News stories from Sunday February 22, 1981

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

Governors would support budget cuts proposed by the Reagan administration in exchange for more leeway on how they spend the federal aid their states receive. This was apparent as the nation's governors began three days of meetings in Washington. Gov. George Busbee of Georgia, head of their association, said the governors would accept less federal aid if they were given more flexibility than the government has allowed them in the use of federal funds. [New York Times] President Reagan's flexibility when confronted by political reality in setting policy was apparent in the preparation of his economic program. He rejected a broader tax cut because some advisers feared that such a move would be considered a giveaway to the rich. In interviews, White House officials cited this episode as an example of an administrative style Mr. Reagan established as California's governor: a willingness to yield to political reality if the adjustment helps to preserve his overall purpose. [New York Times] The President's net worth is estimated at $4 million, based on a mandatory financial disclosure report filed last week, and other available information on his finances. In his 1978 contest, he said his net worth was $1,455,571. The increase is mainly due to the rise in value of his home in Pacific Palisades, Calif., from slightly more than $200,000 in 1976 to $1.9 million today. [New York Times] An accused slayer of two blacks in Salt Lake City is wanted for questioning in other states in the sniper killings of at least 10 other blacks. Joseph Franklin, 30 years old, and a native of Mobile, Ala., is to go on trial tomorrow in Federal District Court in Salt Lake City on charges of depriving two young men of their civil rights, allegedly by shooting them to death as they jogged in a public park with two white women. [New York Times] The growing use of computers in banks and the proliferation of bank branches might have contributed to the alleged embezzlement of $21 million at the Wells Fargo National Bank of Los Angeles, banking experts say. They said the time lag inherent in the use of computers also leaves banks such as Wells Fargo vulnerable to manipulation through fraudulent deposits. [New York Times] Pope John Paul II's arrival in Japan today will be the first time that a Pope has visited Japan, a nation in which Shintoists and Bhuddists predominate. "I'm going as a missionary," the Pope said in a Japanese television interview. He reportedly celebrated mass in Japanese for the last two months in preparation for his visit. [New York Times] Punitive action against Cuba "was entirely possible" if it continues its alleged shipment of arms to El Salvador's guerrillas, Edwin Meese, President Reagan's chief policy adviser, said in a television interview. Mr. Meese said that it was time that Cuba and the Soviet Union "wake up to the fact" that the administration "will take the necessary steps to keep the peace any place in the world and that includes El Salvador." [New York Times] Soviet presence in the Middle East will be given priority over resumption of Egyptian-Israeli negotiations on Palestinian self-rule by Secretary of State Alexander Haig, who believes, according to American officials, that there is a major Soviet strategic threat to the region. In talks Friday with Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir of Israel, Mr. Haig was said to have made known the administration's concerns over the strategic situation in the Middle East and its lack of enthusiasm for pushing the Palestinian autonomy talks to the center of attention. [New York Times] The Soviet Communist Party will hold its 26th Congress in Moscow starting tomorrow. Although no surprises are expected, the meeting takes place in the midst of such international turbulence that it will be carefully watched for clues to the future. [New York Times]