Way back when: Today in history
BY GENE CURTIS
Sunday, December 09, 2012
12/09/12 at 2:36 AM
1975 - NYC loan signed
A $2.3 billion loan to financially stricken New York City was signed by President Gerald Ford, who said earlier that "New York has bailed itself out." When he announced plans for the loan, Ford said that the state and city had acted to eliminate a projected deficit of $3.95 billion that had been expected June 30, calling that "ample evidence that the city is helping itself." Under the plan, the federal government would make up to $2.3 billion available to the city each fiscal year and the city would have to pay back the loans with interest at 8 percent at the end of each fiscal year before getting additional money.
1985 - Ex-rulers convicted
Five former military rulers in Argentina were convicted of human rights violations and were sentenced to prison for their parts in the "disappearance" of about 9,000 people. Former army commander and ex-President Jorge Videla and former navy commander Emillio Massera were given the stiffest sentences, life in prison. Videla was found guilty of 66 counts of murder, 50 of torture and 106 of kidnapping for his participation in the "dirty war" against left-wing terrorists.
1994 - Surgeon general fired
Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders was fired by President Bill Clinton for saying that school children should be taught about masturbation. White House chief of staff Leon Panetta said there had been many areas in which the president did not agree with her views. Her remarks were made Dec. 1 at a World AIDS Day conference in New York, when she was asked her views on masturbation. Elders, who had been a professor of pediatrics at the University of Arkansas medical school for 26 years before becoming surgeon general, returned to the school to teach and do research.
1999 - Russian diplomat expelled
Russian diplomat Stanislav Gusev, who was seen by U.S. agents near the State Department several months earlier and on a roughly weekly basis later, was expelled from the U.S. Gusev's visits to the area touched off an intense search of America's diplomatic headquarters, where FBI and State Department agents found "an extremely sophisticated device" and listening equipment in his car. The administration said the seriousness of the episode should not be understated.
Associated Images:
Former Argentina President Jorge Rafael Videla. AP file
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