News stories from Saturday February 24, 1979

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

A successor to Gen. Alexander Haig as commander of United States forces in Europe has been chosen by President Carter. He is Gen. Bernard Rogers, the Army Chief of Staff. He will also be nominated by President Carter as General Haig's successor as Supreme Commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, administration sources said [New York Times] Joshua Eilberg was sentenced to five years' probation and a $10,000 fine after pleading guilty to charges that he illegally accepted money for helping his former law firm obtain a $14.5 million federal grant for a Philadelphia hospital. The former congressman, a Philadelphia Democrat, was barred from seeking state or local office during the probation period, and was ordered to do community service work. [New York Times] Ways to limit or cut spending and taxes, by statutory or constitutional changes, are being debated by legislatures and governors across the country. In proposing the cutbacks, many politicians are carrying out promises made in last November's elections. Last week, all but three of the 50 state legislatures were in session and most of them were concerned with those campaign promises. [New York Times] Alabama's establishment has been upset by the new Governor, Fob James Jr. Since taking office last month, Mr. James has dismissed 700 politically well-connected state employees, proposed a new state constitution and stunned the state's educational system by ordering achievement tests for every pupil in Alabama's low-ranking public schools. At about the same time, four other new Southern governors were recommending similarly daring reforms in prisons, taxation and the regulation of utilities, indicating that a reform movement may be on the way. [New York Times] Chinese and Vietnamese apparently neared a major battle around the town of Lang Son, 85 miles northeast of Hanoi, according to Western analysts in Asia, and they said fighting on a similar scale seemed to be in the making in the Lao Cai area. American analysts in Washington doubted that a major engagement at Lang Son was underway. [New York Times] Iran will begin selling oil to the world again within 15 days, Deputy Prime Minister Abbas Amir Entezam said at a news conference in Teheran. "I can't tell you the amount," he said. "It may be more, less than or equal to the exports of the previous government." Iran had been exporting 5.4 million barrels a day before the revolution. [New York Times] Yemen invaded Southern Yemen and fighting has begun along their border, the Marxist government of Southern Yemen said. [New York Times]