June 15, 1980

Week of June 15, 1980 Johannesburg – More than 15 are killed and at least 50 wounded in clashes with police during riots and looting in Cape Town’s nixed-race districts.Sanjay Gandhi (33) – son of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is killed in a glider crash. Former Dallas Police Chief Jesse Curry, who headed the department when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, is dead of a heart attack. The Carter Administration announces that nearly 130,000 Cubans and Haitians who entered this country illegally this year will be permitted to remain at least six months and receive limited federal benefits. The Agriculture Department eases its grain embargo policy against the Soviet Union, allowing American trading companies to sell foreign grain to the Russians. Jordan’s King Hussein calls for a shift in U.S. policy away from Israel and toward support of “the emergence of a free and peaceful Palestinian homeland.”President Carter agrees to sell Jordan 200 advanced tanks equipped with night vision sights, reversing an earlier decision. In Rome, President Carter begins an eight-day European tour and warns the Western allies they are being tested and must meet the Soviet challenge without “reckless confrontation” or another Cold War. President Carter caps a two-day visit to Rome. He emerged from a meeting with Pope John Paul II and declared that they shared “unfinished tasks” in dealing with hunger, poverty and refugees. President Carter says he has information that the Soviet Union has ordered the withdrawal of “less than 10%” of the 85,000 troops it has in Afghanistan, which he says is not enough to mean a significant easing of the crisis. Ramsey Clark, returning from his private mission to Iran, said government officials “should do their duty” if they believe they can legally prosecute him for violating President Carter’s ban on travel to Iran. Clark, a former U.S. attorney general and nine other Americans traveled to Tehran two weeks ago and attended an international conference on Iranian grievances against the United States.
The Census Bureau reports that the U.S. median age has topped 30 for the first time in history. More than 6,000 Churches of Christ have launched a nationwide campaign to remove sex and violence form television. Shows the group finds objectionable are “Soap,” “Charlie’s Angels,” ”Dallas,” “Saturday Night Live,” “Newlywed Game,” Dating Game” and “Three’s a Crowd.” Boston – Leonard Smith walks out of a state mental hospital a free man seven months after he convinced jurors he was insane when he killed baseball star Lyman Bostock.