The Eighties Club
The Politics and Pop Culture of the 1980s
The Daily News - December 1981
[NOTE: Some of the events described in a day's news may have occurred on the previous day.]

Tuesday, 1 December 1981
Justice Dept says National Security Adviser Richard Allen did nothing wrong accepting money from Japanese magazine ..... Yugoslav DC-9 charter plane crashes in Corsica, over 170 perish ..... Israeli Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon did not ask for U.S. involvement in defense of Israel during meeting with Secretary of State Alexander Haig ..... President Reagan considers lifting ban on federal employment for striking air traffic controllers ..... Senate Intelligence Committee finds CIA Director William Casey competent to remain in post; Sen. Patrick Leahy says decision not a vote of confidence ..... U.S./USSR arms reduction talks officially open in Geneva, Switzerland ..... Blizzard hammers American Midwest ..... Interior Secretary James Watt announces he will no longer meet with environmentalists .....  Reagan defends economic policy in surprise appearance before conference on aging.
Wednesday, 2 December 1981
At Organization of American States conference, Secretary of State Alexander Haig alleges Soviets giving military support to Nicaraguan Sandinistas; Nicaraguan foreign minister rejects allegations ..... Solidarity calls for nationwide strike alert after Polish police take action against striking firefighting trainees ..... In Israel, Prime Minister Menachem Begin's government survives vote of confidence called over U.S.-Israeli strategic agreement ..... Michael "Mad Mike" Hoare and other mercenaries involved in recent coup attempt on Seychelles Island released on bail by South African court ..... Sen. Howard Baker pushes extension of Voting Rights Act ..... Spain makes request to join NATO ..... Circus performance held at Vatican for Pope John Paul II ..... President Reagan meets with labor leaders at White House; AFL-CIO President Lane Kirkland urges president to rehire striking air traffic controllers; FAA said to be reviewing cases of strikers who were fired ..... Canadian House of Commons calls on Britain to grant Canada constitutional independence ..... Miami, FL holds murder rate record ..... Special envoy Philip Habib delivers letter from Reagan to Syrian President Hafed al-Assad condemning recent terrorist bombings in Damascus ..... Fernando Valenzuela named NL Rookie of the Year.
Thursday, 3 December 1981
Kurt Waldheim withdraws himself from consideration for post of UN Secretary General; Security Council deadlocked over choice ..... In Israel, demonstrators protest withdrawal from Sinai; U.S. and Israel reach agreement on composition of Sinai peacekeeping force, which is to include British, French, Dutch and Italian troops ..... Federal Reserve Board lowers interest rate to 12% ..... Corporation owning Three Mile Island nuclear power plant said to be suing government for failure of Nuclear Regulatory Commission to provide information that could have prevented accident there ..... Armand Hammer offers $1 million award to person who finds cure for cancer ..... B-1 bomber legislation expected to pass Congress ..... In Morocco, Defense Secretary tells King Hussan II that U.S. will back his fight against rebels supported by Libya and Algeria ..... Solidarity leader Lech Walesa said to be resisting pressure for general strike in Poland ..... Continued slump in U.S. auto sales reported ..... Gunman who takes hostages in Dayton, OH bar killed by police .... Dept. of Public Health says Americans are living longer, death rate declining for major diseases.
Friday, 4 December 1981
U.S. intelligence identifies Libyan terrorists operating in U.S.; President Reagan and other high-ranking officials said to be targets; nationwide manhunt underway; Lebanese sources uncover plot to assassinate U.S. special envoy Philip Habib ..... Executive order signed by Reagan allows CIA to engage in domestic counterintelligence ..... Rescuers attempt to locate coal miners trapped in cave near Bergoo, WV ..... Soviet newspaper reports Andrei Sakharov and wife hospitalized due to hunger strike; their location unknown ..... Senate approves record defense appropriation, including funding for MX missile, Trident submarine and B-1 bomber ..... Nicaraguan government denies U.S. claim that MiG fighters and Soviet tanks are enroute via Cuba to Nicaragua ..... Former Maryland Governor Marvin Mandel, convicted on corruption charges, pardoned by Reagan ..... Reagan expands authority of CIA ..... Reagan reaches accord with Republican congressmen on reduction of non-military budget ..... November figures show rise in unemployment rate ..... Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger in Ankara discussing possible U.S. military aid to Turkey ..... Verdict of guilty in trial of Eugene Tafoya, accused of being hitman for Libya responsible for murder in Utah.

