November 8, 1973

struck hosps in NYC met area on Nov 7 discharge thousands of patients and close entire floors as 48 hosps and nursing homes affected by strike try to cope with mounting food, fuel and med shortages; 3 nursing homes, whose resources are being exhausted by 3-day-old strike, announce they will be sending home all 1,347 patients within the next wk; Cost of Living Council dir J T Dunlop says 'council has no intention of being scapegoat' for strike; Mayor Lindsay urges Dunlop to convene council immediately to consider wage questions that led to strike; Dunlop says he will consult with council on whether to order immediate meeting on matter once hosp workers call off their strike; Fed Ct hearing is set for Nov 8 on request by League of Hosps and Homes for permanent injunction against union; league dir W Abelow repts that effects of walkout and pickets' blockades of deliveries are becoming cumulatively severe; notes that sporadic violent eruptions, involving vandalism and harassment by strikers, also appear on the rise; conditions at several hosps described; illus

outcome of Nov 6 election in NYC leaves city Repub party shattered and showing signs of splits that have plagued Dems in city

Pres aide J C Bennett testifies in Fed Dist Ct on Nov 7 that 'gap' was discovered in 1 of White House tape recordings and that as result another conversation between Pres Nixon and his then-counsel J W Dean 3d might be unavailable; says Nixon's personal secretary R M Woods told him Nov 7 that she had discovered 'gap' while transcribing 1 of recordings; says Apr 15 conversation between Nixon and Dean could not have been 1 in which Woods found gap because only tape made that day is now locked in Bennett's White House office; Woods reptdly told Bennett Nov 7 that she did not 'transcribe' number of Watergate tapes at Pres's request, as witnesses indicated on Nov 6; she apparently means she typed something less than full verbatim record of them; asst special prosecutor R Ben-Veniste says he is 'baffled' by news of new-found gap in recordings; Bennett describes how his superior, A M Haig Jr, alerted him on July 29, just after Watergate prosecutor's subpoena was served, that list of tapes Pres wanted to listen to was 'on the way'; says it never came and it was not until 2 mos later that Nixon conducted full review of material; S J Powers Jr makes his 1st public appearance on White House legal team defending Pres in tapes controversy; so far all expense of hiring outside attys to represent Nixon in Watergate tapes case has been met out of public funds

Nov 8: US and Egypt announce on Nov 7 that they will resume diplomatic relations and will exch ambs within 10 days to 2 wks; decision, which was reached by Egyptian Pres A Sadat and US Sec of State H A Kissinger after 3-hr meeting in Cairo, ends diplomatic rupture that began in June '67 when Egypt broke off relations because of US aid to Israel at beginning of '67 war; immediately after meeting, Asst Sec Sisco and H Saunders, members of Kissinger delegation, fly to Israel to convey 'ideas' that were developed at meeting; Israeli source repts they outlined proposal developed by Sadat and Kissinger that provids for preservation of cease-fire and calls for negotiation on terms of permanent peace settlement under auspices of US and USSR; Defense Dept spokesman R J McCloskey denies during news conf that renewed relations is meant to put pressure on Israel; says H F Eilts Jr will be new US Amb and A Ghorbal will be new Egyptian Amb; pol ramifications of pact on Egypt and US, and diplomatic and pol moves leading to it discussed

The South Vietnamese military command said yesterday that its planes had bombed two Communist‐held areas north of Saigon in what it described as its largest air strike since the signing of the cease‐fire agreement in January. Page 5.