Week of July 1, 1983
Thousands of Chinese throng bookstores as the first quotations of chairman den
Xiaoping, China’s new “Big Yellow Book,” go on sale, supplanting the late Mao
Tse-tung’s “Little Red Book” as the bible for modern China.
The Supreme Court rules that it is illegal for a company to provide lower
retirement benefits to women employees than to men after both sexes have
made equal contributions toward a retirement or pension plan.
The Supreme Court, without
explanation, fails to decide its
most controversial case this
term - whether millions of
Americans break the law when
they videotape copyrighted
television programs. A San
Francisco appeals court threw
the $3 billion-a-year home video
industry into disarray when it ruled that taping TV programs without permission
violates copyright laws, even if the tapes are replayed only for a family’s personal
use in the privacy of the home.
Federal financial regulators vote to remove interest rate ceilings on most savings
accounts except passbook accounts. It all goes into effect October 1.
Sixth U.S. airline hijacking since May 1 - A successful-looking “all-American guy”
who claimed to have a bomb hijacked an Air Florida jet to Cuba and is arrested
when the plane touched down.
Seven of the first 16 space shuttle astronauts had symptoms of space motion
sickness and NASA says the mysterious malady has “the potential to seriously
reduce the efficiency of shuttle crew members.”
In a Gallup survey - 43% believe acquired immune deficiency syndrome will
become an epidemic.
The FDA approves the use of the artificial sweetener aspartame in soft drinks.
The Mexican government imposes a 41% price hike for corn tortillas and doubles
the price of white bread despite fears that impoverished Mexicans cannot afford
higher costs for staple goods.
