Greek Cypriots voted for a new Parliament. The elections were provoked by conservative and Communist rejection of President Spyros Kyprianou’s tough stand on terms for negotiations with the Turkish community to restore Cyprus, which was divided by Turkey’s invasion in 1974, to a united republic. President Spyros Kyprianou’s party appeared this morning to be winning enough votes in Parliamentary elections to defeat an opposition effort to force his resignation over his handling of negotiations to reunite the island. Incomplete results in the voting by Greek Cypriots for a new Parliament, which had been sought by the Communist and conservative parties, indicated that the legislative strength of Mr. Kyprianou’s Democratic Party would increase. At 7 A.M., with 425 of 662 electoral districts counted, the Democrats had 31.51 percent of the vote for seats in the House of Representatives, whose membership has been expanded from 35 to 56 seats. In the outgoing one-chamber legislature the Democrats held nine seats, based on winning 19.5 percent of the popular vote of 1981.
The United States is requiring citizens of four Soviet Bloc nations — Poland, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and East Germany — to make travel arrangements within the United States through the State Department, the New York Times reported. It said the new policy is designed to make it easier for the FBI to keep track of the four nations’ citizens and to cut down on possible spying for the Soviets.
Four men arrested in Austria last week for attempting to smuggle 11 gypsy children from Yugoslavia into Italy were part of a ring that has kidnaped about 100 children since 1980, including some that were sold to American or Italian families for $2,777 to $5,554, an Austrian police spokesman said. He said other kidnaped children were brought to Italy and trained to be burglars, pickpockets or beggars.
Poland suffers from what is believed to be the worst environmental pollution in the world, a report by the Polish Communist Party said. The report, blaming mistaken economic policies and political “absurdities,” said that only 364 of Poland’s 800 cities have modern sewage processing plants and that Warsaw is not scheduled to get one until 1990. It also said that Polish rivers are polluted and that heavy clouds of factory smoke hang over the landscape because big plants turn off air-scrubbing equipment to save power.
Crude incendiary devices are believed to have caused the explosions at two Paris department stores that wounded 39 people, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry said today. The spokesman said the explosions on Saturday night were caused not by sophisticated bombs of the kind often used by terrorist groups, but by incendiary devices with a timing system linked to a small explosive, perhaps a firecracker, connected to a drum containing a flammable substance. Several groups have claimed responsibility for the blasts, but the police were treating the claims with skepticism. The type of explosive used led the police investigating the explosions to speculate that the blasts were the work of an individual, rather than of an organized political group.
Yelena G. Bonner is growing increasingly concerned about her husband, the Soviet dissident Andrei D. Sakharov, after trying in vain today to book a telephone call to him, her son said. “She is very worried about him,” said the son, Alexei I. Semyonov. “She will be even more worried if she cannot get through to him in the next few days.” Miss Bonner, 62 years old, who has been allowed to leave the Soviet Union for three months for medical purposes, flew to the United States on Saturday from Italy, where she had spent five days to consult an eye doctor. She is to seek medical treatment here for a heart ailment. Today, was her first full day in the United States. Her mother, son, daughter, son-in-law and three grandchildren live in the Boston area. The official Soviet press agency Tass reported Saturday that Dr. Sakharov was in good health, but Miss Bonner’s son in law, Yefrem V. Yankelevich, said Mrs. Bonner was skeptical of the account.
The Synod in Rome ended in a mass and homily by Pope John II, who urged the bishops to promote the Roman Catholic Church’s vision of improved life on earth. The Pope’s mass was celebrated exactly 20 years after the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council. The Synod was called to assess how changes brought about by the Council have been incorporated into the church.
OPEC oil ministers agreed today on a change in market strategy that could lead to a new oil-price war and bring lower world prices next year. The 13-nation producer organization decided in principle to abandon its official policy of trying to defend a $28-a-barrel oil price through cuts in output, which all its members are now flouting. Instead, the members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will seek to protect a fixed share of the world oil market by cutting the prices they charge, as needed, to secure sales, OPEC delegates said. In practical terms, the ministers are bringing the official strategy into line with present practice. For most of this year, all members have been either producing above their official quotas or selling below the official price — and usually doing both. The change in market strategy indicates that the organization is preparing for a price war against its rivals.
