News stories from Sunday July 2, 1978

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

Memphis ordered a curfew after 205 fires broke out in the first full day of a strike by the unionized firemen. Arson was suspected in most fires. Mayor Wyeth Chandler insists that talks with the firefighters' union will not proceed until they return to work. [New York Times] A new Treasury agency to control and manage the nation's borders has been approved by President Carter in another step in his government reorganization plan, administration sources said. The plan calls for the shift of about 4,000 people involved in border inspection and patrol from the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which is in the Justice Department, to the Treasury. [New York Times] New food stamps regulations eliminating the partial-payment requirement and establishing new eligibility standards may go into effect in some states in late October instead of on July 1, as the Department of Agriculture had planned. Attempts to complete the sweeping changes in the $5.6 billion program have been thwarted by unexpected complexities. [New York Times] Richard Nixon warned against the dangers of global Communism and emphasized the need to strengthen the military, the C.I.A. and the free enterprise system in speech at dedication ceremonies in Hyden, Ky. In one of his few public appearances since his resignation, the former President was invited to Hyden for the dedication of the Leslie County Recreation Center named in his honor. The center's $2.6 million construction costs came mostly from federal funds. Mr. Nixon was greeted with cheers. Admission to the 2,000-seat gymnasium was by ticket only. Another 2,000 persons outside heard the speeches over loud speakers. The crowd was far smaller than had been expected. [New York Times] The white Protestants who have long been dominant in the South's politics are competing this year with a diverse new group of candidates who include Ivy Leaguers, women, Jews and blacks. Youth is an outstanding characteristic of the new group. [New York Times] The remains of the Chicken Ranch, for years a Texas institution, were auctioned in Dallas. It was not a real ranch. The gun-toting Miss Edna, its last and most famous proprietor, called it her boarding house. Her boarders were attractive young women in cocktail dresses and their guests paid a $10 visiting fee. The ranch was closed five years ago after a television expose, and portions of it were moved from La Grange to Dallas for use in a restaurant, which recently failed. [New York Times] Vice President Mondale said that Israel has agreed to attend a foreign ministers' conference with Egypt and the United States in London later this month. He made the announcement after a 90-minute meeting in Jerusalem with Prime Minister Menachem Begin and his cabinet. Mr. Begin said that Israel was prepared to "to study, analyze and act upon" any new peace proposal that Egypt offers. [New York Times] Rhodesian guerrillas killed 14 black farm laborers and children in an attack on a white-owned cattle ranch in Mayo, 135 miles east of Salisbury, the capital. They had tried to attack the main house, but were turned away by three Rhodesian soldiers who were guarding the building. The guerrillas then turned on the compound where the field workers lived with their families. [New York Times] A West German version of the "Holocaust" television series on the Nazi extermination of the Jews will not be shown on the main channel. The directors of West Germany's largest television network voted to have the series shown only on regional stations, a decision described as effectively burying the series. [New York Times] Fighting in Beirut continued for the second day between Syrian troops of the Arab peacekeeping force and Christian militiamen. Damascus said it was determined to strike at the trouble makers with an "iron fist." [New York Times] The American Ambassador to Chile, George Landau, returned to Santiago after having been recalled to Washington. He returned home for consultations because of a reported lack of cooperation by the Chilean military regime in the investigation into the murder of Orlando Letelier, a Chilean exile leader. [New York Times]