Bush Sets New Goals For Space Program - July 1989

In an address in Washington, D.C., July 20, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the landing of 2 U.S. astronauts on the moon, Pres. George Bush called for a new national commitment in space. Saying he wanted to establish the United States as "the pre-eminent spacefaring nation," Bush advocated an orbiting space station, a manned base on the moon, and a manned mission to Mars. It was estimated that these ventures would cost several hundred billion dollars.

Bush Bars Import of Assault Rifles - March 1989

In the wake of the killing of 5 California schoolchildren in January, opposition of assault rifles continued to grow. The California Senate, March 9, and the Assembly, March 13, passed differing versionsof a bill barring the sale, possession, or manufacture of semiautomatic assault weapons. In a reversal of policy, the Bush administration March 14, banned imports of semiautomatic assault rifles indefinetly. Law enforcement officials said that such weapons were preferred by drug dealers. The Soviet AK-47 and the Israeli Uzi were 2 well-known makes affected by the ban. U.S.-manufactured weapons of that type were not affected by the ban.

Federal Holiday Honors Dr. King - November 1983

Pres. Reagan, November 2, signed a bill designating the third Monday in January as a national holiday in honor of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. King who was born January 15, 1929, was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn., April 4, 1968. In the last decade of his life, he had emerged as the unofficial leader and most articulate spokesman for the black civil-rights movement in the United States. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. The House, in August, and the Senate, in October had approved the holiday. Reagan had agreed to sign the bill after blacks and their supporters in Congress conveyed the intensity of their desire for the holiday.

Cold Wave Breaks Records - December 1983

A severe cold wave swept across the United States for a 2-week period beginning December 17. More than 400 deaths were attributed to the severe weather. The National Severe Storms Forecast Center reported that temperature records in 60 cities in 21 states had been broken. In the northern Great Plains, wind-chill factor temperatures were as low as -100˚ Fahrenheit. Some 80 tugboats and 800 barges on the Mississippi River were frozen in place by 8-inch-thick ice. Citrus crops in Florida and Texas were severely damaged.

Unemployment Rate Continues to Fall - June 1984

The Labor Department reported, June 1, that the unemployment rate had continued to fall in May, to 7.4 percent. The Federal Reserve Board reported, June 15, that industrial production advance 0.4 percent in May. The U.S. balance of payments of deficit for the first quarter, $19.41B, set a record, the Commerce Department reported, June 18. The department said, June 19, that housing starts fell 10.5 percent in May. The Labor Department reported, June 22, that the consumer price index edged upward 0.2 percent in May. The country's major banks, June 25, raised their prime interest rate from 12.5 percent to 13 percent, the highest level since October 1982. Pres. Reagan said he could see "no excuse" for the increase. During the last week in June, the U.S. dollar set or apporached record highs in relation to major foreign currencies. The index Leading Economic Indicators fell 0.1 percent in May, the Commerce Department said, June 29.

Chernenko Elected President of USSR - April 1984

Konstantin Chernenko, general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, added another title, April 11. In a unanimous vote by the Supreme Soviet, Chernenko was named head of state. Officially the title was chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. Chernenko thus followed as secretary, his two predecessors Leonid Brezhnev and Yuri Andropov, in adding the second honor. Mikhail Gorbachev, youngest member of the ruling Politburo at age 53, nominated Chernenko for the post, prompting some speculation that Gorbachev was in line to succeed the 72-year-old Chernenko.

Stocks Soar as Oil Prices Dive - February 1986

The U.S. stock and bond markets rallied sharpily in February as the world-wide prices of petroleum products continued to tumble. At a meeting in Vienna, February 4, oil ministers of major members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries repeated a call for cooperation between members and nonmembers of OPEC but took no firmer action.The ministers appeared willing to adhere to a strategy of keeping output high and forcing prices down, the object being to increase demand for oil. By mid-February, the prices for crude oil per barrel had fallen to the $15 to $16 range. Prices had been above $28 in November. The decline was seen on Wall Street as a promise of lower energy costs for corporations and lower inflation for consumers. The result was a buying frenzy. The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 1,600 for the first time, February 6, and needed only 15 more trading days to top the 1,700 level on February 27th.

