News stories from Saturday April 13, 1974

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

Robert Abplanalp accused investigators for the Senate Watergate committee of "reckless conjecturing" as he again denied that he ever discussed a $100,000 donation by Howard Hughes to President Nixon's election campaign. Mr. Abplanalp, a close friend of the President, denied that he had discussed the contribution with Charles Rebozo, another close Nixon friend, "or anyone else" before the money was purportedly returned to the Hughes interests. [New York Times] When more than a dozen disabled Vietnam veterans occupied an office in a Los Angeles federal building last month to protest the policies of the Veterans Administration, the incident symbolized how controversial the Veterans Administration has become -- in sharp contrast to the special position the agency enjoyed in the eyes of veterans and the government until recent years. Interviews with government, congressional and veterans' organization officials found no fundamental change in the traditional high regard shown for war veterans. But the interviews indicated that a serious split has developed in the system that governs veterans policy, and that this split is a result of the Vietnam War. [New York Times] In the two months since Patricia Hearst was kidnapped in Berkeley, Calif., there has been a sharp increase in major kidnappings in the United States. Whether the wave will subside, or whether it is, as a private security professional described it, just the beginning of a crime wave that will become commonplace can only lead to speculation. There is no question, however, that the increase in kidnappings has had an impact among those who see themselves as potential victims and they have begun to take unusual and costly precautions. [New York Times] Steel industry labor and management, after long negotiations with the government, have adopted a voluntary nationwide plan to end race and sex discrimination in their hiring, employment and pay practices, sources close to the negotiations said. The plan, which is expected to be made public Monday, will require the steel companies to give back pay totaling millions of dollars to victims of past discrimination. [New York Times] Gasoline stations in parts of New York City, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland and Ulster Counties and parts of the upper Hudson River Valley have reported serious shortages of gasoline in recent days, according to state officials. The officials, citing a preliminary county-by-county survey underway to determine if the state's odd-even rationing system should be dropped or modified, said they had also discovered areas in which some service stations had run out of fuel while others nearby were still pumping -- at a higher price. [New York Times] Defense Minister Moshe Dayan of Israel warned the Lebanese government that if it failed to police the Arab guerrilla groups operating from its territory, Israel would continue its punitive raids into southern Lebanon until the entire area would have to be abandoned. He made the warning in an unusual Sabbath-morning press conference in Tel Aviv in which he explained the motives behind Israel's latest raid into Lebanese territory. [New York Times] An Israeli raid on six Lebanese villages, in which two persons were reportedly killed, raised concern in Beirut over greater reprisals for Palestinian guerrilla violence against Israel. Lebanon asked an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, which was set for Monday. [New York Times] A special Syrian envoy in Washington discussed his government's detailed proposals for the separation of Syrian and Israeli forces in the Golan Heights with Secretary of State Kissinger. After meeting with, Gen. Kahalil al-Shihabi, chief of staff for Syrian military intelligence, for two hours, Mr. Kissinger told newsmen that the discussion had been "very useful," and had been conducted "in a very friendly, very constructive atmosphere." [New York Times]