News stories from Sunday June 13, 1982

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

The Hinckley trial is the most costly, the longest and the most elaborate trial in the modern history of the insanity plea. The government and the parents of John W. Hinckley have already been charged a total of at least $350,000 by the opposing teams of psychiatrists and other experts who have spent much of the last year probing his mind. Total costs exceed $2 million, and the goverment has spent more than $1 million on security for the defendant. [New York Times] Electronic information technology will tranform American society by the year 2000, according to a report commissioned by the National Science Foundation. The report suggested that the changes will be as profound as those wrought by the automobile and television. [New York Times] The steelworkers union is in crisis. Steel production and employment have plummeted, insurgent members contend that the union is allied with management, and the industry seeks early contract negotiations. Union membership, once totaling 4 million, is now under 1 million, more than 100,000 steelworkers are on layoff, and 25,000 are working short weeks. Blue-collar steel employment has shrunk 55 percent in 30 years. [New York Times] Rising unemployment In Texas is prompting labor leaders to warn job hunters in the North to stay home. The penniless newcomers are often handed nothing more than a brochure titled "Broke in Texas." [New York Times] The anti-nuclear protesters who demonstrated in Manhattan Saturday were praised by city officials, who said cleanup efforts had been completed more quickly and with fewer municipal employees than they had expected. Parks Commissioner Gordon Davis said Central Park's Great Lawn "looks better than it did before the rally." [New York Times] A Soviet peace group was denounced by the authorities as provocative, antisocial and illegal, and the Moscow police sealed an apartment where the fledging group had planned to meet. The crackdown took place as the official press hailed Saturday's nuclear protest in Manhattan. [New York Times] A new Israeli advance was underway five miles from central Beirut soon after a cease-fire between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization collapsed in bitter fighting. Israeli troops with tanks and armored personnel carriers reportedly moved into a Lebanese army-controlled mountain village. If the troops consolidate their position, it could lead to the virtual encirclement of the capital and Palestinian guerrilla forces there. [New York Times] Israel blamed the Palestinians for initially breaking the brief cease-fire, and the two sides fought through the day. But the Israeli truce with Syrian forces appeared to be holding. [New York Times] Lebanon has been ravaged by its latest conflict, and all necessities are in very short supply. The American University Hospital in Beirut is packed with hundreds of victims of the bombings and strafings. The medical facilities in southern Lebanon are in a deplorable state, and there is a critical shortage of water. [New York Times] A pullback of Israeli forces from Lebanon is sought by the United States, according to Secretary of State Alexander Haig. He and other administration officials said that objective was part of a proposed long-term effort to strengthen the fragmented Lebanese government and to bring about the withdrawal of Syrian and all other foreign troops. [New York Times] King Khalid of Saudi Arabia died of a heart attack at the age of 69, The monarch, who had been in ill health for years, was succeeded by Crown Prince Fahd, a younger half-brother. The unexpected changeover appeared unlikely to have any immediate impact on Saudi Arabia's traditional policies. [New York Times] Britain's success in retaking the Falklands has been assured by the weekend's fighting, according to Defense Secretary John Nott. But he said that a light cruiser carrying a crew of 471 had been hit by Argentine fire, killing nine British sailors and injuring 17. Nonetheless, he reported that the ship was still fit for battle. [New York Times] Argentina said its warplanes had attacked British positions on a mountain west of Stanley. The military command said the attack occurred as British forces in the area were regrouping for a second assault on the Falkland capital. [New York Times] France froze wages and prices for four months in an effort to bolster the franc. The decision was announced less than one day after the Western European finance ministers, reacting to the critical state of France's foreign exchange reserves, decided to readjust the values of most Western European currencies, in effect devaluing the franc by 5.75 percent against the dollar and 10 percent against the West German mark. [New York Times]