Gorbachev Rebukes Stalin - November 1987

Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, addressing 6,000 party officials and visitors in the Kremlin, November 2, asserted that the late Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin had committed enormous crimes. He said that contrary to the beliefs of some, Stalin well knew that "wholesale repressive measures and acts of lawlessness" had occurred. He added that a commission would investigate the possibility of rehabilitating the reputations of innocent victims of Stalin. In a speech marking the 70th anniversary of the Bolshevik revolution, Gorbachev praised Stalin for his policy of farm collectivization and for his leadership during World War II. It was reported, November 3, that two leading party figures had argued vehemently at an October 21 meeting of the Central Committee. The disputants were said to be Yegor Ligachev, the party ideologist and a force for conservative thought, and Boris Yeltsin, head of the party in Moscow and an outspoken champion of Gorbachev's reforms. Yeltsin had reportedly blamed some senior leaders for what he saw as the slow pace of reform. Tass, the official Soviet news agency, said, November 11, that Yeltsin had been removed from office because of "major shortcomings." Gorbachev criticized Yeltsin, November 11,  at a meeting of Moscow party officials. Western observers thought that perhaps Yeltsin was removed as a signal to conservatives that the pace of reform would not be too swift.

2 Drugs Are Aid to Heart - November 1987

The success of two drugs in preventing and treating heart attacks were announced in November. Dr. Basil Rifkind, a researched at the Lipid Research Clinics of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute in Bethesda, MD, said November 11, that the drug gemfibrozil changed the type of blood in ways that reduced coronary ehart diseases. He said the drug lowered cholesterol only sighted but its significance was in raising the level of low-density lipoproteins ("good cholesterol") and lowering the level of low-density lipoproteins ("bad cholesterol"). The health community, however, had viewed such a drug only as a last resort if diet, exercise, and weight loss failed to achieve desired cholesterol levels. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced, November 12, that it had cleared Genentech Inc. to begin marketing TPA, or tissue plasminogen activator, a genetically engineered blood clot disorder, that would be used to treat heart attack patients. It had been found effective in dissolving blood clots and reducing the incidence of congestive heart failure after an attack. Causing bleeding was its most serious side effect.

Thatcher Wins 3rd Term in Britain - June 1987

For the first time since the 1820s, a British prime minister was elected to a third consecutive term. Margaret Thatcher and her Conservative Party, which had first come to power in 1979, swept to victory, June 11, in parliamentary elections. The Tories ran on a record of having reducing taxes, inflation, and labor strife. Thatcher's party won 375 seats in Parliament, a slight decline from 392 in the old Parliament. Labour won 229 seats and the centrist Alliance of the Liberal and Social Democratic parties won 33 seats. In the popular vote, the results were closer: Tories 42 percent, Labour 33 percent, and the Alliance 23 percent.

Stock Market Prices Plunge - October 1987

The Dow Jones industrial average, the most widely followed barometer of stock market activity, suffered its three biggest one-day point losses ever during the first half of October. A decline of 91.55in the average on October 6, was attributed to concern over rising interest rates. On October 7, major banks raised their prime lending rates from 8.75 percent to 9.25 percent, the fifth increase of the year. The Commerce Department reported, October 14, that the U.S. trade deficit had shrunk to $15.7B in August, but it had been widely expected that the deficit would be much smaller. As a result, stock prices fell again, with the Dow Jones average declining by 95.46 points. On October 16, the Dow tumbled 108.36 points, the first time the Dow had lost 100 points in a single session. In terms of percentages, the declines of October 1987 were still substantially smaller than the disastrous declines of October 1929. By October 16, the Dow Jones average had slipped some 450 points below its all-time August highs.

Tornadoes Take 29 Lives - November 1989

Violent weather, including tornadoes, struck the eastern United States in mid-November and claimed 29 lives. A tornado cut through downtown Huntsville, Ala., November 15, killing 18 people and injuring 500. Outside Newburgh, N.Y. on November 16, a tornado struck the East Coldenham Elementary School and knocked down a wall in the cafeteria. Nine students were killed and 16 injured.

