February 9, 1961: Kennedy Calls for School Integration, Supports NATO, Awaits Data on 'Missile Gap' and Confers on Laos; Brit Wants Red China in UN

"President Kennedy said today that both the Constitution and public opinion demanded the admission of children to public schools 'regardless of their race,'" the New York Times reports on this day in 1961.

"President Kennedy pledged the United States today to unstinting and expanding support of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization," the New York Times reports.

"The Administration has come to no conclusion on the 'missile gap,' President Kennedy said today," the New York Times reports.

"Britain's Foreign Secretary declared today that the facts of international life required Communist China's entry into the United Nations," the Times reports.

"Possible steps to meet the crisis in Laos were studied today at a two-hour conference of President Kennedy and his top advisers," the Times reports.

February 8, 1961: White House Backs Missile Gap, Soviet Spy in London, $1 Minimum Wage May Get Boost

"The White House branded as inaccurate today reports that the Kennedy Administration had tentatively concluded that there was no 'missile gap' favoring the Soviet Union," the New York Times reports on this day in 1961.

"Britain's Attorney General charged today that the Soviet spy system had sent secrets of anti-submarine devices from a bungalow in a suburb of London to Moscow," the New York Times reports.

"President Kennedy called on Congress today for prompt action to increase the national minimum wage from $1 to $1.25 an hour and to extend the protection to 4,300,000 workers," the Times reports.

February 7, 1961: No Missile Gap, US To Help Latin American Nations, Safe Cigarettes Proposed

"Studies made by the Kennedy Administration since Inauguration Day show tentatively that no 'missile gap' exists in favor of the Soviet Union," the New York Times reports on this day in 1961.

"The conclusion appeared to back the views of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who told Congress last month that the missile gap 'shows every sign' of being a fiction."

"Secretary of State Dean Rusk said today that the United States was ready to cooperate with other American states in ending tyranny in the hemisphere, whether that tyranny is of the Left or Right," the Times reports.

"A new theory on how cigarette smoking may be associated with lung cancer has been proposed by a General Electric Research Laboratory physicist. According to an article in the Jan. 21 issue of Nature, a British scientific journal, the glowing tip of a cigarette generates a cloud of electrically charged particles. The particles, when inhaled, may be the materials that change normal tissues to cancerous tissues. If this is true, it was suggested by Dr. Kenneth H. Kingdon, the author, the effect could be 'completely suppressed' by smoking cigarettes that were enclosed in a metallic screen," the New York Times reports.

February 6, 1961: Rioting in Angola, Cuba Controls Water for US Base, No 'Super-Cabinet' for White House

"Rioting broke out today in Luanda, capital of Angola, and four persons were killed and seven wounded, the Portuguese press agency Lusitania reported," the New York Times reports on this day in 1961.

"The Cuban Government seized yesterday the aqueduct that supplies water to the United States naval base at Guantanamo Bay. So far the water supply is said to be normal," the Times reports.

"The President needs more help formulating security policy, a Senate sub-ccommittee said today. But he will not get it by creating 'super-Cabinet' positions in the White House, the Senators said," the Times reports.

February 5, 1961: Soviets Put 'Huge Earth Satellite' Into Orbit, Warn US

February 5, 1961: Soviets Put 'Huge Earth Satellite' Into Orbit, Warn US

"The Soviet Union has accepted the United States request for a six-week postponement
"The Soviet Union announced today it had put into orbit a huge earth satellite weighing more than seven tons. An 'improved, multi-stage rocket' hurled the satellite into space, the announcement said. There was no indication that anything living was aboard the satellite, the heaviest object man has ever put into orbit," the Times reports.

"The Soviet Union warned President Kennedy today that he had taken the first steps toward an expansion of the arms race," the Times reports.

"In an abrupt departure from the circumspect attitude heretofore maintained publicly toward the Kennedy Administration, Moscow complained that the United States President had evoked 'irksome echoes of the cold war' in his State of the Union Message."

"American auto manufacturers are getting ready to offer the public new economy cars for 1962 with more zip, greater comfort and higher styling than the current crop of compacts," the Times reports.

February 4, 1961: Kennedy Confers on Laos, Wants 'Federalized' Laos; Ted Kennedy Launches Career

"President Kennedy received a first-hand report today on the situation in Laos from Ambassador Winthrop G. Brown," the New York Times reports on this day in 1961.

"The Ambassador was called to Washington from his post in Vientiane to participate in a comprehensive high-level review of major problems facing the United States in Asia," the paper reports.

"The Kennedy Administration is convinced that a new 'federalized' government in the Congo, embracing the leaders of all the factions, offers the only hope of preventing that nation from sliding from chaos into civil war," the Times reports.

"The youngest of the Kennedy brothers, Edward M. (Ted) Kennedy, is expected to launch his own political career Monday as an assistant district attorney here [Boston]," the Times reports. "But everyone concerned, including the 28-year-old Ted, as he is best known, is keeping official silence."

February 3, 1961: Pentagon Prepares to Meet Limited-War Scenarios

"The Pentagon has placed orders for fifty-three military cargo and troop transport planes for a speedy build-up of the long-range airlift. The purpose is to give the United States forces mobility to meet limited-war situations anywhere in the world," the New York Times reports on this day in 1961.

