News stories from Saturday October 11, 1975

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

Vice President Rockefeller called for speedy federal intervention to aid New York City once Mayor Beame and the new agency that oversees the city's finances enact a program to show how the city will end its budget deficit by 1978. In an address in Manhattan, Mr. Rockefeller went beyond his previous position on the city's fiscal plight and well beyond a statement made by President Ford last week. Spokesmen for both men said that Mr. Rockefeller was speaking for himself and that his speech reflected no change in Mr. Ford's views. [New York Times] The prospect that Congress will eventually pass legislation to rescue New York City from financial collapse seems to be gaining, but there is not yet enough strength for such a bill to be approved. That is the conclusion derived from dozens of interviews with Senators and Representatives, staff members, lobbyists and observers on Capitol Hill. Many influential members of Congress believe that some form of aid to the city will be passed, but only with support from President Ford, who is not flatly committed to vetoing such a measure. [New York Times] Presidents Nixon and Johnson reportedly got private reports from the National Security Agency on what prominent Americans were doing and saying overseas, apparently obtained from electronic bugging. Present and former government officials told The New York Times that the reports were not related to national security and did not go to the presidents through regular intelligence channels. Instead, the sources said, they were sent directly from the agency to the presidents and marked for "White House distribution only" to prevent their being circulated to other intelligence agencies. The security agency declined comment on the allegations, which are under investigation by both Senate and House committees. [New York Times] The top prosecutors of 17 states have asked the Federal Communications Commission to prohibit the advertising of over-the-counter drugs on television until after 9 P.M. on the ground that such ads lead to drug abuse among children. The Attorneys General charged that the present system of voluntary controls adopted by the government last year had failed to protect the millions of young people who watch TV in the afternoon and early evening. Drug and TV industry spokesmen contend that a link between drug advertising and drug abuse has not been proved. [New York Times] The Civil Service Commission, which is charged with insuring that government jobs are awarded on merit, has run a political referral system for such jobs, according to testimony by a commission official. In a sworn deposition, the official, Charles Ryan, testified that from 1969 to 1971 he processed job references from members of Congress, White House officials and even commissioners in his agency. [New York Times] Organized crime has heavily infiltrated the pornographic movie business and is amassing huge profits from such successes as "Deep Throat," "The Devil in Miss Jones" and "Wet Rainbow." An inquiry by The New York Times has found that Mafia money and Mafia members are involved in many aspects of the business, including the financing and distribution of movies and the ownership of some theaters. [New York Times] Tens of thousands of Vietnamese youngsters, with little knowledge of English, have begun entering public schools in the United States. Bilingual teaching materials are scarce and few adults with Vietnamese language skills have been hired to help. Yet, a New York Times study shows, the children have distinguished themselves for their ability to equal and surpass American pupils in mathematics and for the respect they show their teachers, who, under Vietnamese tradition, are outranked in esteem only by royalty. [New York Times] Soviet negotiators, according to Ford administration sources, have rejected American requests to buy Soviet oil at a major discount from international prices. As a result, the sources said, prospects for an oil sales accord are dim. The disagreement is said to involve public relations and politics. In particular, Moscow is understood to be wary of doing anything that might seem to undercut Arab oil states and thereby cast doubt on its reliability as an ally of the Arabs. [New York Times] Ethiopia's revolutionary government is arresting many suspected opponents, with military patrols on foot and in jeeps criss-crossing Addis Ababa day and night. A state of emergency has been in effect in the capital and surrounding region for more than a month and martial law also prevails in the province of Eritrea, where a separatist movement is waging guerrilla warfare. At least 64 persons were reported killed in one battle. [New York Times] The Roman Catholic Church is withholding endorsement of Generalissimo Francisco Franco and his government at a critical time. Churchmen have been conspicuously absent from government-sponsored rallies to combat a terrorist challenge at home and criticism abroad of the government's repression of dissenters. General Franco ignored repeated appeals by Pope Paul VI for clemency for five convicted terrorists, who were later executed. Spain's bishops have deplored excessive repression as "violence." [New York Times] A study of congressional views on foreign relations showed that members of the House strongly supported the United Nations and favored its peace-keeping operations, especially in the Middle East and Cyprus. However, the study also showed that most Representatives felt that the influence of the United Nations on American foreign policy was decreasing. [New York Times]