Israel denied that it has freed a Lebanese Christian fighter as part of a deal with Shia Muslim guerrillas. Shia militia leader Nabih Berri said Saturday that Israel had released Tony abu Ghanem, a 20-year-old Christian who fought alongside Muslims against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon. But a military spokeswoman said Israel had released all the Lebanese prisoners it held last September when it emptied its Atlit prison in northern Israel. “We have not released anyone (recently),” she said. “We’ve never heard this name before.”
President Chaim Herzog of Israel has commuted the prison sentences of two members of the Jewish terrorist underground who had been convicted of plotting to blow up one of Islam’s holiest shrines, Mr. Herzog’s office confirmed today. The commutations were granted as Parliament prepared to debate a proposal by a group of religious parties to pardon the 17 Jewish terrorists still serving prison terms for crimes ranging from murdering Arab schoolboys to illegally transporting weapons. The bill is scheduled to receive a first hearing in Parliament on Monday, and Prime Minister Shimon Peres is expected to come under heavy pressure from the religious parties — whose backing is critical for his own political future — to support it. The prisoners freed by Mr. Herzog are Dan Beeri, 41 years old, and Yosef Tzuria, 26, who were serving three-year terms for involvement in a plot to blow up the Dome of the Rock. The building, one of the most sacred shrines of Islam, is situated on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. It was built around an outcropping of bedrock from which Muslims believe Mohammed ascended into heaven.
Unidentified gunmen kidnaped two Lebanese faculty members of the American University of Beirut. The abduction of economist Joseph Salameh and Dr. Munir Shamaa of the university hospital, both Christians, appeared to be part of a string of Muslim-Christian kidnappings in the capital and not related to the plight of two Americans associated with the university who have been held by Muslim terrorists for months. Elsewhere in the capital, Muslim gunmen kidnaped two Finnish soldiers serving with the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon and held them for seven hours.
Saudi Arabia is making progress in its efforts to end the Iraq-Iran war and insure good relations between Tehran and its Arab neighbors, the official Saudi radio said today. The radio, monitored in Beirut, was commenting on talks in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, between its Foreign Minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, and his Iranian counterpart, Ali Akbar Velayati. Mr. Velayati arrived there Saturday on a three-day official visit, during which he will be received by King Fahd. It is the first visit to Saudi Arabia by a senior Iranian official since Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini came to power in 1980.
Iraq said its planes pounded Iranian troop concentrations on the south-central and southern war fronts today, making 160 sorties. An Iraqi communique said Iranian losses were heavy. For the first time in four months, Iraq admitted the loss of a plane. Iran said the plane was shot down on the southern front.
Seven South Asia nations formed an association for regional cooperation and pledged not to interfere in each other’s internal affairs. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation was set up by India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and the Maldives.
China said today that it hoped the United States would stop considering it a “potential adversary” and further ease restrictions on the transfer of high technology. Foreign Minister Wu Xueqian, in a review of Chinese foreign policy published today by the official New China News Agency, also said there had been “no fundamental improvement” this year in Chinese-Soviet relations. Mr. Wu said that while ties with the United States were showing steady improvement, continued American arms sales to Taiwan and a “discriminatory” policy on technology transfer were problems.
Despite a higher-valued yen and new moves by Japan to open its markets, the trade deficit between the United States and Japan is expected by many analysts to continue rising, sharpening frictions between the two countries. Trade relations have improved since open conflicts last spring over autos and telecommunications. But new clashes appear likely as Congress drafts legislation in telecommunications and other areas and as the Reagan Administration pursues its declared policy of moving aggressively against unfair trade practices. Only last Friday, the Commerce Department began an investigation of complaints that Japanese semiconductor producers are selling high-capacity memory chips, the building blocks for computers, at prices that Secretary Malcolm Baldrige said might be “substantially below” the cost of production.
