– December 28, 1978 – CBS World News Roundup – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
December 28, 1978 – News from Tehran was unsettling. Anti-Shah riots in the streets, protests against the military government, protests against American presence – a general feeling the country was on the verge of something. Oil production came to a complete halt, owing to a strike in the oil fields to the south. 18 of Iran’s 108 service stations had closed after running out of gasoline. The Iranian Senate was expected to convene soon to review the situation. The Iranian Association of Jurists was appealing to the United Nations to intervene in the current climate, accusing the Iranian government of atrocities and said there was no long any authority in the country to appeal to. As of this morning there were still fires burning and barricades the rioters erected the day before were still standing. Tehran was holding its breath. Pravda, for its part, issued its most stinging rebuke of American involvement in Iran, warning the west that a serious problem would develop, should Washington continue to interfere in Iran’s internal affairs in an attempt to keep the Shah in power.
Meanwhile, the high-level U.S. mission to Taiwan was turning into damage control, owing to a souring of relations between Washington and Taipei over the riots that took place the previous evening. A morning meeting between American and Taiwanese officials was cancelled and concerns over the mission’s safety were expressed to Taiwanese government officials. All stemming over the state of relations between the U.S. and Taiwan over the recent recognition of Red China and severing diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
And Police in Chicago were facing the grim task of uncovering more bodies buried under the house of John Wayne Gacy, the man accused of one of the most horrific mass murders in U.S. history. So far, fifteen bodies of boys and young men were uncovered, with all indications pointing to the discovery of many more. Gacy was charged with the murder of 15 year-old Robert Piest and was being held without bond in jail. While Gacy sat in jail, his lawyer filed a $750,000 damage suit only days before the first body was found. The suit asked that the police investigating Gacy be stopped from following or questioning him or from searching or confiscating his property without a warrant. Gacy’s lawyer claimed that Gacy couldn’t get a fair trial now because of all the publicity the case has received. The search for more bodies was expected to continue later on this day.
And that’s just a bit of what happened, this December 28, 1978 as reported by The CBS World News Roundup.
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