lJAHRAIN One of Ille impo,-tanl stories of the new year - or any year - was the one today from the PersiaN Gulf. Tl,e U S reportedly enlcf'ing into a11 agf'eemeflt - 111itb the Sheik of that archapelago - to establisl, a permat1ent U S naval base ON the isla•d of Balarai•. This is the ke3, island in the Persia,e Gulf, ifl tl,e lteart of the Middle East oil world. Perltat>s tl1e lley to future co,etrol of tl,at e,aHre oil rich reglo,e "Ba•t of Ade,a" 111here today the most of our oil comes from. The U S seems about to take over - 111llere tie British are dro1>1>i,ag out. to us e the b a s e - a s "a flag s la o 111 i,. g o I> er a Ii o,. to ma,aifest continuing interest" i,a the Middle Bast. Bahrain officials add that this will insure Ame,·ica,e 1>roteclion against the possible inroads of the Soviet Union - as well as neighboring Iraq and Iran. Another major move on the world's chess board. PARIS After a month off= "for bad behavior" would }'OU call it? -- at any rate, another sesslo" of Paris peace talks today. Results- about lite same as usual. Tlte Communist side -- accusl"g Preside,., Nlxo" of "extreme ltypocrlsy" o,a the prisoner of war lss•e. William Porter, for lite U S later tellhtg re1>orters -- We llsfe,red 1tard and carefu . lly - we dld,r't 1tear a•ylllfll new or co•structive. For what it's wort1t ll•o•gll#- tltey did agree lo meet again next week. SAIGON Meanwhile, in Saigon - another milestone in /he Vietnamization of the war. The latest · u. s. casualty report - showing two dead last week; U S airmen slot down over Laos. For the first time i,r seven years - not a single American death attributable to eaemy gro ■ ,ul actio,r. II was also announced today - illal Army Secretary Robert Froelllke will visit South Vleh1am next week to discuss wltll General Abrams Ille prospect• for stepped-up troop wltladrawals. Ultimate goal - w• are told - an end to all U S groMnd involvm eat ,,. Vletaam as of ,eext fall. SAN CLEMENTE Here at home - at the Western White House - President Nixon met today with Japan's visiting Premier Salo. The latter said to be seeking a "/heal, fixed and announced date" for tire ret•rn of Sato's aides addi,ag, lro•ever,-U leis fflain co,icer,r is, q•ote - "Cliifla, Clli,aa, Cllh1a." CONCORD, On 11,e political front - a report that President Nixon will formal.ly declaTe himself tomorro• - ~ a candidate for re-election. This~~ •• a•• totd -1 6J •caws •-I a letter to former Ne"' Hampshire Gover,aor Lane Daoi,aell. Said letter - to be made P•bUc.- 1cflo••llfl7. at the NeflJ Hampshire Secretary c,j State's office 1 at Co,acord. CAIRO In /he Middle Easl - Cairo - Egypt loday escalated another nolcl,., its current an . H-Am e ricafl e~ campaign. ,trailing for fellow Arab nations - to clam/I down on U S business interes · ts still opera . ting witllifl their borders. Tlrese inter•sts as you know - malflly in oil. ElaeN>her~5 ~ - - an Arab first; N>IIII a call today -- for the draftheg of wome,a lflto llee Bgyt>lla• a r ,n e d forces • T la Is - from Mad am e A Is la a Rat e b , Egyt>t's Minister of Social Affairs: ,olao says tlrat "tlus wome,a - Just like men - ca,r tal,e 1>arl '" defending the homela,ad." BETHLEHEM In l1ie little town of Bethlehem - where Christ was born - did you know another Christmas Eve to,eiglet? Th.is the second - in less Iha, , twelve days. Yes, H's the one celebrated by the Greek Orthodox Church; including a ritual procession tltat started out from tie old ,oalled city of Jerusalem - a,ad ended at Ile Basilica of the Natlvil)• In Betltlehem - at the site of tlte ma•1•r• WIiia still to come - a third Christmas Eve, tleat