News stories from Sunday May 13, 1979

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

A call to assassinate the Shah, members of his family, former Prime Ministers of his regime, and his Ambassador to Washington, Ardeshir Yahedi, went out from the chief of Iran's revolutionary courts. But later the Iranian leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, said the death sentences would be limited to those "proven to have killed people" and those proven to have ordered killings or torture that resulted in killings. [New York Times] Senate amendments could jeopardize the Soviet-American treaty limiting strategic arms, Secretary of State Cyrus Vance said in the administration's strongest statement against treaty amendments expected to be proposed in the Senate. He said that he could see no changes in the treaty that Moscow would accept. [New York Times] Amtrak routes got a reprieve of a sort when congressional panels assembling the line's revised budget added $50 million on the Senate side and $155 million on the House side. If given final approval by Congress, the additional money will mean retention of some of the system's services which had been threatened when the railroad was ordered to cut deficits [New York Times] Robert Garwood, the Marine accused of collaborating with the Viet Cong, has a number of accusers ready to testify against him if the charges lead to a court-martial. But there are also extenuating circumstances surrounding the case, according to defenders of the Marine, and many American prisoners of war would cite them in Mr. Garwood's defense. [New York Times] California is throttling back its free-wheeling, motorized life style, adjusting to the pressures of its second gasoline crisis in five years. Since the gas crisis began 10 days ago, highway travel in the state has declined, mass transit patronage and car pooling have increased. [New York Times] A letter asking for help and bearing the signature of Roy McLemore, a Texan missing in Colombia, was received by the fire chief of Houston, who was in Colombia trying to bring back William Spradley, another Texan who landed there illegally. [New York Times] Western influence is growing in Eastern Europe, with Western styles and thoughts impinging on nearly every aspect of life in the six Communist countries there. As a result, Soviet rigidity has softened in the arts, in fashion, and in some economic policies and political attitudes. [New York Times] A fight to save the sanctions imposed by the United States against Rhodesia is shaping up in the Senate, with the Carter administration trying to preserve the economic sanctions by defeating a repeal amendment sponsored by Senator Jesse Helms, Republican of North Carolina. [New York Times] San Salvador's Archbishop urged the release of the three missing labor leaders. Their release has been demanded by the militant organization that is occupying the French and Venezuelan Embassies. The Archbishop is a frequent critic of the army-backed government. [New York Times]