March 19, 1990 – CBS World News Roundup – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
March 19, 1990 – A day baseball fans were celebrating. After 32 days of back and forth negotiations, the Baseball players strike was over. Baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent announced that a settlement had been reached and that the regular season would begin a week late on April 9. The Spring Training lockout would not be easily forgotten as economies across Florida and Arizona had been badly effected by the strike, however Vincent expressed optimism that the recuperative powers of Baseball were very strong. Training camps were expected to open the next day and then it was “full speed ahead” for the upcoming season. As it stood, the season would be four games short, but the two sides promised they would find a way to play all 162 games.
And a Teachers Strike in West Virginia was ending, with students returning to class this morning after an 11 day walkout. The two Unions involved agreed over the weekend to obey a court order while they appealed it. They did not win the raise, over which they walked out, only an agreement for State legislative leaders to study a pay-package.
Some 11 million East Germans voted in the first free election the day before, giving a resounding victory to a conservative coalition allied with West Germany’s Helmut Kohl. The message from the East German voters was clear; they wanted union with West Germany as soon as possible, and after 41 years of Communism they opted for Capitalism.
Panic Stock selling in Tokyo was brought on largely by interest rate anxiety. The Tokyo Stock Market took another big tumble, falling more than 1300 points in massive selling. It was the market’s third largest single day plunge ever, closing at a 13 month low. While the Tokyo Stock Market was falling, the American dollar was soaring, reaching a three-year high of 153.55 Yen to the Dollar.
And thieves broke into the Isabella Gardner Museum in Boston and made off with some $200 million worth of paintings, making it the largest Art heist ever. The thieves, dressed in Police uniforms, fooled the Security guards who allowed them into the building where they were promptly overpowered and cuffed and then the theft took place. The FBI was looking into the possibility that other accomplices were involved in the theft and were planning on widening the search overseas.
And that’s a little of what happened, this March 19, 1990 as presented by The CBS World News Roundup.
