May 16, 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 — May 16, 1980
NY Times Headlines — Week of May 16, 1980
Soviet Bloc Urges World Summit Talk On Easing Tensions; Warsaw Pact Ends Meeting Proposal Opens Way To Exchanges On Iran And Afghan Conflicts But Stress Is On Europe Muskie Meets Gromyko Today Kabul Seeks A Guarantee Soviet Bloc Urges Summit Conference Blows To Detente Cause Alarm Comment Delayed In Washington
Egypt, In Reversal, Again Suspends Talks With Israel On Palestinians; Contrary To International Law Egypt, In Shift, Ties Autonomy Talks To Other Issues Israeli Officials Surprised
World Events — May 1980
Time Person of the Year — 1980
On the radio
Billboard Charts — May 16, 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 — May 16, 1980
Ebert 4-Star Films — May 16, 1980
On the field
Sports Champions — May 16, 1980
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