Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
On this date ...
1973: Special prosecutor Archibald Cox won his first battle in his efforts to obtain President Richard Nixon’s secret Watergate tape recordings, moving the case a step closer to a historic showdown with the U.S. Supreme Court.
Chief U.S. District Court Judge John J. Sirica ruled that Nixon should produce the tapes for Sirica to inspect privately so the judge can determine whether they should be turned over to the Watergate grand jury.
The Western White House said Nixon would not comply with the order and that presidential lawyers were considering an appeal “or how otherwise to maintain the President’s position.” Sirica gave Nixon five days to appeal.
The White House noted one course open to the president would be to ignore the order, but it would be inviting a contempt citation.
— The state highway department was scheduled to open bids Sept. 21 on $8.2 million in projects, including 6.4 miles of Interstate 40 starting at a point two miles east of San Jon.
— A group of gasoline retailers made an emergency appeal to U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger to block the imposition of price controls. Dealers warned many service stations might shut down Labor Day weekend due to those controls.
— The Odeon Theatre was showing a musical adaptation of “Tom Sawyer,” plus a late-night screening of “Popcorn,” a rock ’n’ roll movie starring the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding, Joe Cocker, Traffic and others.
— California Angels pitcher Nolan Ryan came breathtakingly close to pitching an unprecedented third no-hitter this season. He threw a one-hitter during a 5-0 victory against the New York Yankees and has totaled 314 strikeouts on the season.