland soon; Polish Communist Party chief Stanislaw Kania issues warning to Solidarity union.....President Carter's latest response to Iranian conditions for release of American hostages held in Tehran to be delivered by task force headed by Deputy Secretary of State Warren Christopher, bound for Algeria tonight.....Syrian military buildup along border with Jordan reported; Soviet delegation meets with Syrian leaders in Damascus; Carter administration said to be considering Jordanian request for immediate delivery of military equipment.....Saudi Arabia's national oil company says upcoming OPEC meeting will not result in rise in Saudi oil prices.....Supreme Court agrees to hear case involving sex discrimination in military draft.....House okays aid package for victims of earthquakes in southern Italy, where aftershocks continue.....Female IRA prisoners in Northern Ireland begin hunger strike.....FBI challenges House committee's finding that Lee Harvey Oswald may have had accomplice in assassination of President John F. Kennedy.....Ritualistic murders occurring in parks in Marin County, CA strike fear in hearts of local residents.....Surgeon General reportedly will call for government aid for smokers who quit.....Justice Dept. filing suit against Yonkers, NY for alleged racial segregation.....George Rogers wins Heisman Trophy.
Tuesday, 2 December 1980
State Dept. discusses Poland's right to self-determination with Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin as rumors abound that USSR has closed portions of Poland's borders.....Romania's foreign minister delivers protest against possible Soviet intervention in Poland to Leonid Brezhnev in Moscow; leaders of European nations at Common Market meeting in Luxembourg issue warning to USSR.....Carter administration readies emergency military supplies for shipment to Jordan if crisis with Syria escalates; Syria and Jordan may hold talks to ease border tensions.....President Carter signs Alaska Lands Bill.....House approves legislation giving president authority to limit foreign auto imports.....Republican Senator Howard Baker named new majority leader.....Prime lending rate is increased.....Explosion reported at naptha pipeline in Long Beach, CA.....Planes used in fighting fires in southern California collide near Indio.....Police and urban squatters clash in Amsterdam.
Wednesday, 3 December 1980
President Carter issues warning to USSR regarding possible Soviet military intervention in Poland.....President-elect Reagan's Cabinet choices said to include Alexander Haig, William Casey, Alan Greenspan and Caspar Weinberger.....Fugitive Bernardine Dohrn, former Weather Underground member, surrenders to authorities in Chicago.....Saudi Prince Abdullah's attempt to mediate crisis existing between Syria and Jordan called a failure; Jordan's King Hussein reportedly rejects Syrian conditions for ending conflict; Hussein said to suspect Soviet involvement in Syrian effort to alter balance of power in region.....House approves legislation establishing hazardous waste clean-up fund.....Senate approve anti-busing legislation; Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti said to be urging Carter to veto bill.....Funeral for assassinated leftist leaders held in San Salvador.....Government of Italy criticized by various sources for slow response to tragedy wrought by recent earthquakes in southern part of country.....Senate approves relief aid to Italy.....U.S. Postal Service withholds final approval for longer zip codes.....Israeli commando raid on Palestinian guerrilla bases in Lebanon reported.....House Ethics Committee convicts Rep. John Jenrette of unethical conduct re: Abscam bribery case; Reps. Frank Thompson and John Murphy both convicted in Abscam trials.....Janice Brown attempts cross-country flight in solar-powered plane.
Thursday, 4 December 1980
Fatalities reported in fire at Stouffer's Inn, Harrison, NY; other fires in a Brooklyn, NY tenement and on Staten Island.....Polish airliner hijacked on way to West Berlin.....Portugal's Premier Francisco Sa Carneiro killed in plane crash.....Bodies of four American woman, three of them nuns, missing since Tuesday, found in El Salvador.....Algerian envoys arrive in Iran to deliver U.S. proposals for release of American hostages; Iranian government official raises specter of putting hostages on trial.....Jury selection begins in Abscam trial of Rep. Richard Kelly.....President Carter said to be planning veto of congressional anti-busing legislation.....Drew Lewis and David Stockman named as additional Cabinet selections made by President-elect Reagan.....Connecticut Governor Ella Grasso announces resignation due to liver cancer.....Federal Reserve Board raising discount rates.....Super Chicken II hot-air balloon lands in Kansas after taking off from California in attempted transcontinental crossing.....Eleanor Holmes Norton, head of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, sued by maid for underpayment.....UAW bans foreign cars from union parking lots.....Rock supergroup Led Zeppelin breaks up.
