May 8, 1982 – ABC World News This Morning – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
May 8, 1982. News of impending war and last minute attempts at reaching a peaceful settlement in the Falklands crisis. All eyes were on UN Secretary General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar to come up with a solution, who was shuttling back and forth between Buenos Aires and London, with last ditch attempts at diplomacy.
But time was running out and troops were poised to engage in battle over the Falklands. But on this May 8th, it was all quiet in the South Atlantic as hopes were pinned on the UN reaching a peaceful settlement. Buenos Aires was quiet. Officials reported on the previous days news that Britain was extending their blockade; their so-called exclusion zone, to within 12 miles of the Argentine mainland. Since that announcement, official reaction came from two government sources; Amadeo Frugoli, Argentina‘s Defense Minister, said that the widened blockade simply would not work and Economics Minister Roberto Aléman told reporters that the widening of the blockade would bring Britain’s ships closer to land-based Argentine planes. There was no word from the battle zone itself. From Britain came reports via the Defense ministry that there had been “no operational contacts’ in the previous 24 hours. Beyond that, the Ministry offered a Falkland Islands weather report; fog and heavy cloud, and provided a sketchy account of activities at the Mid-Atlantic staging point on Ascension Island; a busy place it said, with more than 1,000 men onshore.
Meanwhile in Los Angeles, Police broke up the largest child-pornography ring in the country, arresting 43 year-old Cathy Wilson who reportedly made a half-million dollars a year in child pornography, drove a Rolls-Royce while collecting Welfare checks. LAPD Chief Darryl Gates said, the good news was that had erased the worst of the terrible blight on children in this country. The bad news was that Wilson was released on only $5,000.00 bail, despite her record.
And that’s just a small slice of news for this May 8, 1982 – as reported by ABC World News This Morning.
