News stories from Sunday May 31, 1981
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Soviet officials were given documents about the Titan missiles that were sensitive enough to require the Air Force to change targets, codes and other systems, according to military officials. The officials said the information was turned over to Soviet authorities by Lt. Christopher Cooke, who has been accused of unauthorized contact with the Soviet Embassy in Washington. [New York Times]
- The life of John W. Hinckley, who has been charged with shooting President Reagan, is being intensely scrutinized by government investigators and psychiatrists, not only to prove that he shot the President, but also to answer questions that might be asked by historians in the future. [New York Times]
- A group formed to aid the families of the slain children in Atlanta may be prosecuted on both civil and criminal charges of violating Georgia's charitable solicitations law. The Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs has asked that the Committee to Stop Children's Murders be prosecuted because it has not registered as a charitable organization despite several warnings. The committee, which is composed primarily of the mothers of the 29 slain black children and young men, also has refused to open its books for public examination of the sources and amounts of its solicitations or how the money has been spent. [New York Times]
- A loan program for disaster victims is itself in need of a major rescue effort, according to federal auditors. More than 77,000 loans issued under the Small Business Administration program are overdue or have been deferred or written off completely, records show. [New York Times]
- A requiem mass for Stefan Cardinal Wyszynski, who ruled the Roman Catholic Church in Poland for nearly 33 years, was the occasion for a rare show of unity on the part of the government, the church and the Solidarity union. The mass was the largest religious celebration in Poland since Pope John Paul II visited his homeland two years ago. [New York Times]
- The government of Bangladesh said it had crushed a rebellion by army officers in the port city of Chittagong. The government radio said that Gen. Manzur Ahmed, who was responsible for the assassination of President Ziaur Rahman, had fled from the Chittagong district. The radio said the two-day rebellion by General Manzur and other officers had been "vanquished completely." [New York Times]
- Rocket fire in Beirut shattered a lazy day on a sunny beach, killing at least eight people and wounding about 60. While it was yet another of the many assaults the Lebanese capital has come to expect, it was perhaps the worst incident in a violent weekend in which 33 people were reported killed. The city is settling into a permanent state of anarchic war. [New York Times]
- Namibia's independence would be linked under a strategy adopted by the Reagan administration to the withdrawal of Cuban forces from Angola and a commitment by that country's Marxist leaders to share power with Western-backed guerrillas. Officials in Washington believe that key black-ruled African states will have no choice but to go along with the plan. [New York Times]