The Eighties Club
The Politics and Pop Culture of the 1980s
The Daily News - February 1982
Monday, 1 February 1982
Salvadoran government justifies army's killing of civilians yesterday; Reagan administration approving additional military aid for El Salvador.....Martial law regime in Poland raises consumer prices sharply..... More Red Brigade terrorists arrested in Italy following rescue of kidnapped Gen. James Dozier..... Snowstorms strike Midwest, floods reported in Pennsylvania.....Negotiations between Ford Motor Co. and UAW resume.....Daniel Ellsberg among those arrested in antinuke demonstration at Lawrence Livermore nuclear research lab in California.....President Reagan requests Congress increase unemployment benefits for states.....Nation's strictest gun control law goes into effect in Morton Grove, IL.....Citibank increased prime lending rate as Federal Reserve Board tightens money supply.....Harry Sassounian charged in killing of Turkish consul general in Los Angeles, CA.....Late Night with David Letterman debuts on NBC.
Tuesday, 2 February 1982
Air Florida jet hijacked by man carrying bottle of gasoline; man arrested in Cuba, flight proceeds to Key West, FL; first successful plane hijacking in US in 6 months.....Slump in auto production for January reported.....Claus von Bulow trial underway in Newport, RI, with opening arguments; von Bulow accused of attempting to murder his wife who is now in coma..... Non-nuclear missile falls from USAF plane in West Germany.....Egyptian Prime Minister Hosni Mubarak arrives in Washington to meet with President Reagan.....Guerrillas launch two large attacks in El Salvador; heavy casualties reported.....Large object from construction site falls on Vice President George Bush's car in Washington, DC; not believed to be assassination attempt.....Justice Dept. civil rights lawyers reportedly opposed to tax exempt status for two racially segregated schools.....In New Bern, NC, John Lester Harris given life sentence for enslaving migrant workers.....Blizzards reported in St. Louis, MO and southern plains of Colorado.
Wednesday, 3 February 1982
Reagan administration raises possibility of sending US troops to El Salvador in future; Salvadoran President Jose Napoleon Duarte says case being built against National Guardsmen accused of murdering American religious workers.....US said to be trying to involve Argentina in overthrow of Sandinista government in Nicaragua.....Gen. James Dozier, recently rescued from Italy's Red Brigades, greeted by Vice President George Bush at Andrews AFB.....Poland's martial law regime replaces civilian governor of Gdansk region with army officer.....Libyan hit squads allegedly hiding out in Canada and Mexico with intent to strike at top US administration officials.....Egyptian Prime Minister Hosni Mubarak meets with President Reagan, calls for recognition of PLO as part of Palestinian peace plan.....New White House china paid for by Knapp Foundation used in state dinner honoring Mubarak..... Stroudsburg, PA residents evacuated after truck accident involving toxic aluminum chloride gas.....Testimony of two witnesses at trial of alleged Atlanta child murderer Wayne Williams links defendant with two of the victims.....Porn star John Holmes ordered to stand trial for murder.....Englishman John Sharples concludes 371 hours of disco dancing.
Thursday, 4 February 1982
Logs of White House tape made during John F. Kennedy administration released by Kennedy Library, Boston, MA.....Pope John Paul meets with Poland's Archbishop Jozef Glemp, discusses Church's response to Polish martial law situation.....Prosecution rests its case in trial of accused Atlanta child murderer Wayne Williams.....Racist murderer Joseph Paul Franklin, suspect in shooting of Urban League leader Vernon Jordan, stabbed by black inmate in Marion, IL federal penitentiary.....Six feared dead in fire at old hotel in Shawnee, OK.....Train accident in Brookwood, AL blamed on heavy rains.....Police arrest 22 suspected Red Brigade terrorists in Italy, seize large cache of weapons near Treviso.....Fierce fighting reported near capitol of El Salvador; US accuses Nicaragua of aiding Salvadoran rebels.....Reagan administration submits proposed "Zero Option" treaty with USSR for arms reductions.....Senate votes 58-38 to curb school busing.....Ford Motors reports $1 billion loss in 1981.....Soviet diplomat accused of spying expelled from Washington DC.....500 arrested in joint US-Colombian crackdown on drug trade.....Suriname leader Chin A Sen flees to the Netherlands.
