News stories from Saturday July 29, 1978
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Principles of a national health plan were disclosed by the Carter administration. President Carter, in a directive to the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, Joseph Califano, said that his goal was "a universal, comprehensive national health plan to contain skyrocketing costs and to provide all Americans with coverage and basic health services and with protection from catastrophic expenses." Mr. Califano was told to develop a tentative program by the end of this year. [New York Times]
- The United States Olympic Committee offered to enter into a "partnership" with Los Angeles to enable the city to be host to the 1984 Olympic Summer Games, a role that appeared to be jeopardized by the financial expense. The committee would assume financial responsibility and its contract would indemnify Los Angeles from any financial losses. [New York Times]
- The postal union delayed this week's scheduled ratification of its controversial tentative contract with the United States Postal Service because it is being sued by a local union leader in Pittsburgh who is dissatisfied with the settlement. Meanwhile, the leader of a militant postal union chapter in New York City, who had urged his 23,000 members to strike illegally, said that he would obey a court order to suspend strike vote set for Monday. [New York Times]
- Smaller classes don't always help pupils to learn, according to a study by the Educational Research. The study found that certain kinds of students -- those in the lower grades, disadvantaged children and those with lower academic ability -- benefit from small classes when teachers adjust their methods to a more intimate setting. But years of research on the issue have "failed to justify small overall reductions in class size or pupil-teacher ratio by a school board as a general matter of policy," the report said. [New York Times]
- Poor whites, women, veterans and other groups are being included in the government's minority category, once limited mainly to blacks and Hispanic Americans. In a trend that worries black leaders, agencies administering affirmative action plans and similar programs are increasingly basing their decisions on whether the people in question are "socially or economically disadvantaged," regardless of their race. [New York Times]
- Thousands jammed airports waiting for vacation flights to Spain and France that have been delayed by a slowdown by French air controllers, which has delayed Western European flights. About100,000 people have been affected. [New York Times]
- Egypt sees nothing new in Israel's position that would warrant another round of face-to-face talks. Foreign Minister Mohammed Ibrahim Kamel said that there had been no advance in the Egyptian and Israel positions after four and a half hours of talks with the American special envoy, Alfred Atherton. But another meeting with the Israelis would be possible if the United States came up with what Egypt considered "a good proposal." [New York Times]