News stories from Sunday May 2, 1976

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

A crossover vote by many Democrats helped Ronald Reagan capture all 96 Republican delegates in the Texas primary Saturday, setting back President Ford's campaign with victory margins of more than 2 to 1 in virtually every district. Jubilant Reagan supporters insisted, however, that he could not have won such sweeping delegate victories in both rural and urban areas without broad support from Republican regulars and independents who were believed to be safely in the Ford camp. [New York Times] Senator Barry Goldwater appears to be increasingly concerned that Ronald Reagan's campaign for the presidency will irreparably divide the Republican Party. He said in a television interview that Mr. Reagan did not fully understand the Panama Canal issue he was raising and suggested that he stop talking about it. "I have to support Ford's position" on renegotiating the canal treaty, Mr. Goldwater said. "I think Reagan would, too, if he knew more about it." [New York Times] People who observed Howard Hughes as closely as they could in the 20 years he lived in seclusion doubt that the will found in Salt Lake City last week was written by him. Hank Greenspun, publisher of the Las Vegas Sun, said "I think it's phony." Handwriting comparisons also cast doubt on the will's genuineness. [New York Times] The first leg of the biennial international trans-Atlantic Tall Ships race began at Plymouth, England. The first ship across the starting line was the Soviet Union's Kruzenshtern, a 3,000-ton square-rigged, four-masted bark manned by a crew of 236, of whom 160 were naval cadets. The first leg will end in about 18 days in the Canary Islands, the second in Bermuda in mid-June, the third in Newport, R.I., at the end of June, and the fourth in Plymouth in August. The entire fleet will sail into New York Harbor on July 4 to celebrate the Bicentennial. [New York Times] Government buildings in Soviet Georgia have been struck by a series of bombings and fires that many Georgians believe to be expressions of protest by profiteering entrepreneurs whom the government wants to put out of business. Authorities have upset well-organized and extremely profitable private business operations, and arson increases with government pressure. [New York Times] Sanjay Gandhi, the 29-year-old son of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, has become one of the most important figures in India though he has never held elective office and entered politics only last December. He was then named to the executive committee of the youth wing of the ruling Congress Party. He is increasingly regarded as a possible candidate to succeed his mother. On a recent political trip to Agra he was received with respectful attention of the sort usually given to a crown prince. [New York Times] Iran's chief oil negotiator, Jamshid Amuzegar, said in an interview in Teheran that the issue of price differentials for differing grades of crude oil "could have grave consequences for the unity" of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. He predicted that the issue would "attract more discussion" at the OPEC ministerial meeting that will begin May 27 in Bali than would the setting of the future base price for OPEC crude. [New York Times]