Profound changes have taken place in the way foreign policy is made in the Nixon Administration in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal and the appointment of Henry A. Kissinger as Secretary of State. The elaborate National Security Council system of making decisions by presenting the President with the facts and the options, so that he is not at the mercy of the bureaucracy, has become less important. And the President is playing an altered, and some say, a lesser role in the formulation of national security policy.
Egypt and Israel will begin negotiations regarding troop withdrawal along the Suez Canal Tuesday or Wednesday at the Geneva peace conference. The United Nations will supervise the talks. A mood of relief has permeated the peace conference although both the Egyptians and Israelis expect problems during the negotiations. Tight security exists in Geneva, remembering last week’s attacks by Palestinian terrorists in Rome.
Senior American officials who had traveled with Secretary of State Kissinger to the Middle East and Geneva said in Washington that they expected fairly rapid progress in talks between Egypt and Israel on separating their forces along the Suez Canal. Such an agreement at the Middle East peace conference in Geneva is possible by the end of January, or early February, they said, and would probably be followed almost immediately by steps to reopen the Suez Canal. The canal has been closed since the 1967 Middle East war.
The Israeli army charged that Egyptians are violating the cease-fire repeatedly.
The Moroccan government reported that all 106 persons aboard a chartered Belgian Caravelle airliner were killed when it crashed.
Six oil-producing nations are raising their oil prices beginning January 1. Kuwait will be part of the latest price increase. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced that its member nations would more than double the price asked for crude oil, effective January 1. In U.S. dollars, the posted price went from $5.11 per barrel to $11.65 on New Year’s Day of 1974. At the start of 1973, the price had been $2.59 per barrel.
More terrorist bombs exploded in London. Three more bombs exploded in London after an anonymous telephone call promised “three Christmas presents — one each for the dead, murdered and interned in Northern Ireland.” The blasts were directed at a Kensington police station, a construction firm in Hammersmith and a tavern in the West End. There were no injuries. It was the third straight night of blasts blamed on Irish extremists and brought London’s total to 17 bombs in the past six days.
In Belfast, Northern Ireland, Catholics and Protestants sang Christmas carols together.
The Soviet Union said it does not intend to welcome back Soviet Jews who emigrated and now want to return. “There are no economic, social or other factors in our Socialist state that would compel citizens to seek their fortune abroad,” said Sergei Losev in a Tass news agency commentary. About 250 Soviet Jews who left Israel after migrating there are now in Vienna, petitioning for the right to return to the Soviet Union.
Boris D. Pankin, head of the new Soviet copyright agency which was set up to deal with foreign publishers on questions of copyright, has made it clear that the Soviet Union will move to bar future publication abroad of works by Alexander Solzhenitsyn and other Russian writers considered anti-Soviet. He denied charges made last spring by six Soviet intellectuals that this was a prime reason behind the Soviet decision to join the Universal Copyright Convention effective May 27. But he left no doubt that his agency would prosecute foreign publishers of such dissident works and Soviet citizens who supply them.
The trial of 10 Spanish underground labor leaders charged with illicit association after their arrest in a Madrid convent 18 months ago ended with most of the defendants refusing an offer to make a statement. They were led away in manacles and court officials said verdicts might not be announced until next year. The prosecution alleged that the defendants met to discuss strategy of the Comisiones Obreras, Spain’s underground Marxist labor organization. The defense, although admitting the 10 were connected with the labor movement, contended that they were visiting the convent individually. Among the foreign observers at the public trial was former Attorney General Ramsey Clark.
Three Soviet-built 122-mm. rockets struck Phnom Penh in the first rebel rocket attack on the Cambodian capital in five months. Three persons were reported killed and three were wounded in the attack. A fourth rocket fell harmlessly into the Mekong River.
Gérald Fauteux, Chief Justice of Canada since 1970, retired from the Canadian Supreme Court, on which he had served for 24 years.
