News stories from Saturday December 24, 1977

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

President Carter indicated that he would probably resist the demand by striking farmers for prices supported by the government at 100 percent of parity, saying that "it would be difficult for us to compete with international prices on many of our export items if the price were substantially higher than it is now." He and a delegation of farmers met at his home in Plains, Ga., where he is spending Christmas. He was sympathetic, but urged them to plant crops next spring. [New York Times] Five basic urban objectives were presented by top aides to President Carter, who refused last week to commit more funds for needy cities until he was presented with a satisfactory overall urban policy. An 11-page memorandum -- to be delivered to Mr. Carter this weekend at his Georgia home -- places strong emphasis on unemployment, saying that it is "so central a problem to distressed cities that it must be a central focus of urban policy." The memorandum was signed by Stuart Eizenstat, the President's chief domestic adviser, and Patricia Roberts Harris, who heads the Urban and Regional Policy Group, a cabinet-level panel. [New York Times] Saudi Arabia's oil fields, the world's richest, have been disrupted by a series of technical and managerial problems that may curtail production, according to energy experts in Washington. The experts include senior members of the administration and the United States intelligence community. [New York Times] Prime Minister Menachem Begin in Jerusalem put the finishing touches on the peace plan he will submit to President Anwar Sadat tomorrow in Ismailia. He has broad public support and the backing of his cabinet, but he was to hold a meeting with doubtful members of the opposition Labor Party, some of whom fear that the peace proposals contain the seed of a separate Palestinian state, which Mr. Begin denies. [New York Times] President Carter and King Hussein of Jordan will meet in Teheran Saturday, the White House announced, and the President will attempt to persuade the King to join the Israeli-Egyptian peace negotiations. The meeting will take place during Mr. Carter's official visit to Iran on his six-nation trip that begins Thursday. Jordan's participation in the peace negotiations is considered vital to progress toward a settlement. [New York Times] Quietly and unremittingly, the Central Intelligence Agency for most of its 30 years has made an effort to shape foreign opinion in support of American policy abroad. It has channeled information and misinformation through a once-substantial network of newspapers, news agencies and other communications entities, most of them based overseas, that it owned, subsidized or influenced. The agency also had a number of American journalists among its paid agents, part of its extensive propaganda campaign. Recurring allegations about the C.I.A.'s involvement with the press have led the House Select Committee on Intelligence to schedule hearings beginning Tuesday. [New York Times]