February 2, 1961: Kennedy Agrees to 1964 Debate, Hammarskjold Wants New Powers, Minuteman 'Spectacular Success'

"President Kennedy declared today his willingness to engage in a televised debate with a contender for his office in 1964," the New York Times reported on this day in 1961.

"President Kennedy said today that the United States' position in critical world trouble spots 'is less satisfactory than it was last fall," the Times reported today.

United Nations "Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold asked the Security Council today to widen his powers in the Congo so that he might stop factional fighting among politically motivated groups of the Congolese Army," the Times reports.

"CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Feb. 1 -- The three-stage Minuteman, intended to become the Air Force's No. 1 weapon, was fired for the first time here today and scored a spectacular success. The test shot of the intercontinental ballistic missile was probably the most ambitious in the nation's missile program."

"A gap in the nation's satellite-detection fence will be plugged this year by the construction of one of the world's largest radio transmitters," the Times reports.

February 1, 1961: Chimp and Spy Satellite in Space

"CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Jan. 31 -- A male chimpanzee nicknamed "Ham" was rocketed 420 miles over the Caribbean today in a test of the Mercury capsule that is scheduled to carry a human astronaut into orbit," the New York Times reported on this day in 1961. "The thirty-seven pound ape was in good condition when a helicopter pulled the capsule from the water almost three hours after the launching."

"POINT ARGUELLO, Calif., Jan 31 -- The United States fired a Samos reconnaissance satellite into polar orbit today. The vehicle, an experimental version called Samos II, is designed to perform photographic missions once done by U-2 aircraft," the New York Times reported today. "Samos II is not a full-fledged substitute for the U-2, but within two years the United States plans to have a network of such satellites photographing parts of the globe."

January 31, 1961: Kennedy Wants More for Defense, Computers 'Come of Age'

"President Kennedy challenged Congress and the nation today to face up to grave perils abroad and a worsening economic recession at home. In his first State of the Union Message, given before a joint session of Congress, he called for executive and legislative actions to strengthen the national defenses to avert big and little wars and to spur the lagging economy," the New York Times reported on this day in 1961.

"President Kennedy's State of the Union Message today pictured the problems of the United States and the world as much more ominous and urgent than did former President Dwight D. Eisenhower's message to Congress eighteen days ago," the Times reports in another story.

"Mr. Eisenhower said grave problems lay ahead and there was no room for complacency. But the tenor of his message was that he was leaving the country in sound shape. He said: 'We have carried America to unprecedented heights.'

"But Mr. Kennedy said the American economy was in trouble and needed bolstering immediately. As for the Communist threat, he said, there will be worse news before there is better news, the tide is running now against this country and the free world, 'but turn it we must.' He said he spoke in an 'hour of national peril and national opportunity.'"

In another story, the Times reports, "Digital computers, the so-called electronic brains, have 'come of age' in masterminding industrial production processes, according to a report given yesterday at the winter meeting of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. Last year saw a rapid expansion of the use of digital computers in industrial process control, Gerhard L. Hollander said in giving a report on '1960 Computer Progress' compiled by a unit of the institute."

January 30, 1961: Congo Policy Examined, JFK Urged to Cut Funds for Schools That Discriminate

"President Kennedy has ordered the State Department to re-examine United States policies in the Congo and to recommend changes," the New York Times reports on this day in 1961

"A week-long pursuit of the rebel-held Portuguese liner Santa Maria will come to a conclusion later today when a United States admiral boards her near this port to negotiate the removal of the more than 560 passengers," the Times reports.

"Ruanda, northern half of the territory of Ruanda-Urundi, which Belgium operates as a United Nations Trusteeship, has declared itself an independent republic," the Times reports.

"The Southern Regional Council has urged President Kennedy to adopt a sweeping program of executive action in the civil-rights field," the Times reports.

"Representative Adam Clayton Powell Jr. demanded last night that his long-pending proposal to bar Federal funds to schools discriminating against Negroes be adopted now either through legislation or 'Executive order of the White House,'" the Times reports.

January 29, 1961: Communes in China, Peace Corps Tested, Oval Office Fix-up and Sit-ins Spread

"Communist China has substantially modified its system of 'peoples' communes' and slowed down its 'great leap forward' in industry in the wake of severe agricultural reverses last year," the New York Times reports on this day in 1961.

"The Government announced today it planned to send 150 young teachers to Africa this year. The plan is regarded as an experiment to test the practicality of the Administration's proposed 'peace corps' program. This program would send young Americans, primarily teachers and technicians, into under-developed countries to help them attack their most pressing economic, educational and health problems," the New York Times reports.

"White House maintenance crews moved into President Kennedy's Executive Office today for a quick weekend painting and renovation job. When it is reassembled next week, the oval=shaped office will resemble more of a New England sitting room, a warmer and more hospitable atmosphere than the austere formality of the office as it was furnished previously," the New York Times reports.

