News stories from Sunday January 18, 1981

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

The United States and Iran agreed on freedom for the 52 American hostages in Teheran and the return to Iran of billions of dollars of its assets frozen by this country. Deputy Secretary of State Warren Christopher signed the document in Algiers hours after Behzad Nabavi, the chief Iranian negotiator, had signed it in Teheran. President Carter planned to fly to West Germany to greet the hostages, who were to leave Iran aboard two Algerian planes.An accord on unfreezing Iran's assets was reached early today between the United States and Iran, banking sources said. Iran has agreed to immediately pay almost all its loans from American banks when its assets in the United States are released, the sources said. [New York Times] Behzad Nabavi, Iran's chief neogotiator, told his nation that "I think the adventure is reaching its final point." He said "the hostages will be released immediately" as soon as the agreement was signed and Iran's frozen assets transferred from the United States to banks in Algeria.Negotiators in Algeria worked late into the night translating and preparing for signature the documents permitting the release of the American hostages in Iran. An Algerian plane was being prepared to go to Iran, apparently to pick up the hostages. [New York Times] Thousands of visitors in Washington for the parties preceding the swearing-in of President-elect Ronald Reagan on Tuesday, and the possibility that the freedom of the hostages was near added to the jovial expectation that attends an inaugural celebration. About the only sour note was the unavailability of tickets to inaugural balls for the Republican contributors because of computer trouble. Long lines formed at the Inaugural Committee's "Ticket Resolution" center. [New York Times] Jimmy Carter's record as President is already being assessed by political analysts and historians. The most common view, shared by Gordon Hoxie, head of the Center for the Study of the Presidency in New York, is that despite a few notable accomplishments, he has not been a distinguished President. But Thomas Cronin, a presidency scholar who believes the Carter administration's disappoinments have been exaggerated, said "We are obsessed with greatness, but should be pleased enough with goodness." [New York Times] Road projects may not be completed in the New York area following a Reagan transition committee recommendation that unfinished parts of the federal Interstate System of highways not be constructed because they were too expensive and too disruptive in urban areas. If the recommendation is carried out it would affect 15 sections of the federal highway system in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey, totaling 100 miles and costing $3.8 billion. [New York Times] Voters in Dallas turned down one of the most sweeping tax rollbacks since California's Proposition 13 in 1978. The proposal, which would have cut property taxes by nearly 30 percent, was defeated by a 2-to-1 margin. Polls indi-cated that the voters were in an anti-tax mood, but believed that a drastic rollback was not the way to approach tax reform. [New York Times] Western skiing weather is the poorest since the drought winter of 1976-77. The area affected ranges from the Cascades in the Pacific Northwest south to the Sierra Nevada in California and eastward to the Rocky Mountains. The season has been delayed by three to four weeks in some areas. A number of major resorts are still shut down. Others report business off by 25 to 30 percent. [New York Times] Suburban burglaries rose sharply in the New York City area in recent months, reflecting the increased value of gold jewelry, silver tableware and old coins. Juveniles are often suspected of being burglars. Among the hardest-hit areas were Morris County in New Jersey, where the number of daytime residential burglaries totaled 1,290 from January to September 1980. In the same period in 1979, there were 722 break-ins, a rise of 79 percent. [New York Times] El Salvador will get combat equipment from the United States to help the government in its fight against Marxist guerrillas. President Carter approved $5 million worth of arms, to be provided from a presidential contingency fund for military emergencies. The decision was described as a victory for the Defense Department and the Central Intelligence Agency. [New York Times] Israel will elect a new Parliament on July 7, four months earlier than had been scheduled and several months later than had been advocated by the opposition Labor Party. Prime Minister Menachem Begin announced that his cabinet would introduce legislation setting July 7 as the date for elections, The action was an acknowledgement that the coalition government would not be able to complete its full term to November because of cabinet resignations and other difficulties. [New York Times]