News stories from Sunday October 15, 1972

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

The third New York Times/Yankelovich electoral vote survey indicated that Senator George McGovern had begun to reclaim sizable numbers of potential Democratic defectors, but that President Nixon still held a wide overall lead. [New York Times] Acting under the orders and direction of the White House, federal agencies have begun sending millions of elderly voters pamphlets describing the Nixon administration's performance in programs affecting them. A presidential assistant said the mailing was to provide information on available programs, but critics of the administration and some organizations representing the elderly have called the effect "political propaganda." [New York Times] Citing what it said were Justice Department files, Time magazine reported a link between a leading White House official and an elaborate campaign to spy on Democratic candidates and disrupt their campaign efforts. [New York Times] Eight members of a Chicago gang were charged with nine murders, including the mass slayings of two families. According to the police, the group, known as the "De Mau Mau" gang, was formed by dishonorably discharged black veterans of the Vietnam war. [New York Times] In the first air strikes reported against Arab targets since Sept. 16, dozens of Israeli planes attacked guerrilla positions in Lebanon today, according to a military spokesman in Jerusalem. Senior military sources said the raids reflected a new policy of active pursuit of Arab commando organizations outside Israel. The planes reportedly bombed and fired rockets at four installations in Lebanon and one in Syria. Military authorities said they were headquarters, logistical depots and training bases of Al Fatah, the principal Arab guerrilla organization. [New York Times] On the eve of his Premier's departure for Moscow, President Anwar Sadat of Egypt pledged that his nation would do its utmost to improve Egyptian-Soviet relations, which have been strained since the expulsion of Soviet military personnel from Egypt last July. [New York Times]