News stories from Saturday December 6, 1980

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

If Alexander Haig is nominated Secretary of State in the Reagan administration his role in Watergate would undergo "intense scrutiny" by Democratic Senators, the majority leader, Robert Byrd, said at his weekly news conference. Senator Byrd seemed to hint strongly that he might use his influence to try to block the Senate approval that would be required for General Haig, who was White House chief of staff under President Nixon. [New York Times] Pungent advice for his successors who will run the Defense Department in the new administration was given by Secretary of Defense Harold Brown as he looked back on his term as head of the department. He said that senior military officers who fundamentally disagreed with with their civilian superiors should resign. Preparing to leave for his final trip to Europe and Japan as Defense Secretary, he also had sharp words for America's allies, saying that "They need to behave as if their military security is as important to them as it is to us." [New York Times] Home for 1,774 Cuban refugees in America remains an institution such as the federal penitentiary in Atlanta. They are the refugees who were deemed criminals on arrival in the United States. Some apparently are innocent victims of inadequate screening, faulty translation, bureaucratic mixups and bad luck. Cuba refuses to take them back and the Justice Department has not decided what to do with them. [New York Times] Boston's transit system was shut down after legislative efforts to reach an agreement on financial aid for the system, which has run out of money, failed to meet a court-ordered deadline. The shutdown affects 250,000 daily commuters. The system's financial crisis and the legislative deadlock over a solution to it are the consequences of Proposition 2½, the sweeping tax-cut referendum overwhelmingly approved on Election Day. [New York Times] The Stouffer's Inn fire inquiry in Westchester County (N.Y.) was joined by specialists from national agencies. In addition to two arson investigators from the county's District Attorney's office, three investigators from the National Fire Protection Association, a private group, and two from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, are seeking the cause of the fire that killed 26 people Thursday morning. The federal agency was established by President Carter in 1978 to provide aid to disaster areas. [New York Times] Dr. Michael Halbertstam died of bullet wounds he received when he and his wife surprised a burglar in their Washington home. The nationally known physician, journalist and novelist was 48 years old. [New York Times] The Camp David framework will be used by the Reagan administration for future Middle East talks. The President-elect has sent a message to this effect to Egypt and Israel through President Carter's special Middle East envoy, Sol Linowitz. [New York Times] The Soviet military buildup poses one of the most troubling issues for the Reagan administration. In the view of some American specialists, the arms increase could signify an ideologically inspired drive for political domination. Others believe it reflects insecurity among Soviet leaders. [New York Times] A mass for two American nuns found slain in El Salvador last week was celebrated in Chalatenango, a rural village where they had been working with a Roman Catholic relief agency. The Maryknoll sisters, Ita Ford and Maura Clarke, were murdered with two other missionaries. [New York Times]