Friday, 5 December 1980
U.S. suspends economic and military aid to El Salvador following rapes and murders of four American women there.....USSR gathers representatives of Warsaw Pact countries for surprise summit in Moscow.....Continental Airlines flight attendants go on strike.....Israel rejects appeals by West Bank mayors deported due to links with Palestinian terrorists.....Filibuster takes place in Senate to stop fair housing legislation.....Walter Winston, head of Citicorp, withdraws name from consideration for position in President-elect Reagan's Cabinet.....Swedish firm says large oil reserves may have been discovered in Siberia.....Government hearing held that may lead to federal ban on the sale of formaldehyde insulation.
Saturday, 6 December 1980
Senate opposition to appointment of Alexander Haig as Secretary of State by President-elect Reagan said due to Haig's role in Watergate scandal.....Presidential commission led by William Rogers on the way to El Salvador to investigate the murders of four American women there; State Dept. believes women were killed by right-wing group.....El Salvador's archbishop calls on U.S. to cease selling arms to Salvadoran government.....Solidarity leader Lech Walesa asks Polish workers to remain calm; Soviet military reportedly ready to seize Poland, says Soviet army newspaper Red Star; Reuters says Polish government is cracking down on labor unions.....Los Angeles Times claims Governor Jerry Brown is using state funds for political campaign purposes.....Israeli expulsion of two West Bank mayors results in demonstrations.....UN workers perish in plane crash in Tanzania.....Businessman Howard Levin identified as survivor of both the Las Vegas, NV and Harrison, NY hotel fires.....Criminals who stole over a million dollars and hijacked a Venezuelan jetliner are captured.....Boston's transit system shut down due to lack of funds.
Sunday, 7 December 1980
White House says USSR is ready to intervene militarily in Poland; Soviet troop buildup at border accelerated since Moscow summit of Warsaw Pact nations; White House says U.S. will not intervene.....President-elect Reagan assures Egypt and Israel that his administration will support Camp David guidelines for Middle East peace.....Massachusetts state legislature passes emergency funding bill and Boston mass transit system begins operations after one-day shutdown.....Syria and Jordan withdraw their troops from common border.....New Italian government called for affter current government's poor response in providing relief to areas struck by recent earthquakes.....On Meet the Press, Sen. Robert Dole urges Reagan to declare economic emergency in U.S......Presence of KKK result in police escort at Christmas parade in Nashville, TN.....KKK operates paramilitary camp in Cullman, AL according to Nashville reporter.....Chrysler asks suppliers for more time to pay for goods.
Monday, 8 December 1980
John Lennon shot and killed outside his New York City apartment building by Mark David Chapman.....Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev met by demonstration against USSR invasion of Afghanistan during visit to India.....NATO representatives meet in Brussels re: Polish crisis.....U.S. asks allies to impose economic sanctions against USSR if Soviets invade Poland.....Soviet news agency Tass claims counter-revolutionaries are taking control of Poland's independent labor union movement.....Iranian President Abolhassan Bani-Sadr calls for resignation of Prime Minister Ali Rajai.....Lee Iacocca reportedly asking government loan guarantee board for more funds for Chrysler.....General Public Utilities, owner of Three Mile Island nuclear plant, files claim against Nuclear Regulatory Commission, saying NRC responsible for 1979 accident.....Ice storms reported in Midwest.....Zimbabwe cabinet member and aides acquitted in murder of white farmer.....Parents of Chad Green return to U.S. and surrender to authorities after taking son to Mexico for failed Laetrile treatment of his leukemia despite court order that they treat him in U.S.
Tuesday, 9 December 1980
U.S. sends four AWAC planes to Europe at request of NATO defense ministers as Soviet-Poland confrontation seems more likely.....USSR reportedly sending more military units into East Germany and Czechoslovakia.....Defense Secretary Harold Brown arrives in Brussels for NATO meeting re: Poland.....Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev meets with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi during visit to India.....Senate fails to end filibuster against fair housing legislation.....Millions in UK and U.S. mourn murder of John Lennon.
