News stories from Saturday July 26, 1980
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Richard Queen plans to contact as many of the hostages' families and give them as much information about the hostages as possible, he said in an interview at his parents' home in Lincolnville, Me. Mr. Queen is learning to cope with multiple sclerosis. The onset of the disease led to his release in Iran. He said "I can only speak of what little I saw myself, but maybe that will be of some comfort." [New York Times]
- Billy Carter's Libyan connection will be investigated this week by a special Senate subcommittee, which will also attempt to determine whether administration officials, including President Carter and Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti, had acted improperly in the administration's handling of the case. Meanwhile, Justice Department officials said that an internal department investigation of Mr. Civiletti's conduct in the case would focus on whether he obstructed justice when he mentioned it to President Carter in June. [New York Times]
- About 4,000 people were evacuated from the Fort Knox area when an Illinois Central Gulf frieght train derailed and two of the cars containing toxic vinyl chloride caught fire. The fire sent plumes of poisonous smoke high into the air and for a time authorities feared that winds would carry the clouds to Louisville. The train derailed on the outskirts of Muldraugh, a town of about 2,000. [New York Times]
- A wrangle in Iran over who the new prime minister should be subsided with the nomination by President Abolhassan Bani-Sadr of the national police chief, Mostafa Mir-Salim, a 33-year-old, French-trained engineer. His choice was a compromise with his hard-line Islamic opponents, whose leading candidate was a liaison with the Palestine Liberation Organization in the 1970's. [New York Times]
- A funeral in Lebanon set off shooting among hundreds of gunmen from rival militias and organizations as the body of Riad Taha, the president of the Lebanese press association, who was assassinated Wednesday, arrived in Baalbek on its way to his hometown of Hermil for burial. Heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades were fired, forcing government officials who were on their way to the funeral to take cover. [New York Times]
- Investigators searched a newsroom at a television station in Boise, Idaho, for tapes made of last week's riot at the Idaho State Prison. The hour-and-a-half search was conducted under a warrant issued by a local magistrate, who invoked a 1978 Supreme Court ruling that law enforcement officials could make surprise searches of newsrooms for evidence. [New York Times]
- Wiring Cincinnati for cable television is a matter of intense competition among powerful factions and six cable TV companies, one of which will get the franchise. The frantic political, technological and financial competition over cable franchises is being called "the last great gold rush." The City Council will make its decision this fall. Cincinnati is one of many cities where political infighting is going on over the franchises. [New York Times]
- James Buckley was endorsed by the Republican State Convention in Hartford to run for the United States Senate from Connecticut. His challenger, Richard Bozzuto, minority leader of the State Senate, received far more than enough convention votes to force Mr. Buckley into a statewide primary election for the nomination on Sept. 9, if Mr. Bozzuto decides run. The vote, following a roll call of individual delegates, was 471 for Mr. Buckley and 456 for Mr. Bozzuto. [New York Times]