News stories from Saturday September 26, 1981

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

The states' new substantial autonomy in matters usually dealt with in Washington, mandated by the Reagan administration, will begin Thursday. It is expected to be met by widespread disagreement across the nation over whether the states will be able to exercise their new powers in a manner acceptable to their people. The states will have a larger voice in deciding priorities and goals of public policy, but many authorities on state government say the shifting of reponsibility faces formidable difficulties. [New York Times] Radiation damage has been found in 13 reactors around the country and is serious enough to threaten their shutdown for repairs by the end of next year. Their thick steel shells are being rapidly eroded to brittleness by radiation, jeopardizing their safety. [New York Times] Religion's role in public policy is an issue that has come up again with the rise of conservative Christian political action groups. The debate is increasingly polarizing liberal and conservative Christians and challenging non-fundamentlists to sharpen their positions on moral issues. [New York Times] Questions raised by the Holocaust will be examined by a commission of leading American Jews. The group's chairman is Arthur Goldberg, former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. One of the questions is whether American Jews and the United States government reacted forcefully enough to the persecution of Jews in Europe before and during World War II. The commission also hopes to shed light on the evolution of United States foreign policy at the time. [New York Times] Britain's Labor Party decides tomorrow on a new deputy leader at the party's annual conference in Brighton. The principal contenders are Denis Healey, the present deputy leader and a moderate former Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Tony Benn, leader of party factions in favor of unilalteral nuclear disarmament, the restriction or shutting down of American bases in Britain, the abolition of the House of Lords and a sweeping program of further nationalization. [New York Times] Poland refused to give visas to American labor leaders who were invited by the Solidarity union to attend the second phase of its congress in Gdansk. Three representatives of the A.F.L.- C.I.O., including Lane Kirkland, the organization's president, had been invited. The Polish government had previously protested the financial support given by the A.F.L.-C.I.O. to Solidarity. [New York Times] An analysis of the Soviet military will be made public this week by the Reagan administration to bolster its contention that Western security is facing an increasing threat from the Soviet Union. The administration's portrayal of Soviet military power is contained in a 99-page booklet, illustrated with charts and photographs and drawings that is expected to be presented by Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger in a news conference. [New York Times] An Iranian delegation's visit to the General Assembly of the United Nations visit was postponed by the Iranian government after a warning by the United States that it would not permit entry of anyone who had participated in the takeover of the American Embassy in Teheran. There were indications that among the 15-member delegation was Ahmad Azizi, who had been Iran's Director of Hostage Affairs. [New York Times]