Composite drawings of three of the suspected Libyan hitmen, published in TIME Magazine

Saturday, 5 December 1981
President Reagan intervenes on behalf of Russian dissident Andrei Sakharov; his appeal delivered to Soviet officials in Washington, DC ..... State legislatures in Massachusetts, Oregon and New York passing resolutions calling for U.S. and USSR to engage in nuclear arms freeze ..... Anti-nuclear protests reported across Europe ..... Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger pledges economic and military aid to Turkey despite allegations of human rights violations there ..... Senate Energy Committee schedules hearing on perceived dismantling of energy programs by Reagan administration ..... Heisman Trophy goes to Southern Cal running back Marcus Allen.
Sunday, 6 December 1981
On This Week with David Brinkley, Col. Muammar Qadhafi denies existence of assassination squads threatening President Reagan and other high officials ..... Urban League President Vernon Jordan says Reagan administration policies are racist ..... Washington Post reports Labor Dept. budget will eliminate Manpower program for minorities ..... Plane of skydivers crashes in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii ..... Blizzard strikes New England ..... Martina Navratilova defeats Chris Evert Lloyd at Australian Open ..... Defense Secretary changes plans to visit Greece after prime minister there rejects official visits from U.S; anti-American demonstrations reported in Athens.
Monday, 7 December 1981
Rescue efforts underway following explosion in coal mine at Topmost, KY ..... President Reagan claims evidence that :ibyan assassination squads have been sent to U.S. does exist ..... Terrorists hijack three Venezuelan airliners, fly to Colombia ..... Libyan airliner hijacked to Beirut, Lebanon ..... Austria suspends immigration of Polish refugees due to overcrowded transit camps ..... Trial involving state law that requires schools to teach creationism opens in Arkansas ..... Commemoration ceremonies held at USS Arizona memorial, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii ..... England's supertrain is inaugurated ..... Audio recording said to be Lech Walesa calling for overthrow of government played on Polish national television network ..... White House projects large budget deficits in next several years ..... Prime Minister Andreas Papandreau wants to take Greece out of NATO ..... Spain becomes member of NATO ..... Authorities launch investigation in large number of deaths at Sherwood Hall nursing home in Royal Oak, Michigan.
Tuesday, 8 December 1981
U.S. special envoy Philip Habib returning to Washington following meeting in Lebanon with President Elias Sarkis ..... Miners trapped following coal mine explosion in Palmer, TN ..... Poland's army newspaper questions Lech Walesa's integrity ..... American "imperialism" in Latin America said to be issue in hijacking of Venezuelan jetliners; hijackers taken into custody when planes land in Cuba ..... Hijacked Libyan plane thought to be leaving Beirut for Iran; hijackers said to be Lebanese Moslems ..... Union members march on Lansing, Michigan to protest state's cuts in workers' compensation benefits ..... Supreme Court rules that student group can hold religious services at public university ..... Mobil Oil challenges U.S. Steel's takeover bid for Marathon Oil ...... National Security Council holds meeting re: Libyan assassination squads in U.S ...... Roman Catholic Church intervenes in conflict between Polish government and Solidarity; Archbishop Jozef Glemp asks government to forego plans for outlawing strikes ..... Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov said to be in bad shape due to hunger strike ..... Rare snowfall reported in London, England.
Wednesday, 9 December 1981
Soviets grant daughter-in-law of Andrei Sakharov extended visa to visit her husband in U.S.; Hunger strike of the Sakharovs called a success ..... White House to announce reprisals against Libya within 24 hours; House of Representatives condemns Libya for international terrorist activities ..... Wholesale price inflation lowest since 1977; gasoline, home heating oil and food prices down ..... President Reagan approves government employment for striking air traffic controllers ..... Hijackers of Libyan jetliner surrender; hostages unharmed ..... Magazine poll shows majority of West Germans opposed to deployment of new American medium-range nuclear missiles ..... U.S. and Japanese representatives discuss restrictions on Japanese imports to adjust trade balance ..... Meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels ends without communique because of disagreement between Turkey and Greece ..... Explosion in Whitwell, TN coal mine reported; methane gas suspected as cause ..... House passes bill that makes consumers pay for cost of Alaska natural gas pipeline ..... Porn star John Holmes charged with Laurel Canyon murders.
