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Show i f f t t H ' Q.wv!li j pti I S'i an Salt Lake City, Utah Vol. 227, No. 100 J r Saturday Morning July v 2 .i p t-- X 1 I I' t I e v! ; I i i 4 I , V L Reagan Appoints Habib Successor By James Gerstenzang Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON President Reagan replaced Philip C. Habib as his special Middle East envoy Friday, which apparently bowing to Syria refuses to deal with Habib in hopes of stimulating the stalled Mideast peace process. After an Oval Office meeting and then lunch with President Amin of Lebanon. Reagan announced that Robert C. McFarlane. the deputy White House national security assistant, would take over for Habib, who had resigned. Other shifts in Reagan's Middle East team appeared likely. Habib had been unable to bring Syria into negotiations for the rein- moval of the foreign forces Modest Gain Posted in Price Index By Jerome Cahill New York Daily News WASHINGTON Thanks to the biggest drop in food prices in seven years and a slowdown in the pace of energy price hikes, the govern- - ment's consumer price index posted a modest 0.2 of a percent advance in June, for an annual rate of about 2.5 percent, the best price performance in 16 years. Samuel F.hrenhalt, regional commissioner of labor statistics, said it took $28.81 last month to buy what $10 purchased in 1967. The June price dip was attributed by Ehren-hal- t to a price advance for energy, housing and apparel. The White House hailed the report as solid evidence that its policies were healing the inflation-wracke- d economy it inherited from the Carter administration, but warned that further steps were needed to reduce large budget deficits that could trigger another inflationary spiral. Sharpest Drop Beef and pork prices fell below levels of a year before and fresh vegetables also dropped to push grocery prices down 0.6 of a percent from their May levels. Overall, the food and beverage component of the price index fell 0.3 of a percent, following an increase of the same size in May. It was the sharpest drop since March 1976. Gasoline prices, which advanced 8.3 percent in April and May with the onset of the motoring season and federal gasoline the tax increase, moderated to an increase of only 0.7 of a percent. Fuel oil prices also fell and charges for natural gas nudged down, after a period of increases at a 22.5 percent annual rate. Its my belief that energy and perseverance will triumph in the end. We do not lack for either. LebaA senior Reagan administration denied official that by making the non can count on our support," Reashift the administration was going gan said. Gemayel. standing with Reagan cap in hand" to the Syrians. But he acknowledged that Syrias refusal to outside the White House diplomats talk to Habib on the envoy's recent entrance overlooking the suntrips to the region was a factor in drenched South Lawn, told his host that their governments will intenthe change and that Syrian attitudes were responsible." sify their consultations" and that he was confident that the Middle East's Syrian Reception? "can best be ad"We have every reason to expect major problems and resolved dressed by full cooperthis team will be received by the our and Arab with ation community Syrians, said the official, who spoke our American friends. to reporters at the White House on Sorely Missed the condition that he not be identiReagan, who said Habib "will be fied by name. sorely missed after 28 months on A senior State Department offi- the job, disclosed that McFarlane cial said it was Habibs decision to would head for the Middle East step down from his post, in part be- within 10 days. Since late last year, cause Syria wouldnt negotiate with Habib has concentrated on negotiathim. ing the withdrawal of the foreign Phil himself is the one who said troops in Lebanon. his ability to effectively operate in There were few, if any, signs that the area had been eroded and Phil is the shift from Habib to McFarlane the one who said it has got to See Page 2, Column 3 change, said the official, who insisted on anonymity. The official said Draper would also step down but would receive a very high position, probably as an ambassador. He said a third envoy, Richard Fairbanks, would stay in his post and serve under McFarlane. Great Concern Reagan and Gemayel met just hours after the Beirut airport was shelled. Among those wounded were Tribune Wire Services three U.S. servicemen. Thirteen The future of Menabhem Begin, Lebanese were killed. A participant reportedly ailing and depressed in the meetings said there was over the extended war in Lebanon, concern about the expressed great raised intense speculation Friday as violence. the prime minister celebrated his Dont worry, dont worry. Every70th birthday. thing will be OK very soon, GeIn Israel, the Jerusalem Post mayel said as he and Reagan posed newspaper wrote: There were still for photographers at the start of pundits who expected a dramatic their 90 minutes of meetings. move by Begin, perhaps a retireAfterwards, neither Reagan nor ment announcement