Friday, 5 February 1982
US begins shipping military equipment to El Salvador to replace that lost in recent conflict with guerrilla forces.....Sir Freddie Laker announces collapse of Laker Airways, which is $350 million in debt..... Minnesota's Northern Airlines said to be bankrupt.....Braniff Airlines reportedly in financial straits.....Great Britain announces new economic sanctions against USSR and Poland's martial law government.....UN General Assembly resolution calls on all UN member nations to boycott Israel due to latter's annexation of Golan Heights.....Investigator uncovers Soviet spy in US General Accounting Office.....1980 death of son said to be reason for hostage situation involving Jean Claude Goulet in St. Jude's Childrens Hospital, Memphis, TN.....Several Americans imprisoned in Iran, including former aide to President Jimmy Carter.....DEA arrests 495 people and seizes 3,200 tons of marijuana in major drug sweep.
Saturday, 6 February 1982
President Reagan's 1983 budget proposal said to include more cuts in social spending and largest peacetime increase in defense budget as well as largest deficits in history.....Reagan celebrates 71st birthday; Queen Elizabeth celebrates 30th anniversary as England's sovereign.....Outpouring of aid from British citizens designed to prolong life of beleaguered Laker Airways.....Coretta King and Jesse Jackson participate in march for extension of Voting Rights Act.....Sidewinder rocket found in West German haystack after it had fallen from USAF F-15 in flight over Black Forest.....Administration planning economic sanctions against Cuba for Cuban aid to Salvadoran guerrillas.....Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger visits Saudi Arabia, says US ready to help Saudis defend oil fields.
Sunday, 7 February 1982
Congressional response to President Reagan's proposed 1983 budget described as unfavorable..... Annual human rights report highly critical of USSR, says violations on the rise in Central America..... Administration defends US payment of interest on Polish debt.....Army medic says Army falsified medical records of observers of 1956-57 nuclear tests in Nevada....."Red Zone" at base of volcanic Mt. St. Helens (WA) is reopened to public.....Secretary of State Alexander Haig arrives in Madrid for European Security Conference.....Casualties reported in fire at Tokyo luxury hotel.
Monday, 8 February 1982
Reagan administration says nerve gas manufacture, ended during Nixon presidency, is necessary.....Battle on Capitol Hill expected over $27 billion in social program cuts and $91 billion deficit anticipated by Reagan budget.....Five persons arrested when crossing from Canada to U.S. said to have been seeking weapons for IRA.....Rupert Murdock says London Times may have to close its doors due to financial problems.....Guerrilla activity increases in El Salvador; government force defeated by rebels .....Iranian security force said to have killed leader of Mujahadeen opposition to reign of the ayatollahs..... Laker Airways said to be doomed despite public show of support.....Universities reopening in Poland under martial law regime.
Tuesday, 9 February 1982
President Reagan in Iowa seeking support for budget plan; Sen. Ernest Hollings suggests freezing expenditures rather than cutting programs; OMB Director David Stockman blames repression for increase in deficit; 15,000 applicants seek 60 post office jobs in Kansas City, MO.....Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger announcing agreement with Saudi Arabia called Joint Commission on Military Projects; Weinberger in Oman to discuss American use of military bases there.....At European security conference in Madrid, Secretary of State Alexander Haig says martial law in Poland makes negotiations impossible; Polish leader Wojciech Jaruzelski blames U.S. sanctions for causing conflict in Poland.....Son-in-law of Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos found; disappearance blamed on Communist guerrillas.....New federal ruling requires government family planning clinics to notify parents of teenagers receiving birth control assistance..... Federal appeals court says 6,000 hours of Nixon White House tapes can be released.....AT UN meeting in Geneva, U.S. proposes complete ban on chemical weapons.
