News stories from Sunday February 27, 1977

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

New York City was warned by Secretary of the Treasury Michael Blumenthal that he could not approve its emergency loan application -- aimed at averting a default in March -- until the city had achieved an accord on ways to redeem its $1 billion moratorium debt. His statement brought the city closer than it has been since late 1975 to default and put great pressure on municipal union leaders, bankers and Mayor Beame to reach the moratorium solution. [New York Times] International response to the Carter administration's expansionary economic policies will be tested at high-level meetings in Paris tomorrow and Tuesday arranged by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, American and European officials believe. American officials say that they again plan to urge West Germany, Japan and other industrial allies with relatively strong economies to follow the administration's example and give their economies an additional expansionary boost. [New York Times] Angered by repeated statements in Washington that oil companies have been withholding natural gas, the Shell Oil Company invited reporters on a helicopter tour of four of its drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico. Shell's purpose in organizing the tour was to explain why it feels high prices are needed, why it takes several years in most cases to bring gas to market and why some gas is not being produced. [New York Times] The United States has been invited to send a diplomatic delegation to the meeting that President Idi Amin of Uganda has called with Americans working in Uganda, an aide to Mr. Amin said. The meeting has been postponed from Monday to Wednesday. The aide, in a telephone interview, insisted that there was nothing ominous about the meeting. He said its primary purpose was to discuss ways of gaining technical and development assistance for Uganda, particularly from the United States. He quoted Mr. Amin as having frequently said that his only complaint about Americans was "that there were not enough of them in his country." [New York Times] A proposal that would put a 15 percent, or $8,625 limitation, on outside earned income, but not dividends, of members of Congress is expected to reach the floor of the House Wednesday, It is part of an otherwise generally accepted proposed standard of ethics that is regarded by its supporters as crucial to restoring confidence in Congress. Many members of Congress believe the income limitation is unjust. They fear leaving office without savings or a source of income. [New York Times] Malpractice insurance rates for lawyers, like those for physicians, are soaring. Following a steep increase in the last few months, some lawyers are paying as much as $1,000 a year for coverage, and increases are predicted in the near future. Virtually every state and local bar organization has formed a committee to study the problem. A complicating factor is that most insurance companies do not want the malpractice business, so the number of companies that write such policies has decreased sharply. [New York Times] Alluding to disclosures that King Hussein of Jordan had received millions of dollars in secret payments from the Central Intelligence Agency. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance defended the payments as "appropriate." Mr. Vance said in a television interview that "these kind of things cannot be done in the glare of public publicity." King Hussein, meanwhile, told Newsweek that the money he received was not for his personal benefit, but had been used for common intelligence purposes. He said that he had not been told of the funds' cutoff "either officially or unofficially." [New York Times] An economic partnership between Algiers and the United States is quietly growing as the United States becomes increasingly dependent on Algerian liquefied gas and Algeria relies more on the United States for foreign exchange and industrial expertise. "Our needs are complementary," said Driss Djazairi, an economic counselor to Algeria's President Houari Boumediene. "You need our light oil and natural gas and we need your technology and equipment." [New York Times] Governor Carey Is attempting to block the Liberal Party's prospective endorsement of state Senator Roy Goodman, a Republican, for Mayor of New York City. The Governor apparently does not want a Republican in City Hall next year who could make demands that might jeopardize his own expected re-election campaign. In his maneuvering, the Governor has delayed signing a June 7 primary bill and raised the possibility of a veto that would, in effect, postpone the primary until September, allowing more time for a Democratic-Liberal alliance to develop in the mayoral campaign. [New York Times]