on this, his 70th Gemayel gave any hint of progress, birthday weekend. but Reagan said the talks focused In the past, Begin has said he on the next steps. . . . would not run for office after his 70th birthday. Though it falls August 16, by the Jewish calendar, Begin turned 70 on Thursday. He will celebrate the occasion with family and Experience: What you imagine you have until you get more. friends on Saturday. eluding Syrian troops from Leba- non. Todays Chuckle intr- a-party h on. Yedioth called Shamir a compromise candidate who would preserve the unity of the party. By Andy OConnell Associated Press Writer The eastern third of the nation heated up again like a giant skillet Friday, boiling off the rain from thunderstorms that left at least four people dead, while the parched Midwest sweltered through its 14th day of a worsening heat wave. .The thunderstorms charged prices were up sharply and increases also were recorded for new cars and public transportation, but easing of gasoline prices dampened the increase. Slightly Higher Associated Pi ess Laser pholo Children take advantage of sunny weather by sliding down a plastic sheet in Brooklyn Park, southeast Portland, Ore. across the East Thursday and early Friday with winds up to 79 mph, stranding thousands of people at the Pittsburgh airport and knocking out power to more than 325,000 homes and businesses. But the storms offered only temporary relief from the heat, which has been blamed in at least 53 deaths nationwide. There were scattered thunderstorms and high winds again Friday. A tornado touched down twice in Winston-SaleN.C., about 6:30 p.rn., said C.M. Reid, the citys public safety and communications supervisor. Caused Heavy Damage The tornado caused heavy damage in northern and eastern parts of the city, knocking trees across homes, cars and streets and tearing power lines down, he said. Electrical outages were reported in about half the city. In Lancaster, S.C., high winds blew a plate glass window out of a storefront, cutting six people in the store, and ripped the roof off of a diner south of town, police said. Tieres No Place Like Home for Samantha - two-wee- k The latest round of speculation about Begins plans began Tuesday when the prime minister called President Reagan to cancel their summit in Washington, for personal reasons. The meeting had been scheduled for next week. Cancelled Summit Begins health and state of mind appear to have deteriorated in recent months. One U.S. official has described Begin as a shadow of the man he once was. Begin has survived two heart attacks and a stroke. lie is recovering from the deaths of his wife, Aliza, and close friend, Deputy Prime Minister Simha Ehrlich, and has ap- See Page 2, Column 2 Killer Thunderstorms Give Eastern Third of U.S. Little Respite From Heat after two consecutive months of double-digi- t increases. Used-ca- r By Peter Jackson Associated Press Writer MANCHESTER. Maine Like Dorothy wishing herself home from the dreamland of Oz, Samantha Smith paused on her front doorstep Friday and clicked her heels as she relumed from her trip of peace to the Soviet Union. "There's no place like home," schoolgirl, sighed the who had been invited to the Soviet Union by President Yuri Andropov. Then she and her parents walked through the door under a huge "Welcome Home banner lettered in red, Lavelle Found Innocent Of Contempt 111, Newspapers openly discussed potential successors to Begin, giving Foreign Minister Yitzhak Sharnir a clear lead over other candidates. Successors Discussed Shamir. 68, and the other top contenders for the prime minister's post Defense Minister Moshe Arens, 58. and Housing Minister David Levy. 46, are all members of the governing Likud bloc. Giving Shamir an edge in the race, The Yedioth Ahron-otnewspaper said he would have the support of Arens, Levy and Ariel Shar- white and blue. Earlier, Samantha appeared tired and on the verge of tears after arriving in Boston from Montreal, where she and her parents, Arthur and Jane, spent Thursday night on the first leg of their trip home. She declined to answer questions, and just nodded when asked how she felt to be back. "I dont think Samantha really wants to talk," her father told reporters at Boston's Logan International Airport. "Im sorry, but she needs a few days off from the crush." The Smiths were pursued by reporters as they slowly made their way to a waiting antique limousine, volunteered by a local business, for the trip across the five miles of rural highway that separate their home from the Augusta airport. "We wont miss the permanent entourage of the press," Smith said. "The press was part of our bag-gag- crowd of nearly 306 people packed the liny airport lobby and peered through wire fences around the runway to catch a glimpse of the young celebrity, who had changed A from her Boston togs of red, white and blue into a green shirt and lavender pants. Smith said his daughter had no immediate plans to write to Andropov or any other world leaders. "Letter-writin- g is nice, but we need a test," said Smith, an English instructor at the University