News stories from Saturday December 10, 1977

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

There is almost no chance that President Carter's goal of a comprehensive bill overhauling the welfare system will be reached next year, according to key members of Congress and administration strategists. A special House subcommittee last week approved in principal one element of the proposed reform, a conversion of the food stamp program into extra cash benefits for the needy, but the debate and close vote highlighted the many obstacles in the way of an overall welfare bill. "If I were the general, a Congressman said, "I would be looking for a way to beat a retreat." [New York Times] Angry farmers seeking higher farm prices drove tractors and trucks into Washington, where they held a meeting to protest national farm policy. Similar demonstrations were recently held in 30 state capitals. The tractors and trucks, moving slowly, formed two lines about a dozen blocks long in their slow procession to an amphitheater near the Washington Monument. The farmers are members of the American Agriculture Movement, an unofficial group that appears united in its discontent and has called for a national farm strike beginning Wednesday. [New York Times] New York City still faces the worst of its financial problems on its road to solvency, the Citizens Budget Commission said in a report on New York's financial condition. In no circumstance the commission said, could the city avoid bankruptcy without substantial federal aid. The report called on mayor-elect Ed Koch to begin cutting services as soon as he takes office to try to close up what is becoming a staggering budget gap. The commission, a private organization supported by the business community, warned of the city's fiscal crisis years before it occurred. [New York Times] Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, who arrived in Israel after meeting in Cairo with President Anwar Sadat to prepare for the conference with Israel there this week, said there was "a lot of work to be done" before going on to what he called "the ultimate meeting in Geneva." He said that it was agreed in Cairo that when the conference starts Wednesday it would have a flexible agenda, no fixed timetable and that the seats for the Arab leaders who are boycotting the conference would remain open if they wished to reconsider. It was also agreed that the talks could be raised to the level of foreign ministers. [New York Times] President Carter said that he hoped and expected that Israel would act with the same "courage" as President Anwar Sadat in its response to Egypt's peace initiatives. He said at a meeting with news editors that he believed that Mr. Sadat's visit to Jerusalem had "broken through what seemed to be insurmountable obstacles and greatly clarified the issues that still have to be addressed." He said United States diplomatic efforts were aimed at trying to keep the door open so that the Syrians, Jordanians and Lebanese can enter the negotiations later. [New York Times] A surprisingly decisive victory was won by Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser's Liberal Party in Australia's national election, which was held a year earlier than was necessary. This was the second overwhelming defeat since 1975 for the opposition Labor Party. The party's leader, former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, said he was stepping down. Incomplete returns indicated that the Liberal Party would keep its better than two-thirds majority in the 124-member House of Representatives. The Liberals were assured of a majority of at least 50 seats and they were given a good chance of raising this to as many as 62. [New York Times] More than a score of Soviet dissidents were placed under house arrest today, designated by the United Nations as Human Rights Day, to prevent them from attending what was to be a silent demonstration on behalf of human rights. Several were taken into custody as they attempted to leave their homes. There were threats that "drunken hooligans" would break up the demonstrations but this did not happen. [New York Times]