News stories from Saturday May 1, 1976

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

Ronald Reagan won what appeared to be a smashing victory over President Ford in the Texas Republican primary, garnering 88 delegates to the. Republican National Convention compared to only 4 for the President. With 20 percent of the vote counted, Jimmy Carter appeared the winner on the Democratic ballot, leading in 81 delegate contests to 8 won by favorite son Lloyd Bentsen. Reagan appeared to win support in large urban areas traditionally voting Democratic. The Democratic vote was termed moderate to heavy in what was the state's first such presidential primary. [New York Times] Senator Henry Jackson announced in Seattle that he was "ending my active pursuit of the Democratic presidential nomination." He said, however, that he would remain a candidate and that he did not "intend to endorse any other candidate at this time." He said he believed the nomination was still open but that Jimmy Carter "quite clearly has a commanding lead." The extent of his withdrawal was apparent from the simultaneous announcement that he would seek re-election to the Senate this fall. [New York Times] Whether to undertake an expanded Navy shipbuilding program that would bring about a major increase in the defense budget in future years was discussed by President Ford and the National Security Council. There was no indication that a decision had been made after the two-hour meeting of Mr. Ford and his top defense, diplomatic and budget advisers, but it was apparent that the administration believed that, partly for political reasons, Mr. Ford would approve some increase in the Navy's shipbuilding program. The future size of the Navy, which at 480 ships is now the smallest since 1939, is regarded by the Pentagon as the administration's most important military issue. [New York Times] Secretary of State Henry Kissinger proposed a $7.5 billion rescue operation to "roll back the desert" in a drought-devastated region of West Africa. He made the proposal in a speech in Dakar, Senegal, on his sixth visit to an African country in his two-week tour. The international aid would be used to develop additional water resources, increase crop acreage and build food-storage facilities. "Traditional aid levels and methods will not be enough," Mr. Kissinger said. "Nor can any one country or any single donor provide the resources necessary to meet the critical, long-term needs" of the parched sub-Sahara region known as the Sahel. [New York Times] China's senior leaders made an unusual appearance together on television at a May Day celebration in what was believed to be an effort to demonstrate unity despite the country's current bitter political campaign. Breaking with the usual custom of following strict party rank, the leaders were shown with members of the so-called "radical" faction seated next to other officials who are usually identified with the so-called "moderates." [New York Times] Peru's image as a model for development In Latin America has been tarnished by severe economic setbacks, eroding the confidence of Peruvian military officers in the leftist revolution they proclaimed in 1968. The Peruvian experiment which greatly expanded the role of the state in the economy while carrying out social and economic reforms aimed at the poorer sectors attracted a great deal of attention as an alternative to the right-wing course taken by Brazil and most South American countries. Peru's military leaders are facing their most serious problem to date -- how to attract the huge amounts of private capital needed to overcome the economic crisis while not turning away from their revolutionary program. [New York Times] The center of Lisbon was rocked by a bomb that went off outside a Communist Party office, killing one person and injuring six others. The explosion also damaged half a dozen other cars and shattered windows of hotels, movie theaters, shops and office buildings on the Avenida da Liberdade. A Communist Party spokesman said "the terrorist attack was obviously aimed at the Communist Party." A few hours before the explosion, the Communist Party leader, Alvaro Cunhal, warned that "reactionary forces are seeking to destabilize" Portugal's political situation. [New York Times]