News stories from Sunday September 23, 1973

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

Vice President Agnew reportedly has made a decision to "confront head-on," as a friend of his said, the possibility that he may be indicted by a federal grand jury in Baltimore for alleged bribery and extortion. It was also learned that Mr. Agnew's lawyers expect to be in touch again this week with Justice Department officials, with whom they have met repeatedly in recent weeks to avoid the legal and constitutional confrontation to which the Vice President is reportedly committed. [New York Times] Melvin Laird, President Nixon's chief adviser on domestic affairs, insisted that "there will be no tax increase this year." On the television program "Face the Nation", Mr. Laird said that the President would not propose tax legislation this year, but, Mr. Laird said, "now is the time to have open conversation and discussion" about what kind of tax measures might be needed. Meanwhile, Carl Albert, Speaker of the House, responding on free radio time to President Nixon's second State of the Union message, said Mr. Nixon's recent criticisms of Congress's legislative record was an attempt to obscure the administration's own failures. [New York Times] Evidence gathered in a suit against the General Services Administration suggests to persons close to the case a pattern of irregularities in the award of a million-dollar federal contract to a Philadelphia developer. The evidence indicates that the developer, the law firm with which Senator Hugh Scott is associated, and others participated in false documentation of the legality of the developer's contract. [New York Times] Juan Peron was returned to power as president of Argentina after his chief rival, Ricardo Balbin of the Radical party, conceded victory. With nearly all the votes officially counted, Mr. Peron had more than a 61% majority. [New York Times] The Chilean military junta has notified foreign embassies in Santiago that Chilean nationals will no longer receive safe-conduct passes for political asylum abroad, foreign diplomatic officials in Santiago disclosed. The Mexican government is expected to send a plane to Santiago today for Chilean and foreign political refugees being sheltered in its embassy. Mexico has been told that Chileans will not be authorized to board the plane. The United Nations Commission for Refugees has sent a mission to Santiago to try to obtain guarantees for the safety of 14,000 foreigners, mostly Latin Americans, who were in Santiago as political exiles under the regime of the late President Salvador Allende. [New York Times]