More than 80 people were treated at hospitals early today for effects of fumes after 1,820 gallons of dilute hydrochloric acid leaked at a plant in Osaka, a police official said. The fire department in Osaka said about 130 people living near the plant of the Sanwa Denki Manufacturing Company were evacuated to safety in parks and public halls. Of those who received treatment, 25 were taken to hospitals by ambulance and four were hospitalized for eye and throat irritation, said a police official who asked not to be identified. The official said the police were investigating the cause of the accident, but speculated someone might have entered the factory Saturday night and opened a valve on tanks containing dilute hydrochloric acid, a strong corrosive liquid used for cleaning electrical equipment. The leaking acid remained in the factory compound, but fumes spread in the neighborhood, he said.
A tenuous unity in Manila among the contending factions of opponents of President Ferdinand E. Marcos unexpectedly broke apart and it was unclear whether the breach could be healed. A fragile unity among opposition factions collapsed today minutes before a news conference that had been called to announce a common ticket to oppose President Ferdinand E. Marcos in elections next year. Supporters of both Corazon C. Aquino, widow of the slain opposition leader, Benigno S. Aquino Jr., and Salvador H. Laurel, a former Senator, said that the split had developed between the two over the terms of their alliance, but added that there might still be a resolution. After nearly two hours of last-minute bargaining, Mrs. Aquino, who had been expected to run for president on a unified ticket, walked out of the house of Mr. Laurel, who had agreed to run as her Vice President. The collapse of unity among the opposition leaders came as Mr. Marcos’s own party was caught up in a divisive struggle over the post of vice president.
An American and a West German held hostage for more than a year in the southern Philippines arrived in Frankfurt, West Germany, from Manila after being released by separatist rebels. The American, John Robinow, and Helmut Herbst, who said they were free-lance journalists, were abducted by Moro National Liberation Front rebels on Jolo Island, 600 miles southwest of Manila, in November, 1984.
American warships refused entry to New Zealand ports under proposed legislation because they might be carrying nuclear weapons will not be publicly identified, Deputy Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer said today. “I don’t see any legal reasons why it would be necessary to announce the names of ships that we refuse entry to,” Mr. Palmer said. The decision is being interpreted here as a concession in an attempt to have the legislation accepted by the United States, which has threatened to withdraw from the defense alliance with Australia and New Zealand if the new laws are passed. The legislation is expected to be introduced in Parliament within two weeks.
The Contadora group has suspended negotiations on a peace agreement for Central America for five months at Nicaragua’s request, Colombia’s Foreign Minister says. Nicaragua officially proposed the suspension on the ground that new governments taking office in Guatemala and Honduras in January and in Costa Rica in April could change policy on the negotiations, the Foreign Minister, Augusto Ramirez Ocampo, said Saturday.
The leader of the center-left Christian Democratic Party, Marco Vinicio Cerezo Arevalo, took an early lead as vote counting began in Guatemala’s presidential race today. With half of the vote counted, Mr. Cerezo had 67 percent, and his opponent, Jorge Carpio Nicolle of the National Union of the Center, had 33 percent. The television news program Tele-Prensa predicted that the trend favoring the Christian Democrats would continue, and that Mr. Cerezo would be elected President. Mr. Cerezo was preparing to assert victory, but Mr. Carpio’s running mate, Ramiro de Leon, said such an assertion would be “somewhat premature.”
The people of Guyana, who have experienced years of economic hardship and authoritarian rule, will vote for a President Monday, ending a campaign in which the central question has been whether the voting would be rigged. President Desmond Hoyte, who is seeking his first full five-year term after succeeding President Forbes Burnham on his death four months ago, has promised “free and fair elections.” But in a country in which, according to the United States Embassy here, every election in the last two decades has been “marred by fraud and intimidation” the pledge is being met with a great deal of skepticism. In response to criticism, Mr. Hoyte, a 56-year-old London-trained lawyer who served under Mr. Burnham for nearly 20 years, most recently as Vice President and Prime Minister, has eliminated some of the most blatant electoral abuses that critics say helped to sustain his party in power since 1964 in this densely jungled country on the northeast coast of South America.
