News stories from Sunday July 24, 1977

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

The purchase of Bert Lance's 200,000 shares of National Bank of Georgia stock has been tentatively arranged, his trustee said. Mr. Lance's holdings were put into the hands of a trustee when he became the administration's Director of Management and Budget. Thomas Mitchell, the trustee, said that the price for the shares would be above the bank's book value and would be sufficient to pay off Mr. Lance's $3.4 million personal loan at the First National Bank of Chicago, which was being questioned by the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. [New York Times] "Highly adverse consequences" may follow if the world, as it now seems likely, depends increasingly on coal for energy over the next two centuries, a panel of blue-ribbon scientists said in a report to the National Academy of Sciences. They foresee climate changes beginning in the next century and by the latter half of the 22nd century a global warming of 10 degrees Fahrenheit that would be tripled in high latitudes. The increased temperatures could radically disrupt food production, lead to a 20-foot rise in the sea level and seriously lower productivity of the oceans. [New York Times] The first oil sent through the Alaska pipeline, from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, the pipeline's southern terminal, will be shipped by tanker to a refinery in Cherry Point, Wash. The tanker's trip symbolizes the hope of a nation trying to break its dependence on foreign oil, and it will also carry with it the hope of the United States maritime industry for a revitalized merchant fleet. American ships will be the principal beneficiaries of the new traffic that the pipeline is expected to generate. [New York Times] For seven days, a fire has ravaged the slopes of Mount Katandin, Maine's highest mountain, and the efforts of 300 state forest rangers, game wardens, volunteers and National Guardsmen have failed to subdue it. [New York Times] Sources of additional aid for New York City's recovery from looting and vandalism during the July 13-14 blackout were explored by the Carter administration. A White House spokesman said that federal officials were studying formal requests to have the city declared a "disaster area." Other aid may be provided by the Federal Economic Development Administration, which has asked for a list of damaged public facilities that need to be replaced as a result of the looting and vandalism. [New York Times] How the resources and good will of the conglomerate Gulf and Western Industries were allegedly used for the private gain of senior corporate officers is described in the second article on an investigation of the company by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The S.E.C. inquiry has focused on the relationship between Gulf and Western and some of the many banks that have been major providers of loans and credits for the corporation and its top officers. [New York Times] Energy industry executives are hoping that the Commerce Department will clarify their obligations under the new federal law limiting participation of American corporations in the Arab boycott of Israel. "The version of the bill that passed has a lot of vague areas in it," said Jack Edrington, a lawyer for the Shell Oil Company. [New York Times] Corporate borrowing demand that currently can be described only as tepid has cut into the earnings of the big city commercial banks like those in New York and Chicago, but regional banks not so involved in big corporate loans are doing better. "The quality of earnings power is clearly greater" at most banks outside the big "money center" banks, according to a New York securities analyst. [New York Times] American troops in South Korea were told to remain "fully combat ready" by Defense Secretary Harold Brown, who was in Seoul to discuss the withdrawal of 30,000 ground troops. The talks over the next two days are expected to focus on the amount of military aid to be provided to South Korea to modernize its armed forces and how much of the United States Second Infantry Division's equipment should be left behind. An easy transition seemed unlikely. [New York Times] Egyptian forces fighting Libya were ordered to observe an immediate cease-fire by President Anwar Sadat. President Sadat gave the order after he started talks in Alexandria with President Houari Boumediene of Algeria. Arab pressure on President Sadat to stop the fighting in Libya has been applied since shortly after the clashes between Egypt and Libya turned into open warfare Thursday. Most of the Arab governments have had little sympathy for Col. Muammar Qaddafi, the Libyan leader. [New York Times] White Rhodesians, who broke loose from Britain 12 years ago, are experiencing a series of troubles: a murderous war, a failing economy, and now a rancorous internal squabble over the settlement to be offered to the black majority. The blacks, too, are divided, raising the possibility of civil war if one faction accepts terms rejected by others. [New York Times]