News stories from Saturday October 11, 1980

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

Iraqi forces moved toward Abadan after they crossed the Karun River with tanks and moved south from Khorrahshahr, according to Iraqi military officials. The Iraqi crossing on three ponton bridges was confirmed by a broadcast from the Iranian National Oil Company in Abadan. The river was the Iranians best natural defense line in the Khorramshahr-Abadan battle zone. [New York Times] The war raises foreign policy questions concerning American military commitments to Saudi Arabia and involvement in the conflict and Moscow's attitude toward an American buildup in the area. Those issues came into focus last month when Saudi leaders, anxious about a possible attack from Iran, indicated that they wanted immediate military aid. Debate over the proper response is still generating controversy within the administration. [New York Times] Incumbency is a plus for the President as he campaigns for the White House from the White House. Four years ago, when President Ford announced new programs or policies while on the campaign stump, the practice drew Mr. Carter's fire. Now he is taking advantage of the office to score political points as he distributes the government's bounty in pivotal states. [New York Times] The Coast Guard is overextended. Agency officials say that because of added responsibilities, including surveillance of Cuban and Haitian refugee boats, it is unprepared for the impending annual invasion ships smuggling marijuana from Colombia. [New York Times] Michigan will make more budget cuts in an effort to contain both the financial and political fallout from the state's worse economic slump since the Great Depression. The latest announcement by Gov. William Milliken of another $160 million reduction in state spending brings the total cuts in the proposed 1981 budget to $770 million. [New York Times] An inquiry into the deaths of six blacks is reportedly progressing, according to the Erie County District Attorney, who said he has obtained search warrants. The slayings occurred within a three-week period in the Buffalo area, and a white man is believed to be responsible for at least four of the deaths. On Friday, a black patient was attacked in a Buffalo hospital by a man the police believe was responsible for those four deaths. [New York Times] The death toll in the double earthquake that struck the Algerian city of Al Asnam is at least 17,000, the Algerian Red Crescent said. Swiss avalanche rescue teams, dogs trained to find buried victims and soldiers driving bulldozers searched for survivors. [New York Times] A 185-day Soviet space odyssey ended as two astronauts, Leonid Popov and Valery Ryumin, returned to earth, having set a record for space flight aboard their orbiting station Salyut 6. According to Tass, they landed safely in a Soyuz 37 space capsule in the central Asian steppe. [New York Times] Manila's business section was bombed as President Ferdinand Marcos decreed strong measures against urban guerillas who want to destabilize his government. This was the fifth bombing there since Aug. 22. [New York Times] Military leaders in Turkey freed 63, including former Prime Ministers Suleyman Demirel and Bulent Ecevit, who were brought back to Ankara from their internal exile near Gallipoli. Also released were 61 legislators who had been detained after the military takeover on Sept. 12. [New York Times]