Wednesday, 10 February 1982
Legal proceedings against national guardsmen accused of murdering American missionaries in 1980 underway in El Salvador.....Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger visits U.S. task force Battle Group Delta and meets with Jordan's King Hussein; Weinberger defends proposed sale of antiaircraft missiles to Jordan.....Rebel uprising reported in Syria; government troops and rebels clash in Hama.....U.S. DEA employees shot in Colombia.....Henry Kissinger has triple bypass heart surgery.....White House rejects alternatives to 1983 Reagan budget.....Senate approves additional funds for unemployment benefits..... Federal employees being furloughed rather than laid off.....Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul Volcker defends high interest rates during appearance on Capitol Hill.
Thursday, 11 February 1982
Republican congressional leaders tell President Reagan his 1983 budget is unpopular on Capitol Hill, ask for permission to make adjustments; Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul Volcker urges Congress to cut deficits in proposed budget..... Conflict between Syrian army and Moslem Brotherhood continues in Hama; King Hussein tours Syrian-Jordanian border with U.S. Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger..... Polish assistant foreign minister says martial law should be lifted by end of month.....Oscar nominations announced; Atlantic City, Chariots of Fire, On Golden Pond, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Reds contenders for Best Picture..... Riots in Brussels, Belgium blamed on unemployment.....Senate begins hearing on alleged child abuse by Oklahoma state institutions.....Second suspect named in killing of Turkish consul general in Los Angeles.....Ford Motor Co. and UAW reach tentative agreement on wages and fringe benefits..... Commerce Dept. predicts rise in retail sales through 1982.....U.S. Congress fact-finding team, including Sens. Claiborne Pell, Patrick Leahy and Russell Long to visit war-torn El Salvador .....Verdict of federal jury in police brutality case in McAllen, TX goes in favor of ex-policemen.....Decline reported in deaths from cardiovascular diseases.....Center for Disease Control warns aspirin may case Reyes Syndrome in children.....Dancer Eleanor Powell dies, age 69.
Friday, 12 February 1982
Two congressional delegations tour El Salvador; President Reagan assures public American soldiers there are not in combat.....400 Salvadoran troops arrive at Ft. Bragg, NC for training with Green Berets..... Secretary of State Alexander Haig announces closer U.S.-Moroccan military cooperation.....Labor Dept. reports sharp rise in food prices.....Oil glut causing gas prices to drop.....Pope John Paul II in Nigeria as part of African tour.....Pilot of Polish airliner flies plane to West Berlin and defects with family.....Actor Victor Jory found dead of heart attack in Santa Monica apartment.....U.S. government denies falsifying records of servicemen exposed to radiation during atomic tests in 1950s.....Wayne Gretsky ties NHL record with 53rd goal.
Saturday, 13 February 1982
U.S. Army officer relieved of duty and sent home for carrying rifle against orders in El Salvador.....20 people killed in San Salvador last month by government troops now said to have been guerrillas..... General strike underway in Aleppo, Syria in support of anti-government Moslem Brotherhood..... Helicopter from Dutch warship rescues 16 from Greek tanker sunk in North Atlantic storm.....Jury in Wayne Williams trial visits Chattahoochie River bridge where defendant allegedly dumped body of one of his victims.....Government officials say next year's deficit will be higher than originally projected..... Emergency session of Arab League expected to demand Israel's expulsion from UN.....Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger in Munich attending West German armed forces conference.....Tallest woman in world, 8'-1" Zeng Jinlian, dies in Hunan, China, age 17.
Sunday, 14 February 1982
Israel reacts to Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger's comments regarding new U.S. Mideast policy more favorable to Arab nations.....Secretary of State Alexander Haig seeks sanctions against USSR and Poland's martial law government, says Soviets still using chemical warfare in Afghanistan, elsewhere..... UAW members approve new contract with Ford Motor Co......Third American missionary in six months murdered in Guatemala.....Demonstration and police crackdown occurs in Poznan as martial law begins third month in Poland .....French government to lend money to USSR for proposed natural gas pipeline from Western Europe.
