News stories from Sunday June 29, 1980

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

The Shah of Iran apparently rallied following his hospitalization in Egypt for treatment of pneumonia. President Anwar Sadat, who on Saturday said the Shah's condition was "very serious," spent an hour at the Shah's bedside and said afterward that he had shown "great improvement" but might require a minor operation. [New York Times] Iran's President announced that he had appointed Kazem Bojnourdi as successor to Abu Sherif, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, who submitted his resignation earlier this month after some guards were criticized for firing on a leftist crowd during riots near the United States Embassy in Teheran. [New York Times] The administration opposes a tax cut now, despite pressure from Republicans and Senate Democrats, Secretary of the Treasury William Miller insisted in the Carter administration's first public reaction to calls for quick action to cut taxes. He said the first priority was still to maintain a conservative economic policy and to hold down federal spending and the deficit in an effort to achieve further reductions in inflation and interest rates. [New York Times] $100 billion for public works already appropriated remains unused because of delays, according to an estimate made while Congress debates whether more money should be provided for such projects to offset the effects of the recession. The estimate comes from an economist, Pat Choate, who conducted a study of public works spending for a research organization. He believes that official red tape makes public works appropriations an ineffective tool for stimulating the economy. [New York Times] Full-scale venting at Three Mile Island of radioactive gas from inside the crippled reactor there began with federal, state and utility officials repeating assurances that it would be safe. The release of the gas was started after resolving problems with tests made late last week. [New York Times] Ronald Reagan gave a key position in his campaign hierarchy to William Timmons, a prominent Washington lobbyist. Mr. Timmons said he would accept the job of deputy director for campaign operations, the chief political post in Mr. Reagan's campaign, and he will be responsible for all political decidons. [New York Times] A tornado struck Baltimore's zoo, injuring at least seven adults and children and killing several birds on the grounds. More injuries were reported when high winds also struck the city's waterfront area, where a German festival was being held.The Texas heat wave that has brought record-high temperatures to Dallas is believed to be either the direct cause or a contributing factor in 29 deaths in Dallas County. Temperatures reached a record 113 degrees Thursday and Friday, 112 Saturday and 108 today. Hardest hit by the torrid heat were the elderly and the poor. [New York Times] Great pageantry in Brazil will greet Pope John Paul II tomorrow as he begins the first papal visit to the world's largest Catholic nation, but the pageantry cannot conceal deep philosophical divisions among Brazilian Catholics. A majority of Brazil's bishops are becoming increasingly militant in defense of the poor, but others in the church say the political activism should be not be permitted. [New York Times] Pizzas and Pierre Cardin clothes are coming to Bulgaria, the results of 10 years of Western detente with the Soviet bloc that made possible the investments of Western capitalists. The introduction of such Western luxuries in one of the Soviet Union's closest allies is regarded as an indication that the country is eager for economic cooperation with the West, despite the recent trade sanctions imposed on the Soviet Union by the United States. [New York Times]