News 1979

* The Shah is forced to leave Iran after 37 years on the Peacock Throne. The Ayatollah Khomeini, a Muslim fundamentalist, returns after 15 years of exile to establish a socialist Islamic republic.

* Egypt's President Sadat and Israel's Prime Minister Begin sign a peace agreement at the White House.

*The Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania begins emitting radiation when problems with the cooling system expose part of the core.

*Actor Lee Marvin is sued for "palimony" by a former female companion.

*In Vienna, President Carter and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev sign the SALT II agreement limiting strategic weapons. The U.S. Congress would ultimately fail to ratify the treaty, but both side abide by its terms anyway.

* General Samoza resigns as president of Nicaragua, and the Sandinistas succeed to power.

* Chrysler Corporation asks the federal government for a loan of $1 billion after reporting the largest
quarterly loss in its history.

*Pope John Paul II travels to the United States, the first time a pope has set foot on American soil.

* The United States Embassy in Tehran is seized, and 54 American citizens are taken hostage; two are soon released, but the rest are held captive for 444 days.

*Former Governor Ronald Reagan, Senator Edward Kennedy, and President Carter are the leading names for their parties' presidential nominations.

* Mother Teresa, the empress of charity, accepts the Nobel Peace Prize.

*In December, Soviet forces invade Afghanistan.