Monday, 15 February 1982
Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin condemns U.S.-Jordan arms deal, calls emergency session of Knesset, makes public appeal to President Reagan to prevent sale.....Ocean Ranger, world's largest oil rig, capsizes off coast of Newfoundland; all 84 aboard are lost.....Heavy rains cause flooding in northern Washington state ..... Communist Party newspaper in Poland says U.S. is backing underground resistance movement .....Heavy fighting reported in eastern El Salvador; U.S. helicopter plays role in victory by government troops.....Ed Asner heads show business group seeking to raise $1 million for leftist guerrillas in El Salvador.....First Lady Nancy Reagan inspects drug abuse programs in Texas and Florida.....Fire reported on W. German freighter on Columbia River near Portland, OR.....AFL-CIO proposes alternative to Reagan budget..... Pro-ERA demonstrators arrested at White House.

Ocean Ranger

Tuesday, 16 February 1982
Sen. Harrison Williams, convicted in Abscam probe, sentenced to prison term.....Russian freighter sinks off coast of Newfoundland, near site of yesterday's Ocean Ranger disaster; search and rescue operations to find any survivors of Ocean Ranger disaster continue.....Vice President George Bush tries to sell Reagan economic policy before AFL-CIO executive council in Bal Harbour, FL.....Bush says Awacs-type planes to be used to interdict drug shipments into southern Florida.....Man who fires on Air Florida plane in Miami arrested.....Suspect in last year's shooting of Pope John Paul II arrested in Hamburg, W. Germany.....China opens bidding for oilshore drilling rights.....Chinese Chairman Deng Xiaopeng said to be engaging in major purge.....President Reagan sends personal letter of reassurance to Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin re: proposed U.S. arms sales to Jordan; Reagan accuses press of inaccurate reporting that exacerbated U.S.-Israeli relations ..... More government massacres in El Salvador reported.....Space shuttle Columbia moved to launch site.....Chrysler makes tentative agreement to sell defense subsidiary to General Dynamics.....Man claims he received union payoff in presence of Labor Secretary Raymond Donovan.....NFL negotiations with players' association underway.....Lee Majors and Farrah Fawcett are divorced.
Wednesday, 17 February 1982
January's increase in prime lending rate to (17%) having impact on housing starts and factory production..... President Reagan meets with European Common Market president, Belgian PM Wilfried Martens; Martens concerned by high U.S. interest rates, but in agreement with U.S. policy re: El Salvador.....Fire breaks out on Pan Am flight leaving Miami, FL.....Manhunt underway for shotgun killers of George West Post and six family members in Farwell, MI..... Arsonist-murderer Philip Cline, sentenced for setting fire at Las Vegas Hilton.....Deaths of jazz great Thelonious Monk and acting coach Lee Strasberg reported.....Sniper opens fire in San Diego, CA trailer park.....Pope John Paul II continues African tour in Benin and Gabon.....3500 reported arrested in Poland in last two days, 52,000 since martial law was declared.....Army said to be searching for those responsible for massacre of men, women and children in Guatemalan village Monday night.....Robert Mugabe fires Joshua Nkomo, accused of plotting coup against Zimbabwe government.....Reagan administration says it will prosecute draft dodgers.
Thursday, 18 February 1982
President Reagan's news conference focus on economic program and U.S. troops in El Salvador; president condemns high interest rates, say he will not compromise on defense spending of tax policies..... Reagan appointing panel to study government waste.....Moslem Brotherhood blamed for terrorist attack on Syrian office.....Civil rights march occurs in Montgomery, AL over Voting Rights Act.....Government of Prime Minister Garret FitzGerald in Ireland said to be collapsing.....Polish martial law government continues attack on Catholic Church.....FDA warns canned salmon may contain botulism.....Tabloid apologizes after Queen Elizabeth reacts to photos of Princess Diana sunbathing in Bahamas.....Government of El Salvador requests additional U.S. aid; Sen. Claiborne Pell returns from factfinding trip, says aid to El Salvador should end if right wing wins elections there.....In Florida, drug ring using racing stock cars to smuggle marijuana is exposed.....Edith Ngaio Marsh, New Zealand mystery writer, dies, age 82.
