The Soviet Union is ahead of quotas for industrial production so far this year, but industrial growth slowed in the third quarter, according to official figures published in Moscow. The growth rate for the first nine months of 1976 was 4.8%, Pravda reported, compared with 5% for the first six months. The figures coincided with an announcement that the Russian Federation, the largest of the Soviet Union’s 15 republics, had harvested a record 52.2 million tons of grain although food production was down overall.
The MIG-25 Foxbat jet fighter flown to Japan by Russian defector Lieutenant Victor Belenko is far behind the latest U.S. warplanes in its ability to find and shoot down other aircraft, U.S. military sources said in Washington. Sources also said Belenko apparently was known to U.S. intelligence agents as a dissident before he made his dash to freedom with the Foxbat.
Nearly all of Czechoslovakia’s eligible voters — including the ill and elderly who were carried to the polls — voted for Communist-approved candidates in weekend elections, officials in Prague said. The only option voters had was to accept the single-candidate slates for posts in parliament, national councils and district committees or to strike out the name of a candidate in the presence of the election committee. Few chose that option.
“Our case seemed so solid, I thought maybe just once there would be a fair trial,” a young woman choked through tears as policemen led her father away to begin a long prison term. “I guess I should have known better.” Supporters of civil rights in the country are alarmed by an increasingly open manipulation of Yugoslavia’s court system by the police and, ultimately, by President Tito’s Government, especially in the hundreds of political cases that go before the courts. Most Yugoslav political trials, except those involving espionage charges, are open to the public, including foreign correspondents. Visitors from the West are often startled by the practices they see. Trials, both civilian and military, are usually conducted by panels of five judges, one of whom presides. There are no juries. No verbatim record is kept of court proceedings. As a witness answers questions, the presiding judge takes what notes he sees fit, and at intervals he dictates to a typist his version of the testimony. Defendants and their lawyers are often appalled by what thus goes into the record, and disputes result. But challenges are usually futile.
Jarred by currency imbalances, divisions between rich and poor member countries and rising waves of protectionism, the European Common Market is in trouble. Some analysts say that the 20-year-old union is also threatened by reviving nationalism and they wonder whether the community can survive as a significant force of European and Atlantic unity. The mood at the Brussels headquarters of the Common Market is gloomy.
Mrs. Betty Williams, leader of the women’s peace movement in Belfast, said the attack on peace marchers by supporters of the Irish Republican Army will not discourage the movement. “This kind of thing can only strengthen support for the cause,” the 32-year-old Roman Catholic housewife said.
Cheers rose from a congregation of about 10,000 in Friedrichshafen, West Germany, when traditionalist Catholic Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre called on Roman Catholics around the world to resist Pope Paul VI. The Pope suspended the archbishop from his priestly duties July 28 because the French prelate defied Vatican orders to use modern church liturgy at Mass. The cheers in West Germany preceded the first Latin Mass Lefebvre has celebrated in public since he met with the Pope in September.
The Foreign Ministers of most of the major Arab countries today approved the creation of a multinational Arab peacekeeping force of 30,000 troops to be sent to Lebanon. But the ministers, representing more than a majority of the 21‐member Arab League, passed the potentially‐controversial task of deciding the composition of the force on to the conference of Arab heads of state that is to begin later today. As the ministers had not announced before their meeting what they expected to achieve, it was unclear whether they had tried and failed to agree on which countries would provide troops for the force, or whether their only purpose was to agree generally and pass the matter to the full conference.
Lebanon’s border with Israel came under control of Lebanese right-wing Christian militia forces for most of its length. Armed vehicles advanced 10 miles and maintained pressure on the one town where Palestinian and Lebanese leftist forces are still present in force. Completion of control by the right-wing forces would establish a security belt against guerrillas that Israel is believed to seek.
The Jewish community in the United States is too powerful and at times works against the interests of Israel, the Shah of Iran said on the CBS weekly news feature program “60 Minutes”. The shah contended that the so-called “Jewish lobby” is able to put pressure on the U.S. government through its “control” of newspapers, television networks, banks and other financial agencies. The shah, who is committed to Israel’s security while insisting that it return Arab lands conquered in 1967, said the Palestinians have undercut their own cause through terrorism and blackmail.
