News stories from Sunday October 3, 1982

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

Republican candidates for the House are running local, not national, campaigns against incumbent Democrats, focusing more on the characteristics of their districts or the weaknesses of their opponents than on matters like the economy. [New York Times] Cuts in the federal statistical system by the Reagan administration have resulted in the elimination or reduction of more than 50 major programs that help government agencies, businesses and the public measure the state of the economy, the health of the nation and the effectiveness of federal programs, according to a report by the House Government Operations Committee. [New York Times] From 20 to 30 potential suspects have been identified by Attorney General Tyrone Fahner of Illinois in his investigation to determine who spiked the Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules with cyanide, killing at least seven people in the area. [New York Times] Eleven children from Vietnam, who left that country last week to rejoin their American fathers, arrived in the United States. The 11 children, aged 7 to 15, are the largest group of children of American parentage from the Vietnam War years to leave that country since the war ended in 1975. [New York Times] The impact of video games in American homes has enormous implications for the entertainment industry. Hollywood has plunged into the field by licensing its successful movies to game manufacturers, and record stores are now supplementing their disk sales with video games. [New York Times] Private school enrollment declined over the last two decades despite widespread dissatisfaction with public education in recent years, the Census Bureau reported. The study was considered likely to give some support to President Reagan's legislation to extend tax credits to parents of private school students. [New York Times] Six Israeli soldiers were killed and 22 others wounded in an ambush six miles east of Lebanon's capital on the Beirut-Damascus highway. The attackers were not identified. Military analysts said that the ambush, the second in three days on Israeli troops in the area, could provoke retaliatory raids by Israeli artillery on Syrian and Palestinian positions across the cease-fire line. [New York Times] The foreign ministers of NATO agreed to set in motion a series of studies on how Western security interests are affected by energy policies and the extension of credits to the Soviet bloc nations. The ministers' discussion was seen as a step toward easing the conflict among NATO partners over financial dealings with the Soviet Union and its allies. [New York Times] Egypt's President accused Israel of "once again beating the drums of war" in the Middle East. President Hosni Mubarak said the policy "will lead to grave consequences from which Israel will not be spared." Speaking in a nationally televised address marking the opening session of Parliament, he also praised Israeli citizens who publically condemmed the massacre in Beirut last month of more than 300 people. [New York Times] Sudanese troops will fight beside Iraq against Iran, according to the official Sudan press agency. The dispatch of Sudanese troops to the battlefront would be the first involvement by regular armed forces of another Arab state at the side of Iraqi troops since the start of the Persian Gulf war two years ago. [New York Times] Former President Jimmy Carter said he believes that Prime Minister Menachem Begin has no intention of ever removing Israeli settlements from the West Bank and "has a single- minded commitment" to annex the occupied territories. [New York Times]