News stories from Saturday June 15, 1974

Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:

The Supreme Court agreed to decide whether a Watergate grand jury had the right to name President Nixon as a participant in the Watergate cover-up without indicting him for a crime. The Court in effect made the White House challenge to the grand jury's action a part of the dispute between Mr. Nixon and Leon Jaworski, the special Watergate prosecutor, over access to 64 tape recordings that the President has refused to surrender. The Justices refused to unseal the record of the tapes case as it developed before Federal Judge John Sirica, except for one sentence in which the grand jury declared that there was "probable cause to believe that Richard M. Nixon (among others) was a member of the conspiracy to defraud the United States and to obstruct justice." [New York Times] President Nixon, Secretary of State Kissinger and Gen. Alexander Haig have been subpoenaed by John Ehrlichman as defense witnesses in the "plumbers" trial due to begin June 26, well-informed sources said. They said that the subpoenas were served about 10 days ago on Fred Buzhardt, the White House counsel. Federal Judge Gerhard Gesell is reliably reported to be considering the acceptance of written interrogatories from the President in lieu of his appearance in court. He could also rule that the President's subpoena was not relevant to Mr. Ehrlichman's defense and quash it. [New York Times] Protesting alleged racial discrimination and harsh discipline, a number of American sailors assigned to the United States aircraft carrier Midway in Yokosuka, Japan, have jumped ship. Estimates by Japanese police and American anti-military organizations off the base and by the men themselves put the number involved at from 20 to 200. The crew totaled about 4,000. [New York Times] A bill that places restrictions on New York state's four-year-old abortion law was signed by Governor Wilson. It requires that abortions performed after the 12th week of pregnancy take place in a hospital only on an inpatient basis, and that a second physician be present during abortions performed after the 20th week of pregnancy. [New York Times] In all except a few states, buyers of condominiums, which are proliferating across the country, can expect little protection against deception or fraud under the real estate laws. New York is one of the exceptions. Under what is believed to be the country's strongest law, realty developers must make detailed disclosure statements approved in advance by the state Attorney General. It is estimated that there are fewer than 10 states with protection laws similar to New York's. Among these are California, Michigan, Virginia and Hawaii. [New York Times] It was not apparent that formal diplomatic relations between the United States and Syria were non-existent as hundreds of American flags flew and many thousands of people jammed the streets of Damascus to welcome President Nixon as he rode in an open car with the Syrian President, Hafez al-Assad. When Mr. Nixon arrived at Damascus International Airport, he was met by a large group of Syrian officials, platoons of troops and honor guards. The Assad government appeared anxious to improve relations with the United States and gave Mr. Nixon's visit favorable notice in the newspapers and broadcasts. There was speculation in Damascus and Washington that diplomatic relations between the two countries, broken during the Arab-Israeli war in 1967, would be restored tomorrow before Mr. Nixon moves on to Israel. [New York Times] Syria, in accordance with her troop separation agreement with Israel, got back a big piece of her territory that was taken by Israel ,in the October war. A 40-square-mile area southwest of Damascus was evacuated by the Israeli army, and units of the Syrian army, led by the Defense Minister, Gen. Mustafa Tlas, and some civilians, moved in. Israel is scheduled to withdraw from virtually all the territory captured in the October war by June 25. [New York Times] Vandals scratched the letters I.R.A. two feet high across Rubens' celebrated "Adoration of the Magi" in King's College chapel at Cambridge University in Britain. Although the large painting's surface had been damaged, the pigment did not break. "It will be an expensive job to repair," the chapel's dean, the Rev. Michael Till said. The painting was completed by Rubens in 1634. It was given to King's College in 1960 by Maj. Alfred Allnatt, an industrialist, who had bought it two years earlier for $770,000. [New York Times] The government of Gen. Antonio di Spinola in Lisbon prepared greater restraints on the country's news media. Portugal's television system, which has been privately owned only in part, will be brought under complete official control and management. Regulations providing for military supervision of the press are being put into force pending promulgation of a new press law in the next few weeks. [New York Times]