Thursday, 10 December 1981
White House urges Americans in Libya to leave immediately; representatives of oil companies with operations in Libya to meet tomorrow; FBI circulates composite sketches of alleged Libyan assassins sent to kill high government officials in U.S. ..... FBI opens new investigation into Labor Secretary Ray Donovan connection with New Jersey construction firm and organized crime ..... Justice Dept. postpones prosecution of draft evaders ..... Nobel Peace Prize awarded Poul Hartling, UN High Commissioner for Refugees ..... Ohio River west of Louisville, KY closed due to barge collision.
Friday, 11 December 1981
Former President Gerald Ford meets with President Reagan; both agree that Muammar Qadhafi is a menace ..... Conoco accedes to president's request, calls for all its employees to leave Libya; other oil companies say their Libya-based employees not in danger; Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger says U.S. Sixth Fleet available to transport Americans out of Libya ..... Secretary of State Alexander Haig defends U.S. posture toward Libya at NATO meeting in Brussels ..... Javier Perez de Cuellar named new UN Secretary General ..... W. German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt meets with E. German leader Erich Honecker ..... Military junta ousts President Roberto Viola in Argentina ..... OPEC reducing price of oil due to current glut ..... California case rules in favor of Billie Jean King in case brought by former lover Marilyn Barnett ..... Justice Dept. investigating whether CIA Director William Casey was once a foreign agent for Indonesia; Justice Dept. investigations of National Security Adviser Richard Allen and Labor Secretary Ray Donovan continue ..... House passes foreign aid bill; Senate passes stopgap budget bill ..... In Iran, close aide to Ayatollah Khomeini and eight others killed by bomb; American agents blamed ..... Big Ben reported frozen in blizzard; four killed in train accident near London due to snow ..... Muhammad Ali loses his last fight, a comeback boxing match with Trevor Berbick in the Bahamas.
Saturday, 12 December 1981
Solidarity refuses to obey Polish government's order to call off planned demonstrations ..... W. German Helmut Schmidt critical of Eastern Bloc military buildup during his meeting with E. German leader Erich Honecker ..... Health & Human Services Secretary Richard Schweiker opposes administration plan to eliminate Head Start program ..... Karen Silkwood case bound for U.S. Supreme Court following Oklahoma City court's overturning of judgment ..... President Reagan said to disagree with aides who are considering new taxes to avoid future budget deficits.
Sunday, 13 December 1981
Military takeover of Poland reported; Lech Walesa may be placed under arrest; U.S. State Dept. lodges formal complaint; demonstrations held in several American and European cities in sympathy for Polish people; Austria ends moratorium on Polish refugees ..... USA defeats Argentina to win 70th Davis Cup.

Polish-Americans at Chicago rally, protesting military crackdown in Poland

Monday, 14 December 1981
In Poland, military takeover reported after Solidarity approves resolution making Thursday day of protest; communications out of Poland sporadic; Warsaw said to be calm, though reports indicate troops used to break strike in steel mill; Lech Walesa held in government guest house ..... Demonstrations against takeover held in France, Italy, Austria ..... Secretary of State Alexander Haig cancels Mideast trip and returns to Washington due to Polish crisis ..... U.S. threatens to use economic and political leverage to force Polish government to reinstitute reforms, stops food shipments to Poland ..... Israel annexes Golan Heights ..... Mobil Oil employees leaving Libya as per President Reagan's request ..... Congress votes to restore minimum Social Security payments ..... Justice Dept. official tells CBS correspondent that special prosecutor will be named to investigate Labor Secretary Ray Donovan ..... Supreme Court says public high school students may not hold prayer meetings on school property, and that Vietnam veterans can sue for damages from Agent Orange.
Tuesday, 15 December 1981
Violence reported during military crackdown in Poland as strikes occur in Warsaw, Krakow and Silesia; Solidarity asks for outside assistance; Soviet warships in Polish harbors; 3,000 Solidarity officials arrested; U.S. government suspends economic aid to Poland; senators urge President Reagan to embargo all trade with Poland and to stop all trade with USSR if Soviets intervene; Reagan meets with Vatican secretary of state, Agostino Cardinal Casaroli rea: Polish crisis; Polish Communist leader Wojciech Jaruzelski says martial life will be of brief duration; Common Market and Catholic relief groups send food to Poland ..... Bomb destroys Iraqi embassy in Beirut; Iraq blames Iran and Syrian elements ..... Expedition in the Congo claims it has found small brontosaurus in jungle ..... UN General Assembly unanimously elects Javier Perez de Cuellar secretary general ..... Reagan signs compromise budget bill; House passes largest military spending bill in history ..... Nancy Reagan throws White House party for deaf children; Osmond Brothers and deaf students from National Deaf Institute perform ..... Unemployment in U.S. at six-year high; car sales at lowest level in 20 years ..... Defense Dept. confirms contingency plan to aid El Salvador in case of Cuban intervention.