Wednesday, 10 December 1980
Cabinet nominations by President-elect Reagan expected to include Alexander Haig for Secretary of State, Donald Reagan for Treasury Secretary, William Casey for CIA Director, William French Smith for Attorney General and David Stockman for OMB Director.....Prime lending rate is increased to 20%.....Chrysler expected to announce cutbacks due to high interest rates and unexpected decline in K-car sales.....Mourners gather in front of New York City's Dakota Apartments where John Lennon was killed; Lennon's killer, Mark David Chapman, undergoing psychiatric evaluation at Bellevue Hospital.....Secretary of State Edmund Muskie arrives in Brussels for NATO meeting re: Polish crisis.....Solidarity accuses Polish government of breaking its agreements with workers.....Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev proposes Persian Gulf peace plan before Indian parliament, New Delhi.....USSR performs underground nuclear test.....Senate removes anti-busing amendment from legislation to provide stopgap funding for government agencies.....Rep. John Jenrette resigns from Congress due to Abscam scandal as House Ethics Committee moves toward his expulsion.....Fugitive financier Robert Vesco staves off expulsion from Bahamas.....Syria withdraws troops from border with Jordan.....Connecticut Governor Ella Grasso, stricken with liver cancer, has surgery.

Ita Ford, Dorothy Kazel and Maura Clark, the three Maryknoll nuns who,
with lay missionary Jean Donovan, are murdered in El Salvador

Thursday, 11 December 1980
General Motors told to recall 1979 Buicks, Oldsmobiles and Pontiacs due to faulty anti-pollution devices.....Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev and Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi issue joint statement calling for closure of all foreign bases in Indian Ocean.....Italian workers rescued from sinking ship off coast of Israel.....New radiation leaks discovered at Three Mile Island nuclear plant.....President-elect Reagan announces eight Cabinet nominations.....Republicans prepare for fight over confirmation of Alexander Haig as Secretary of State.....Reagan meets with black leaders.....U.S. and allies reach agreement re: Polish crisis at NATO meeting, Brussels.....USSR allegedly conducts reconnaissance missions in Poland.....Iran denies Beirut newspaper report that American hostages will be released by Christmas.....Mark David Chapman's court-appointed lawyer asks to be taken off case.....Former FBI Director L. Patrick Gray cleared of charges related to illegal break-ins in 1970s.
Friday, 12 December 1980
NATO said to be united in opposing possible Soviet intervention in Poland.....Catholic bishops join Polish government in urging workers to practice restraint in actions and rhetoric.....Allegations made that Salvadoran security forces are linked to recent murders of four American women; presidential commission says there is no evidence that this is the case.....Reagan camp responds to rumors that Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger are being considered for ambassadorships to China and Great Britain respectively.....Government closes down massive marijuana smuggling operation in Illinois; Coast Guard seizes freighter with large shipment of marijuana.....Armand Hammer purchases da Vinci's Codex at Christies (London) auction for $5 million.....Nancy Reagan reported as saying she wished the Carters would move out of White House early so she could redecorate.....Chevron raising gasoline and heating oil prices; Iran-Iraq War blamed for predicted price hikes.....Students at Birzeit University protest Israeli expulsion of two West Bank mayors.....Gun battle erupts in Kampala during Ugandan national elections.....Mark David Chapman transferred to prison from Bellevue Hospital.....Chrysler seeking wage-price freeze in order to survive.....New strain of flu, A-Bangkok, reported.....U.S. copyright law amended to include computer programs.
Saturday, 13 December 1980
House considers congressional pay hike; President-elect Reagan said to support such a raise.....President Carter vetos anti-busing legislation.....El Salvador's new ruling junta now consists of two men, President Jose Duarte and Gen. Jaime Gutierrez.....Letter written by one of four American women murdered in El Salvador claims U.S. aid is being used to torture and kill innocent people.....Valuables stolen from multiple burglary victims found in Fairfax, VA home of Bernard Welch, accused murderer of Dr. Michael Halberstam.....Iranian prime minister refuses to see black American clergy.....Passenger train collides with freight train in Yugoslavia.....Milton Obote returned to power after Ugandan elections.
