No end to conflicts and potential hot spots, this February 23rd in 1975. Southeast Asia eruptions were continuing with the Mekon river blockade now effectively cutting off Phnom Penh and rebel fighting throughout Cambodia. Likewise in South Vietnam where terrorist attacks were inching closer to Saigon. All this activity triggered calls from President Ford to send military aid to the region. Congress wasn't thrilled. We'd been there. We'd done that. We got the bloodstains to prove it. Still, there were some such as Strom Thurmond who thought we should pour nothing but money into the region in exchange for their oil, if and when they found some.

Elsewhere in the Lovely Neighborhood - Secretary of State Henry Kissinger returned from a tour of the Middle East, saying he was "optimistic" that talks-about-talks-about-talks were looking up. Senator Ted Kennedy introduced legislation asking for a cut-off of military aid to the oil producing Persian Gulf nations, saying instability in the region begged for a hold-off on ordinance for at least six months. His crystal ball, it appears, was in much better shape than a lot of his colleagues.

Ethiopia was asking the U.S. for arms in the wake of increased tensions coming from the northern province of Eritrea and the separatist movement gathering steam there. New tensions in Cyprus between Greek and Turkish elements were springing up. Spain, despite a law prohibiting strikes handed down by the somewhat creaky Franco regime, went on strike over dissatisfaction with the decades-old authoritarian rule.

And back home - Judge Sirica handed down sentences for convicted Watergate figures. It went like this: Mitchell, Haldeman and Ehrlichman all got 2 1/2 years in jail and Robert Mardian got 10 months.

All that and a lot more for news ending the week of February 23rd, 1973 as reported on CBS Radio's The World This Week.

Feel better about your day now?

Not a very good day if you were a member of the working Press overseas. Officials in both Kabul and Tehran issued walking papers for American journalists with instructions to be out of the country on "the next plane".

It seems both countries were going through some bad reviews in Western media and felt it was best for all concerned if they just left and didn't bother to say goodbye. Reporters were busily filing last dispatches on this day.

And there was a lot to talk about. Fierce fighting had erupted in Afghanistan, causing the Soviets to call up reserves to shore up heavy casualties. In Iran, rioting in Tabriz and opposition to the Ayatollah Khomeni was spreading and that didn't look good for the image either. And on top of everything else, it was Day 75 of the Hostage Drama with reports of Embassy workers handcuffed most days and kept in dark rooms.

News on the failing health of Yugoslavia's Tito had everyone in Belgrade (and the West, for that matter) nervous over a possible power-grab on the part of the Soviets. Anticipation of an invasion 1968 Czechoslovakia-style had people scrambling for self-defense weaponry.

In India, newly re-elected Prime Minister Indira Gandhi back-tracked on her earlier support of the Afghan invasion, saying she made a hasty assessment of the situation, but she knows better now.

Two terrorist bombs went off in a hotel in London - the first killed the bomber and wounded a hotel guest and the second went off with no reports of injuries. Also in London, Prime Minister Thatcher recommended moving the present site of the 1980 Olympic Games from Moscow to somewhere else. Promises of no firm plan were to be made until the Carter deadline of February for Soviet withdrawal had been reached.

And on Capitol Hill - Congress was meeting to take up that little matter of the Oil Profits Tax, owing to the $225 Billion windfall they had recently gotten. In typical nose-thumbing fashion, Shell Oil decided to raise the price of it's gasoline another $.05 a gallon - the second time in two weeks. Fears Americans would be paying upwards of $2.00 a gallon were starting to become realized.

On the Election '80 front -rumors the Carter Campaign was in trouble were filtering out of Iowa, with the caucuses only days away. Jimmy denied the rumors. California Governor Brown decided to suspend his campaign for a while and Ted Kennedy was busy stumping.

The Cancer treating drug Interferon had been discovered and was being touted as a possible cure, even though the drug itself was cost-prohibitive at the moment.

And there were renewed calls for the Legalization of Marijuana - something that bubbles to the surface every few years.

And that's the way it was for Thursday, January 17th, 1980 as reported on The CBS World News Roundup, the 8:00 and 9:00 am news and The World Tonight.

No turn left unstoned.

News on this January 12th in 1980 was just as skewed and drama-plagued as any other January day in 1980.

Starting off with word that UN voting on sanctions against Iran had been postponed from the previous night because of hints from Tehran there might be softening on demands for release of the American hostages.

The Hostage drama entered week #11.