Kaposi’s sarcoma, a rare cancer, has changed rapidly in Africa and now has a disturbing role in the worldwide epidemic of AIDS. Young Africans are believed to be suffering from it at a significantly higher rate than ever before. A relationship between AIDS and this new, more aggressive form of Kaposi’s has become apparent since the development of an AIDS blood test two years ago. The test showed most victims of this new form of Kaposi’s have evidence of exposure to the AIDS virus. But why Kaposi’s sarcoma is behaving in this new form is one of the many great unsolved puzzles surrounding acquired immune deficiency syndrome.
Khaki-clad soldiers carrying AK-47’s used to pitch their tents on the fifth green of the golf course in Kampala. As one Ugandan said, “It was difficult to play through.” The other day, however, the troops agreed to bivouac in the rough. “They still shagged balls though,” the Kampala resident said with evident delight and some relief over the new arrangement. This weekend, the heavier weaponry having been removed from the fairway, the Ugandan Golf Club Championship got under way with Simon Kego a heavy favorite. As the golfers teed off, the thud of artillery echoed like thunder in the north and late in the afternoon two truckloads of bodies in blood-soaked khakis were driven through the city. From the south and the west of this city, tucked in verdant hills near Lake Victoria, a rebel army led by Yoweri Museveni is advancing. The opposition: A coalition of guerrilla armies and Ugandan Army officers that came to power last July in a relatively bloodless coup against the Government of Milton Obote.
Zaire is holding 40 Cuban soldiers whose Soviet-built aircraft made an emergency landing in Zaire, official sources said. The Soviet-built Antonov plane was carrying the Cubans, based in neighboring Angola to support the Marxist regime there, from Luena to Cabinda, a northwestern Angolan enclave close to the border with Zaire. The plane landed at Kiniangi, 180 miles southeast of Kinshasa, Zaire’s capital. Zairian authorities, trying to maintain improved relations with Angola, were reportedly investigating the incident before making a decision on releasing the soldiers.
A bomb exploded today at a post office in Durban, South Africa, wounding eight people, three of them children. The explosion, which the police said was caused by a limpet mine, shattered the post office’s windows and caused part of its exterior wall to collapse. Six people, including the children, were hit by flying glass as they sat in their car.
The mood of the nation today is far brighter than it was just two years ago, the Gallup Poll reported, with 51% now saying they are satisfied with the way things are going in the nation compared to 35% in August, 1983. Satisfaction with trends in the nation has increased from 12% in August, 1979, the year this measurement was started, to 50% in February, 1984, and has remained at about this level. Satisfaction with the way things are going in one’s personal life, already high, has also grown. Today, 82% say they are satisfied in this respect. This represents the highest level of satisfaction since the first measurement, in 1979. Much of the growth in optimism in recent years appears to be economically based. For example, in March, 1983, 25% of Americans said they were financially better off than a year earlier. The comparable figure today is 38%.
President Reagan hosts a luncheon in honor of the recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors for Lifetime Achievements.
Federal prosecutors, after 10 weeks of painting Louisiana Governor Edwin W. Edwards as a scheming opportunist trying to recoup huge gambling losses through crooked dealings, are to present closing arguments today at his fraud and racketeering trial in New Orleans. The flamboyant Edwards, his brother, nephew and five associates are charged in a 51-count indictment with conspiring to cheat the public in a hospital development scam that netted them $10 million.
Aniello Dellacroce, a reputed Mafia boss who died in his sleep last week at 71, was an FBI informant for nearly 20 years, helping authorities try to solve the disappearance of Teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa, TIME magazine reported. Dellacroce led a double life, serving as an underboss of the powerful New York-based Gambino clan, and a member and chief enforcer for the “Commission,” an 11-man council that reputedly oversees all U.S. underworld activities, the magazine said. Dellacroce occasionally traveled around the country disguised as a priest, imposing Mafia edicts and settling disputes between rival clans, it said.