In what she described as an unusual move on her part, Svetlana Alliluyeva Peters, the only daughter of Stalin, has written the Shah of Iran asking him not to allow a defecting Soviet pilot to be returned to the Soviet Union. In a simple letter to be delivered to the Iranian Embassy in Washington today, Mrs. Peters wrote: “I, Stalin’s daughter, who escaped from the Soviet‐Stalinist tyranny to find freedom in the United States, appeal to your majesty to save the life of Valentin I. Zasimov, the Russian flier who fled to Iran in an old mail plane in search of asylum in the free world, and, instead of returning him to Brezhnev’s executioners, allow him to proceed to a free country.” Lt. Zasimov landed in the town of Ahar, in northwest Iran, on Sept. 25 in a single‐engine plane. The Government of Iran denied his request for asylum Saturday, deciding that the request would be violation of a Soviet‐Iranian treaty on air piracy signed in 1974. “I know myself how difficult it in being thrown out into the wild world,” said Mrs. Peters, who left the Soviet Union in 1966.
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi said today that India’s Constitution was not working in the spirit in which it had been framed and that certain obstacles that were placed in its path had to be removed. The Prime Minister, speaking in the central Rajasthan city of Ajmer on the eve or a major constitutional debate, said That Parliament was fully competent, as the voice of the people, to amend the Constitution. The political opposition has challenged this on the basis of a Supreme Court decision that Parliament cannot charge the charter’s basic structure. The parliamentary House of the People Is to begin consideration of the 59‐clause 44th constitutional amendment bill tomorrow, despite calls by sections of the ruling Congress Party for it to he referred to a constituent assembly and completely rewritten. Six opposition parties have reaffirmed their decision to boycott the session.
The former King of Sikkim has recovered from an apparent overdose of barbiturates and is “fine, fully conscious, alert and out of danger,” Dr. J.K. Talwar, one of the physicians attending Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal, said today. The 54‐year‐old Chogyal was flown to Calcutta Tuesday after he was found unconscious in his palace in Gangtok, the capital of the former Himalayan kingdom that became an Indian state last year. He regained consciousness Friday, but doctors said he would remain on the danger list for two days. They have not said whether they thought the overdose was accidental or intentional. The Chogyal reigned over Sikkim with his American‐born queen, Hope Cooke, from his father’s death in 1963 until he surrendered most of his powers to the Indian Government following an uprising against his rule in 1973. His wife left for New York in 1973 and has never returned.
Vietnam has accepted a United States proposal timed at opening talks on normalizing relations between the two countries, Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger said today. Mr. Kissinger confirmed the acceptance after appearing on the CBS program, “Face the Nation.” He gave no further details. In Paris, Vietnamese officials said they had agreed to meet “for an exchange of views on problems of interest to each side.” They did not indicate when or where the meeting would be held. The United States and Vietnam have been exchanging messages through their embassies in Paris for the past six months. Robert L. Funseth, the State Department spokesman, repeated that “an absolute precondition” for normalization of relations with Vietnam was a complete accounting of all Americans still missing action from the war.
Informed U.S. Government sources said today that a Federal investigation into the South Korean Central Intelligence Agency’s operations in America has progressed to a point at which South Korean diplomats are in danger of being asked to leave the United States and nonofficial South Koreans face possible indictment for bribery of American officials and other violations of American law. The sources said that the investigation, which began with allegations that two Congressmen had taken bribes from South Koreans, has spread to cover reportedly illegal election‐campaign contributions to Congressmen and illegal attempts to influence Congressional action and legislation.
Hua Guofeng was formally acclaimed as the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and successor to Mao Zedong, who had died on September 7. The announcement was made in the Party’s newspaper Jenmin Jih Pao and Chinese army newspaper Chiehfang Jih Pao, and reported that the decision had been made by the party’s Politburo on October 7. A rally of a million Chinese in Peking celebrated Hua Kuo-feng’s succession of the late Mao Zedong as chairman of the Chinese Communist Party. The vast gathering, televised throughout China, also acclaimed the downfall of the nation’s four leading leftists, including Mao’s widow. Chairman Hua, wearing the green uniform of the People’s Liberation Army, looked confident and relaxed and waved enthusiastically to the throng. At the same time, China’s new authorities charged in a major editorial this morning that as early as 1974 Mao had criticized his wife, Chiang Ching, and three other senior leftists now reportedly under arrest. “You’d better take care, don’t form a small faction of four,” the editorial reported Mao had warned them.