"The Negro lunch-counter demonstrations that began a year ago next Wednesday have grown into a national protest movement against many forms of discrimination. The sit-ins continue today in cities like Atlanta, where merchants have refused to desegregate eating facilities. But the lowering of racial barriers at lunch counters in more than 125 Southern communities has led the students and their adult supporters to turn to other fields of protest," the Times reports.

January 28, 1961: Navy to Free Ship Captives, Kennedy Tones Down Military's Rhetoric

"The United States Navy has apparently persuaded the captors of the Portuguese liner Santa Maria to release the 560 passengers on this side of the Atlantic, probably at a South American port," the New York Times reported today.

"The Kennedy Administration indicated today that it was not irrevocably opposed to summit meetings," the Times reported today.

"Two United States Air Force officers, held prisoner without trial by the Soviet Union for nearly seven months, came home today and were greeted by President Kennedy."

"The Kennedy Administration has ordered stiff controls on 'tough' policy speeches or other 'inadvisable' statements by generals and admirals. The first to be affected is Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, Chief of Naval Operations," the New York Times reported today.

January 27, 1961: Downed Airmen to be Welcomed, Hammarskjold Warning on Congo

"President Kennedy will welcome the two American airmen just released from a Soviet prison when they return to the United States tomorrow," the New York Times reported today.

"[U.N.] Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold told the Security Council today that it might be necessary to remove the United Nations force from the Congo because of the withdrawal of some Asian and African military contingents," the Times reported today.

January 26, 1961: Moscow Releases US Fliers, Captured Ship Found

"President Kennedy announced tonight that the Soviet Union had released two United States airmen shot down in an RB-47 reconnaissance plane over the Barents Sea and held prisoner since July 1," the New York Times reported today.

"The captured Portuguese passenger liner Santa Maria was found far out in the Atlantic yesterday by a United States Navy patrol plane. Her captors told the Navy pilot by radio that she was bound for the Portuguese West African colony of Angola," the Times reports.

January 25, 1961: Search for Portuguese Ship Continues, Woman is White House Doc

"An intense search by sea and air continued early today along the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies for the seized Portuguese liner Santa Maria. The United States and British vessels and planes engaged had been concentrating their search along the Windward Islands above and below St. Lucia, where the Santa Maria last was sighted at 10 A.M. Monday," the New York Times reported today.

"President Picks Woman Doctor, First to Serve the White House," according to a front page headline in today's New York Times.

January 24, 1961: Portuguese Ship Siezed

"A group of passengers seized control of a large Portuguese cruise ship in a gun and grenade battle in the Caribbean yesterday morning," The New York Times reported today. "Responding to pleas from the Protuguese Government, United States and British warships immediately began a search for the captured vessel. Led allegedly by a prominent political foe of Portugal's Premier Antonio de Oliverio Salazar, the band of conspirators among the ship's 600 passengers was said to have taken command of the ship in a battle in which one officer was killed and several wounded. There are 300 in the crew."

"A 5-4 majority of the Supreme Court upheld today the constitutionality of state and local movie censorship. The court held that cities and states may require a censor's permit before a film may be shown," the New York Times reported today.

January 23, 1961: Arms Supplies in Congo, Prominent Puerto Rican

From the Congo: "Six trucks with arms were reliably reported today to have arrived ar Aro, a town close to the Congo's frontier with the Sudan. The convoy is considered here to be the first hard evidence of surface supplies from outside for the forces supporting Patrice Lumumba, imprisoned former Premier," the New York Times reported today.

"KENNEDY MAY OFFER JOB TO PUERTO RICAN," says a headline in today's edition on the NY Times.

January 22, 1960: President Said to be 'Busy'

The sub-head on the lead story in today's New York Times is "PRESIDENT IS BUSY"

The lede is: "President Kennedy and his new Administration went to work today."

In other news, "The Chinese Communist party today declared the United States 'the main enemy of the peoples of the world.' At the same time it reaffirmed its belief that a world war could be avoided."

"Mrs. John F. Kennedy disclosed today her plans for redecorating the White House. She said she planned to have the walls of the Presidential apartment done in pastel tones. She also is selecting draperies -- probably gay English and French chintzes -- and rugs.

January 21, 1962: Kennedy Sworn In

The banner headline in today's New York Times:

KENNEDY SWORN IN, ASKS 'GLOBAL ALLIANCE' AGAINST TYRANNY, WANT, DISEASE AND WAR; REPUBLICANS AND DIPLOMATS HAIL ADDRESS

The lead story begins: "John Fitzgerald Kennedy assumed the Presidency today with a call for 'a grand and global alliance' to combat tyranny, poverty, disease and war.

"In his Inaugural Address, he served notice on the world that the United States was ready to 'pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty."

In another front-page story it is reported from Havana that "Premier Fidel Castro said tonight that the Cuban Government would 'begin anew' in its relations with the United States

"The Premier stressed, however, that Cuba would hold the United States responsible for improving relations between the countries."

January 20, 1961: Castro 'Hate Campaign,' Kennedy Official Opposes Red China in UN

"Premier Fidel Castro's Government stepped up its hate campaign against 'United States imperialism' today," the New York Times reports.

