Week of August 8, 1987

United Arab emirates - An American operated supertanker carrying Iranian oil

hits an underwater mine in the Gulf of Oman. The blast blew a three-foot-long

hole in the ship’s left side just below the waterline. The ship had taken on a full

load of crude oil from Iran’s Larak Island terminal.

President Reagan accepts full responsibility for the Iran-contra scandal saying he

is “ultimately accountable to the American people” and should not have been

shielded by aides from what was happening.

President Reagan offers a blunt apology for his role in the Iran-contra scandal,

saying, “There’s nothing I can say that will make the situation right.”

The FAA revokes the license of the pilot who flew a small airplane dangerously

close to President Regan’s helicopter as it neared his ranch outside San

Barbara. The Army said the man might be an AWOL soldier.

White House chief of staff Howard Baker Jr. says

he thinks the Iran-contra scandal has been

squeezed for all it’s worth - “the juice is out of the

lemon” and the affair will fade away this fall.

The nation’s merchandise trade deficit soared to

an apparent record $15.7 billion in June as

Americans stepped up a buying spree of imported

goods, the government reported.

The nation’s overall jobless rate fell to 5.9% in

July, the lowest level since December 1979.

WCPO-TV Cincinnati says that Donald Harvey - a

hospital orderly under investigation by a grand jury and already charged with the

cyanide death of one patient has told investigators that he killed as many as 33

other people.

A car-sized boulder fell from an embankment and smashed into a tour bus on a

steep mountain pass in the Colorado Rockies, killing six and injuring 16 others

Wholesale prices rose a modest .2% last month as large jumps for gasoline and

home heating oil were offset by slightly lower food prices, the government

reports.

Week of August 8, 1987

Phillip Habib, presidential envoy to Central America, announces his resignation

as the State Department unveiled a new series of consultations designed to bring

a negotiated end to the fighting in Central America.

Treasure hunters have found the Titanic’s legendary safe and plan to open it

during a live television broadcast. The safe was found on the ocean floor 2 ½

miles below the surface at the titanic site, 350 miles southwest of Newfoundland.

The safe is locked and will be brought to the surface in a few days, then will be

transported to a special laboratory in Paris. In October it will be taken to Monte

Carlo to be opened during the live television broadcast Oct. 28.

Joan Kroc , widow of the McDonald’s fast-food

magnate, announces that she has given the

Democratic Party $1 million - the largest single

contribution in party history (so far).

Technology -

IBM announces experimental transistors that it

said are the smallest in the world and the most

powerful their type IBM said the “field-effect’

transistors could some day make it possible to

forecast weather or recognize human speech on

machines the size of today’s personal computers

instead o giant main-frames.

Sports -

Mark McGuire of the Oakland A’s hits his 38 th

homer at Seattle to tie the major league record for rookies.

A car belonging to the missing wife of former major league pitcher Milt Pappas

was pulled from a shallow pond, nearly five years after she disappeared and a

body was found in the front seat. The pond was four blocks away from where she

lived. Carole Pappas was reported missing on Set. 11, 1982, the day she turned

42. Her 1980 Buick was submerged in nine feet of water; Police said workers

were draining water from the pond to work on the shoreline.

Princeton University football Coach Ron Rogerson died after he suffered a heart

attack while jogging. He was 44.

Radio news -

An administrative law judge at the FCC denies renewal of 14 RKO General radio

and television stations, saying the company’s dishonesty is unprecedented for a

Week of August 8, 1987

broadcaster. The stations include WOR-AM and WRKS-FM New York and

WRKO-Am and WROR-Fm Boston.

Music news -

Mick Jagger’s solo album will be titled “Primitive Cool” and will be released

September 13.

New Musical Express (NME’s) latest cover is “Fooled in the U.S.A. - behind the

public image of Bruce Springsteen.’ It’s about two employees who are suing “the

boss” based on tax penalties on severance bonuses and who were also

wrongfully fined by Springsteen during the course of his “Born in the U.S.A.”

world tour in violation of New Jersey wage and hour laws.

Entertainment news -

Passing - Clara (Where’s the Beef?)

Peller - the feisty TV commercial star.

She was 86. Peller worked as a

manicurist and beautician for 35 years,

but became a media darling when she

appeared in several Wendy’s

Hamburgers commercials in 1984.

HBO this week - “Not Necessarily the

Media” from the Not Necessarily The

News News” team.

Friday night television -

CBS - Summer Playhouse, Dallas, Aderly

NBC - Rags to Riches, Miami Vice, Crime Story, Tonight

ABC - Webster, Mr. Belvedere, Max Headroom, Starman, Nightline

PBS - Washington Week, Wall St. Week

MTV - Club MTV

Nick at Nite - Donna Reed, Mr. Ed, My Three Sons, Private Secretary, Car 54,

Where Are You?, The Monkees, I Spy

Fox - Late Show

Webster - Webster has a kissing game at his party.

Tonight Show - Jay Leno guest hosts with talkshow host Larry King as guest.