3:00 - 3:30 p.m.
President Kennedy holds his thirty-ninth news conference
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President Kennedy welcomes President Carlos Arosemena Monroy of Ecuador at Washington National Airport and later hosts a luncheon in his honor in the White House State Dining Room.
President Kennedy issues a statement on the signing in Geneva of agreements to end the conflict in Laos. The President states that it is "a heartening indication that difficult, and at times seemingly insoluble international problems can in fact be solved by patient diplomacy" and he urges all parties to observe its terms.
During his news conference, part of which is being relayed to European television stations by the Telstar communications satellite, President Kennedy says that meetings between Secretary of State Dean Rusk and Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko have not made progress in resolving the Berlin situation. The President also warns that a Republican victory in the upcoming November congressional elections will result in continued inaction on his legislative proposals.
President Kennedy issues a memorandum to the heads of federal departments and agencies instructing them "that hereafter appointment or promotion shall be made without regard to sex…." The memorandum is released on July 24.