Sunday, 14 December 1980
Memorial vigils for John Lennon held in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Liverpool and elsewhere.....Senate and House in confrontation over pay raise.....Polish farmers threaten to strike, desire to join Solidarity labor movement.....Iranian official says American hostages may be released by Christmas.....Defense Secretary Harold Brown traveling to South Korea to deliver message that U.S. opposes imminent execution of opposition leader Kim Dae Jung; people protesting Jung's fate riot in streets of Tokyo.....OPEC conference held on Indonesian island of Bali.....New Orleans Saints beat New York Jets 21-20 to end 14-game losing streak.....Nancy Lopez and Curtis Strange win the J.C. Penney Golf Classic.
Monday, 15 December 1980
Electoral College formally elects Ronald Reagan next president of U.S......Gas and heating oil prices expected to rise due to Saudi Arabian oil price increase.....OMB Director-designate David Stockman predicts economic and energy crisis.....American industrialist Armand Hammer meets in Warsaw with Polish Communist Party boss Stanislaw Kania.....Iran says it is committed to continuing attacks on Iraqi oil facilities.....Controversy stirred over member of President-elect Reagan's transition team, a Teamster named in Labor Dept. suit alleging union mishandled pension fund, violated federal law, and has underworld connections.....Two former FBI officials recently convicted on charges they ordered illegal break-ins are fined by judge.....Chrysler to meet with UAW tomorrow and ask for wage freeze to cut costs.....Eastern and Braniff Airlines reportedly discussing a merger.....Government auditors can't find half billion dollars missing from Defense Dept.'s Personnel Support Center.....Dave Winfield becomes highest-paid player in baseball history after signing with New York Yankees.....Building in Naples damaged by recent earthquakes collapses.....Airliner hijacked in Colombia.....Defects found in Grumman Corp. buses.....Peanut shortage results in sharp rise in price of peanut butter.....Investigation of Chicago VA office said to reveal major scandal involving fraud.....Senate subcommittee holds hearing re: failure of U.S. Marshal's Service witness protection program.
Tuesday, 16 December 1980
In Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini gives final approval to government's reply to U.S. proposals, to be delivered to U.S. by Algerian intermediaries.....OPEC announces its members will increase oil prices.....Memorial in Gdansk, Poland honoring slain workers is dedicated.....Suez Canal, widened and deepened, is reopened to supertanker traffic.....Renault becomes principal shareholder in American Motors.....U.S. plans early delivery of F-15 fighter planes to Saudi Arabia.....Hijacked Colombian airliner lands in Havana.....96th Congress adjourns after passing emergency funding for government operations.....Federal commission recommends pay hike for Congress, the federal judiciary and government officials.....Interior Secretary Cecil Andrus bars surface mining in Utah's Bryce Canyon National Park.....Pittsburgh, PA water system reportedly contaminated with pesticides in possible sabotage.....Marta Libia Cardona, head of major drug ring, arrested in crackdown on cocaine smuggling in Miami.....Increase reported in railroad rates.....Col. Harland Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, dies.
Wednesday, 17 December 1980
Policeman acquitted of federal charges of violating civil rights of black man beaten to death in Miami last year.....Lee Iacocca says Chrysler near bankruptcy, must have $400 million in loans and wage-freeze concessions from workers through 1982; Chrysler reportedly two months behind schedule in building XM-1 supertank.....James Watt named as President-elect Reagan's choice to head Interior Dept.; Sierra Club opposes nomination.....State Dept. announces resumption of aid to El Salvador recently suspended following murders of four American women.....Lech Walesa says Solidarity does not seek to overthrow Poland's communist system.....IRA hunger striker Sean McKenna reported near death in North Ireland prison; Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher rejects appeal to save 43 IRA members on 52-day-long hunger strike.....Comsat negotiates with FCC to build and sell home receivers for satellite TV.....AT&T earnings said to be largest ever reported by a corporation.....West Germany's military spending to be less than what U.S. and NATO had hoped for.....Defense Intelligence Agency says reports of 900 Americans alive in Vietnam since 1975 have been checked out, but no MIAs found.....Presidential council says new evidence links chlorinated water to some forms of cancer.....James Baker says Reagan may declare economic emergency upon taking office.....Toxic shock syndrome more common than first thought, says study in New England Journal of Medicine.