In Iran, word of crackdowns on opposition came from Tabriz, where supporters of opposition leader Ayatollah Shariatmadari were rounded up and summarily executed by militia loyal to Ayatollah Khomeni. The end result were riots throughout Tabriz with businesses and banks looted and torched in protest.

Meanwhile, the Soviet excursion into Afghanistan was weighing on people's minds, with the US grain embargo being given support by everyone except Argentina.

Further fallout from Afghanistan came in guise of Canada, who offered the facilities of the former Montreal Olympics site as alternative to Moscow - although the offer wasn't exactly squared with the Montreal Expos who were using the stadium for baseball during the Summer.

In Africa, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) was readying for it's first legitimate Majority Rule general elections and relations between Salisbury and Mozambique took a rosy turn as the border re-opened and trade resumed between the two countries, who were only weeks before exchanging raids and artillery fire.

On the Domestic front - The Illinois State Legislature approved financial bailout for the bankrupt Chicago School System, the 3rd largest in the U.S.

And election season was heating up with the Iowa Caucuses poised to go on January 20th and word that Ted Kennedy was behind Jimmy Carter a whopping 25 points - but there was still 8 days to go.

And anything could (and would) happen by then.

And that's what that January 12th looked like in 1980, via Neil Strawser and The CBS World News Roundup.

July 5, 1980 and it was knee-deep in the Presidential Campaign season. Jimmy Carter headed back to Plains Georgia for a respite after staging a whirlwind tour of the U.S. that took him from Los Angeles (where he got an enthusiastic endorsement from the NEA Convention) to Miami (where he got tepid applause from the NAACP convention). Ronald Reagan was still raising eyebrows for his by-pass of the NAACP Convention. Realizing the faux pas, Reagan promptly fell over himself to accept an invitation to speak to the Urban League. And the hoopla sprinted on.

News on the Shah of Iran, then residing in a Cairo hospital, wasn't good. Meanwhile, Thailand received the first installment of their $400Million purchase of military ordinance from the U.S. - we paid for the shipping.

Cuban Boat People were steaming to Florida's shores with a rumored 500 Marines forming a greeting line when they arrived. Fears were rampant this was the first of Fidel Castro's proposed Convict Dump, as suddenly prisons in Cuba were surprisingly empty this July 5th. And on the subject of dodging bullets, U.S. Embassy officials in Jamaica were taking extra precautions as a rash of shootings in and around Kingston were directed at U.S. government personnel purported to be CIA agents.

Detroit was getting so ready for the upcoming Republican Convention they headed into marathon talks with Sanitation workers over the Garbage Strike responsible for odorizing Woodward Avenue. And a record heatwave scorched the Southwest, even though temperatures dipped to a balmy 104 in Dallas the previous night - they were promised to go upwardly mobile for at least the next month.

425,000 people (according to the Park Service) jammed the Washington Mall to celebrate the 4th and pray for surf with The Beach Boys. And in Boston, John "Mr. Star Wars" Williams celebrated his very first 4th with the Boston Pops. The 1812 Overture and Darth Vader found a new home.

And no doubt, if you were around to hear this CBS World News Broadcast on the morning of July 5th 1980 you were either hung-over or massively relieved you weren't.

A rather packed news week, this first one of December 1991. Hostages were released. Among them were Joseph Cicippio, Terry Anderson and Alann Steen. The William Kennedy Smith rape trial began with testimony from, among others, Sen. Ted Kennedy. Former KKK figure David Duke decided on a run for the Presidential nomination in 1992.

David Duke: “We’ve investigated and looked at Republican primaries across this country and I have decided, and I formally announce today, that I will be a candidate for President of The United States in every primary that we can be placed on the ballot over the next few weeks.”

The economy was its usual self this week in 1991 with the recession going into its 17th month. John Sununu was knee-deep in the travel scandal. The Soviet Union was cutting funding for its Olympic Training facilities casting doubt if they would be showing up for the Barcelona Olympics. The New York Daily News filed for bankruptcy with the owner, British publishing magnate the late Robert Maxwell in big financial trouble. PanAm, whose ads extolling the virtue of making the going great, gave up the ghost and went out of business. Charles Keating was declared guilty over the Lincoln Savings And Loan scandal. Mass murderer Richard Speck died of a heart attack and the Shuttle Atlantis finally came back to earth.

Judging from the amount of news and scandal this December week in 1991, they probably wondered why they came back.

Another thrill packed week in October history - this one from the 15th in 1979, via the CBS News program The World This Week. Wall Street took a dive, the interest rates took a hike and the housing market took a powder.