The Mexican Government, which gave asylum to thousands of refugees from the Spanish Civil War and refused to recognize the victorious Franco regime during 36 years, now anxious to establish diplomatic ties with the Government of King Juan Carlos. But Madrid is reportedly unwilling to normalize its relations with Mexico until after President Luis Echeverria Alvarez leaves office December 1 and is succeeded by the former Finance Minister, Jose López Portillo. According to diplomatic sources, many Spanish officials still resent President Echeverria’s proposal that the United Nations suspend Spain from membership for the execution of five Basque terrorists in September 1975, just two months before the death of Generalissimo Francisco Franco. But Mr. López Portillo, who traces his family hack 400 years to a Navarre village in northern Spain, is expected to recognize Juan Carlos’s regime as one of his first acts of government, perhaps even this December.
Three university students were killed and nine wounded when a group of armed men stormed into a Guadalajara, Mexico, steak house and opened fire. The attack apparently stemmed from a dispute over control of the student union at the local university. The wounded victims included a Venezuelan and a Nicaraguan. All the rest were Mexicans.
Vast drug smuggling has turned the Atlantic coast of Colombia into a terrorized region of criminal organizations, violent Indians and corrupt officials. The law is weak, and life is cheap. The Colombian authorities and United States narcotics agents are attempting to stem the torrent of cocaine and marijuana flowing through ports and airstrips to the United States and Europe but are cutting off less than 10 percent of the estimated traffic. The criminal organizations are more advanced technically and far richer than the law‐enforcement agencies. Through intimidation and payoffs, the prosecution of large ringleaders has been blocked in the courts.
On the eve of preliminary talks at the Geneva conference on Rhodesia, the danger of an early impasse increased. Speaking with reporters, spokesmen for the white minority government and the black nationalists took deeply conflicting positions on transitional arrangements for eventual black majority rule. Two of the black leaders, Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo, made statements on arrival at Geneva’s Cointrin Airport rejecting preconditions for the talks. A few hours later, Foreign Minister P. K. van der Byl of Rhodesia summoned reporters to his hotel and insisted that the conference restrict itself to the implementation of proposals giving whites a powerful role in the transitional period. The dispute centers on differing approaches to the so‐called Kissinger plan, a framework for the transitional period that Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger laid before Prime Minister Ian D. Smith of Rhodesia in Pretoria last month. The nationalists said today that they reject the plan as a basis for negotiations. Mr van der Byl said it was a “pretty well immutable package” that was inextricably tied to Rhodesia’s acceptance of majority rule within two years.
Three blacks were killed and dozens injured when police officers fired submachine guns and shotguns into a crowd at a funeral in the black township of Soweto today, a police spokesman Said. Reporters at the scene said there were six dead. It was the third time in a week that violence had broken out during a funeral in the big township south of Johannesburg. The crowd had gathered at Doornkop Cemetery for the funeral of Jackie Mashabani, a university student who died in detention in Johannesburg last month. Major General David Kriel, the police riot control chief, said his men opened fire after 4,000 blacks, chanting slogans and giving the black‐power salute, stoned his men. He said some of the 51 injured could have been struck by a car that a black man drove into the crowd. Yesterday the police shot to death one man and arrested 115 people after 1,000 mourners had gathered for the funeral of a young woman. Last Sunday 700 black students reportedly went on a rampage after attending the funeral of a 16‐year‐old youth who had died in police custody. Today, General Kriel said a situation similar to last Sunday’s seemed to be developing, and his men acted to prevent damage being done. He said that in an unrelated incident in Soweto today, police opened fire on a crowd of blacks who stoned a police vehicle.
Two black South African actors were released from detention and expelled today from Transkei, the South African tribal homeland that is to become independent Tuesday. John Kani and Winston Ntshona were detained by the police in Transkei after they performed their hit play “Sizwe Banzi is Dead” on October 8. The play was a critical success in New York last year, and the two actors won Tony Awards for their performances. Police Commissioner H. S. Mattheys said the two men were freed on the personal orders of Chief Minister Kaiser Matanzirna. The actors were arrested because of allegedly satirical allusions in the play’s script to independence for the homeland.