Friday, 19 February 1982
Pope John Paul II concludes African trip, returns to Vatican.....Record unemployment reported in some European nations.....Controversy arises re: nomination of Rita Lavelle, former employee of Aerojet General, a company accused of polluting environment, to Environmental Protection Agency..... Washington DC court of appeals locks administration's attempt to give tax breaks to schools practicing racial discrimination.....Univ. of California, San Francisco researchers discover new class of life called prions.....Three U.S. representatives conclude factfinding mission to El Salvador, oppose presence of armed U.S. military there.....John DeLorean seeks American financial aid for his car company, which British government has declared insolvent..... Poland's martial law regime denies crackdown on Catholic Church.....Trial begins in Madrid, Spain for military personnel accused of participating in failed coup attempt last year.
Saturday, 20 February 1982
In El Salvador, government forces launch major effort to halt guerrilla activity.....White House and Senate Finance Chairman Robert Dole disagree on tax plan.....Arcadia, FL puts on celebratory homecoming for Gen. James Dozier, formerly hostage of Italian Red Brigades.....General Motors announces further layoffs.....Nuclear freeze proponents hold national conference in Denver, CO.....New York Islanders set record by winning 15th straight NHL game.
Sunday, 21 February 1982
Conference of Latin American nations in Managua, Nicaragua criticizes U.S. policy in region.....Interior Secretary James Watt announces polict reversal and postponement of oil and gas exploration in federal wilderness areas.....French minister of external affairs critical of U.S. economic policy.....New York City's Mayor Ed Koch said to be planning gubernatorial campaign.
Monday, 22 February 1982
Wayne Williams takes the stand in his murder trial in Atlanta, GA.....Consumer Products Safety Commission votes to ban urea formaldehyde in home insulation.....Surgeon General's report condemning smoking may cause change in warning labels on cigarette packaging.....Arson suspected as extensive fires break out in Salem, Mass......President Reagan meeting with governors following National Governors Association's rejection of his New Federalism proposals; governors present alternative plan for state control of welfare, food stamps and Medicaid.....U.S. military court rules agains prosecuting ICBM officer Christopher Cooke, accused of selling secrets to USSR.....U.S. and UK returning 18 tons of gold originally seized by Nazis to Czechoslovakia.....President's daughter, Maureen Reagan, officially enters California senate race.....Lt. Cmdr. Stu Powrie dies in crash of Blue Angels jet near El Centro, CA.
Tuesday, 23 February 1982
Officials seek court permission to force-feed hunger-striking Mark David Chapman, accused of killing John Lennon.....Treasury Secretary Donald Regan and OMB Director David Stockman lobby for President Reagan's proposed budget on Capitol Hill.....Citibank lowers prime lending rate.....Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul Volcker predicts economic recovery by mid-year.....Front for the Liberation of Lebanon takes responsibility for car bombings in Beirut.....In response to Polish crisis, European Common Market restricts exports to USSR.....IRA seizes and sinks British freighter off coast of Ireland.....State Dept. warns Nicaragua re: arming leftist guerrillas in El Salvador.....State Dept. dismisses Mexican President Jose Lopez Portillo's plan for U.S.-Cuba negotiations as unworkable..... U.S. court of appeals rules documents and statements by John Hinckley, Jr., accused of shooting president, cannot be used as evidence against him because they were secured in violation of his civil rights.....Supreme Court rules Americans must pay Social Security taxes regardless of religious beliefs .....Fighting reported in Kampala, Uganda as rebels launch rocket attack against army.....Final day of Mardi Gras, police report 3,000 arrested in New Orleans during festival.....NAACP Director Benjamin Hooks says Justice Dept. is anti-civil rights.
Wednesday, 24 February 1982
In speech before Organization of American States, President Reagan unveils new U.S. economic initiative for Caribbean basin.....In Atlanta, defense rests its case in murder trial of Wayne Williams..... Henry Kissinger released from Boston hospital following heart surgery.....Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev says USSR ready to negotiate arms control with U.S......Lebanese Shiite Muslems hijack Kuwait Airways plane in Beirut.....State Dept. claims Soviet bloc arms shipments to leftist guerrillas in El Salvador are unprecedented .....Auditors accuse Interior Secretary James Watt and wife of misusing government funds.....Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski criticizes U.S. at Communist Party central committee meeting in Warsaw, Poland.....Hockey star Wayne Gretzky sets new record with 78th goal of season.

