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News stories from Sunday May 4, 1980
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- President Tito of Yugoslavia died in Ljubljana after fighting a series of ailments for four months. The 87-year-old leader had ruled Yugoslavia since World War II. It was announced that his funeral would take place Thursday in Belgrade and that he would be buried there. Heads of state, prime ministers and high officals from more than 100 countries are expected to be present.
President Carter mourned his death, and called Tito "a towering figure on the world stage." Mr. Carter affirmed that the United States would "do what it must" to continue its long-standing support for Yugoslavia. No announcement was made of who would lead the official delegation to the funeral on Thursday, but there is a possibility that Mr. Carter might go. [New York Times]
- Tito was praised on Soviet television as a fighter for peace and socialism, while no mention was made of the his differences with the Soviet Union. His death was briefly announced by the official news agency, Tass. In recent weeks the Soviet press had reported very little about Marshal Tito. [New York Times]
- Texas voting results signal weaknesses that both President Carter and Ronald Reagan could face in November. Though Mr. Carter trounced Senator Kennedy, nearly one of every five Democrats voted "uncommitted" -- twice as many as in 1976. In the Republican ranks, Mr. Reagan won only a bare majority of the popular vote in a state he won 2-to-1 over Gerald Ford four years ago. [New York Times]
- A priest serving in Congress will quit the Massachusetts seat he has held for 10 years because of a directive from the Roman Catholic Church that all priests worldwide give up secular political activity. Aides to Representative Robert Drinan, a Democrat and a Jesuit priest, said that he would not seek re-election in the fall. [New York Times]
- A slump in the timber industry, believed to be the worst since World War II, is displacing thousands of wood and lumber workers in the Pacific Northwest. Among the reasons for the decline, which has affected 61,000 workers in 12 states, are a slowdown in home building, outmoded mills and a timber shortage. [New York Times]
- Jailing of white-collar criminals by federal judges occurs more frequently than it did five years ago and those convicted are receiving stiffer sentences. Reasons for the trend include an emphasis on such cases by prosecutors, complaints about a "double standard," and the cumulative effect of the Watergate scandal. [New York Times]
- The Pope's third day in Africa was marred by the deaths of seven women and two children who were trampled in an attempt to get into a mass attended by 1.5 million Zairians. The mass continued with the Pope apparently unaware of the incident. During the mass, the Pontiff issued greetings in four local languages -- Lingala, Swahili, Tshiluba and Kikongo. [New York Times]
- Gunmen released a fifth hostage from the Iranian embassy in London. Police did not immediately identify the man, who had been held along with about 20 others -- mostly Iranians -- since the takeover of the embassy on Wednesday. Earlier the British government conferred with three Mideast envoys whom the gunmen have said might be acceptable mediators. [New York Times]
- The U.S. closed its immigration office in Havana after the Cubans failed to guarantee the safety of those visiting the building, the State Department said. The action followed by two days an attack, led by chain-wielding Cubans, on several hundred people who had been waiting there. Suspension of the visa action, effective tomorrow, is not expected to affect the current exodus of Cubans by boat. [New York Times]
- Prime Minister Ohira's visit to Mexico came to an end without his having been able to extract a firm commitment to increase the export of oil to Japan from 100,000 to 300,000 barrels per day. Mexico indicated that higher shipments would depend upon the progress of several joint development projects that are currently being negotiated. [New York Times]
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