n089  1816  11 Feb 81
AM-NEWSSUMMARY Undated
c. 1981 N.Y. Times News Service
    The New York Times News Summary for Thursday, Feb. 12, 1981.
    
International
    
    WASHINGTON - U.S. concern about Poland was rejected by Soviet
Foreign Minister Gromyko in a letter to Secretary of State Haig that
the Soviet Embassy made public in Washington. Officials speculated
that Moscow was irritated by the harsh statements issued by the
Reagan administration about Soviet policy and wanted to remedy the
situation.
    
    SEOUL, South Korea - A seven-year term for Seoul's leader was in
prospect as South Koreans voted for members of an electoral college.
In incomplete returns, about 64 percent of the eligible voters cast
ballots for candidates aligned with the party of President Chun
Doo-hwan.
    
    MANAGUA, Nicaragua - Nicaragua seeks peace in El Salvador.
Washington, citing ''overwhelming evidence'' of Nicaraguan support
for the leftist rebels in El Salvador, suspended economic aid to
Managua last month. As a result, Nicaragua has been pressing the
Salvadoran guerrillas to seek a political settlement rather than a
military victory in their conflict with the United States-backed
junta.
    
National
    
    WASHINGTON - State control of many social services is sought by the
Reagan administration in proposals to relieve Washington of the bulk
of welfare, housing, health care and food programs. In an effort to
cut federal outlays for the poor, Washington would grant a fixed
amount of money to each state, and each would decide precisely how
much would be spent for each program.
    
    WASHINGTON - Offshore fuel exploration was pressed by the new
Secretary of the Interior, James G. Watt. He proposed reversing a
decision of the Carter administration by restoring four disputed
areas off northern California to an oil-and-gas-lease sale.
Environmentalists said that his proposal would endanger local
economies and the coastal environment and they charged that he was
acting for special interests.
    
    WASHINGTON - President Reagan is courting Congress in ways that have
impressed Democrats as well as Republicans. He has shown deference to
the sensitivities of the influential legislators and has reacted
speedily to their suggestions. Reagan's staff has worked hard to
establish good relations by avoiding some of the early mistakes that
long plagued President Carter.
    
    LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Arson caused the disastrous fire that swept
through the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas, killing eight persons and
injuring nearly 200, the authorities announced. They said that
separate fires had been set on four floors and that the nozzle of a
fire hose mounted on a wall had been slashed and stuffed with
combustible material. One fire spawned a wall of flames that soared
more than 20 floors.
    
    LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Frank Sinatra won permission to re-enter Nevada's
gambling industry more than 17 years after he was barred from it
because of alleged ties to organized crime. By a unanimous vote, the
three-member Nevada Gaming Control Board voted to recommend that
Sinatra be granted a license to act in a principal role in the
management of a casino. The panel heard five hours of testimony in
behalf of the entertainer, including two hours by him.
    
    CHICAGO - Ten accused terrorists were convicted of all counts by a
federal jury that deliberated for two hours in Chicago. The
defendants, who were said to be members of the Puerto Rican
independence group FALN, were found guilty of seditious conspiracy,
auto theft and the illegal possession and use of weapons. Each could
be sentenced to up to 80 years in prison.
    
    WASHINGTON - A regulation attempt was abandoned by the Federal Trade
Commission. The five-member panel voted unanimously to drop a
five-year effort to set rules for the advertising of
over-the-counter, non-prescription drugs, but it stressed that it
would continue to enforce the truth-in-advertising laws.
    
    MIAMI - A warning about talc-coated rice was reaffirmed by Dr. Angel
Roman-Franco, the director of the Puerto Rico Cancer Institute. The
doctor, whose studies have indicated that ingested talc mixed with
scavenger cells in the stomach may generate carcinogens, again urged
a ban on the sale of all talc-coated rice in Puerto Rico.
    
    NEW YORK - Steps to deter ''chronic alarm abusers'' are to be taken
by New York City's Police Department. After a three-month monitoring
period, precinct commanders throughout the city will have the
discretion to ignore silent automatic burglar alarms when triggered
in homes and businesses where there have been repeated false alarms.
Officials said that the false alarms cost the city nearly $4 million
a year.
    
    NEW YORK - A potential major water source for New York City is the
subject of a feasibility study by the United States Geological
Survey. An underground supply of 1.5 trillion gallons of water is
believed to lie under Brooklyn and Queens. Known as the Brooklyn
Queens aquifer, it is said to contain more than three times as much
water as the city's entire reservoir system and to be able to supply
the city with up to 100 million gallons a day.
    
    NEW YORK - A driving but welcome rainstorm drenched the water-short
New York metropolitan region, snarling highway and air travel and
causing widespread but generally brief power failures. About one inch
of rain was measured in Central Park.
    
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