News stories from Sunday October 23, 1977

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

The Concorde seems assured of starting passenger service at Kennedy International Airport. Officials of the Port Authority were reported convinced that the modest noise the supersonic airliner made in test takeoffs and landings there last week had doomed the campaign to block regular service. The British and French are pressing plans to begin flights Nov. 22. [New York Times] Wall Street is awaiting a signal that, according to one school of theorists, would "confirm" that a bear market has killed the bull market. The sign is the Dow Jones Transportation Index, which last week hovered just above the purportedly critical point of 203.85. According to Dow theory, if the Transportation Index drops below 203.85, investors should sell. [New York Times] Controlling money-supply growth has caused disagreement among the 12 Federal Reserve governors and regional bank presidents who chart the course of the nation's monetary policy. A report has disclosed that when the group voted in mid-September to push interest rates up again, eight favored the move and four dissented. Two dissenters believed interest rates should not be raised so much, while two argued for an even higher federal funds rate than the 6 percent to 6½ percent range chosen. [New York Times] Congressional-administration tension is reflected in an intense dispute between two long-time friends, liberal Democrats and leading politicians. They are Representative John Brademas and Joseph Califano, who is Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare. Their dispute over the management of about 5 billion in government programs tor the needy illustrates the differing views of the two branches over their government roles, even when both are controlled by the same party. [New York Times] The elderly are a strong political force in Washington. Their influence has been shown by overwhelming passage in both the Senate and House of legislation barring mandatory retirement before the age of 70 for most workers. After a conference works out differences le the bills, probably this week, this latest gain for the aged will almost certainly become law. [New York Times] Life 3.4 billion years ago is evidenced in the remains of microscopic one-celled creatures embedded in rocks from South Africa. The discovery, pushing back the earliest proof of life by 100 million years. was made by Dr. Elso Barghoorn, a Harvard paleontologist, and one of his graduate students, Dr. Andrew Knoll, and was announced in Science magazine. [New York Times] The New York City Marathon was won by Bill Rodgers for the second successive year. The 29-year-old special education teacher from Melrose, Mass., finished the 26-mile, 385-yard race in 2 hours 11 minutes, 28.2 seconds. There were 4,823 starters, a record number, ranging in age from 8 to 75, in the five-borough trek from the Staten Island side of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to Central Park. Enthusiastic onlookers were estimated at 800,000. [New York Times] Panamanian voters were giving strong support in a national plebiscite for approval of the new Panama Canal treaties with the United States. Representative districts in the capital showed that more than 60 percent of the early voters backed the pacts, and observers expected the favorable vote to rise as returns from the interior increased. One official described the voting as "massive." [New York Times] Terrorism has stunned West Germany, where many people feel emotionally drained and fearful. However, there is widespread reassurance that the democratic system has served well under major stress, and the political leadership has gained new trust. [New York Times] Anti-hijacking measures around the world were demanded by the Bonn government, which indicated it would boycott airports where it considered security to be too lax. West Germany said it would institute its own checks at some foreign airports. [New York Times]