[News compilation: Reagan – DNC – Anchor excerpt – Shelby floods]

This series of news reports covers a variety of stories, including a speech made by Ronald Reagan after the assassination attempt against him, the 1980 Democratic National Convention, Mark Clements being charged with the deaths of four people, and river floods in Shelby, IN.

0:05Copy video clip URL Elizabeth Brackett covers Ronald Reagan’s first speech outside of Washington since the assassination attempt against him. Reagan spoke at the University of Notre Dame, touching on familiar themes of too much government spending and regulation, never mentioning the attempt on his own life. He did, however, mention the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II. Outside, there was a demonstration by the Chicago Religious Task Force on El Salvador, who are pushing for an end to US military aid in the region.

3:19Copy video clip URL This news report covers the 1980 Democratic National Convention, where Jimmy Carter accepted the Democratic nomination. Brackett reports that the minority platform plank calling for a $12 billion job program suddenly passed by a voice vote. She speaks to a long-time Carter supporter who is disappointed by the decision, but he admits that he can’t disagree with the strategy. A big problem for President Carter is angry black delegates, who feel they are being ignored and don’t like any part of the platform.

7:51Copy video clip URL This news segment covers a proposal to tax the sales of stocks and commodities in the city of Chicago. The transaction tax intended to “raise $75 million a year for general city funding and transportation.” The Chicago Mercantile Exchange opposed the proposal and said they would fight the tax and, if necessary, leave Chicago.

8:36Copy video clip URL This report covers the case of 16-year-old Mark Clements who was charged with the deaths of four people who were killed in a fire in the south side. Clements confessed to setting the fire (it should be noted that the confession was coerced, and Clements was eventually found innocent and released from jail in 2009).

9:48Copy video clip URL The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that local governments must treat outpatient clinics which perform abortions the same as medical facilities which do not. The court struck down part of a suburban Oak Lawn ordinance requiring abortion clinics to meet tougher standards.

10:23Copy video clip URL The US Supreme Court decision against drafting women was opposed by members of three anti-draft organizations. Lauren Hughes of Women For Peace says that “the court appears to be implying that there are indeed certain types of work which are not suitable for women”.

11:25Copy video clip URL In this news segment, Brackett reports on the flooding Kankakee River in Shelby, IN. Experts say that the problem has been aggravated by the way the river has been used – pipes bringing excess water away from the nearby farms continued to pump into the already over-flowing river in an effort to save their remaining crops.

14:41Copy video clip URL End of tape.