Martin Luther King Holiday Observed - January 1986

Martin Luther King Holiday Observed - January 1986

On January 20, for the first time, the United states officiallyobserve Martin Luther King Day. Events honoring the memory of the slain civil-rights leader began several days earlier. On January 15, his actual birthday, Pres. Ronald Reagan spoke to children at the Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in Washington, D.C. On January 16, King's bust was unveiled in the Great Rotunda of the Capitol in Washington; he was the first black to be represented among the many leaders whose statues and busts appeared in the Rotunda. Reagan met with Mrs. Coretta Scott King at the White House, January 17. On January 18, he spoke out against affirmative action quotas in hiring, recalling King's plea that people be judged "not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." On January 20, Mrs. King led a march through Atlanta, her husband's home town. Although most businesses across the nation did not close on the holiday, it was more widely observed by state and local governments and by school districts.

Communists Lose Grip on Czechoslovakia - December 1989

Communist domination of Czechoslovakia ended in December. In the wake of November's massive demonstrations, Premier Ladislav Adamec unveiled a new cabinet, December 3, but the opposition Civic Forum rejected it because 16 of the 21 positions were still to be filled by Communists. Adamec resigned, December 7, and Pres. Gustav Husak named Marian Calfa to replace him. The new cabinet, announced December 7, had only 10 (of 21) Communists. In conversations with the Civic Forum, December 8, the Communists agree to relinquish power. Husak, who had run the country for more than 20 years as Communist leader and president, resigned as president, December 10. A hard-liner, he had come to power after Russian tanks crushed a reform movement in 1968. Vaclav Havel, a dissident playwright, and Alexander Dubcek, who had headed the 1968 reform movement, both declared their candidacies for president. The Communist Party, December 20, replaced Karel Urbanek as its leader with Adamec. Parliament, December 28, elected Dubcek as its speaker and on December 29, it elected Havel president without opposition.

U.S. Observes Constitution Bicentennial - September 1987

The 200^th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution was observed, September 17. At the principal celebration, in Philadelphia, Pres. Ronald Reagan stood near Independence Hall and asserted, "In a very real sense, it was then--in 1787--that the revolution truly began." He said it was a revolution "to free man from tyranny of every sort and secure his freedom the only way possible in this world; through the checks and balances and institutions of limited, democratic government." Former Chief Justice Warren Burger, chairman of the Bicentennial Commission, struck a replica of the Liberty Bell. Floats and marching bands containing citizens from all 50 states paraded past Independence Hall. 

Economy Picks Up Steam - October 1986

Economic growth improved in the second quarter, the government reported in October. The nation's unemployment rate edged upward 0.2 percent in September to 6.9 percent, the Labor Department reported, October 3. The department, said, October 10, that the index of prices paid by producers for finished goods rose 0.4 percent in September. The Commerce Department reported, October 15, that retail sales has risen 4.6 percent in September, the sharpest one-month jump in the nearly 20 years that records had been kept. The department said, October 22, that the economy had grown at an annual rate of 2.4 percent during the second quarter, a big improvement from the first quarter. Inflation rose 0.3 percent in September, the department reported, October 23. The cumulative increase in the cost of living in the 12 months ended in September triggered a 1.3 percent increase in Social Security benefits. The Commerce Department reported, October 30, that the nation's trade deficit narrowed for the second straight month in September, to $12.56B. The department said, October 31, that the index of leading economic indicators rose 0.4 percent in September.