President Ford invited more than 25,000 Californians today to attend the inaugural ceremonies in Washington next January 20. The invitation echoed one he issued yesterday, telling audiences in three Southern states, “Y’all come.” With a week of campaigning yet to come before the November 2 election, the invitations may have seemed somewhat presumptuous. But they reflected the final phase of the Ford candidacy, a phase stressing positive themes, buoyant optimism and, so far as the President’s role is concerned, disregard of Jimmy Carter’s challenge. Ever since Mr. Ford and Mr. Carter pledged Friday night in their third and last televised debate that they would abandon their harsh attacks on each other, the President has virtually ignored the Democratic nominee’s campaign. He neither mentioned nor alluded to the former Georgia Governor yesterday in a series of speeches in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. The closest the President came to referring to Mr. Carter at a rally this morning in Pasadena was to note that “there are some in this campaign who wish to cut and slash” the military budget, which he termed “a dangerous gamble.”
Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger made his most political appearance in the Presidential campaign today, specifically attacking Jimmy Carter’s statement that he would not use American troops to defend Yugoslavia and generally suggesting that the Democratic candidate did not yet understand “the art of foreign policy.” Mr. Kissinger, appearing on the CBS “Face the Nation” program, denied that his appearance was political in any way But the last time he consented to he the guest on a Sunday interview show was in October 1975. White House sources and Kissinger aides are also now emphatically saying privately that President Ford, if elected will ask the Secretary to remain in his post. President Ford and his Democratic challenger clashed on the Yugoslavian issue in their debate Friday, and Mr. Kissinger continued to press and even broaden the attack. He said that Mr. Carter, if elected, would surely reconsider his “dangerous” statement that he “would not go to war in Yugoslavia even if the Soviet Union sent in troops.”
Voter apathy in the presidential campaign has been attributed to cynicism about politics after Watergate, the lack of burning issues and the view that neither President Ford nor Jimmy Carter has the charisma to stir passions. But a major factor this year is the new federal financing laws, which have stripped the customary glitter of campaigning to a no-frills, remote and even shoestring approach.
Most New York state voters, according to a New York Times survey, are still liberal on major domestic issues, despite a nationwide and statewide shift rightward. Most voters, the poll found, favor federalization of welfare, national health insurance, federal job programs and aid to New York City.
Foreign oil prices will rise this winter, according to analysts, and the major question is by how much. Various options being discussed are increases ranging from 10 to 20 percent, and a European diplomat predicted it would probably be 10 percent. Ministers of the Middle East oil-exporting countries are to meet in mid-December, and there are signs of wide disagreement on the size of the increase.
The outlook on the credit markets is unclear, and several dealers and analysts are waiting until after the November 2 election before they make any predictions. The bond market last week suffered its worst reverse since May in a sweeping move that depressed prices for fixed-income securities and sharply raised interest rates.
Milton Friedman, winner of the 1976 Nobel Prize for economics, said the United States needed an amendment to the Constitution setting a limit to government spending. He blamed excessive government spending, which he said amounted to 40% of every dollar, as the root cause of inflation and the unemployment he believes results. Without endorsing either presidential candidate, Friedman said, “As between their programs, President Ford is directed much more toward keeping down the expansion of government — Jimmy Carter favors an expansion of government spending. To stop this we need to set a limit to government spending. I favor a constitutional amendment…” Friedman, a professor at the University of Chicago for 28 years, appeared on the NBC program Meet the Press.
A fire set by an arsonist killed 25 people (16 women and nine men) and injured 24 others at the Puerto Rican Social Club at 1003 Morris Avenue in the Bronx in New York City, after a fire broke out at 2:15 in the morning. The blaze, set in the only stairwell in the building spread within less than two minutes in the 1,000 square feet (93 m2) dance hall at the club, and nearly all the victims were found at the windows at the front of the building, dead of asphyxiation. The door to the fire escape had been locked from the inside. Jose Angelo Cordero, who led the attack, and Hector Lopez, who ignited the fire, both pleaded guilty to murder and Francisco Mendez, who spread gasoline in the stairwell, was found guilty of 25 counts of murder.