Wednesday, 16 December 1981
Polish authorities cracks down on dissidents, breaks strike in Gdansk shipyard, fear revolt by citizen militia; Lech Walesa held incommunicado by government ..... Restrictions placed by U.S. government on Polish diplomats in America ..... Severe food shortage still exists in Poland, as does communications blackout  ..... Archbishop Josef Glemp criticizes Polish government ..... Vatican sends radio broadcasts into Poland, including plea by Pope John Paul II to reject violence ..... Thousands of Polish-Americans in Chicago gather to sing Polish national anthem ..... UN Security Council meets to discuss Israeli annexation and military occupation of Golan Heights ..... Greece gives full diplomatic status to PLO ..... Chief Justice Warren Burger visits Nebraska State Penitentiary, calls for prison reforms.
Thursday, 17 December 1981
Polish television reports presence of armed workers; thousands placed in internment camps; Soviet planes said to have landed in Warsaw ..... In news conference, President Reagan says USSR is involved in Polish crisis, says U.S. disagrees with Israeli decision to annex Golan Heights ..... U.S. said to be reconsidering strategic cooperation with Israeli due to annexation ..... ABC claims to have evidence that Soviets have used chemical weapons in Afghanistan, and that North Vietnamese have done same in Southeast Asia ..... Red Brigade takes responsibility for abduction of American General James Dozier, NATO commander, in Verona, Italy ..... Vatican radio broadcasts demand by Catholic Church for release of Lech Walesa, held by Polish authorities ..... Defection by Polish seamen reported in Sweden and Canada ..... Energy Dept. responsibilities being transferred to Commerce Dept. in keeping with Reagan's desire to eliminate the former.
Friday, 18 December 1981
Opposition to military crackdown reported intensifying in Poland; whereabouts of Lech Walesa still unknown; Solidarity members meeting in Zurich call for team of international observers to be allowed into Poland; White House describes Polish crisis as worsening ..... Massive manhunt underway in Italy for kidnappers of American General James Dozier; President Reagan calls Red Brigade terrorists "cowardly bums" .... State Dept. suspends indefinitely strategic cooperation treaty with Israel; Israeli military buildup near Syrian and Lebanese borders reported ..... Arab strike in protest of Israeli annexation of Golan Heights continues ..... Bomb explodes at headquarters of ruling political party in Salisbury, Zimbabwe; South Africa blamed ..... 9-alarm fire breaks out in plastics factory in Lynn, Massachusetts; second major blaze in that town in as many weeks; arson suspected ..... Several major companies cut gasoline prices ..... Attorney General William French Smith blames recent larger presence of foreign spies in U.S. on restrictions placed on American intelligence agencies ..... Interior Dept. restricts motor craft trips through Grand Canyon, okays oil and gas mining in several national recreation areas ..... Warsaw Pact leaders meet in Moscow ..... Soviet TASS news agency blames U.S. for unrest in Poland ..... Decline in gross national product reported ..... Snowstorms strike Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana.
Saturday, 19 December 1981
Polish television reports return to normalcy, but strikes continue; Lech Walesa still under house arrest; CBS correspondent says Solidarity is wiped out; delegation of Soviet officials arrive in Warsaw; Polish government halts all mail to the West ..... Papal emissaries also arrive in Poland....Rallies in support of Solidarity occur across Europe ..... Defense Dept. dispatches team to join Italian police in search for abducted General James Dozier ..... Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon warns that U.S. suspension of strategic cooperation treaty threatens Camp David accords ..... Liza Alexeyeva, daughter-in-law of Andrei Sakharov enroute to Boston to be reunited with husband; her release by Soviets said due to Sakharov's hunger strike.