"As the United States prepared to inaugurate a new President, the Castro regime announced the arrest of six more 'Yankee invaders' and promulgated a new series of anti-United States decrees."

"Chester Bowles, President-elect John F. Kennedy's choice for Under Secretary of State, opposed vigorously today formal recognition of Communist China or its entry into the United Nations," the Times reports.

"The Government authorized the American Telephone and Telegraph Company today to establish the first space communications link between the United States and Europe on an experimental basis," the Times reports.

"The action by the Federal Communications Commission clears the way for the company to launch a series of experimental communications satellites capable of relaying telephone calls, television programs and other messages across the Atlantic."

January 19, 1961: SAC Bombers Fly Around-The-Clock

"The Strategic Air Command began flying some of its heavy bombers on an around-the-clock basis today in the second stage of a plan to make possible as airborne alert. In such an alert, a certain number of nuclear-armed bombers wold be constantly in the air, ready to retaliate in the event of an attack," the New York Times reports. "Heretofore, the Strategic Air Command headquarters at Offut Air Base, near Omaaha, Beb., has been conducting 'feasibility studies' at various bases.... President Eisenhower referred to the plan in his Budget Message, in which he stressed the threat of a ballistic missile attack."

"Gov. S. Ernest Vandiver urged tonight a retreat from Georgia's policy of massive resistance to public school desegregation rulings of the Federal courts. The Governor asked the Legislature to adopt a package plan that would allow communities to decide whether to close their schools or obey the courts," the New York Times reports.

"Adlai E. Stevenson told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today that the United States would have to face the possibility of Communist China's admission into the United Nations. He denied that he ehad ever advocated Peiping's entrance into the international body, but he said that it might be 'impossible to prevent," the New York Times reports.

January 17: US Restricts Travel To Cuba, Soviets Warn US is Broadening Conflict in Laos

"The United States announced today limitations on the travel of Americans to Cuba," the New York Times reported on this day in 1960. "The State Department said that United States citizens desiring to travel to Cuba must until further notice, obtain passports 'specifically endorsed by the Department of State for such travel.'"

"The Soviet Union told the United States today that it was risking a broadening of the conflict in Laos by bolstering the Government's forces with military aircraft. The warning was contained in a protest against the United States' transfer of four AT6 military training planes to the Vietiane Government," the Times reports.

"The Algerian nationalist Provisional Government announced today its readiness 'to begin negotiations with the French Government on conditions of a free consultation of the Algerian people.' 'Free consultation' was taken to mean a referendum to determine Algeria's political future," the Times reports.

"Two Negroes attended classes without incident today at the University of Georgia. Their re-entry marked the second day of desegregation in the state's public education system," the Times reports.

"The Eisenhower Administration has authorized the Navy to install Polaris ballistic missiles aboard the nuclear-powered cruiser Long Beach. This would be the first installation of the Navy's prize nuclear weapon aboard a surface warship," the Times reports. "Informants say the Long Beach will carry eight Polarises, compared with normal complements of sixteen on submarines, for which the weapon was originally designed.

January 18, 1961: Eisenhower Farewell Warning, US 'Uneasy' Over Congo, Laos Wants French Out

"President Eisenhower cautioned the nation in a farewell address from the White House tonight to be vigilant against dangers to its liberties implicit in a vast military establishment and a permanent armaments industry unparalleled in peacetime," the New York Times reports.

"The United States is becoming increasingly uneasy over the trend in the Congo and the performance of the United Nations there," the Times reports. "It seems certain that the Kennedy Administration which assumes its responsibilities Friday, will be told by its political and military advisers that it must act quickly to redress a bad situation."

"The Laotian Government of Premier Boun Oum has demanded that some French advisers be withdrawn from the country," the Times reports. ... "The Laotian-French dispute has complicated the already complex situation in Laos and has contributed to the inability of the Allied powers to arrive at a unified stand, diplomats acknowledge. ... withdrawal of the French would imperil the existence of the small United States Military Advisory Group in Laos. This group, it was said, is in Laos only uner agreement with the French, ostensibly to instruct the Laotian Army in the use of arms and equipment supplied by the United States."

January 16, 1961: Recognition of Red China Urged

A group of prominent scientists, business men, educators and technicians agreed here [Harriman, N.Y.] today that it was in the interests of world peace that Communist China be drawn closer into the international community of nations," the New York Times reported today.

"The group also agreed such a move should lead to diplomatic recognition of Communist China by the United States and other nations and the assumption of full participation and responsibilities by Communist China in the United Nations."

In companion story today the Times reports, "W. Averell Harriman, designated as ambassador-at-large by President-elect John F. Kennedy, questioned whether Communist China wanted to be recognized by the United States. The former Governor and Ambassador to the Soviet Union told a panel on a taped interview over radio station WOR that nevertheless, 'sooner or later the majority of the U.N. members are going to vote to admit Red China.' ... Mr. Harriman said that several times he had attempted to gain entry into Red China but had been turned down."

January 15, 1961: Catholic Church in Cuba Fights Communism

The Roman Catholic Church in Cuba has called upon all Christians in the country to form a united front in fighting communism," the New York Times reports today.