All couples should be tested for exposure to the deadly AIDS virus before being granted marriage licenses, according to a resolution to be considered this week by the American Medical Assn. The resolution, one of several concerning the disease, was included in a book of proposals distributed to 361 members of the AMA’s House of Delegates, who will be voting on them Tuesday and Wednesday.
Mayor George V. Voinovich of Cleveland called on Federal leaders today to reduce the national deficit by raising taxes instead of cutting programs. Mr. Voinovich, the outgoing president of the National League of Cities, said a proposal to make automatic spending cuts if deficit ceilings are not met would “do irreparable damage to the quality of life in our cities and, more important, to our citizens.” He said Congress was likely to pass the measure because lobbyists for municipalities had not convinced legislators of the damage he said the bill would do. He addressed more than 4,200 mayors and city council members at the league’s three-day conference.
The New York State Health Department said it will designate hospitals around the state to provide comprehensive treatment for AIDS patients to cut the high cost of care needed by victims of the deadly disease. The program, known as the Case Management System, calls for the state to reimburse the hospitals for a percentage of their AIDS-care costs, said health department spokesman Peter Slocum.
The first test of a Navy Tomahawk cruise missile on the East Coast ended in failure when a chase plane had to activate the missile’s parachute system and send it safely to the ground in a sparsely populated area near Freeport, Florida, the Pentagon announced. A spokesman said investigators had recovered the missile and taken it to Eglin Air Force Base in Florida for investigation to determine what went wrong. Sunday’s failure ended a string of 24 successful tests of the Tomahawk in the last 18 months at a range on the West Coast.
The Washington State Ferry System, one of the world’s most beautiful commuter routes, is facing hard times. Declining ridership has reduced revenues, a Federal district judge has cut off its access to another source of funds and riders have filed suit seeking to force the state to cut fares. Officials say the system faces a deficit of about $12 million over the next two years. Unless it can find new operating funds, they say, they may be forced to reduce service or increase fares. The system has 22 ferries serving 20 terminals on the mainland and on the islands of Puget Sound. Each working day, more than 10,000 commuters make the 55-minute trip from Bremerton and Bainbridge Islands to Seattle, where the ferries dock at a terminal within walking distance of dozens of downtown office buildings. Commuters file off ferries and up the hills and swarm back down to the boats at night.
An entrepreneurial role for states and local officials is growing so rapidly that it is hard to tell where the public business sector and the private sector begins. Cities such as Great Falls, Montana, are buying manufacturing plants to replace ones that have closed. States such as New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts are “incubating” small businesses, subsidizing them to maturity and marketing their products.
Organizers of the West Virginia Flood Relief Telethon said today donations for the victims of last month’s floods had neared $1 million. The telethon, which was broadcast on every television station in the state, ended early today, but calls continued through the afternoon. Rivers in eastern West Virginia flooded in early November, killing at least 39 people. More than 8,000 families were left homeless. Among the performers was John Denver, the singer, who performed “Country Roads,” his hit song from the 1970’s. Its description of West Virginia as “almost heaven” has led many to adopt it as an unofficial state anthem.
Police searched from helicopters and with dogs today for a prisoner wearing leg irons and handcuffs who jumped from an airplane moments after it landed here Saturday. Reginald D. Still, 41 years old, leaped from the plane’s emergency exit onto the wing and then onto the runway Saturday while the craft, with eight guards aboard, was moving at nearly 50 miles per hour. Mr. Still was being taken to Sacramento, California, for trial on a charge of interstate transportation of a stolen motor vehicle, according to Federal Marshal Stuart Earnest.
Three security guards at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in California and one former guard have been arrested as a result of an 11-month investigation of cocaine sales, the authorities said. It is the third time in two years that plant employees have been arrested in cocaine cases. Agents of the San Luis Obispo County Narcotics Task Force said they had bought cocaine in several transactions including one at the plant’s gate. A spokesman for the Federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it would investigate.
