News stories from Sunday May 20, 1979

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

President Carter chided black Americans, saying they had failed to exercise their voting rights so as to conquer "the cancer of racial injustice." Mr. Carter made his remarks in a commencement speech at the Cheyney State College, a 141-year old black school in Pennsylvania. [New York Times] Twelve Texas Senators are hiding out, having flown the capital to deny the state Senate a quorum in order to kill a bill that would establish an early state presidential primary favorable to Republican candidate John Connelly. The Senators have been dubbed the "Killer Bees." [New York Times] Swindlers in Arizona cheat Americans out of some $100 million dollars a year, according to law enforcement officials. The white-collar swindlers, many with links to organized crime, were uncovered in a broad-based investigation by federal, state and local officials probing the 1976 murder of a Phoenix reporter, Don Bolles. [New York Times] College tuition costs will rise an average of 10.6 percent for residential students at private four-year colleges next fall, and 8.5 percent for such students at public four-year colleges, according to the college scholarship service of the College Entrance Examination Board. [New York Times] Big city traffic is a mess despite a decade of official campaigns aimed at streamlining traffic patterns and facilities, and persuading people to drive less in downtown areas. Federal officials say the traffic situation in many of the nation's biggest cities remains so bad, the quality of the cities' air has continued to deteriorate. [New York Times] A major civil suit against Hooker Chemicals and Plastics Corporation being prepared by the Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency because of the company's dumping of toxic chemicals at the Love Canal and other sites in New York state. Justice Department lawyers say they hope the suit will establish precedents for hazardous waste liability. [New York Times] Crossing borders for gas is a new and sometimes doubtful plan that more Americans are trying in an effort to escape the gas crunch in America. Large numbers of American tourists are expected to cross the border this summer into Canada, where gas is now more plentiful and often cheaper. In Southern California, some are finding a trip to Mexico for gas a virtual necessity. [New York Times] Iran asked the United States to delay sending its new Ambassador to Iran. The government made the request because it said the United States had been interfering in Iranian affairs. The announcement came after the revolutionary leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, bitterly denounced the United States, responding to a Senate resolution condemning executions by revolutionary courts. "We don't need America; it is they who need us," he said. [New York Times] The United States has interceded in the dispute between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, hoping to reduce the polemics between the two Arab nations. The rift began with Saudi Arabia's opposition to the Egyptian peace treaty with Israel. The American Ambassador to Egypt met secretly last week in Europe with Crown Prince Fahd of Saudi Arabia to help negotiate a truce in the angry exchanges between the two countries. [New York Times] Spain's Socialist Party has split over the question of dropping its Marxist line for a more moderate one, and the party's first secretary declined to run for re-election to his post because his centrist approach was defeated by party radicals. The Socialist Workers Party, the second largest in the nation, has been thrown into disarray by the dispute. [New York Times] The Swiss voted more nuclear controls in a national referendum. They overwhelmingly approved the tightening of restraints on nuclear plants and voted stricter requirements for their construction. Under the measures, builders must guarantee the safe long-term disposal of a plant's nuclear wastes. [New York Times] The Joint Chiefs of Staff are troubled by the arms limitation pact, according to Adm. Elmo Zumwalt, retired Chief of Naval Operations. Admiral Zumwalt said the Joint Chiefs had "deep reservations" about the Soviet-American treaty, and must decide whether a decision made by the President "should be supported or whether they should leave office." [New York Times]