The July 31, 1985 was a Wednesday under the star sign of ♌. It was the 211 day of the year. President of the United States was Ronald Reagan.
If you were born on this day, you are 40 years old. Your last birthday was on the Thursday, July 31, 2025, 337 days ago. Your next birthday is on Friday, July 31, 2026, in 27 days. You have lived for 14,947 days, or about 358,737 hours, or about 21,524,262 minutes, or about 1,291,455,720 seconds.
Date: 01 August 1985
By Marjorie Hunter and Warren Weaver Jr
Marjorie Hunter
The White House, apparently sensitive to Democratic complaints of discrimination, has stopped making copies of its daily news summary available to Republicans in Congress. The summary, prepared by a White House staff, was originally designed to give busy White House officials a quick capsule of the major news of the day.
Date: 01 August 1985
By Sharon Johnson
Sharon Johnson
A MEDIA campaign designed to curb unintended pregnancy among teen-agers encountered a setback yesterday when two major television networks - CBS and ABC - rejected the two-minute public service announcements because, they said, the subject of birth control was ''too controversial.'' NBC was still considering whether to air the announcements but Cable News Network said it would carry them. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a 25,000-member organization, announced a $100,000 campaign of announcements that discuss various contraceptive methods and urge teen-agers to call a toll-free number to obtain a free pamphlet on birth control. There are a total of 3.3 million unintended pregnancies in the country each year.
Date: 01 August 1985
By Peter W. Kaplan
Peter Kaplan
They are both magazine-format programs, and they are both produced by network news divisions. But the sharply distinctive styles of CBS's ''West 57th Street'' and NBC's ''American Almanac,'' which will have their premieres in the next two weeks, suggest a television journalism traveling in divergent directions. ''West 57th Street,'' named for the street on which the CBS News offices stand, represents ''an experiment in form and structure and style,'' according to Howard Stringer, the executive vice president of CBS News. ''Television,'' he said, ''has become technically sophisticated. Even commercials are very sophisticated. We are looking at commercials, at Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, and asking how do we find a way to tap into new ideas and new technologies?''
Date: 01 August 1985
International Congressional pressure on Pretoria increased as House and Senate negotiators reached agreement on a bill that would impose economic sanctions on South Africa. The committee's action appeared likely to increase pressure on the Reagan Administration to drop its opposition to sanctions. [Page A1, Column 6.] A ban on mass funerals of victims of civil unrest in black townships was announced by South Africa's Government. [A1:4-5.]
Date: 01 August 1985
By John Corry
John Corry
THE news about the ''MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour'' is that starting Sept. 2 it will begin not at 7 but at 7:30 P.M., and thus spend its last 30 minutes in prime time. This is an idea whose time has come. A nightly news broadcast ought to be in prime time, and better it should be ''MacNeil/ Lehrer.'' The move means that the public-television program will no longer be competing with the network news programs. Now, sensibly, it will follow them. ''MacNeil/Lehrer'' has never been a suitable replacement for the network programs; it has always been a supplement. The networks present the headlines, a useful service; ''MacNeil/Lehrer'' tells you what they mean. Its strength is in its interviews. The people who do them are good.
Date: 01 August 1985
Special to the New York Times
China today revealed a financial scandal involving the highest officials of the island of Hainan, off the south coast. According to a report made public by the New China News Agency, the Hainan officials took advantage of the open-door economic policies to embezzle a sum equivalent to $1.5 billion, only half of which has been recovered.
Date: 31 July 1985
By Isadore Barmash
Isadore Barmash
A WEEK ago, when Sears, Roebuck & Company reported a 25.4 percent drop in its second-quarter income, the news sparked declines not only in Sears stock but also in those of a half-dozen other major retail issues. While the Sears news was the spark, analysts believe that the decline in the shares of such a large group of prime retailers reflects a growing perception that retail sales are in a slump that will hurt second-quarter earnings and raises some question about the second half as well. Although July sales will not be reported by the national chains until Aug. 8, analysts say, they are certain to be disappointing. July, the concluding month of retailing's second quarter, represents about 7.7 percent of annual sales, roughly equal to June's but less than May's 8.1 percent. But July is more strategic than the two others because it traditionally includes more fall apparel offerings and can therefore be considered a seasonal barometer.
Date: 01 August 1985
Special to the New York Times
Maureen Reagan said today that her father, President Reagan, had promised to avoid strenuous activity during his forthcoming vacation at his California ranch. ''He agreed to take long walks on the ranch instead of ride horses,'' the President's daughter said at a news conference, adding that she suspected that Mr. Reagan would not chop wood, as he usually does.
Date: 01 August 1985
By Joyce Purnick
Joyce Purnick
It was an only-in-New York scene, orchestrated and directed by the city's only-in-New York Mayor. There stood Ed Koch on Columbus Avenue near 77th Street last week, surrounded by so many reporters, photographers and television crews that an unwitting passer-by thought someone was shooting a movie. It wasn't a movie. It was Mr. Koch doing what he does like no one else - grabbing, and getting, attention.
Date: 01 August 1985
By Robert Mcg. Thomas Jr
Robert Mcg
The long-simmering merger between the Generals and the Houston Gamblers reached the boiling point yesterday when Harry Usher, the commissioner of the United States Football League, said that the clubs' owners would be at a news conference today to ''announce details of their teams' future in the U.S.F.L.'' Although league officials refused to elaborate, there seemed to be little doubt that Donald Trump, the New York real estate man who owns the Generals, and Stephen Ross, the New York real estate man who heads a syndicate that is buying the Gamblers, had finally concluded an agreement to merge their teams. Trump was unavailable for comment, and Ross declined comment. ''I heard it was all signed, sealed and delivered - we're going to be playing in New Jersey,'' declared Jim Kelly, the Gamblers' quarterback, who said he had been told of the plans by Gambler officials.