News stories from Sunday April 19, 1981

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

A body found near Atlanta has been identified as that of 15-year-old Joseph Bell, who had been missing since March 2. It was found in a tangle of debris in the South River in DeKalb County. [New York Times] Symrna, Tenn., is being invaded by the Nissan Motor Company, in what is the largest single investment in the United States by a foreign automobile or truck manufacturer. The Japanese company will build a $500 million truck plant that will employ 2,200 American workers to produce up to 180,000 Datsun light trucks each year. [New York Times] An experimental "workfare" program in Berkeley County, S.C. is being received with mixed views. Backers of the program, which requires able-bodied persons to earn their government subsidies instead of getting them free, maintain that it fosters a sense of responsibility. Opponents of the experiment, which is mandated by Congress, contend that it demeans the recipients, wastes money and leads nowhere. [New York Times] Los Angeles' mandatory busing program apparently will end its two-year run this week after an 11th hour bid to the United States Supreme Court to halt the dismantling of the program failed. Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist declined to act on a petition by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People until the Los Angeles Board of Education could present its views on Wednesday. The Los Angeles United School District, the second largest in the nation, has battled with civil rights groups for 18 years in opposition to the program. [New York Times] Saudia Arabia will not raise oil prices or reduce its production until other petroleum-exporting nations reduce their prices significantly, Sheik Ahmed Yamani, the Saudi oil minister, said. "We think it went too far," he said. "It's not in the interest of the international community, and therefore we want it to come down a little bit lower." His statements represented Saudia Arabia's most pointed threat so far in its struggle with other members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries over oil prices. [New York Times] A port in southern Lebanon was shelled by Christian militia forces, leaving 16 residents dead and more than 60 wounded, according to Lebanese authorities. A few hours after the shelling of Sidon, a predominantly Moslem city, Maj. Saad Haddad, the commander of the Israeli-supported Christian militia forces, suffered a heart attack. The 42-year-old commander was said to be doing "satisfactorily." The shelling occurred on a day of growing violence between the Christian and the Moslem and Syrian sectors of Beirut. [New York Times] The Cuban President, Fidel Castro, reaffirmed Soviet ties and made a plea for world peace on the 20th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs invasion. [New York Times]