"President-elect John F. Kennedy is considering a lengthy postponement of the nuclear weapons test negotiations with the Soviet Union. They are due to be resumed in Geneva Feb. 7," the Times reports.

"President-elect John F. Kennedy was briefed today by Vice President-elect Lyndon B. Johnson on a missile believed to have been shot into the Pacific by the Soviet Union last night," the Times reports.

January 14, 1961: Negro Student Ordered Re-admitted in Georgia

"Federal District Judge William A. Bootle directed University of Georgia officials today to reinstate the institution's first Negro students," the New York Times reported today.

"Europeans and Congolese opposed to Patrice Lumumba, the deposed Premier [in the Congo] fled in near panic today following rumors that he had been freed from imprisonment," the Times reported.

"A mood of depression and insecurity is becoming increasingly evident among the European settlers in Algeria. Muslim and small businesses are showing the most pronounced signs of the uncertainty that has overtaken the European community since the dramatic days of President de Gaulle's visit to Algeria last month and the decisive support given him by continental France in a referendum on the future of the strife-torn territory," the Times reports.

"Exile sources [in Miami] said today that military resistance to Premier Fidel Castro inside Cuba was growing rapidly," the Times reports.

January 13, 1961: US Planes Used in Laos Fighting, TV Network Pulls Kennedy Comedy Sketch

"Planes transferred by the United States to Laos and flown by Laotians have strafed and fired rockets at rebel forces the last two days," the New York Times reports today. "The planes, four T-6s, were given under the United States military assistance program, ostensibly for observation. They have concentrated their attacks against the Left-Wing troops of Capt. Kong Le and pro-Communist Pathet Lao guerrillas in the Vicinity of Vang Vieng, sixty-five miles north of here [Vientiane]on the road to Luang Prabang."

"An eight-minute comedy sketch about President-elect John F. Kennedy and his wife, which as to be televised on 'The Art Carney Show,' has been deleted by order of the National Broadcasting Company," The New York Times reported on this day in 1960.

"Mr. Carney and Lee Remick had been scheduled to portray Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy. The setting for the sketch would have been the White House after the inauguration. ... In confirming that N.B.C. had deleted the sketch, a spokesman for the company said: 'We have never shied away from spoofing political figures but we thought it would have been improper to have performers actually portraying the President and his wife. Our decision was based on a matter of good taste.'"

January 12, 1961: A Hat Makes the Man

"You look more of a man with a hat on, and the men who run things have a deeply ingrained executive habit of reserving responsible jobs for those young men who look mature enough to handle them. They may be right, or they may be wrong, but there's no denying that they're in charge. So it pays to humor them. Most business executives we've talked to prefer to hire men who wear hats.

"A little friendly advice to young men in a hurry, published in the selfish interests of the hat industry by the Hat Corporation of America, 530 Fifth Avenue, New York 36, New York."

January 11, 1961: US Lags in Space, Soviets Don't Want War in Laos, Negroes Suspended For Their Safety

A task force today warned President-elect Kennedy that the United States was behind the Soviets missile development and outer-space exploration and said it was "very unlikely that we shall be the first in placing a man into orbit around the earth."

The Soviet Union has indicated to U.S. officials that it does not want to go to war with the U.S. over Laos.

Hundreds of students rioted this evening at the University of Georgia. university officials suspended the two Negro students who were targets of the demonstration for their safety until "it is safe and practical for them to return."

James Reston in his column today called President-elect Kennedy's plans to hold live television news conferences "the goofiest idea since the hula hoop."

January 10, 1961: Business Automates

"The country's retail stores are going in more and more for automatic handling of their work, from the receiving and selling of merchandise to the handling of billings and payments, along with salaries, payments to vendors and other disbursements," the New York Times reports on this day in 1960.

January 9, 1961: Computers Gain

"Electronics -- virtually untouched by the general business recession last year -- was fifth among the nation's industries. ... 'Most people -- even business men -- do not realize that the electronics industry is the nation's fifth-largest. It could become first in size in the next ten years,'" Commerce Secretary Frederick H. Mueller told a banging group, according to a report in today's edition on the New York Times.

According to another story in today's paper, "Computers and their related electronic data-processing devices became the United States' newest billion-dollar industry last year. ... Computers calcuclate the exact launching time for missiles and space satellites, hastened the automation of factories as well as offices and became standard equipment for tabulating ballots in national and other elections. ... Still on the drawing board at the end of last year were new computer systems that eventually will go into the home for the first time. These systems will enable a housewife to cook a meal, make beds and open or close windows by pushing a few buttons."

In a story from Concord, Mass.: "The application of electronics to plant cafeterias has been put in operation by the Raytheon Company at Nuclear Metals, Inc., in this town. Meals prepared by an outside commissary, frozen and served refrigerated, are re-heated by plant workers in Radarange microwave ovens in sixty seconds. ... These microwave components operate at 2,450 megacycles -- about 5,000 times higher than radio broadcasting frequencies. The energy is converted into heat when it is absorbed by food. Radaranges already are in operation in a number of restaurants."