Divers searched the murky bottom of the Mississippi River today for more bodies and vehicles while investigators recessed for a day in their investigation of the Luling, Louisiana ship-ferry collision in which 75 people may have died. “Visibility at the bottom is almost zero,” said Lieutenant Wallace Friloux of the Sheriff’s Department, information officer for the search. “They’re spotting the automobiles by sonar and then feeling around for bodies. Not many of the bodies have been found in the vehicles, most of them are outside the cars but we don’t have any information why.” Working nonstop since the disaster Wednesday, divers have recovered 45 bodies and five motorcycles, 17 cars and seven trucks. There were 18 survivors. Another 30 persons are still missing. The master of the Frosta, a Norwegian tanker, testified yesterday at a Coast Guard inquiry in New Orleans that the ferry, George Prince, had ignored radio calls and warning blasts and steered straight into the path of his ship.
The Baltimore Sun reported that 95% of the $56 million the Pallottine Fathers received in charity contributions between 1970 and mid-1975 had gone for fund raising, real estate ventures and loans to businessmen. The newspaper said it based its findings on the Roman Catholic order’s annual audits, prepared for internal use, which the Sun said it had obtained from unidentified sources. Officials of the Baltimore-based missionary order had refused to release the audits on the grounds that they do not provide pertinent information. The Sun said the order’s foreign missions received $1.4 million, or 2.5% of the money raised. A total of $42 million was plowed back into direct mail fund-raising and administration.
A Federal judge, citing racial discrimination, has ordered Mobile to change its form of government. And if the judge can do that, said Mayor Lambert Mims, “then he can tell us we have to eat pork and beans for lunch every day.” Late last week, Judge Virgil Pittman of the Federal District Court ordered Mobile, a coastal city of 200,000, to dismantle its city commission form of government and replace it with a mayor‐council form designed to give blacks more say in government actions. Blacks make up about one‐third of Mobile’s population, and Judge Pittman said the present at‐large election of commissioners gives blacks no “realistic” chance to see a black elected. He also noted that 435 whites are on various city committees while only 47 blacks hold such office. Mr. Mims, who is Mayor under a rotating system, said an appeal would be filed within 30 days.
The president of Lyndon State College in Lyndonville, Vermont, told of a bizarre kidnaping in which he said he had been robbed of about $70 by two men in New York City after a World Series baseball game, driven to Chicago and released there unharmed but penniless two days later. College officials sent air fare home to Edward I. Stevens. The FBI confirmed that its agents had interviewed Stevens and that the matter was being investigated. Stevens said he had been told, “Don’t do anything about this or we’ll come and get you and your kids” He said he had been too scared to contact Chicago police. “I was scared, I was still thinking about them coming,” he said. “They were taking pills. They talked about California, California girls, and what to do to me.”
A storm blanketed parts of southern Minnesota with up to 5 ½ inches of snow while farther south heavy rains threatened flash flooding in the San Antonio and Austin areas of Texas and in low-lying parts of southern Indiana. In Minnesota, 5 inches of snow fell on Jackson, 4 inches fell in Springfield and Pipestone and lighter falls were reported stretching as far north as Minneapolis-St. Paul. Gray skies and below-normal temperatures shrouded much of the eastern half of the nation and a band of thunderstorms extended from southwestern Texas through the mid-Mississippi Valley and the Ohio Valley to New England.
Aspirin and similar pain relievers should not be taken by women in the last three months of pregnancy except under a doctors advice, a Food and Drug Administration panel has tentatively concluded. The advisory panel recommends that a pregnancy warning be placed on the labels of pain relievers containing aspirin or similar salicylates, a spokesman for the agency said today. He said the committee had found that aspirin could prolong labor and lengthen clotting and bleeding times for mother and child. The agency also recommended that pain relievers that do not contain aspirin but do contain acetaminophen, the most widely used substitute, should also carry warnings that overdoses could cause liver damage. The spokesman said damage would only occur from very large overdoses.
Drug therapy begun immediately after surgery for breast cancer is continuing to prevent relapses in women who face a high risk of their cancer’s recurring, according to studies described here over the weekend. It is not yet known whether the treatment, known as adjuvant chemotherapy, will prolong the lives of the women, but the indications from at least one report are that it will. This same report, by a physician‐researcher from Buffalo, showed that the potential gains of postoperative chemotherapy were virtually wiped out if the patient received radiation treatments after surgery, a common practice intended to prevent recurrence of cancer in the breast area.