A new experimental cancer treatment that generated widespread publicity and enthusiasm when it was announced last week has killed one of the patients receiving it, the National Cancer Institute’s top surgeon said today. The death occurred weeks before the announcement last Wednesday that the new treatment, involving use of a natural substance, interleukin-2, to stimulate the body’s immune system against cancer, had achieved promising results in 11 of the first 25 patients treated. Although all those receiving the drug were suffering from advanced stages of cancer, the patient who died was not one of those first 25 and thus was not mentioned in the initial scientific report and news release concerning the new treatment, according to Dr. Steven A. Rosenberg, chief of surgery at the cancer institute and head of the research team that has developed the new therapy. Dr. Rosenberg spoke in a telephone interview after his revelation this morning, on the CBS News program “Face the Nation,” that one patient had died from the new treatment. His remarks on that program made the toxic side effects from the new therapy seem potentially more severe that most early reports had indicated.
A Federal district judge has labeled Auburn University the most segregated campus in Alabama and given Gov. George C. Wallace until mid-February to devise a plan to remove remnants of segregation from Alabama universities. “The evidence tends to support the widespread perception of blacks in Alabama that, except for the presence of black athletes and the changes mandated by Federal laws and regulations, Auburn’s racial attitudes have changed little since the 50s,” Judge U. W. Clemon said in his 100-page ruling. His ruling was issued Saturday, the day a black athlete at Auburn, Bo Jackson, won the Heisman Trophy for the best college football player of the year.
NBC premiere of thriller “Final Jeopardy”, starring Richard Thomas and Mary Crosby.
Australian Open Men’s Tennis: Stefan Edberg wins 1st career Grand Slam singles title; beats defending champion & fellow Swede Mats Wilander 6–3, 6–3, 6–3.
NFL Football:
Tony Eason threw for a touchdown and ran for another as New England beat the Lions, 23–6. Detroit (7–7) entered the game with the league’s least productive offense and failed to get a touchdown for the fourth time this season. The Lions managed field goals of 37 and 26 yards by Eddie Murray. Tony Franklin kicked field goals of 50, 38 and 22 yards for the Patriots, who led by 17–3 at halftime. Craig James gained 115 yards in 26 carries, giving him 1,027 yards for the year.
Walter Payton and Calvin Thomas scored touchdowns as Chicago bounced back from its first defeat last Monday night against Miami, beating the Indianapolis Colts, 17–10. Payton scored the game’s first touchdown with 1:53 left in the third quarter, going 16 yards up the middle to cap a 63-yard drive. Payton’s 111 yards rushing extended his N.F.L. record to nine straight games over 100 yards. In the fourth period, after the Colts (3–11) were forced to punt from their own end zone, the Bears (13–1) took possession on the Indianapolis 45 and produced a ground drive that ended with Thomas scoring from the 3 to give Chicago a 17–3 lead. But Indianapolis came back with Albert Bentley returning the kickoff 48 yards to the Colt’s 49. Two plays later, Mike Pagel threw 61 yards to Wayne Capers, who raced into the end zone, but the Colts never threatened again.
George Rogers gained 150 yards on 36 carries and scored a touchdown as Washington beat Philadelphia, 17–12. The Redskins (8–6) trailed by 12–3 in the third quarter when they drove 75 yards on four plays with Rogers running the final 28 yards for a touchdown that cut their deficit to 12–10 with 1:12 left in the quarter. In the fourth period, the Redskins rolled 49 yards on 10 plays as Rogers picked up 34 yards on 7 carries. Jay Schroeder capped the drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to the wide receiver Gary Clark with 8:52 left in the game.
The Jets won by 27–7 over the Buffalo Bills, producing the longest touchdown from scrimmage in their history — Ken O’Brien’s 96 yard TD pass (a New York Jet team record) to Wesley Walker — while the defense stopped the Bills the first three times they got within 8 yards of the Jets’ end zone. The Jets needed to win, and they needed to win sizably, since points-differential could be a factor in their tightly knit race for either a division title or wild-card berth. But if the Jets, tied with the Dolphins and the Patriots at 10–4 in the American Football Conference East, win their remaining games — against the Bears and Browns at Giants Stadium — they will be guaranteed at least a wild-card spot. Wesley Walker, Freeman McNeil, Mickey Shuler and Ken O’Brien showed why the Jets have a 10–4 mark, which is bettered in the N.F.L. only by the 13–1 Bears. They made it obvious that no defense can watch these four dangerous performers at once. Shuler, O’Brien’s safety valve, generated two touchdown catches among his game-high eight receptions. Walker, disdaining gloves the other wide receivers wore on this gray, misty 32-degree day, snared a pass over the middle near midfield and created a 96-yard touchdown out of it. In National Football League history, there have been only 14 longer touchdown passes. And McNeil returned after missing a game with a sprained ankle. He had difficulty with his lateral moves because of the slippery artificial turf, but still ground out 92 yards, taking 27 carries to do it.