January 8, 1961: French Voters Endorse Algerian Independence

In France, voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum endorsing President de Gaulle's Algeria policy that would give the country provisional autonomy pending ultimate self determination. In Algeria as many as 40 percent of Moslem voters abstained from the vote, casting doubt on the president's mandate in Algeria.

Tensions ran high over the weekend as the country prepared for a predicted invasion by the United States.

January 7, 1961: Cuba Says it Seized US Airdrops to Anti-Castro Forces

Cuba seized two airdrops of munitions for rebels, according to reports today in Havana. The airdrops, one by an American plane, were intended for rebel forces. One of the airdrops was near Trinidad. It contained 61 rifles, three bazookas, two mortars, six machine guns and ammunition. [Trinidad is the where the CIA plans to land the rebels it is training in Guatemala, who are to meet up with opposition forces on the island.]

The US today urged other countries to join its bid to "support and maintain the independence of Laos through whatever measures seem most promising."

Thermostats are now used in 24 million US homes to control heat, according to a report.

Under the headline, "Large-Scale Suburban Development Transforms an Entire Area," The New York Times reports, "In the wake of widespread residential development it is not unusual for a small community to find itself lifted from generations of quiet vegetation almost overnight, as new commercial enterprises spring up along the highways, as industrial plants are lured by a growing labor poll and added utilities and as municipal services are increased to meet the rising need for them."

January 6, 1961: Nixon Farewell

In Congress, Vice President Nixon declared John F. Kennedy the next president and made this statement:

"In our campaigns, no matter how hard fought they may be, no matter how close the election may turn out to be, those who lose accept the verdict, and support those who win. And I would like to say that, having served now in government for fourteen years, a period which began in the House just fourteen years ago, almost to the day, which continued with two years in the Senate and eight years as Vice President, as I complete that fourteen-year period it is indeed a very great honor to me to extend to my colleagues in the House and Senate on both sides of the aisle who have been elected; to extend to John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, who have been elected President and Vice President of the United States, my heartfelt best wishes, and to extend you those best wishes as all of you work in a cause that is bigger than any man's ambition, greater than any party. It is the cause of freedom, of justice, and peace for all mankind. It is in that spirit that I now declare that John F. Kennedy has been elected President of the United States and Lyndon B. Johnson Vice President of the United States."

January 5, 1961: US Breaks Relations with Cuba

President Eisenhower, in the waning days of his administrations, broke US diplomatic relations with Cuba. The president said Fidel Castro's behavior had "reached the limit" of what "The United States in self-respect can endure." James Reston wrote that Eisenhower "told off his tormentors and slammed the door on his way out. It was a grand exit which made the pictures dance on the wall and rattled old Fidel's back teeth, and this country obviously loved it."

January 4, 1961: State Department Details Soviet Intervention in Laos, Sulzberger Analyzes Split Response

The State Department had detailed the extent of Soviet aid to rebels in Laos in a new report. Between Dec. 15 and Jan. 2 there were as many as 21 flights a day by the Soviets and North Vietnam over Loas, the report said.

In his column in the New York Times on this day in 1961, C.L. Sulzberger writes: "The real crisis exposed by the Laotian civil war is a crisis in Allied relationships. ONce again we are faced with the uncomfortable fact that Washington, London and Paris have never agreed on a common oriental diplomatic front.

"The Big Three, who dominate SEATO, are in thorough discord on Laos today ... Today ... Britain and France favor compromise and the establishment of a coalition, neutralist government in Laos. They argue that SEATO intervention would formalize guerrilla war. The French and the British have had sad experience with such Asian wars. France lost a disastrous campaign in Vietnam. Britain took ten years to stamp out guerrillas in Malaya, which has no Communist-bloc frontier. British experts reckon formalized guerrilla war in Laos might last another decade....

"London and Paris feel Washington is too inclined to take a tough line without realizing where that line may lead. We, on the other hand, fear that collapse in Laos also would mean ultimate loss of all Southeast Asia and only toughness can prevent this."

January 3, 1961: US Making Preparations to Meet Crisis in Laos

It was reported today that the US is making preparations to meet the crisis in Laos. "President Eisenhower approved the measures to 'increase the readiness' and the 'airlift capability' of United States forces in the Pacific" and held "an unusual New Year's holiday conference at the White House," the New York Times reported in its lead story, which ran under the subhead, "White House Meeting Considers Steps to Bar War."

Other headlines on this day in 1961:

"Laotian Aide Says Chinese Reds Helped Attack by Leftist Force"

"London Bids U.S. Back Laos Panel; Asks Resuming of 3-Nation Control Commission"

"French Warships Going to Algeria; Navy Units Carrying 6,000 Troops Will Sail Tomorrow for Tense Oran Region"

"Belgium Makes Peace Bid As Strikers Set Showdown"

"UN Chief Scores Belgians for Aid To Congo Troops"

"Castro Tells U.S. Staff in Embassy Must Be Slashed"

January 2, 1961: Rebels Advance in Laos, US Shows Off New Portable A-bomb

"Rebels Advancing in Laos; US Urges SEATO Session on Intervention by Reds," was the lead headline in today's New York Times. The story reported that Communist forces had captured Phongsaly and the Central Plain, including a airstrip.