John Bohanon (CBS News): “It all started last week – the Federal Reserve Board raises the Interest rate, the rate banks are charged for borrowing from the Fed. An increase of one full point to 12 percent. Something has to be done, says the Fed, to stop inflation and curb speculation. On Monday; the first reaction. The Dow Jones Industrials went down over thirteen and a half points. Tuesday: Another shock; several banks raise their prime rate, the rates the banks charge their best corporate customers. The Prime up one full point to fourteen and a half percent; an unprecedented increase. Down goes the Dow again, another twenty-six and a half points. Bond prices plunge. And on Wednesday, history is made on Wall Street. A record trading day, almost 82 million shares changing hands. At one point, the market down nearly 25 points for the day.

The rest of the week was taken up with Fidel Castro's visit to the UN and his very vocal support for the PLO, the 1980 campaign trail, the Ted Kennedy factor and fears of a major recession washing up on our financial shores.

Just another week - same as it always is.

(Convention 1980 - The PUMA moment)

This week thirty years ago, at the 1980 Democratic Convention in New York, Jimmy Carter re-nominated for President, Walter Mondale re-nominated for vice-President and a disappointed Ted Kennedy lose his bid. Despite an aggressive campaign to get delegates released from their voting commitments, it wound up falling short of the needed votes and Kennedy finally gave in. The air around Madison Square Garden (where the convention was held) was thick with animosity, but there wasn't much to be done about it. The rest of the convention was putting the best spin on things and pleading for party unity. And hoping fortunes would change by November.

Also going on that week was the ever newsworthy Billy Carter, a rash of airplane hi-jackings to Cuba and a champion hog caller. All from ABC World News This Week. Yes, mainstream news was only marginally better then.

(Ted and Joan Kennedy - Election Night 1962 - battling the stigma of nepotism)

Going a back a ways today. The legacy of Ted Kennedy, who left us this year, has been remembered of late as a staunch supporter of Universal Health Care - his tireless arguments in favor of reform of our shattered Healthcare system and the uphill battle he encountered for so many years in the process. But we don't spend much time on the early days of Ted Kennedy, the candidate for Senate. His opponent George Cabot Lodge, son of the former running mate to Richard Nixon in 1960. Ted Kennedy had to weather the baggage of being the brother of the President, How would that impact his ability to be an effective member of the Senate, even as a Junior Senator. The questions were frequently asked, even on this episode of Meet The Press.

Ted Kennedy: “Mister Spivak, I want to make my position extremely clear that my decisions in the United States Senate will be based upon my own belief of what I think is in the best interests of the state, the best interests of the nation, and in the dictates of my conscience. I have disagreed with the President before. I imagine I’ll disagree with him in the future. But upon this will be made my determinations about the questions effecting both the state and the nation.”

On October 28, 1962, with the Cuban Missile Crisis on everyone's minds, the Senate seat race in Massachusetts took a serious backseat to the events 90 miles south of the mainland.

But even so, 1962 would be the beginning of the Ted Kennedy years.

(Senator Ted Kennedy - passing of an era)

Regardless of having known the end would come for some time, hearing the news that Senator Ted Kennedy lost his battle to brain cancer still came with an overwhelming sadness - a true sense of loss. The passing of an era.

So as way of a tribute, here is Ted Kennedy at the National Press Club from January 18, 1972, outlining the priorities for the upcoming session of Congress. As always, Health Care was forefront on his mind.

Ted Kennedy: “If you think we have a (health) system that is working well today, ask the person next to you. Ask a mother who tries to call a doctor after dark. Ask a man who lost is health insurance because he lost his job. Ask a senior citizen whose Medicare has run out. Ask anyone who ever paid a bill or tried to file a Health Insurance claim. Our people will never get fair value for their enormous investment in Health Care, unless we break the strangle hold of the Health Providers and Health Insurance companies. We have a mammoth Health Care crisis because we have a mammoth health care system that works well, but only for the few. It works well for the doctors. It works well for the hospitals. It works well for the insurance industry. It works well for everyone but the sick. And it is the people who pay the price for this enormous profiteering. They have been sold a bill of goods for a system that is marred throughout by high cost and inefficiency, by inconvenience and incompetence. And by implicit or outright fraud. I do not believe that the Congress will be a party to the passage of any Health Insurance bill that maintains such vital flaws. We stand on the threshold of real reform. And 1972 can be the year when we cross that threshold and fulfill at last the promise that health is a basic right for all our citizens, not just an expensive privilege of the few”.

He never quit the fight.