The Dallas Cowboys were routed by the Cincinnati Bengals, 50–24. Three weeks ago, the Dallas Cowboys were buried, 44–0, by the Chicago Bears. They came back and won the next two weeks and brought a 9–4 record here, and were buried again today by the Bengals. The Bengals had to win to pull even at .500 and stay alive in the mediocre American Conference’s Central Divison. It wasn’t a shutout this time, but it was a 50–24 defeat, and it was very nearly the worst showing ever for the Dallas defense. The Bengals ran out the clock on the Cowboys’ 1-yard line, but if they had chosen to go in for a final touchdown, it would have marked the most points ever scored against Dallas.
Gary Anderson ran two yards for the tie-breaking touchdown and, 24 seconds later, the rookie safety Jeff Dale returned a pass interception 47 yards for a score to give the Chargers (7–7) a 54–44 victory in a wild shootout with the Steelers. The 98 points rank fourth all-time in N.F.L. history. The highest single-game score ever was a 72–41 Washington victory over the New York Giants in 1966. The Steelers (6–8) entered the game with the highest-rated defense in the A.F.C. San Diego went 75 yards in nine plays to take the lead, climaxed by Anderson’s touchdown. On Pittsburgh’s first play following the kickoff, Dale picked off a pass from David Woodley and ran in for the score.
The Los Angeles Raiders moved into strong position today to win the Western Division of the American Conference with their second overtime victory of the season over the Denver Broncos. The winning score, a 26-yard field goal by Chris Bahr 4 minutes 55 seconds into the extra period, gave the Raiders a 17–14 victory and brought their record to 10–4. The Broncos are now 9–5 and are in a fight for a playoff berth as a wild-card team. The Raiders can clinch the division with a victory in either of their last two games, the same opportunity the Broncos would have had if they had won. The Broncos opened the proceedings looking as if they wouldn’t stop until they got to the Super Bowl. Elway engineered a remarkable 77-yard drive that used almost 10 minutes of the first quarter, and the Broncos were in the lead, 7–0. Another touchdown put them up by 14–0 in the second quarter. But then Rich Karlis sent a 35-yard field-goal attempt wide to the left on the final play of the half, and that seemed to portend bad things for the Broncos. The difference began to show almost immediately. Wilson ended one drive in the third quarter with a 3-yard scoring pass to Todd Christensen, the tight end; Allen ended another with a 15-yard touchdown run. That made the score 14–14, with 4:45 to go in the third period.
Tommy Kramer passed for 309 yards and Minnesota’s defense forced six turnovers as the Vikings easily beat Tampa Bay, 26–7. Interceptions by Chris Doleman, Tim Newton and Willie Teal, fumble recoveries by Doleman, Dennis Fowlkes and Doug Martin and two sacks by Keith Millard helped Minnesota (7–7), as did four short field goals by Jan Stenerud. Steve Young’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Magee in the third quarter was the only scoring for Tampa Bay (2–12).
The Chiefs clobbered the Falcons, 38–10. Todd Blackledge threw three touchdown passes, including a 70-yarder to Stephone Paige. The Chiefs (5–9) took a 14–0 lead in the first quarter and never let the Falcons (2–12) back in the game. Nathan Horton climaxed a 12-play, 87-yard drive on Kansas City’s first possession with a 1-yard run for a 7-0 lead. Three minutes later, Mike Pruitt broke away for a 54-yard run, Kansas City’s longest of the year, to set up Herman Heard’s 6-yard scoring run.