Thursday, 18 December 1980
Seven IRA members in Belfast's Maze Prison end hunger strike after one is taken to hospital and given last rites.....National Christmas tree is not lighted out of respect for hostages still held in Iran.....Environmentalists speak out against nomination of James Watt for Interior Secretary.....Meat and butter rationing in effect in Poland.....Syria and Libya end merger talks, unable to agree.....In Israel, Shimon Peres elected leader of opposition Labor Party.....Israel to pay $6 million in compensation for 1967 attack on USS Liberty.....Apartment fire in Salt Lake City kills 12 Vietnamese.....Government loan guarantee board meets re: Chrysler.....Return of Shah's wealth to Iran and U.S. claims against Iran key issues in negotiations for release of American hostages.....Ceremony held at Red Cross headquarters for hostages' families.....Ayatollah Khomeini blames intellectuals for political unrest in Iran.....Israeli TV says Tehran Journal editor executed for aiding Americans.....Senate Foreign Relations Committee wants Watergate tapes for Alexander Haig confirmation hearings.....Two defendants in "Gang of Four" trial in China plead guilty; Jiang Qing refuses to admit guilt.....Police in New York City and Bridgeport, CT arrest five linked to Croatian terror group.....North Carolina will not appeal court decision overturning convictions of "Wilmington 10" re: 1971 firebombing of a Wilmington, NC grocery....Citibank to charge fees for credit cards.....Vietnam adopts constitution.
Friday, 19 December 1980
Latest Iranian demands for release of American hostages, including $24 billion in guarantees, said to include some President Carter cannot meet.....In Iran, anti-Khomeini protesters clash with Revolutionary Guards.....Chrysler's Lee Iacocca in Washington to discuss XM-1 tank production problems with Pentagon.....Alexei Kosygin, former prime minister of USSR, pronounced dead.....Natural gas leaks threaten town of Jane Lew, WV.....Secretary of State-designate Alexander Haig meets with congressional members prior to confirmation hearing.....Justice Dept. gives Charleston, SC twenty days to institute satisfactory school desegregation plan.....Federal judge sentences two Church of Scientology officials for theft of IRS documents.....Increase in gas prices reported.....Prime rate at 21.5%.....Federal judges in Florida drop charges against ship captains involved in Cuban boatlift.....Arab guerrillas killed during Israeli raid in Lebanon.....Left-wing terrorists claim responsibility for department store bombings in Athens, Greece.....In UN, U.S. joins unanimous vote against Israel for expulsion of two West Bank mayors.....Justice Dept. clears Sen. Howard Cannon of any wrongdoing in land deal with Teamsters union.
Saturday, 20 December 1980
President-elect Reagan's Cabinet selections now to include Samuel R. Pierce as HUD Secretary and John Block as Agriculture Secretary; Jeanne Kirkpatrick pegged for UN ambassador.....Top aides for President Carter claim failed hostage rescue cost Carter reelection; VP Walter Mondale blames economy.....Syria shells stronghold of Israeli-backed Christians in Lebanon.....Children blamed for rash of burglaries in Savannah, GA.....Reagan described as reluctant to restrict Japanese auto imports, prefers to assist American auto industry through deregulation.

Ronald Reagan named Time's
Man of the Year for 1980

Sunday, 21 December 1980
Carter administration rejects latest monetary demands by Iran for release of American hostages; Secretary of State Edmund Muskie describes demands as unreasonable on Meet the Press.....Bomb suspected as cause of plane's explosion in Colombia.....Pope John Paul II set to visit Guam, Japan and the Philippines.....One dead in fire at von Trapp family lodge in Stowe, VT.....Severe food shortage reported in Poland.....Both sides claim victory after IRA prisoners' hunger strike called off in Belfast's Maze Prison.....Demonstration honoring John Lennon reported in Moscow.....Demonstrators march in Liberty City area of Miami on anniversary of death of Arthur McDuffie, black man killed by police officers.
