This December 27th in 1979 was all about the continuing saga of American hostages in Tehran and the threatened trade embargo which was two votes shy of becoming a reality. President Carter had become personally involved, lobbying countries for unified support. But as we all know now, that wasn't going to happen because of the Presidential elections coming up in 1980 and those "deals" being struck.
However, the odyssey continued. The three Clergymen who visited the hostages on Christmas were scheduled to return to the U.S. on this day, with varying reports of the number of hostages they actually saw. It was also learned that the U.S. had the right to check the visas of Iranian students and deport them if wanted to.
Meanwhile, the Tass News Agency (Soviet Press) reported a coup had taken place in Kabul Afghanistan with reports of Soviet troops involved in street fighting. The agency went on to say the new regime was even more pro-Soviet than the previous one, leading speculation that something of a more sinister nature was afoot.
And to top it all off - economic predictions for the coming decade leaned towards a decline in living standards for the poor living in the U.S. - they neglected to mention if that definition of "poor" also extended to the rapidly vanishing Middle Class just around the corner.
December 27, 1979 as viewed by Stephani Shelton and the CBS Hourly News.