For the first time ever, the New York Giants played a regular-season game in the Astrodome. They have seldom enjoyed a game more. They trounced the Houston Oilers, 35–14, today with a superb sustained offense in the first half and successive goal-line stands in the second half. With the score tied at 14–14 and less than four minutes remaining in the first half, the Giants scored three touchdowns within 3 minutes 19 seconds. Neither team scored after that. By winning, the Giants raised their record to 9–5 and regained a first-place tie with the Dallas Cowboys in the National Conference’s Eastern Division. The victory gave the Giants their first successive winning seasons since 1962-63. It also left them close to a berth in the National Football League playoffs. If the Giants win one of their two remaining games or if the Washington Redskins (8–6) lose one of their two, the Giants will clinch a wild-card berth. Had the Redskins lost today, the Giants already would be in the playoffs.
Stump Mitchell scored on runs of 5 and 16 yards and caught a 5-yard scoring pass from Neil Lomax to lead St. Louis to a 28–16 win over the visiting Saints. The 188-pound Mitchell gained 158 yards on 28 carries. Lomax completed 14 of 21 passes in helping St. Louis snap a four-game losing streak. Mitchell’s first touchdown en route to an 82-yard rushing performance during the first half capped a 58-yard drive on the Cardinals’ second possession.
Dave Krieg passed for four touchdowns, two to Daryl Turner, to lead Seattle over Cleveland, 31–13. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Browns (7–7) and dropped them out of sole possession of first place in the American Conference’s Central Division. Krieg teamed with Turner for an 8-yard scoring pass in the second quarter and a 15-yard strike in the third period for Seattle (8–6). He also threw for a 4-yard score to the tight end Dan Ross in the second quarter and a 9-yard touchdown to Steve Largent in the fourth quarter.
Dan Marino passed for 345 yards and five touchdowns, including two in the fourth quarter, as the Miami Dolphins held off a furious second-half rally by Green Bay today and defeated the Packers, 34–24. The victory kept the Dolphins (10–4) tied for first in the Eastern Division of the American Conference with the Jets and the New England Patriots. The winning score came on a pass from Marino to the tight end Joe Rose from the 2-yard line with 3 minutes 18 seconds left in the game. Zorn passed for 247 yards and threw two third-quarter touchdown passes to lead the second-half comeback by Green Bay (6–8), which took a 24–20 lead on a touchdown by Eddie Lee Ivery with 8:32 left. But Miami, starting on its own 33-yard-line, drove straight down the field on the next possession to regain the lead.
Detroit Lions 6, New England Patriots 23
Indianapolis Colts 10, Chicago Bears 17
Washington Redskins 17, Philadelphia Eagles 12
New York Jets 27, Buffalo Bills 7
Dallas Cowboys 24, Cincinnati Bengals 50
Pittsburgh Steelers 44, San Diego Chargers 54
Los Angeles Raiders 17, Denver Broncos 14
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7, Minnesota Vikings 26
Atlanta Falcons 10, Kansas City Chiefs 38
New York Giants 35, Houston Oilers 14
New Orleans Saints 16, St. Louis Cardinals 28
Cleveland Browns 13, Seattle Seahawks 31
Miami Dolphins 34, Green Bay Packers 24
Born:
Dwight Howard, NBA center and power forward (NBA Champions-Lakers, 2020; NBA All-Star, 2007–2014; Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Washington Wizards, Philadelphia 76ers), in Atlanta, Georgia.
Oleksiy Pecherov, Ukrainian NBA center (Washington Wizards, Minnesota Timberwolves), in Donetsk, Ukraine.
Donetsk, Ukraine, MLB third baseman (All-Star, 2014–2016; Oakland A’s, Toronto Blue Jays, Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, Milwaukee Brewers), in Pensacola, Florida.
Robbie Weinhardt, MLB pitcher (Detroit Tigers), in Chicago, Illinois.
Meagan Duhamel, Canadian Olympic pairs figure skater (Gold [2018] and Silver [2014] medals in team skating; bronze medal in pairs, 2018), in Lively, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.
History Diaries 