Monday, 22 December 1980
Speaker of Iranian parliament resurrects threat of spy trials for American hostages; State Department accuses Iran of failing to provide for medical needs of hostages.....Israeli cabinet votes against annexation of Golan Heights.....UAW agrees to consider wage freeze asked for by Chrysler.....U.S. airlines report losses due to lower passenger traffic and higher fuel costs.....Wells Fargo Bank lowers prime rate.....Lawsuits stemming from MGM Grand Hotel fire in Las Vegas begin today.....Ice skater Peggy Fleming performs at White House Christmas party.....Pope John Paul II's Christmas message includes plea for release of all hostages held worldwide.....Dissident Teamsters claim union president, Jackie Presser, has ties to organized crime.....Federal court permits drilling for oil in Georges Bank area in Atlantic coastal waters.....Red Chinese newspaper attacks the late Mao Tse Tung.....Soviets pay tribute to former premier, Alexei Kosygin, whose body lays in state.
Tuesday, 23 December 1980
Carter administration reportedly resigned to fact hostage crisis won't be resolved before inauguration day; use of military force ruled out unless hostages are put on trial.....Iran says hostages will not be allowed visitors for Christmas; Swiss diplomats visit three of the hostages.....Hostage families ask that national Christmas tree be lighted tomorrow for 417 seconds, one second for each day of captivity.....Consumer price index up due chiefly to mortgage interest rates.....Kuwait, Mexico and Venezuela reportedly raising oil prices.....Services held in Moscow for former premier, Alexei Kosygin.....UN building in Beirut ransacked by Lebanese protesters.....Mark David Chapman indicted for 2nd degree murder in death of John Lennon.....Heavy snowfall reported in some eastern states.....Judge rules New York was undercounted in 1980 census, orders count adjustment.....Low car sales result in Chrysler cutting K-car production.....southern independent banks reportedly lowering interest rates.....Solidarity rejects Polish government's offer of every other Saturday off.....President Carter travels home to Plains, GA for Christmas.
Wednesday, 24 December 1980
President-elect Reagan calls Iranian captors of American hostages criminals; Secretary of State Edmund Muskie describes Iranian officials as irrational.....Auto industry reports lowest domestic output in 19 years.....Christmas sales are up because of inflation.....1980 census said to have missed half the population of Wittenberg, MO; Supreme Court sets aside court ruling for census recount in Detroit, MI.....NHL team Winnipeg Jays break 30-game losing streak.....President Carter rejects Reagan's suggestion that economic emergency exists.....Greenpeace activists claim credit for saving porpoises from fishermen near Tokyo, Japan, and may face charges.....Dr. Christian Barnard leads medical team transplanting heart of white woman into black man in Capetown, South Africa.....Pope holds Midnight Mass; Christmas mass broadcast in Poland as government concession to Solidarity.
Thursday, 25 December 1980
Four clergy hold Christmas services for American hostages in Tehran; all 52 reported present, though film of event made by Iranians show only 16 hostages.....Some hostage families attend Christmas service at Washington National Cathedral.....Pope John Paul II focuses on opposition to abortion in Christmas message.....Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz, head of Nazi Germany's navy, dead at 89.....Record cold temperatures reported in Northeast.....Five guerrillas killed during Israeli raid into Lebanon.....Youth riots occur in Zurich, Switzerland.
Friday, 26 December 1980
Heavy snows and mudslides reported in California and Washington.....Iran reportedly now reconsidering U.S. counterproposal for release of American hostages.....President-elect Reagan expected to call for additional funds for defense.....Major art theft discovered in Buenos Aires.....In India, farmers protesting farm prices arrested in mass.....Henry Kissinger leaves tomorrow for Mideast tour that includes meetings with five heads of state.
