News stories from Saturday July 14, 1979
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- President Carter returned to Washington from Camp David to complete work on his address to the nation tomorrow night. The White House said that there were important elements of the energy package that still had to be worked out, and that Mr. Carter now intends to deliver a much broader address dealing with national purpose and seeking to lift the nation from what he regards as a crisis of confidence. [New York Times]
- A Pennsylvania town has mixed feelings about the Indochinese refugees who have come to live there. Pennsylvania is the third state after California and Texas with the largest number of refugees. Many refugees have settled in Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, but there are also large numbers in towns and villages like Bloomsburg in central Pennsylvania. Overt prejudice is rare, but the feeling persists among some Americans that the newcomers are getting a better deal than they did. [New York Times]
- White collar crime is flourishing despite the administration's promise two years ago to fight it. The Justice Department has prepared only a few criminal cases against corporations even though officials estimate that violations of antitrust, tax, environmental and other laws cost the nation billions of dollars annually. Lawyers and law enforcement officials say that the department faces many obstacles in fighting corporate crime and that it lacks the manpower, the expertise and, sometimes, the motivation. [New York Times]
- Gasoline was plentiful on the first Saturday in weeks in the New York metropolitan region and few lines were seen at filling stations. Despite the threat by New Jersey filling station operators to close down in protest against federal allocation and price regulations, few of them defied a court order barring the closings. Retailers in New Jersey and in New York and Connecticut urged the government to liberalize the regulations. A change in the rules is expected to be announced on Sunday and Monday. [New York Times]
- Palestinian guerrilla leaders joined Turkish officials in efforts to avoid a showdown at the Egyptian Embassy in Ankara, which was seized by four Palestinian gunmen Friday. Members of the Palestine Liberation Organization, which has denounced the attack on the embassy, arrived from Damascus to try to reach a settlement with the gunmen. The Egyptian Ambassador, Ahmed Kamal Ulma, and 14 other hostages were said to still be in the building. [New York Times]
- A cabinet was announced by Nicaragua's provisional junta that the rebel leaders say reflects the broad nature of the opposition to President Anastasio Somoza. The cabinet has 18 members, and sources close to the junta said that because of security reasons it had disclosed only the names of 12 ministers who are outside the country. The rest include some who are in hiding and others participating openly in non-violent opposition to the Somoza government. Only one member is a leader of the Sandinist National Liberation Front. [New York Times]
- Paraguay's dictatorship is shaken by the decline of the Somoza regime in Nicaragua. Signs of insecurity after 25 years of unchallenged rule by President Alfredo Stroessner, who heads the oldest dictatorship in South America, has led Paraguayans to wonder whether he is losing his grip. Many observers believe that the United States may be withdrawing its support for him as it has for President Anastasio Somoza of Nicaragua. The chief of Paraguay's political police has accused the United States Embassy, among others, of preparing a "process of subversion" intended to "destabilize" the regime. [New York Times]