News stories from Saturday May 23, 1981

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

The Pope is out of danger and should be recovered from his gunshot wounds within 60 days, according to doctors treating the Pontiff. It has now become clear that the Pope narrowly missed being paralyzed when he was shot on May 13. [New York Times] The mailing of 130 extortion letters, including several which contained bombs and one of which exploded in a Merrill Lynch mailroom in 1976, was charged to two men who were arrested in Texas, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. [New York Times] A much older population in the decades ahead was predicted in a Census Bureau report. The report said that there were 25.5 million people over 65 in the nation, 28 percent more than in 1970. A sharply rising median age of Americans over the next three decades could have important implications for national policy, productivity and the use of resources. [New York Times] The fastest growing metropolitan area in the nation is Fort Myers-Cape Coral, Fla., which grew 94.2 percent in population in the last decade, according to the Census Bureau. The way in which the area has changed says much about the paradox of the American dream. [New York Times] Rampaging rivers flooded homes, washed away roads and knocked out power to at least one hospital in western Montana. The flooding began after two days of heavy rainfall, which struck hardest at Helena, Belt, Basin and Deer Lodge. [New York Times] A list of Libyans marked for death included the name of Faisal Zagallai, a Libyan doctoral candidate at Colorado State University, according to a warning that he received from the Federal Bureau of Investigation last year. Mr. Zagallai, who opposes the regime of Col. Muammar Qaddafi, was shot twice in the head last Oct. 14, but survived. The resulting inquiry has uncovered the first known attempt by Colonel Qaddafi to kill an enemy in the United States. [New York Times] Italy's Justice Minister resigned following reports linking him to a secret Masonic lodge that has been implicated in a wide variety of criminal activities. Adolfo Sarti's resignation came during a growing scandal surrounding the lodge. [New York Times] Gunmen seized a Barcelona bank headquarters, took more than 200 people hostage and demanded the release of four officers imprisoned for their involvement in an unsuccessful military coup against Spanish government three months ago. [New York Times] Long-term aid to Carribean basin nations as part of a coordinated mulitnational effort is reportedly being considered by President Reagan and his national security advisers, who are concerned about Soviet and Cuban inroads in the region. [New York Times]