Wayne Gretzky

Thursday, 25 February 1982
President Reagan criticizes Screen Actors Guild donations to leftists guerrillas in El Salvador; some SAG members picket guild president Ed Asner.....Investigation into disaster at Kansas City's Hyatt Regency Hotel blames skywalk collapse on faulty design.....Tanker carrying explosive chemicals derails at Greensboro, GA.....Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon warns against U.S. arms sales to Jordan..... Reagan signs executive order ridding federal government of excess property.....Justice Dept. seeks Supreme Court decision on tax exempt status for racially discriminatory schools ..... Congressional Budget Office projects deficits under Reagan budget in excess of administration's ..... USS Intrepid arrives in New York City harbor to be refitted as air, sea and space museum.....Israel's UN ambassador warns that continued PLO buildup in southern Lebanon will require Israeli offensive ..... Hostile crowd disrupts Ku Klux Klan rally in Jacksonville, FL.....House Interior Committee votes to cite Interior Secretary James Watt for contempt as result of his refusal to release subpoenaed documents.....Appeals court postpones scheduled trial of John Hinckley, Jr., accused of shooting president.....Swiss police arrest Turkish students believed involved in last year's shooting of Pope John Paul II.....Final episode of The Lawrence Welk Show airs.
Friday, 26 February 1982
Jury begins deliberations in Wayne Williams murder trial.....President Reagan announces opposition to trans-Siberian natural gas pipeline; Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger opposed to Western European dependence on USSR for energy.....Polish Communist Party central committee approves martial law.....Turkish government conducts mass arrests of intelligentsia last night.....U.S. special envoy Philip Habib arrives in Beirut, hopes to forestall possible Israeli offensive into southern Lebanon..... In El Salvador, government troops battle leftist guerrillas in Guazapa; terrorist car bombings reported in San Salvador.....Reagan orders embargo of Libyan oil and gas.....Explosion occurs on gasoline barge under New York City bridge.....Administration cancels plans to close several Coast Guard stations in face of Congressional opposition.....James Brady, press secretary wounded in attempted assassination of Reagan, files damage suit against John Hinckley, Jr.
Saturday, 27 February 1982
Jury returns guilty verdict in Wayne Williams murder trial.....Bipartisan Social Security commission holds first meeting; prospects of solving Social Security problems said to be slight.....Hijacked Tanzanian airliner on ground at Stansted Airport, UK; hijackers threaten to blow up aircraft.....Martial law restrictions lifted in Gdansk, Poland; Catholic Church seeks amnesty for those arrested under martial law.....Car bomb explodes in West Beirut.....Pope John Paul II advises Jesuits involved in leftist causes in Latin America to stay out of politics.....Italian warships chase unidentified submarine out of Gulf of Taranto..... In El Salvador, right-wing leader Roberto D'Aubuisson injured in assassination attempt.....U.S. Supreme Court to deliberate on Mississippi supreme court ruling that those engaged in black boycott of Port Gibson merchants may be liable for damages.....France performs nuclear test on Muruora Island in the Pacific.....Earl Anthony becomes first pro bowler to win $1 million.
Sunday, 28 February 1982
Police task force investigating series of murders in Atlanta ceases operation following conviction of Wayne Williams.....Crisis involving hijacked Tanzanian airliner in England ends as four hijackers release hostages and surrender.....President Reagan denies Jordan has requested military arms from U.S......Grace period for military draft registration ends with widespread lack of response ..... Polish martial law regime lifts travel restrictions.....National League of Cities expresses concern over President Reagan's proposed budget cuts.....Johnny Carson arrested for DUI in Beverly Hills, CA......FALN, Puerto Rican nationalist group, claims responsibility for terrorist bombing on Wall Street.....AT&T reports record $7 billion loss for fiscal year ending this date.