Animals may be capable of planning, making choices and awareness of themselves and their environment, according to a biologist at Rockefeller University. The specialist is Dr. Donald Griffin, widely noted for research on bat orientation and bird navigation.
First Jewish film and TV festival.
New York City Marathon: American Bill Rodgers wins his first title in 2:10:10; Miki Gorman wins the women’s race in 2:39:11
English McLaren driver James Hunt finishes fourth in the season-ending Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway to win his first Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship by one point from Niki Lauda. Race car driver James Hunt of the United Kingdom won the Formula One World Championship by just one point when Niki Lauda of Austria was forced out of the Japanese Grand Prix— the 16th and final race of the season— because of heavy rain. Going into the race, Lauda had 68 points and Hunt had 66; the next highest competitor, Jody Scheckter of South Africa, had only 49 points and was mathematically eliminated from the championship. Hunt finished in third place at the Fuji Speedway, earning 3 points. Because of weather conditions that had left the track wet, the organizers debated whether to run as scheduled or to postpone the race to the next day. After the race started, four of the drivers withdrew, including Lauda, who quit after two laps and later commented, “my life is worth more than a title.” Down 66 to 68, Hunt needed to finish at least in 4th place (for 2 points) to be co-champion; his third-place finish gave him 3 points for the 69 to 68 victory.
NFL Football:
The Dallas Cowboys downed the Chicago Bears, 31–21. Danny White replaced Roger Staubach, who suffered a fractured finger in the third quarter, and threw two touchdown passes to Preston Pearson while the Dallas defense limited Chicago to 110 total yards to pick up the win. White staked the Cowboys to a 24–7 lead on his first TD pass before Ross Brupbacher grabbed one of his passes and lateraled to Mike Hartenstine who took the ball for a score. Johnny Musso closed the gap to three points on a two-yard touchdown run before White and Pearson struck again.
The Detroit Lions trounced the Seattle Seahawks 41–14. Greg Landry threw three touchdown passes and the Lions’ defense returned two of six interceptions for touchdowns for Tommy Hudspeth’s second win in three games since taking over as coach at Detroit. Hugh McKinnis scored two second quarter touchdowns to pull Seattle within six points at the half, but Landry opened the gap to 34–14 with third period scoring passes to Charlie Sanders and Lawrence Gaines. Lem Barney added a 24-yard interception return TD.
The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Houston Oilers, 27–7. The Bengals’ defense picked up a touchdown while Ken Anderson and John Reaves each added a scoring pass to lead Cincinnati past Houston and into a one-game lead in the AFC Central. Anderson threw a seven-yard pass to Isaac Curtis for the first TD, Reaves hit Bruce Coslet with a 14-yarder for the second, and Coy Bacon picked up a fourth-quarter fumble at the Cincinnati 20 and carried it 48 yards before lateraling to Melvin Morgan who carried it the final 32 yards for a score.
The Miami Dolphins squeaked by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 23–20. Garo Yepremian’s 29-yard field goal with 55 seconds left in the game broke a 20–20 tie and Dick Anderson’s interception preserved the Dolphins’ win with 13 seconds left in the first all-Florida NFL game. Benny Malone led the Miami offensive attack with his second 100-yard game but it was a blocked field goal and blocked extra point by the Dolphins’ special teams that helped give Miami the victory despite three touchdown catches by Morris Owens.
The Oakland Raiders edged the Green Bay Packers, 18–14. Ken Stabler passed for 202 first-half yards and three second-quarter touchdowns for Oakland’s second straight win over the Packers since Super Bowl ll. Stabler’s three scoring passes came within 8:45 of the second period and the second an 88-yard pass to Cliff Branch, was the longest of the duo’s careers and longest in the NFL in 1976.
The Cleveland Browns defeated the San Diego Chargers, 21–17. Brian Sipe capped 82 and 63-yard drives with touchdown passes to Reggie Rucker and Oscar Roan as the Browns evened their series record with the Chargers at 2–2–1. Greg Pruitt’s one-yard touchdown put Cleveland ahead 14–0 at the end of the first period but San Diego scored two second quarter touchdowns to tie the game at halftime. Ray Wersching’s 22-yard field goal gave the Chargers their first lead before the Browns regained the lead on Sipe’s 10-yard scoring pass to Roan in the fourth quarter.
