March 9, 1980
Gas cost $1.19 a gallon in the spring of 1980, and the Dow Jones stood at 964 — the United States was navigating the Iran hostage crisis and rising inflation, with the Carter administration quietly stepping back from treating the standoff as an active emergency. On the cultural front, Blondie's "Call Me" sat at the top of the charts while Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" was the bestselling nonfiction book in the country. The Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA championship over the Philadelphia 76ers, and that same spring the World Health Organization certified the global eradication of smallpox — the first and still only time in history that a human disease had been completely eliminated from the planet.
On the cover
Magazine Covers — March 9, 1980
NY Times Headlines — Week of March 9, 1980
Begin Selects Critic Of Peace Treaty To Be Next Israeli Foreign Minister; Abstained On Treaty Votes Peace Pact Critic Is Chosen Israeli Foreign Minister
U.S. Still Focusing On Peaceful Means To End Iran Crisis; 'Watchful Waiting' Is Policy Administration Hopes U.N. Panel Can Resume Its Work, State Dept. Spokesman Says Call For Action Against Iran 'Period Of Reappraisals' U.S. Still Focusing On Peaceful Efforts In Iranian Crisis 'President Considering All Aspects' Breakdown Caused By Khomeini
U.S. Assails Israelis For Seizure Of Land Outside Jerusalem; Statement Asserts Expropriation In Northern Outskirts Imperils Palestine Negotiations Senate Panel To Hear Vance U.S. Assails Israelis For Seizure Of Land Drawn From Arab Land
Arms Treaty May Be Renounced, President Asserts, If Senate Agrees; Carter Says Strategic-Arms Treaty May Be Renounced If Senate Concurs No Change In Policy 'Breakdown In Communication' Questioned About Immigrants
World Events — March 1980
Time Person of the Year — 1980
On the radio
Billboard Charts — March 9, 1980
Grammy Awards
On the bookshelf
On the television
Nielsen Top 10 — 1979–80 Season
Emmy Winners — 1980
At the movies
Box Office & Oscar Winners — March 9, 1980
Ebert 4-Star Films — March 9, 1980
On the field
Sports Champions — March 9, 1980
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