News stories from Saturday May 30, 1981

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

The Air Force has promised immunity to Lt. Christopher Cooke, who has been accused of improper contact with the Soviet Embassy in Washington, Mr. Cooke's military attorney said. The attorney. Capt. Francis Peddrotty, said he planned to file a copy of the promise of immunity and affidavits from Air Force investigators with the Court of Military Appeals "to expedite the release of my client." [New York Times] An immigration policy was reversed by Attorney General William French Smith after Secretary of State Alexander Haig warned him that it might undercut the United State's program of admitting Indochinese refugees to this country. [New York Times] The black population in the suburbs of the nation's largest cities has increased since 1970. But blacks did not keep pace with whites in moving to areas of new growth and prosperity, either in the suburban rings or outside metropolitan areas, an analysis of the 1980 census shows. [New York Times] The new conservative pressure groups, a powerful force in American politics spawned by the growth of direct-mail technology and developments in campaign finance laws, are the subject of increasing concern by more traditional political groups and politicans who contend that the new, well-financed groups cannot be held accountable for their tactics. John Dolan, the chairman of the National Conservative Political Action Committee, concedes that groups like his, in the hands of "unethical people, could go in and lie through their teeth." [New York Times] New Jersey voters will go to the polls on Tuesday to choose their candidates for Governor in an election that will be the first test in the Northeast of the public's acceptance of Reagan administration policies. All of the major Republican contenders have been echoing Reagan economic policies and all have been selling themselves as the best person to capture the state House after eight years of Democratic control. [New York Times] The President of Bangladesh was killed and a state of emergency was declared by Vice President Abdus Sattar, who assumed the duties of acting Pres-dent. Dacca radio said that a little known group was responsible for the assassination of President Ziaur Rahman, who was visiting Chittagong, an area in which foes of the government have been active. [New York Times] The Italian Parliament has a list purporting to show that 500 persons paid dues to the secret Masonic lodge that is at the center of a scandal that brought down the government. The new documentation is considered important by prosecutors because many of the 953 people who appeared on a first list of the lodge's membership denied that they were members. [New York Times] China offered to let Taiwan planes land in Peking and Shanghai to bring relatives and friends of Soong Ching-ling, the widow of Sun Yat-sen, to funeral and burial services for her. But Taiwan is expected to ignore Peking's first offer to allow Taiwan's aircraft into the mainland's airspace. Among Miss Soong's relatives on Taiwan is her nephew, President Chiang Ching-kuo, who is the son of her sister, Soong May-ling, and Chiang Kai-shek. [New York Times]