In other news reported today, the UN set a hearing on Cuba's charge that the US planned to attack the island nation imminently. The White House has recently denied similar reports.

Papers also reported today that President-elect Kennedy sent a message of hope to the Soviet Union. The note expressed his hope that "in the coming months relations between our tow great countries will be marked by goodwill and a common desire for peace."

There was also a report today that the Army had a new, portable A-bomb rocket: "the Army made public today details of the Davy Crockett rocket, designed to provide the foot soldier with a highly mobile weapon equal in fire-power to massed heavy artillery.

"It can be fired from a launcher on a Jeep. A smaller version of the Davy Crockett can be carried by one man.

"The army also released the first picture of the rocket, which can hurl nuclear or conventional warheads across battle lines at ranges no greater than those of conventional artillery.

"The picture disclosed a gun barrel roughly five or six feet long topped by a blunt-headed bomb about thrity inches long and equipped with aerodynamic fins.

"The barrel is used as a recoilless rifle. Two explosions are set off simultaneously in the barrel to fire the warhead in one direction and offset the effects of recoil in the other

"Wilber M. Brucker, Secretary of the Army, said that the weapon 'dwarfs in firepower anything we have ever known in the immediate are of the battle line."

January 1, 1961: Laos Analysis

This day in 1960 is a Sunday and an analysis of week's developments in Laos appears in the New York Times:

Communist intervention in strategic Laos has risen in recent weeks and there are no signs of an imminent tapering off. Indeed, if the volume of Communist propaganda against the new pro-Western Government of Prince Boun Oumand the efforts the Communist block is making to marshal international opinion against the regime and nations friendly to it represent any test, the Communist drive against Laos is entering a new and dangerous phase.

"The situation at the moment in Laos, as a result of these Communist moves, is the most critical one in East Asia. Many observers in this part of the world fear that the war in Laos, which heretofore has been limited to Laotians fighting under the generally misunderstood labels of pro-Westerners and pro-Communists, may spread to include foreign forces actually representing the two conflicting world power blocs. Indeed, Laos charged yesterday that North Vietnamese troops had crossed the border.

"The plight of Laos, most of whose 2,000,000 inhabitants want no part of the Western or Communist bloc and ask only to be left alone to follow their ancient, slow-paced way of life, grows out of the country's strategic position. With a pro-Communist Government, Laos cold be a staging area for greatly increased Communist guerrilla activity in South Vietnam, would enable the Communist to launch long-delayed terrorist moves against Thailand and would make it possible for the Communists to exert possibly overwhelming pressure against neutralist Cambodia.

"From the Western standpoint a pro-Western Government in Laos makes it impossible for pro-Co0mmunists to use the country as a corridor for large-scale movements of arms and personnel, although the lack of population in its rugged eastern mountains and the absence of communications will always allow considerable freedom of movement to small bands.

"A clue to the method the Communist bloc will use in pushing its aims in Laos is the insistence of the Soviet Union, Communist China and North Vietnam that the only legal Government of Laos is that of the neutralist Prince Souvanna Phouma, who became Premier last August and who fled with the bulk of his Cabinet to Cambodia Dec. 9.

December 31, 1960: US Warns Reds on Laos

The U.S. State Department today warned the Reds in China and North Vietnam not to support the Communist rebels in Laos. A spokesman said the US would take "the most serious view" of intervention. The invasion comes after weeks of Soviet help for the rebels in Laos. The Soviets have dropped supplies to the fighters. An American plan observing the operation was fired on. US officials think Vietnamese soldiers accompanied some Soviet shipments of howitzers.

In Moscow Premier Khrushchev extended an olive branch to the incoming Kennedy administration. Khrushchev said he would drop the U-2 spy plane issue that had been such a bone of contention with the US.

December 30, 1960: Vietnam Invades Laos, UN Help Sought

Troops from Communist North Vietnam have invaded Laos, the Laotian government said. Communist China may have also sent troops. Laos asked for assistance from the United Nations to repel the attackers. About 2,000 troops from North Vietnam are believed to have crossed the border into Northern Laos.

In Belgium, violence escalated. One striker was killed and three wounded. Rioters smashed the windows of the Sabena Airlines terminal in downtown Brussels.

About 300 Negro sharecroppers in Tennessee fighting eviction received a temporary order from a court allowing them to stay on the farm where they work as their legal battle continues.

President-elect Kennedy's decision to appoint McGeorge Bundy as his national security advisor is "completely incredible," Massachusetts Governor Foster Furcolo said today. Bundy, he said, is "completely unqualified."

December 29, 1960: Red China Farm Crisis

In Red China, half of all farm land had been crippled by drought, floods, typhoons, hailstorms, frost, inspects or plant diseases, Peiping said.

In California, a group of writers and actors is suing the major movie companies for having political blacklists of people considered subversive.

Private enterprise will be allowed to develop and use satellites for communications, the Eisenhower administration has decided. The incoming Kennedy administration is undecided about whether it will continue the policy.

In Brussels, King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola returned home today as violence continued. Socialists are leading a strike against the government over austerity measures.

T.S. Eliot, the prize-winning poet, said contemporary poetry should not be studied formally in school, only poetry of the past.