Huge Oil Spill Fouls Alaskan Waters - March 1989

The largest oil spill in U.S. history occured after a tanker struck a reef in Alaska's Prince Edward Sound, March 24. The Exxon Valdez struck Blight Reef, about 25 miles from the town of Valdez, the southern terminus of the pipeline that carried oil from northern Alaska. The tanker, which was off course, was being piloted by the third mate instead of by the captain, Joseph Hazelwood. Exxon Corporation announced, March 25, that it accepted full financial responsiblility for the spill, which was initially estimated at 240,000 barrels. The 987-foot tanker had been carrying 1,260,000 barrels of crude oil, some of which was being siphoned into another ship. Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, the oil-company consortium that operated the pipeline, had said that there would be a spill containment team at Valdez, but that turned out to consist only of a barge that happened to be in drydock with a hold in its side. A skimming technique removed only a small portion of the oil. Exxon announced, March 26, it was ready to deploy a dispersant, but winds up to 73 miles and hour, March 27, thwarted that effort. The economic and environmental dimensions of the disaster grew daily. The fishing industry was temporarily wiped out, and the pictures on television of dying birds and otters, soaked with oil, stunned the nation. Exxon said, March 28, that it was impossible to contain the spill. Valdez Mayor John Devens said, March 28, that his community felt betrayed by Exxon. By March 29, the spill extended 45 miles. On hearing a report from federal officials after their return to Alaska, Pres. George Bush called the spill "a major tragedy," but the administration decided not to take over the cleanup. Having tested Capt. Hazelwood, the Coast Guard announced, March 30, that he had an unacceptably high level of alcohol in his blood. The FBI opened an investigation into the spill, March 31.

Child Survives Crash Fatal to 155 - August 1987

At least 155 persons died as the result of a crash August 16, of a Northwest Airlines jet that had just taken off from Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus, Mich. Miraculously, a 4-year-old girl, Cecelia Cichan, of Tempe, Ariz., survived. Her father, mother, and brother all died. The death toll was the second-highest ever for a U.S. plane crash. The number of persons aboard the plane was uncertain. Two persons were killed on the ground. The cause of the disaster was not immediately determined.

Severe Quake Hits Northern California - October 1989

One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded in California struck along the San Andreas Fault in the northern part of the state, October 17. More than 60 people were killed and several thousands injured. Some 100,000 houses were reported damaged. The worst damage was San Francisco and Oakland, 75 miles north of the epicenter of the quake. Most of the deaths, more than 40, occured when the upper level of the double-decker Nimitz Freeway (Interstate Highway 880) in Oakland collapsed. The freeway was packed with rush-hour traffic at 5:04p, when the 15-second quake hit. In San Francisco, several fires broke out with the worst being in the Marina district, where a number of buildings were destroyed. Other cities that suffered heavily included Santa Cruz, where much of the downtown shopping district was leveled; San Jose; and Los Gatos. The tragedy struck just minutes before the start of the 3rd game of baseball's World Series between the Oakland Athletics and the San Francisco Giants at San Francisco's Candlestick Park. The game was cancelled and the crowd of 58,000 evacuated safely. The last survivor to be found, Buck Helm, a longshoreman, was pulled from the wreckage of the Nimitz Freeway, October 21. The U.S. Geological Survey said, October 24, that its estimate of the quake's intensity had been put at 7.1 on the Richter Scale, the 5th strongest of the century, though well below the impact of San Francisco's great earthquake of 1906. Congress, October 25, approved an aid package totalling $4.15B. The World Series resumed, October 27, and Oakland completed a 4-game sweep of the Giants, October 28.

Strong 1984 Economy Painted by Numbers - January 1985

Statistics released during January established that 1984 had been a very good year for the American economy. Data released on January 4, showed that sales of automobiles in the United States had risen 13.1 percent in 1984. The total of 10,358,166 cars was the highest since 1979. Some 76 percent of these were produced in the United States. The Labor Department said, January 9, that unemployment had edged upward in December to 7.1 percent from 7.0 percent in November. The Labor Department reported, January 11, that the prices paid by producers for finished goods rose only 1.8 percent in 1984. Continuing a trend, major banks again cut their prime rate, January 14, this time to 10.75 percent; the rate stood at its lowest point since August 1983. The Commerce Department reported, January 17, that construction in 1984 on 1.74M housing units, a 2.4 percent increase over 1983. The Department said, January 22, that the nation's real gross national product had increased 6.8 percent in 1984, the highest rate of gain since 1951. The Labor Department said, January 23, that the consumer price index had risen by only 4 percent in 1984, the third consecutive year of relatively low inflation. Worker productivity, a key factor in controlling inflation, rose 3.1 percent in 1983, the Labor Department reported, January 29. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at an all-time high of 1292.62 on January 29. On the dark side, the Commerce Department said, January 30, that the U.S. trade deficit stood at $123.3B in 1984, far above the previous record of $69.4B reported in 1983. The Department said, January 31, that the index of leading economic indicators had edged downward by 0.2 percent in December.