New York City December 12, 1973 (Wednesday) A typographical error made by the new U.S. Federal Energy Office led to reports nationwide that President Nixon was proposing to reduce American gasoline production by 25 percent, effective December 27. With priority given under administrator William Simon's regulations to the Department of Defense, and services such as public transportation and emergency vehicles, the Associated Press noted, the amount left over for retail gasoline stations would be "a cut of far more than 25 percent." The mistake was caught 10 hours later and hastily corrected to note that the proposed cut was 5% rather than 25%. A spokesman for the Federal Energy Office told reporters, "We screwed up this morning." Elections were held for the first time in the Arab kingdom of Bahrain, as voters chose candidates for 30 of the 44 seats in the nation's unicameral Majlis. The Malis would be dissolved in 1975 by the nation's King Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa and another election would not take place until 2002. The China Motor Corporation (CMC), based in Taiwan, opened its first manufacturing facility, located at Yangmei, in Taoyuan City three years after entering into a technology sharing contract with the Mitsubishi Motors, a Japanese manufacturer. The city of San Diego, California filed an antitrust lawsuit against the National League claiming there was a conspiracy to move the San Diego Padres baseball team from San Diego to Washington D.C. Born: Tony Hsieh, American Internet entrepreneur and venture capitalist, CEO of Zappos; in Illinois(d. 2020) December 13, 1973 (Thursday) British Prime Minister Edward Heath told the House of Commons that his government had issued an order mandating a three-day work week for industries in the United Kingdom, to take effect on January 1, in order to reduce the consumption of electricity and the demands on coal and oil supplies. Heath, who cited labor strikes by railway workers and coal miners, also announced that the nation's television stations would be required to sign off the air every evening at 10:30 p.m., beginning on December 17. An explosion killed more than 80 teenagers staying at a factory dormitory in the town of Tachov in Czechoslovakia. The victims were all apprentice factory workers at a plastic manufacturing company and were sleeping inside the two-story building when the blast occurred at 3:15 in the morning. Egypt's Lieutenant General Saad el-Shazly, praised as a hero in the