News for this day in history, October 13, 1979 - The Florida Caucuses begin, The Iowa Straw Poll starts. Ask The President isn't taking any calls. Gas prices threaten to go up. Castro in New York. Leonid and Valentina Kozlov are latest Russian ballet stars to defect to U.S.
October 13, 2011

Kozlovs-resized.jpg
Leonid and Valentina Kozlov - latest in the wave of defecting Soviet dancers.


A mostly political day, this October 13th in 1979. The Florida Caucus was underway with Ted Kennedy actively being the boil on Jimmy Carter's posterior. Iowa was holding a straw poll too, with George Bush campaigning for the Republican nod.

Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill a temporary Compromise Money bill squeaked past the House with threats of Government shutdown avoided for now (cue: broken record). The House also passed a bill lifting price controls on Gasoline with many fearing the cost of a gallon of gas would skyrocket to $2.00. The goings on in Iran seemed to be a likely scapegoat for the gouge.

This week's installment of "Ask The President" would feature no phone calls - the assumption being clairvoyants would occupy the otherwise busy phone banks instead.

Fidel Castro was busy painting New York red after his appearance the previous night at the UN, giving lots of face time to dignitaries and politicos.

Speaking of Cuba - the Washington Post reported the U.S. was moving in the direction of establishing a multi-National Naval force in the Caribbean as a precaution against overtures from Havana to the rest of Latin-America.

Vietnam was busy accusing China of repeated border intrusions - surefire sign a hotspot was getting ready to develop.

And Bolshoi Ballet stars Leonid and Valentina Kozlov were the latest in a long string of Soviet dancers defecting to the U.S. - making their American debut in New Orleans with a new company and packed house.

And the world pirouetted endlessly on, this October 13th 1979 as reported by Neil Strawser and crew at The CBS World News Roundup.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon