June 21, 1977 – CBS World News Roundup – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
June 21,1977 – the day oil flowed through the middle of Alaska and Ugandan dictator Idi Amin was hiding somewhere out of plain sight.
First off was news on the economy. The Labor Department released its report on Consumer prices for May and they went up .6%. Not as big as the increase in April, but the reason for the smaller increase was that food prices went up more slowly. But even so, the rise was likely to continue at least through the end of June. Energy prices were expected to go up too, with pending legislation on Capitol Hill over an energy rebate, hoping to cushion the effect.
At the rate of about 1 mile per hour, oil was beginning to flow south through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. As Technicians walked along the line, taking note of the familiar “tapoketa” sound or the banging the technicians referred to as “the Pig”, a plastic and steel cone which proceeded the oil down the route with oil pressure gradually increasing behind it. And so far, no major problems had been encountered along the route. However, for Alaskans there was the possibility of a financial problem looming; less revenue to the State because of the rate oil companies wanted to pay for use of the pipe. The issue was being presented to the Justice Department, who agreed with the Governor of Alaska was slated to press its case on Capitol Hill.
And the notorious Ugandan Dictator Idi Amin was subject of a search and speculation over his fate. As of news time this day, the puzzle was still unsolved as to “where was Idi?”. Western Diplomats reporting from the Ugandan Capiol of Kampala said the city was calm and business was going on as normal. But their theories on Idi Amin’s mysterious disappearance differ. Soldiers at Amin’s Command post had been trying to find their leader for the better part of a week. The Diplomats confirmed that Amin had not been seen since then and that there was a shooting incident the previous Saturday morning. But they believed the Dictator may have been deliberately hiding. One Diplomatic theory was President Amin was wounded during the shooting, and he was someplace in Uganda receiving medical treatment. But another theory was that Amin was wounded and was flown to Libya where he was recuperating. A third Diplomatic theory was that Amin wasn’t hurt at all, but was stealthfully waiting to see who was going to try to seize power from him and was preparing to retaliate. But nobody knew anything for sure – and so speculation was rife.
And that’s just a sample of what went on in the world this first day of Summer, 40 years ago as presented by The CBS World News Roundup.