Sunday, 20 December 1981
Polish ambassador and his family defect to U.S. in protest of his government's recent actions .....  Resistance to military crackdown in Poland continues ..... Pro-Solidarity demonstrations occur in London ..... Polish churches call for calm ..... Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin denounces U.S. for its suspension of strategic cooperation agreement ..... George Rogers of New Orleans Saints wins this season's NFL rushing title; Cleveland Browns set new team record with 9 fumbles
Monday, 21 December 1981
Situation in Poland worsening; curfew lengthened in several cities; several priests jailed; military says industrial sabotage has been committed; strikes continue in Gdansk and Katowice ..... Red Cross relief trucks allowed into Poland ..... International Longshoremen's Association boycotts all commercial shipments to and from Poland ..... President Reagan meets with Polish-American leaders ..... National Security Council meets to discuss sanctions against Poland ..... Polish television says defecting ambassador, Romuald Spasowski, will be tried in absentia; Reagan to meet Spasowski tomorrow ..... Search for kidnapped NATO General James Dozier said to be hampering drug trade in Italy; drug dealer offers reward for information leading to resolution of Dozier case ..... Major explosion at Sylacauga, AL blamed on natural gas leak in laundromat ..... Legal separation of Sen. John Warner and actress Elizabeth Taylor reported ..... Reagan announces new task force to ensure equal opportunities for women in federal agencies ..... Prime Minister Menachem Begin criticized by many Israelis for his tirade against U.S. ..... NCAA record of 7 overtime periods occur in Cincinnati win over Bradley.
Tuesday, 22 December 1981
President Reagan signs compromise farm bill; government to give 30 million pounds of surplus cheese to poor; severe economic slump in many agricultural areas reported ..... Call stating General James Dozier will be executed by Red Brigade abductors received by Lebanese office of Italian news agency ..... Labor Secretary Ray Donovan requests special prosecutor to investigate allegations he was involved in bribery of organized crime figures ..... Hungary awards Erno Rubik, creator of Rubik's Cube, nation's highest honor ..... Solidarity claims Soviet and Czech troops are standing by to assist Polish military in crackdown ..... Conflicting reports concerning health of Solidarity leader Lech Walesa received ..... Western banks decide not to give Poland extension on paying debt interest.....Inflation rate down slightly ..... Former Nazi living in California stripped of American citizenship but allowed to stay in U.S. due to poor health ..... In Los Angeles, couple insist they saw brontosaurus in remote region of Congo.
Wednesday, 23 December 1981
President Reagan gives nationally televised speech on Polish situation; requests lighted candles in windows for Polish people ..... In Poland, strike at Katowice steel plant broken; resistance continues at coal mines in Silesia ..... "Mercy train" enroute from Vienna, Austria to Warsaw with food, clothing, coal ..... Federal judge's decision that Congress violated Constitution by extending deadline for states' ratification of Equal Rights Amendment will allow states to rescind ERA ..... Auto sales and product down ..... Justice Dept. says special prosecutor will be appointed to investigate Labor Secretary Ray Donovan ..... Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Fahd cancels trip to Washington due to Mideast situation..... Syria's President Hafez al Assad touring Arab nations seeking support for action against Israel in response to annexation of Golan Heights ..... Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin survives no-confidence vote in Knesset ..... Investigators say report that Red Brigade executed kidnapped General James Dozier was hoax ..... Snowstorms hammer Midwest .... State Dept. says Afghan resistance to Soviet occupation stronger than ever ..... Arizona Mining Association spokesman says majority of mines may be shut down due to economy.
Thursday, 24 December 1981
In Poland, strike at Silesian coal mine broken; Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski defends martial law in Radio Warsaw speech; Polish ambassador to Japan and Polish cellist studying at Yale seek political asylum ..... Soviet news agency attacks President Reagan for U.S. economic sanctions against Poland; Secretary of State threatens suspension of arms control agreement with USSR ..... Federal judge rules United States Steel can buy Marathon Oil stock in takeover bid ..... Body of surfer attacked by great white shark recovered near Monterey, CA ..... Police in Milan, Italy capture several Red Brigade members; whereabouts of kidnapped NATO General James Dozier still unknown ..... Vietnam vets visit Hanoi, Vietnam seeking news of MIAs ..... Government surplus cheese distributed to needy in California .....  Chinese government allows Christmas eve church services ..... Interior Secretary James Watts reconsiders opening all U.S. coastline to offshore drilling.
Friday, 25 December 1981
Soviet newspaper Pravda blames Polish crisis on United States; six Polish sailors defect in Kodiak, AK; Polish television reports massive aid arriving from Communist Bloc countries ..... UN Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick says Reagan administration will request UN address issue of martial law in Poland .....  American intelligence says Libyan assassination squads may have suspended activities ..... Canadian oil tanker Hudson Transport on fire in Saint Lawrence Waterway ..... U.S. auto industry said to be suffering worst slump in 20 years.