Saturday, 27 December 1980
President Carter breaks collarbone in skiing accident, is treated at Bethesda Naval Hospital.....Iranian Prime Minister Ali Rajai says U.S. must respond to Iran's demands before American hostages are freed; Algerian diplomats visit hostages.....Americans coast to coast shine lights for 417 minutes in memory of hostages.....Secretary of State Edmund Muskie and White House Counsel Lloyd Cutler meets with Algerian intermediaries.....Major guerrilla activity reported in El Salvador.....Today the first anniversary of Soviet invasion of Afghanistan; Afghanis demonstrate in Tehran and New Delhi.....French news magazine names Polish labor leader Lech Walesa "man of the year".....Flooding reported in western Washington.....Six doctors at UCLA Medical Center reprimanded for unauthorized bone narrow transplants on leukemia patients.
Sunday, 28 December 1980
President Carter meets with Algerian intermediaries at Camp David regarding American hostages.....President-elect Reagan says he would not pay ransom to barbarians; National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski warns Iran of consequences if hostages are put on trial or harmed.....Brzezinski says Alexander Haig is qualified to be Secretary of State.....Reagan named Time's Man of the Year.....New space shuttle scheduled to be moved to launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.....Warning given that Mt. St. Helens in Washington may erupt again soon as lava dome expands.....Rural Crime Prevention Center says rural crime is up sharply.....Prison uprising occurs in Trani, Italy.....A calf that lived 222 days with an artificial heart dies.....Mexico ends bilateral fishing agreement with U.S. in dispute over tuna harvesting.
Monday, 29 December 1980
Iran denounces President-elect Reagan's "barbarians" comment.....Algerian intermediaries meet with State Dept. officials re: American hostages, say they have recently seen all 52 hostages.....March 17 set as launch date for space shuttle Columbia.....Anti-Soviet demonstrations erupt in Kabul, Afghanistan.....Polish farmers said to be planning mass demonstration for right to unionize.....Prosecution demands death sentence for Jiang Qing, widow of Mao Tse Tung, as "Gang of Four" trial concludes in China.....Guards held hostage during prison revolt in Trani, Italy are freed; revolt reportedly instigated by Red Brigade.....Another prison riot occurs in Walla Walla, WA.....Four Soviets shot for collaborating with Nazis at Dachau concentration camp during World War II.....Federal grand jury in Wyoming investigates theft of millions of dollars in royalties on oil taken from Native American lands; theft suspected in six states.....Soviet news agency Tass says American killed in Afghanistan was military adviser to rebels.....Japanese government approves increase in military spending.....Invasion of pelicans said to threaten Israeli fish hatcheries.....USSR protests attack by demonstrators on its embassy in Tehran.....Grumman buses pulled off Chicago streets due to defects.....80 injured in New York City commuter train accident.
Tuesday, 30 December 1980
Algerian intermediaries to carry U.S. response to latest Iranian demands re: release of American hostages back to Tehran tomorrow.....Polish high court goes into recess without ruling on farmers' request to unionize; farmers postpone threatened food strike.....President-elect Reagan and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev exchange New Year's greetings.....Statistics show national crime rate on the rise last year.....Nigeria increases oil prices; rise in gasoline prices anticipated in U.S......Agriculture Secretary-designate John Block criticizes current food stamp program.....Reagans consider selling Pacific Palisades homes.....Musicians in Poland go on strike.....NBC airs final episode of The Wonderful World of Disney.
Wednesday, 31 December 1980
Tehran radio broadcast mentions possible execution of American hostages in Iran.....Unidentified man shoots bystanders in Seattle, WA.....Police General Enrico Calvaligi assassinated in Rome.....Israel shoots down Syrian MiGs over southern Lebanon.....Queen's Honor List published in Britain.....Archbishop of Canterbury's representative Terry Waite returns to UK from Iran with news of imminent release of several British citizens held captive there.....Ford Motor Co. reaches agreement with National Highway Safety Administration re: defective automatic transmissions.....Deaths of Big Brothers founder Irvin Westheimer and noted author Marshall McLuhan reported.....President Carter vetos bill that would compensate veteran for damages sustained during surgery in VA hospital.....Connecticut Governor Ella Grasso, suffering from liver cancer, resigns today, replaced by Lt. Gov. William O'Neill.....Greece to join European Economic Community.....Mexico to begin farm program in effort to slow emigration to U.S......Heat wave in California and cold wave in New England reported.