April 22, 1980 – a day where a lot was going on and it was going on everywhere.
Starting with the American Hostage situation in Tehran. In the first visit by a relative of any of the American hostages in Iran, a Wisconsin mother said she hugged and kissed her son Monday during a “small miracle” that brought a reunion inside the U.S. Embassy here. Barbara Timm of Oak Creek, Wis., told reporters here after a five-hour stay in the embassy that she held her son’s hand the entire 45 minutes they were together, she found him in excellent health, and he told her he was “a stronger person” as a result of his 170 days in captivity. She said that her son, Marine Sgt. Kevin Hermening, told her he and several other hostages spend much of their time reading and playing cards. Hermening, 20, is the youngest of the 50 hostages. “I kept telling him how strong he was, and he kept telling me how strong I was,” Timm said as parts of her Tehran news conference were shown through a special satellite transmission on : WISN-TV, an ABC affiliate in Milwaukee. Timm became the first parent of a hostage to have such a visit. She and her husband, Kenneth Timm, who is Hermening’s stepfather and who was not allowed to see his step-son, arrived in Tehran on Saturday. They won approval for Barbara Timm’s visit with Hermening after discussions with the militants who hold the embassy. “I saw Kevin today. We spent 45 minutes together,” Timm said as she began the session with reporters.
Timm said that she gave her son a silver good luck piece that had been given to her by a friend. “There was a lot of hugging, a lot of touching. There were no tears,” she said of the visit. “He told me that he’s now spending his time with several other hostages” and spending much of his time reading and playing cards, she said. He also has / gained two pounds during his captivity. “He wanted to know everything about the family,” Timm said. “He wanted to know everything about sports, how the [Milwaukee) Bucks are doing, how the (Milwaukee] Brewers are doing.” Hermening also talked about the car he wants to buy and about his girlfriend. She said that he knew about Madison speed skater Eric Heiden winning five gold medals at the Winter Olympic Games, but he was “thrilled” to learn that the Oak Creek basketball team had advanced to the Wisconsin public high school basketball tournament.
Timm said that she gave her son a silver good luck piece that had been given to her by a friend. “There was a lot of hugging, a lot of touching. There were no tears” she said of the visit.
Meanwhile – Pensylvanians chose their presidential dates today in a primary election that could mark the beginning of rallies and the virtual end of the line for Edward Kennedy and Republican George Bush. Both down, but both vowing wouldn’t get out, Kennedy and Bush campaigned into election eve in battle to stall the leaders, President Carter and former California Ronald Reagan. Kennedy said he hoped to run although “I think it’s an uphill battle”. White House press secretary Jody Powell said the Pennsylvania primary “pretty tight and tough.” Bush campaigned into primary day with news conferences tailored for television in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. He said that he, better than Reagan, could lead the Republican ticket “to victory from the local to national level” in the fall. “I’ve got a good feeling” about the outcome in Pennsylvania, Bush said, but that a defeat would not prompt to quit the race.
“It has gotten to point where people are saying Reagan has it all wrapped up,” he said. “I believe it.” But Reagan said he was confident capturing a majority of Pennsylvania’s 83 delegate votes at the Republican National Convention. The delegates were chosen separately and were bound by the popular vote. Voter turnout was reported heavy on a sunny, mild election day. Party polling officials in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Wilkes-Barre all said early balloting was surprisingly high, and final turnout of perhaps as much as 50 percent of the state’s estimated 5.1 million registered Democrats and publicans was predicted.
And finally – Two top officials in Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne’s administration, rocked by charges the mob dictated some police department policies, resigned Monday night, saying they no longer trust the mayor. Mayoral aide Bob Saigh said Mrs. Byrne did not ask for the resignations and had no comment. William Griffin, Mrs. Byrne’s chief of staff, and Michael Brady, her legislative liaison, said were quitting immediately because they “no longer possess the trust and confidence in the mayor needed to perform our duties.” The latest charges against the Byrne administration came from former acting Police Superintendent Joseph DiLeonardi and former Deputy Superintendent James Zurawski.
In a late development, it reported in today’s editions of The Chicago Tribune that Stephen McMullen, son of the mayor’s husband and press secretary Jay McMullen, demanded the “punitive transfer” of three police officers after they arrested a mayoral aide during a campaign visit by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass, in early March. The charge apparently comes from one of several items in a diary kept by Zurawski. McMullen’s demand was reportedly made to Police Superintendent Richard Brzeczek on April 14.
McMullen says he dropped the issue and the transfers were never made. Brzeczek was returning to Chicago this afternoon from Florida. He has denied any pressure was placed on him from the alleged “mob dominated” 1st Ward since taking office in January. Brzeczek denied rumors he, too, would tender his resignation to Mrs. Byrne before the week was over.
And while the Hostage situation continued on Tehran, that’s just a little of what happened in the world, this April 212, 1980 as reported by The CBS World News Roundup, Newsbreak with Charles Osgood and The World Tonight.