Those are the Christmas lights of a year ago that hang forlorn and unlit on a twisted string across the side of the 15‐story Banco Central, miraculously still standing but too shattered for occupancy. The clock on the front of the bank is stopped at 12:28, and surrounding the building is a vast area of twisted metal, collapsed structures, rubble piles and awesome desolation —600 blocks of it. Virtually everything has that same deathstruck look, timed so accurately by the clock: 12:28 A.M., Dec. 23, 1972, when one of the worst of successive earthquake shocks reduced Nicaragua’s capital city of 400,000 to ruins in minutes. The look of the city is much as if the disaster had struck only a few days ago. The streets have been cleared but no revival or reconstruction has taken place in the once busy heart of this sweltering lakeside capital. The shored‐up National Palace near the lakefront is in operation but virtually nothing else is. The shells of the remaining buildings have been emptied of all furnishings.
Although the Government quickly named 1973 the “Year of Hope and Reconstruction” and although foreign aid has amounted to $162‐million in reconstruction loans and $32‐million in emergency supplies and services, the homeless are still waiting for new houses. General Anastasio Somoza Debayle, Nicaragua’s military strongman, has said that it will take years to complete the reconstruction of the city. It will be rebuilt on the same site, he said, but decentralized and spread out along the highways leading from the old central area. Already several new shopping centers have been built on the edges of the city. In an oblique answer to critics demanding to know what has happened to the foreign ail money, the Finance Ministry released a breakdown a few weeks ago and explained that earlier there had been tremendous confusion in sorting out the various types of‐aid pouring in from abroad.
A vast power failure threatened a dark Christmas for more than 9 million inhabitants of the Buenos Aires metropolitan area and other sections of Argentina. Spokesmen for the state-owned power company blamed it on a huge prairie fire in La Pampa province which burned cables leading from the biggest power station in Argentina.
Chile’s labor minister permitted the resumption of union activities for the first time since the armed forces seized power September 11. Police must be told before union meetings are held, however. Leaders of 23 unions said a provisional executive committee was being set up as a pilot body which might eventually replace the left-wing executive which was dissolved after the coup.
Eight more persons were reported killed as violence continued during elections in Bangladesh. Voting has been suspended in a number of regions because of the outbreaks and the election commission announced there will be fresh balloting in 100 violence-hit centers.
Oil industry spokesmen in the United States did not seem surprised at the doubling of prices for Persian Gulf oil. A spokesman for a major importer of petroleum from the Persian Gulf said “the announced prices were pretty shocking numbers, but they weren’t unexpected.”
The Skylab 3 astronauts, preparing for a busy holiday week in the orbiting laboratory, are engaged in a study to determine the effects of prolonged space flight on the human heart. New heart tests, never done on astronauts before the Skylab 3 crew, could be crucial to the future of manned flight in space. They could answer the question of whether weeks in weightlessness have an adverse effect on the heart.
While astronauts Gerald P. Carr, William R. Pogue and Edward G. Gibson were sleeping, electronic mischief aboard the orbiting Skylab space station caused scrambled telemetry data. Shortly after the crew awakened to start its 38th day in space, the problem disappeared. “Guess there must be some Christmas elves on board,” said Mission Control communicator Richard Truly.
House Republican leader John J. Rhodes of Arizona said that if the congressional elections “were tomorrow, we would lose some seats.” He said, however, on the CBS program “Face the Nation,” that he expected things to change before election day. He said House Republicans were not in the grips of “gloom and doom,” but rather were feeling frustration over “having so many bills come out of so many committees that didn’t make much sense, especially the energy bill.”
The Consumer Product Safety Commission said that American industry needed a better system of spotting defects in its products before they left the factories. The commission, formed seven months ago, has supervised the recall of nearly 5 million individual products, such as appliances, that might present safety problems. “I think it is clear the time has come for manufacturers to do their quality control in the factory and not in the home,” said commission chairman Richard O. Simpson. “I don’t think it’s right to rely on consumers for safety testing, and yet that’s what’s been happening in too many instances.”
