News stories from Saturday October 21, 1972

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

Senator George McGovern proposed a comprehensive urban strategy, based on new federal policies and outlays, but emphasizing local leadership. The proposals, contained in a 12,000-word statement prepared by a 68-member urban affairs policy panel, include moving from public housing projects to a policy of housing allowances, conversion of the highway trust fund into a more flexible "transportation" trust fund, and financing education more from federal taxation and less from local property taxes. [New York Times] President Nixon used the third of a series of campaign radio addresses to set forth his vision of the moral values of the nation, pledging to champion them in a second term. Setting aside "current issues" to focus on his "philosophy of government," Mr. Nixon aligned himself with what he called the majority view favoring individualism, the virtue of hard work, the rightness of receiving rewards for achievement and a sense of community and family. [New York Times] President Nixon is reportedly giving serious consideration to a veto of the $5 billion package of Social Security medical and pension benefits passed by Congress on Tuesday. In addition, the President's chief domestic adviser, John Ehrlichman, raised the possibility of other presidential vetos, including that of the $30 billion Health, Education and Welfare-Labor bill. [New York Times] A new technique that could lead to the long-sought goal of virtually unlimited and pollution-free nuclear energy is being explored by multi-million dollar efforts in several countries. The radical new approach seeks controlled nuclear fusion, which produces even more energy than the opposite process, nuclear fission, the well-known splitting of the atom used in existing atomic power plants. So far the new approach to fusion has been tested only by computer simulations, but specialists are so hopeful of success that extensive live testing projects have begun, principally in the Soviet Union but also in the United States. [New York Times] Detailed profiles of 92 Senators and 392 Representatives, including all members of Congress seeking re-election, have been published by Ralph Nader after a year-long study of Congress by 2,000 volunteers and staff members. In the profiles, which range from 20 to 40 pages of individual pamphlets, researchers supervised by Mr. Nader delved into the legislators' backgrounds, voting records, legislative performances, campaign tactics, personal and campaign finances and sources of power. [New York Times] North Vietnamese diplomats in Peking have reportedly told foreign envoys there that a major development toward peace in Vietnam is possible within the next two or three days. The usually reliable diplomatic sources, who were quoted by a Reuters correspondent in the Chinese capital, also said that the North Vietnamese had reportedly warned United States negotiators in Paris that they had an "unpleasant military surprise" for the Americans if agreement were not reached for a three-day period. There was no official word on the peace talks, but a Canadian television correspondent in Hanoi said he had been told by high officials that there would be no declaration of peace until after the American presidential election Nov. 7. [New York Times] In an interview just made public, Premier Pham Van Dong of North Vietnam said that his government was now ready to accept a cease-fire as the first step in a settlement of the Vietnam war. Mr. Dong, in what appeared to be a more conciliatory formulation of Hanoi's terms, said that the current secret negotiations were in an extremely important phase. The interview was given to a Newsweek editor on Tuesday and the magazine released the text in advance of its latest issue. [New York Times]