The Baltimore Colts shut out the New York Jets, 20–0. Bert Jones and Roger Carr combined on five passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns while the Baltimore defense picked up six sacks and their first shutout to stay one game ahead of New England in the AFC East. Jones hit Carr on a 41-yard scoring play in the first quarter and the duo picked up the final TD on a 79-yard play in the fourth quarter.
The Los Angeles Rams defeated the New Orleans Saints, 16–10. Pat Haden came off the bench in the fourth quarter and completed his first pass to Harold Jackson for a 40-yard touchdown, breaking a 10–10 tie and keeping the Rams a half-game behind San Francisco in the NFC West race. Los Angeles had taken a 10–0 lead in the second quarter following a one-yard touchdown run by Lawrence McCutcheon. Bobby Douglass came off the Saints’ bench to throw a 28-yard pass to Tony Galbreath and set up a field goal to tie the Rams.
The Pittsburgh Steelers blanked the New York Giants, 27–0. Franco Harris ran for 106 yards and two touchdowns while the Pittsburgh defense picked up five sacks for the second week in a row and allowed the Giants to cross midfield only twice as the Steelers picked up their second win following three straight losses. Harris’ first score came with 1:41 left in the first half to finish a nine-play, 80-yard drive and Roy Gerela added a 21-yard field goal 1:16 later following a J. T. Thomas interception at the Giants’ 41.
The Minnesota Vikings rolled over the Philadelphia Eagles, 31–12. Fran Tarkenton, with 249 yards passing and two TD passes, became the second 40,000-yard career passer in the NFL and Chuck Foreman, who had two touchdowns and 200 yards rushing, set a single game club rushing record with the NFC’s best rushing performance in 1976 in bringing the Vikings back from a 9–0 deficit to take a 3 ½ game lead in the NFC Central. Mike Boryla passed three yards to Harold Carmichael for the Eagles’ 9–0 lead but Tarkenton cut the lead to two points at the half with a five-yard pass to Ahmad Rashad. Tarkenton finished off a 10-point third quarter with a 35-yard TD pass to Sammy White before Foreman got his pair of scores on 2 and 32-yard runs in the fourth period.
The Denver Broncos beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 35–26. Rick Upchurch tied an NFL record with his fourth punt return touchdown of the season, the Broncos’ defense twice held the Chiefs scoreless from the 1 yard line, and Denver snapped a two-game losing streak. Otis Armstrong had his first 100-yard game, including the Broncos’ first score on a 16-yard run, and he led Denver receivers with six catches for 60 yards. Upchurch also returned a Chiefs’ kickoff 64 yards to set up Armstrong’s touchdown.
The New England Patriots nipped the Buffalo Bills, 26–22. The Patriots jumped to a 26–9 fourth quarter lead but had to fight off a scoring blitz by the Bills to stay one game behind Baltimore in the AFC East. O. J. Simpson, with two touchdowns and 110 yards to take over second place in NFL career rushing, scored on a two-yard run with 1:07 left, bringing Buffalo within four points of New England.
Chicago Bears 21, Dallas Cowboys 31
Detroit Lions 41, Seattle Seahawks 14
Cincinnati Bengals 27, Houston Oilers 7
Miami Dolphins 23, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20
Green Bay Packers 14, Oakland Raiders 18
San Diego Chargers 17, Cleveland Browns 21
Baltimore Colts 20, New York Jets 0
Los Angeles Rams 16, New Orleans Saints 10
Pittsburgh Steelers 27, New York Giants 0
Minnesota Vikings 31, Philadelphia Eagles 12
Denver Broncos 35, Kansas City Chiefs 26
New England Patriots 26, Buffalo Bills 22
Born:
Clarke Wilm, Canadian NHL centre (Calgray Flames, Nashville Predators, Toronto Maple Leafs), in Central Butte, Saskatchewan, Canada.
James Fenderson, NFL running back (New Orleans Saints), in Long Beach, California.
Petar Stoychev, Bulgarian swimmer, in Momchilgrad, Bulgaria.
Amy Allen, American actress (“Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones”), in Burbank, California.
Mallika Sherawat (stage name for Reema Lamba), popular Indian Bollywood film actress; in Moth Rangran, Haryana state, India.