The nation’s supply of beef, pork and poultry is still abundant this week and Government allocations of truck fuel are effective, market analysts believe these supplies will remain adequate throughout the winter. Any marked increases in gasoline and diesel fuel prices are certain to be factor in forcing up consumer food prices next year. But the analysts expect no food shortages if the priorities assigned to truckers who haul animals from the feed lots to the packers or transport carcasses to the supermarkets provide enough fuel for near normal movement this winter.
The second stolen Rembrandt painting has been recovered near Cincinnati. After the Taft Museum paid the ransom for the painting, police arrested several suspects.
Five additional cases of typhoid fever have been discovered among persons who had attended a church fish dinner at Mt. Holly, New Jersey, bringing the total of those infected to 17. Walter Trommilen, Burlington County health officer, said authorities were still trying to find the remaining 20 persons of 100 who had attended the dinner at St. Mary’s Methodist Church.
A 40-car freight train derailed, rupturing a tank car carrying toxic gas and forcing police to evacuate about 15 families near Mapleton, Illinois. James Phipps, a Toledo, Peoria and Western Railroad yardmaster, said the car contained acrylonitrile, a colorless, flammable gas with explosive potential. The evacuation was ordered as a safety measure.
Veterans Administration officials said today that some 5,000 California students may receive tardy G.I. benefit checks by January 1 after President Nixon ordered the V.A. to work through the Christmas holiday on the problem. Some of the checks have been delayed since September.
Vice President Ford put Christmas wreath on the front door of his condominium here and went skiing today. Pam Conklin, a spokesman for Vail Associates, said that a faulty gondola lift that stalled Mr. Ford for eight minutes above the ski‐runs yesterday was out of service for repairs. “He hasn’t asked for any special treatment,” said Miss Conklin. “He’s just another skier. This is strictly a family‐type vacation for him as far as we are concerned.” Dennis Hoeger, a longtime friend and former ski instructor at Vail, accompanied Mr. Ford on the slopes in a snowstorm today. He said the Vice President was a good skier and that the slopes at Vail, regarded by professionals as difficult, gave Mr. Ford little trouble.
Other events besides Christmas are expected this week: Israel and Egypt will attempt to work out a disengagement agreement. The Israeli general election will be held December 31. The White House will announce plans regarding gasoline rationing. Energy czar William Simon is said to be reluctant to impose rationing. Motorists in the Midwest have been cautioned against making long trips since most gasoline stations in the region will be closed over the holidays. A partial eclipse of the sun will occur tomorrow morning.
A new storm brewing in the southern plains could bring bad weather to much of the midcontinent by Christmas Day, the National Weather Service said. Heavy snow warnings or traveler’s advisories were posted from Texas across Kansas to Illinois. Heavy fog aggravated poor driving conditions from Missouri to central Indiana.
NFL Divisional Playoffs:
The Miami Dolphins, slipping out of their customary style of football perfection for only a few minutes late in the second quarter, thrashed the Cincinnati Bengals, 34—16, today and methodically moved a step closer to their second consecutive National Football League championship. The Dolphins outgained Cincinnati in total yards, 400–194, and first downs, 27–11, while also scoring on three of their first four possessions and shutting out the Bengals in the second half. The Dolphins racked up 241 yards on the ground, including 106 from Mercury Morris and 71 from Larry Csonka, while receiver Paul Warfield caught 5 passes for 95 yards and a score.
Miami dominated the game early on, scoring on their opening drive with Bob Griese’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Warfield. Morris racked up 33 rushing yards on the way to Miami’s next first quarter touchdown, a 1-yard run by Csonka. In the second quarter, faced with 3rd and 1 from his own 44, Griese completed a 48-yard bomb to Warfield that set up Morris’ 4-yard touchdown run. Miami’s three touchdowns came on drives of 80, 80, and 73 yards, while all Cincinnati could manage in the first 26 minutes of the contest was 24-yard field goal by Horst Muhlmann on their first drive of the game. Even that drive caused a major setback for the team, as running back Essex Johnson, the team’s leading rusher during the season with 997 yards, suffered a game-ending injury after picking up 14 yards on his first carry.
