News stories from Saturday March 25, 1978

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

Food price increases last month came close to the uncomfortably swift rise in January, according to a sampling of the February Consumer Price Index that will be published Tuesday. This has persuaded the administration to take bolder anti-inflation measures and a sweeping re-evaluation of its economic policies. One proposal, being pushed hard by Congress, is a partial rollback in Social Security tax increases. [New York Times] President Carter approved an urban policy that adds federal programs costing $3.7 billion, according to administration officials. They said that the policy would add $1.7 billion to the federal deficit in the form of tax breaks for companies operating in depressed areas. Mr. Carter had tentatively proposed the elimination of four of the programs, costing $1.5 billion, that his advisers had considered vital, but he was persuaded to restore them. A formal announcement of the urban policy programs is expected to be made by the President tomorrow. [New York Times] The future of the coal industry is still in question despite settlement of the nation's longest continuous coal strike, government officials say. Although the immediate effects of the 110-day shutdown are expected to be minimal, government officials wonder whether the problem-ridden industry, plagued by labor problems, will be able to enter the modern age. Without modernization, they say, the ability of the coal industry to take a greater role in the nation's energy supply will be in great question. [New York Times] Anthony Provenzano, the New Jersey Teamster leader, was convicted of conspiring to arrange a $300,000 kickback on a $2.3 million loan to a Manhattan hotel from a Teamsters fund. The jury in Manhattan's Federal District Court also convicted Mr. Provenzano's co-defendant, Anthony Bentro, an investment adviser for pension funds, who was charged with participating in the kickback scheme. [New York Times] "Giveback" is being heard by labor negotiators with increasing frequency this year. Their reaction generally tends to be "No!" In recent months the spark points in contract talks have been management demands for givebacks or "takeaways" -- the cancellation of some of labor's gains over several decades. Labor economists believe the giveback demands have been prompted by inflation, falling productivity and generally successful union demands for money and job security, with management wanting something in return. [New York Times] Electronic fraud and embezzlement are byproducts of the revolutionary electronic fund transfers that provide bank customers with automatic tellers and 24-hour cash dispensers. Embezzlers and confidence men are learning to manipulate the new machines so that they can loot customer accounts and bank assets. Reliable figures on so-called "E.E.T." consumer frauds are notably lacking, largely because the banks, fearful of encouraging theft and of jeopardizing billions invested in electronic systems, have declined to report such losses to authorities and, in fact, are not required to do so. [New York Times] Egypt is ready to proceed with its effort for peace, but does not expect any progress until there is a change of policy in Israel, according to an announcement after a meeting of the National Security Council. The meeting was called by President Anwar Sadat to assess the effect of fighting between Israel and Palestinian guerrillas in southern Lebanon. The Egyptian statement also put the responsibility for improving the negotiating climate on the Israelis. Officials in Cairo said that if the Carter administration could not make the Israelis soften their position it would be unrealistic for them to try. It was apparent that Cairo would be more hopeful about negotiations if Prime Minister Menachem Begin did not participate. [New York Times] Raids on Israeli-occupied territory in southern Lebanon were stepped up by the Palestine Liberation Organization, according to a P.L.O. spokesman. He said that guerrilla units operating behind Israeli lines had shelled several Israeli positions and had carried out raids and ambushes. He also said that the Israeli forces, which had declared a cease-fire on Tuesday, had shelled the Kawkaba-Hasbani bridge area in the east as well as the Nabatiya area north of the Litani River. Israeli denied it. [New York Times]