News stories from Friday December 24, 1982

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

Public works job legislation will be reintroduced when the new Congress convenes on Jan. 3, under an agreement reached by the leaders of the House and Senate, who believe that President Reagan will support their efforts. [New York Times] The Secret Service was authorized by Attorney General William French Smith to use the large computer system of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to keep track of people believed to be a threat to the officials guarded by the Secret Service. Until now, the F.B.I. computer has been limited mostly to storing information about people officially accused of a crime, not those whom the police regard as potential suspects. The Justice Department's plan to broaden the scope of the F.B.I. computer has been criticized by members of the House Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights. [New York Times] The annual Christmas Bird Count, the 82nd since Frank Chapman, the naturalist, started it in 1900, is underway. The bird watchers' count, directed by the National Audubon Society, has evolved into a respected research tool for organizations ranging from municipal planning agencies to the United States Air Force. It also is, according to its sponsors, one of the few research operations in which amateurs can make valuble contributions to scientists. [New York Times] Santa Claus was snowbound after 18 inches of snow fell in Boulder, Colo., and could not greet the children awaiting him at the Crossroads shopping center. Among inconveniences the blizzard, accompanied by 40-mile-an-hour winds, brought was the closing of the Denver airport, the blocking of roads, and near-zero visibility. Up to two feet of snow fell on parts of Colorado and Wyoming. [New York Times] Barney Clark's nurses will continue to give him intensive care and encouragement in the quiet celebration of what he regards as his extended life. After one of his nurses' suggested it, he was moved out of his hospital room in Salt Lake City for the fifth time in three weeks, but only for a routine X-ray and CAT scan. His wheelchair was attached to what his doctors and nurses call the "grocery cart," which contains an air compressor and hoses attached to his artificial heart. [New York Times] A federal agency has warned residents of a St. Louis suburb to stay away from their homes, but some seem to be ignoring that recommendation. Three hundred residents of Times Beach, which was flooded three weeks ago, had already returned to start the cleanup when the Centers for Disease Control reported finding high levels of the toxic chemical dioxin in soil samples taken before the flood. Mayor-elect Sidney Hammer said his family would leave only "if they carry us out forcibly." [New York Times] A million homeless Americans will observe Christmas in dwellings that are cars, the basements of churches or charity shelters. Some will seek shelter under bridges. Most of them are young men, but there are many homeless families who will face their hardest Christmas ever. [New York Times] Concern about the homeless was expressed by religious leaders in New York City. They criticized governmental authorities for falling to aid the homeless, whose numbers were described as having reached "crisis proportions." At a news conference at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, eight Protestant, Catholic, Jewish and Muslim leaders said they recognized an obligation of houses of worship to help the homeless, but said such aid was primarily the responsibility of government. [New York Times] More feuding in Lebanon between rightist Christian and leftist Druse Militiamen took place near the United States Marine positions south of Beirut. Thirteen Lebanese were killed in day-long artillery and rocket barrages, the police said. [New York Times] The release of 1,200 prisoners in South Korea was welcomed by the State Department. It said the move "will make a further contribution to political harmony in Korea." [New York Times] South Africa's official opposition in Parliament faces hard decisions on Prime Minister P.W. Botha's plan for extending limited political rights to Asians and people of mixed race, while still excluding the black majority. The official opposition, the Progressive Federal Party, which is relatively liberal, also faces the question of whether it can play any role at all in the new setup. [New York Times]