of Maine. Andropov invited Samantha to visit Ins country after she wrote to him, asking if he intended to start a war. The two never met. But Samantha See Page 2, Column I use: phofu moment during a session with photographers prior to meeting at White House. Depressed; Begin Reported Press Speculates Retirement The transportation component of the index rose only 0.4 of a percent Housing and apparel rose less rapidly than in May but medical care, entertainment and services were slightly higher. However, over the past three months, inflation in these groupings is showing substantial improvement. The consumer price index itself hit 297.2 in June, a modest 2.4 percent above its level 12 months earlier. Over that span, services have been the most inflationary, rising 11.2 percent, followed by medical care (8.9 percent) and entertainment (4.2 percent). Food, housing and transportation each have risen less than 2 percent over the year. Apparel has risen 2.5 percent. At 297.2. the index meant that was neeued to purchase $297.20 goods and serices that sold for $100 in 1967, the base year. Assoc luted f't ess President Reagan, right, and Lebanese President Amin Gemayel share a light A small plane went down in a marsh in Fairfield, N.J., Thursday night after a storm knocked out its navigational equipment, and the four people aboard were killed, authorities said. Three people died in the storms in Michigan and a woman in Hartly, Del., was killed when her mobile in the wind, home disintegrated state police Capt. Ron Torgerson said. Funnel Clouds Funnel clouds twisted over Ma- ssachusetts as storms uprooted campers tents, overturned a trailer and knocked down power lines. We saw it coming about 50 feet away. said Brian Saunders of Haverhill, Mass. "Rain and hail. It was like a curtain coming up the street. The heat wave has brought temperatures of at least 90 degrees to eastern Missouri every day since July 9 and in the last four days, including Friday, the mercury in the St. Louis area has hit 100. The deaths of at least 26 people, many of them elderly, have been blamed on the heat since July 15 in the area around St. Louis, both in Missouri and Illinois, and St. Louis officials have declared a heat emergency. Fourteen youths hired by the city were sent out to knock on doors seeking heat sufferers. About 50 buildings have been designated emergency cooling shelters, but fewer than 500 people have gone to them. Punishing Hot Spell It is the most punishing hot spell in the Midwest and West since the heat wave of 1980, when nearly 1.300 deaths were blamed on the heat, mostly in Missouri, Kansas and Tex- - A federal WASHINGTON (AP) jury Friday found Rita M. Lavelle innocent of contempt of Congress for failing to tes-- . , t i f y about possi- M.- - Lie wrongdoing in ' 'p 1C ." Environmen- - Ptal Protection Agency A lawyer jr for the House of Representatives I Jsuid gress the verdict lead to Con-hte prose-HUcut- similar cases on its own. Ms. Lavelle The jury of eight women and four men in U.S- - District Court deliberated less than two hours before reaching the verdict. The jury apparently accepted the arguments of Ms. Lavelle, former assistant administrator of EPA for toxic wastes, that she was incapable of appearing before a House subcommittee because of emotional, physical and financial problems. Belief in System Ms. Lavelle, told reporters after the verdict the decision strenght-en- s my belief in the American system that it will work. Her attorney, Mark Bierbower. said, The reason she was acquitted was because the government hud to prove beyond a reasonable doubt she wilfully did not appear and apparently did not do so." Year in Prison If convicted, Ms. Lavelle could have been sentenced to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine. Testifying in her ow n defense earlier Friday, Ms. Lavelle said she was emotionally and physically unable to attend the March 21 hearing. Ms. Lavelle was in charge of the $1.6 billion superfund" program to clean up abandoned chemical waste dumps until she was fired by President Reagan on Feb. 7. She was subpoenaed Feb. 23 by the House Energy and Commerce Committees investigations subcommittee, one of a half dozen panels investigating EPA, including allegations of political manipulation and sweetheart deals with polluters. When she failed to appear at the March 21 hearing, the subcommittee began contempt proceedings against her. The House approved a contempt citation May 18 on a 413-vote. 6 On The Inside Tribune Telephone Numbers, Page A-- 2 as. But a doctor who has studied the effects of heat on St. Louis and New Ycrk City said Friday that u hot spell produces many more deatiis than those directly attributable to high budy temperature. After a study of a July 1966 heat wave, Dr. Stanley H. Schumaii published a study in the journal Environmental Research in 1972 showing that for every million people in those cities, there were 136 more deaths a week than usual during the heat wave lomaI lo(la Salt Lake City and vicinity Cloudy, some showers. Highs upper tills to 90. Lows near 66, Details. A-- 1 ; |
