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."