of the Armenian Church, tomorrow. OSHA WA 0 n e of I I, e la s t of Ca n ad a 's and Nor t h America' s automotive pioneers - dead today at Oslrawa, Ontario. Robert SamMel Mclaughlin -- knoK1n far and ~ W - « 4 K1ide as "Mr. Sam'~ -- ~ith his father~the builder of the McLaughlin motor car a,ay back in Eighteen Ninety Two. Some ta,enty years later - merging Ills i,aterests •Ith those of General Motors; later becoml,ag Claairma,r of the Board of General Motors of ca,uula; a post he held - right to the end. Robert Samuel McLaugl&U,a -- "Mr. Sam." Age one luu,dred. PEKING For President ' Nixon's advance team in Peking - a v isit today witli Red China's Premier Chou en Lai; also, the Vice President of Clalna 's military commission -- a chap by the name of JI Yeh. Chien-Ying. So Jar, s c - - . good - we hear. The members of the advance party - also checkh,g out a number of Chinese facilities; amo,ag them - Peking's "number two medical cll,aic;" to be made available to the Preside,at and his e,alourage, if so fteeded. Tlais - it turns out - a host,ltal origiflally built by tlae Rockefeller Fou,edatlon a,ad llAJ... despite its desig,iatlon i. "number two" still 11,e best in Peking. it would seem. - - LONDON From Ille Cltairman of Britain's nationwide "yolllh protection movement" -- a rather novel idea for halting the spread of pornography. Paul Da,aiels ttrging today - /he establishment of a net111ork of government operated brothels. "Since human bei,ags do these things" - sa!d he - "we have to accept a moral obUgatlon and this is the best 111ay of deall,ag 111ith it." So says the Chairman of Brltait1's Youth Protectlo,a Moveme,atr do ffl'lTJ a11uw ,., ···••-•·•h E ■:11, AMES Tit is ncxl - from Iowa Slale University at .. Ames, Iowa; a stud}' of studenl reading habits~ said lo show that the • & most popt1lar books o,e campus are: One - those about cultural cltange; two - those about sex: and three - those about bicycling. There must be a moral there - somewltere. F T C T Ii e U S break fas t food ind us try - a re a II y big business these days; with current sales - running around a billion a year. Now comes a report - that the Federal Trade Commission is getting into the act. F T C staff members noting - we are told --- that tl,ree compa,lles - Kellogg, Gene,·~ i Mills and Post - - presently co•trol more thaft eigl,ty percent of the total market. tlaerefore, a urging a knila ■ s, anti-trust suit A,-- I ■ iu.tuu uf: break..,. up the big three cereal makers. 1ft oiler words - an attempt to make them "snap, crackle a11d /10/> • ,, ATHENS Athens, Greece - a new Greek dra " lima •as issu.e · d today. Same value - about three ce,.ts, America11. Bearing again on one side - a likeness of Greece's exiled King Constantine. But the otlaer side - disJ,layl11g a lege,.dary Plaoe,.ix arising from the ashes. Also, a soldier armed with a bayo,.et - the symbol of Ille Greeks ne• flt military regime. In effect, a t•o- faced coi,s. Wonder tohlch is heads, wlalcla is tails, Bill Martin? NEW YORK Speaking of pollution - 11,e New York Cout11re B11.siness Council is ltolding its anni,.al press previe• I his "'eek. Today's i · e s sion. - concentrating on m I- lady's Je•elry - including one item - made from "recycled" Jeans; a so-called "denim bracelet - dra1Dn from 11,e /altered rem,aants of faded blue jeans. Bui the piece de resistance - an orie,rtal style cro•n - tiara, head piece or whatever, complete •itll a couple of brass "rabbit ears" like the kind you see on TV sets. Just the thing - we are told - for piclll•g up favorable vibrations. You know to get ha on the rlg•t wave length!