Saturday, 26 December 1981
In Poland, Solidarity urges passive resistance to military takeover; military council says those arrested to be released soon; Catholic bishops negotiate with government; strike continues in Silesian coal mine .....  Japan continues exporting aid to Poland as sympathy for Polish people increases among Japanese people ..... Demonstration reported outside Soviet embassy in New Delhi, India to protest Soviet invasion of Afghanistan ..... Haitian refugees in Florida detention camp engage in hunger strike ..... Fire on oil tanker in St. Lawrence Waterway under control ..... National Conservative Political Action Committee sues six Democratic politicians for attempting to keep their TV commercials off air.
Sunday, 27 December 1981
Red Brigade releases photo of Gen. James Dozier, claims he will be put on trial ..... President Reagan leaves Washington for vacation at California ranch ..... TIME Magazine selects Lech Walesa as its "Man of the Year" ..... Demonstration occurs in Washington to protest Soviet occupation of Afghanistan ..... Food cutbacks announced by Polish government ..... Defector claims Soviet soldiers wearing Polish army uniforms participating in military crackdown ..... Fire breaks out aboard SS Norway luxury liner ..... Reagan rejects idea of tax increase in 1982 ..... In Atlanta, Wayne Williams goes on trial tomorrow for two child murders ..... Robert F. Kennedy's grave at Arlington National Cemetery vandalized ..... Actor/songwriter Hoagy Carmichael, 82, dies.

TIME Magazine names Lech Walesa it's Man of the Year

Monday, 28 December 1981
Polish coal miners end strike in Silesia; in testimony before Senate committee, Polish ambassador to Japan says Poles denied basic human rights ..... Wayne Williams murder trial begins in Atlanta ..... Elizabeth Carr, nation's first test-tube baby, is born in Virginia ..... Andrei Sakharov released from hospital, returned to exile in Gorky ..... Israeli settlers in Sinai object to withdrawing from area set to be returned to Egypt ..... Protestors disrupt news conference by Vietnam vets on recent trip to Hanoi ..... Number of Haitian refugees missing from detention camp following disturbance there ..... Blizzard punishes Utah and Colorado ..... Warner-Elektra-Atlantic raises price of 45 records from $1.68 to $1.98.
Tuesday, 29 December 1981
Administration details U.S. economic sanctions against Poland in response to recent military crackdown; European allies dubious about sanctions ..... Lech Walesa ends hunger strike, agrees to talks with government; more arrests in Poland reported; fuel and raw material prices rising there; government blames some problems on Jews ..... Judge okays law banning private ownership of handguns in Morton Grove, IL ..... Rise in unemployment expected as leading economic indicators show decline for November; foreign trade deficit higher in 1981 than previous year ..... Sears Roebuck enters financial market by merging with Dean Witter Reynolds ..... Environmental Protection Agency gives financial help to Atlanta City, NJ where toxic leaks from landfill damaged water system ..... Judge Alcee Hastings indicted on conspiracy charges in Miami ..... Defense Dept. seeks additional military aid for Israel ..... Congressional Joint Economic Committee says tax cuts will benefit only those earning $45,000 or more.
Wednesday, 30 December 1981
Caterpillar and General Electric and other U.S. firms barred from filling orders for USSR due to economic sanctions; full trade embargo said a possibility; NATO allies refuse to support sanctions, fear it will have negative impact on proposed Soviet gas pipeline ..... State Dept. accuses Soviet Union of blocking Voice of America radio broadcasts in Poland ..... Military council cancels scheduled elections in Poland, prepares to put dissidents on trial ..... New York Appeals Court upholds conviction of Jean Harris for murder of Scarsdale Diet doctor, Herman Tarnower ..... Chief Justice Warren Burger refuses request by Mobil Oil to stop U.S. Steel's attempted takeover of Marathon Oil.
Thursday, 31 December 1981
China expresses concern over U.S. arms sale to Taiwan ..... Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) President Robert Poli resigns ..... Libya and Saudi Arabia restore diplomatic relations ..... Government in Ghana overthrown; Lt. Jerry Rawlings becomes new leader, suspends constitution ..... In Poland, Solidarity plans to continue resistance; Catholic Church attempting to have government place Lech Walesa in Church's keeping; army ordered to suppress workers' rebellion in Radom; food prices triple ..... British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher urges other European leaders to support U.S. sanctions against USSR ..... In New Jersey, policeman shoots member of Guardian Angels; Angels founder Curtis Sliwa calls it murder ..... Citywide effort underway to find man who posted suicide note in Des Moines Register ..... 40 MX missiles installed in existing Minuteman silos ..... Bedouin Arabs in Negev desert claim abuse at hands of Israeli environmental protection agency, the Green Patrol ..... CNN Headline News debuts.