Facing the prospect of going into their locker room with a 21—3 deficit, the Bengals suddenly stormed back with 13 points in the final 3:26 of the second quarter. First, defensive back Neal Craig intercepted Griese’s pass intended for Jim Mandich near the sideline and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown. Then the Bengals defense forced a punt and got the ball back on their own 33 with less than two minutes left. It took nearly all of that time for the team to cross midfield, but quarterback Ken Anderson finally got them into scoring range with a 22-yard scramble to the Dolphins 38, where Muhlmann made a 46-yard field goal that cut the score to 21—13. Now with just 8 seconds left until halftime, Morris fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Bengals linebacker Jim LeClair recovered on the Dolphins 3-yard line. On the next play, Muhlmann kicked a 12-yard field goal that sent both teams into their locker rooms with a score of 21–16.
However, Cincinnati’s hope of a comeback was quickly crushed in the second half. On the third play of the third quarter, Anderson tried to connect on a deep pass to tight end Bob Trumpy, but it was intercepted by Dick Anderson, who returned the ball 19 yards to the Bengals 28. Seven plays later, Miami went up 28—16 with Griese’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Mandich. Dolphins kicker Garo Yepremian put the finishing touches on his team’s victory with field goals from 50 and 46 yards.
The Dallas Cowboys beat the Los Angeles Rams, 27—16, today in a playoff game that had 114 offensive plays. Three of them made the difference between victory and defeat for two evenly, matched teams. Two early turnovers, an intercepted pass and a recovered fumble, set up two Dallas touchdowns in the first 6½ minutes. After the Rams struggled to cut the Dallas lead to a point, 17—16, with almost 10 minutes remaining, the Cowboys struck with the big play of the day. It was a desperate 83‐yard touchdown pass from Roger Staubach to Drew Pearson that came on third down with 14 yards needed to retain possession.
The Cowboys avenged a 37—31 regular season loss to L.A. as two Rams turnovers in the first quarter gave the Cowboys a 14—0 lead. Lee Roy Jordan’s interception of a John Hadl pass on the first play of the game led to Calvin Hill’s 3-yard touchdown run. Mel Renfro then recovered a Lawrence McCutcheon fumble on the L.A. 35-yard line to set up the Cowboys again which later resulted in Roger Staubach’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Drew Pearson.
In the second quarter, Toni Fritsch then added a 39-yard field goal to increase Dallas’ lead to 17—0. However, a 40-yard reception by Rams receiver Harold Jackson set up David Ray’s 33-yard field goal that made the score 17—3. Ray would miss three field goals throughout the game, but made two more to cut the score to 17—9 in the fourth quarter. Then Hill lost a fumble that L.A. converted into Tony Baker’s 5-yard touchdown run, making the score 17—16 with 10 minutes left in regulation.
Ever since taking their 17—0 lead in the second quarter, the Cowboys had managed just four first downs and had not crossed midfield, as Staubach faced a relentless pass rush that sacked him seven times (2½ by Jack Youngblood, 2 by Merlin Olsen). But when faced with third down and long after an Olsen sack on the ensuing drive, Staubach threw a short pass over the middle to Drew Pearson, and as the Rams were about to stop Pearson for a short gain, defensive backs Dave Elmendorf and Steve Preece collided and fell, allowing Pearson to scamper untouched for an 83-yard touchdown that effectively clinched the game. Fritsch added another field goal for the 27—16 final.
Cincinnati Bengals 16, Miami Dolphins 34
Los Angeles Rams 16, Dallas Cowboys 27
Born:
Tony Graziani, NFL quarterback (Atlanta Falcons), in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Anthony Ladd, NFL wide receiver (New England Patriots), in Homestead, Florida.
Died:
Gerard Kuiper, 68, Dutch astronomer for whom the Kuiper belt of dwarf planets, located beyond the planet Neptune, would later be named.
Irna Phillips, 72, American scriptwriter who pioneered the daytime soap opera on radio, then later on television.
History Diaries 