December 28, 1960: Britain and France Favor Coalition Government in Laos, Creating Split with U.S.

The U.S. and two of its allies are split over how to respond to events in Laos, according to a report being prepared for publication in tomorrow's New York Times. Britain and France support a role for the Left and Neutralists in the government, according to the report. The U.S. opposes a coalition government. Meanwhile, Communist China said in a letter released today that the situation in Laos had "developed to extremely serious proportions" and that China would "have to consider taking measures to safeguard its own security." In another development, the shots that hit a U.S. plane over Laos may have been from the ground, not a Soviet plane, according to officials in Washington.

Jews living outside Israel are godless and violated the precepts of their religion, Israeli Premier David Ben-Gurion said today. "Since the day when the Jewish state was established and the gates of Israel were flung open to every Jew who wanted to come, every religious Jew has daily violated the precepts of Judaism and the Torah of Israel by remaining the the Diaspora," he said.

In Brussels there were clashes between police and demonstrators today. It was the tenth day of a widespread strike against a government austerity program.

December 27, 1960: Reds Fire at US Plane over Laos

A Soviet plane supplying Communist rebels in Laos today fired on a U.S. Embassy aircraft observing the operation. An embassy spokesman said the machine gun fire "knocked out one engine and tore several holes in the fuselage." There were no injuries.

Yugoslavia said today it would enact monetary reforms to link its economy more closely to the West.

The US will join with four NATO allies to produce a new military jet in Europe. The plan is significant because it provides for large contribution from European nations. The US will foot only one-tenth of the cost of the F-104G Starfighter jets.

President-elect Kennedy today said he wold nominate John B. Connally Jr. of Fort Worth Texas as his Navy Secretary.

Residents of New York will soon be able to pick up their telephones and get information on emergencies by dialing a special number. At other times the round-the-clock number will be available for information on train and airline schedules. Under the innovative new arrangement a municipal radio station will convey information to the New York Telephone Company.

December 26, 1960: 'White House Family Gay' and Other Headlines

These are some of the headlines that appear on the front page of the New York Times on this day in 1960:

"Pentagon to Play More Direct Role in Arms Parleys; Military is Expected to Take a Major Part in Planning for Disarmament Talks; Nitze to Guide Policy; New Kennedy Defense Aide Holds Informal Meetings -- Studies Under Way."

"Changing U.N. Outlook: New U.S. Policy Awaited; Kennedy Administration Stand Watched as World Body Faces a Dangerous Crisis Over Soviet's Congo Role."

"Kennedy to Hold Meeting on Space; Johnson and Kerr Will Join President-elect Today -- Dillon Will Be Present."

"Nixon Backs Curbs on Racial Barriers in Jobs and Homes."

"Lumumba Group Seizes 4 in Raid on Area in Congo; Kivu Chief is Believed Held by Band From Oriental -- Plea Sent to Mobutu."

"Belgian Leftists Press Defiance; Ask New Strikes; Police Raid Socialist Paper -- Charge Leaflets Urged Soldiers to Mutiny."

"Nehru Cool to Call by Soviet for Talks in Geneva on Laos."

"Lavon is Cleared in Israeli Inquiry; Cabinet Group Says Forgery Was Employed to Accuse Ex-Defense Minister."

"Christmas Cheer, Renewing Hopes, Brightens World; Eisenhower, Kennedy and Truman Attend Services -- White House Family Gay."

"Theory That Continents Wander Is Supported by British Scientist."

December 25, 1960: Soviet Intentions on the Eve of a New Administration

A news analysis in today's New York Times takes up the topic of Communist tactics: "As President-elect Kennedy and his foreign policy team survey the world scene preparatory to taking over responsibility less than four weeks from today, they find the United States subject to Soviet pressures of the most diverse kind in every continent. ... At one extreme, some of Moscow's current activities could conceivably provoke World War III in the near future if continued unchecked. At the other extreme, Moscow is holding out the hand of alleged friendship to the new Kennedy regime, hinting it wants to make a deal which could greatly reduce world tensions. ...

"In Laos the continued Soviet airdrops of weapons and supplies to the rebel forces of Capt. Kong Le raise the most serious possibilities that a new Korea-type war may be in the making. Moreover, recent statements from Communist China and North Vietnam have raised the possibilities that these countries may intervene actively with troops to help the rebels recapture Vientiane and defeat Gen. Phoumi Nosavan's forces.

"In the Congo, the Soviet press has approved the action of the Lumumba lieutenant, Antoine Gizenga, in declaring that he now heads the Congo's legal government and has moved the capital to Stanleyville. This has raised the possibility that the Soviet Union might recognize the Stanleyville group, enter into diplomatic relations with it, and give it military and other aid. ...

"On the explosive subject of West Berlin, Soviet pressure continues through the East Germans, who have threatened to cut off that isolated Western enclave if the new trade treaty with West Germany is not quickly concluded.

"In Latin America, the Soviet Union pledged itself last week not only to sponsor the industrialism of Cuba, but also to guarantee Cuba against major losses if the United States prohibition on the importing of Cuban sugar should continue all next year."