April 26, 1973

Vice Pres Agnew reiterates his faith in Pres Nixon on Apr 25 but concedes for 1st time that some of speculation on Watergate scandal might eventually be substantiated, brief press conf; says 'We are inundated with rumor, hearsay, grand jury leaks, speculation and statements from undisclosed sources. It is entirely possible that some of this may be proven later to be accurate. And, if it is, it must be confronted forthrightly at that time'; text; illus

White House press sec Ziegler, Apr 25, announces H A Kissinger will meet Le Duc Tho in Paris to discuss ways to achieve 'strict implementation' of the truce; talks will be preceded by preliminary Sullivan-Thach talks starting Apr 27; Nixon Adm officials hope revived Paris talks will lead to new efforts to bring about compliance with truce accord; one official says that by the time of the meeting it should be evident whether Hanoi intends to launch a major offensive against S Vietnam before the start of the rainy season in late May and early June; US has been concerned about possibility of such an offensive; decision to hold new talks is reptdly result of an Amer initiative taken in the past wk; truce situation revd

Japanese Min Ohira makes it clear, after Govt decided against visit by Emperor Hirohito to US, that Japan has no plans to invite Pres Nixon to visit Japan any time soon; indicates that it is up to Pres rather than Premier Tanaka's Govt to take initiative for visit; speaks at conf with foreign newsmen, who had protested being excluded from Apr 24 news conf; in reply to query on inv given to Chinese Premier Chou En-lai to visit Japan, says there is 'constant dialogue' between Tokyo and Washington and that matters need not be handled with 'excessive formality'; notes Hirohito's schedule for Oct; many Japanese critical of cancellation; Ohira por

White House chief of staff H R Haldeman appears on Apr 25 to have lost much of his power as repts mount that staff shake-up, including resignations, is being planned; Haldeman has been reptd to be under investigation by grand jury looking into burglary and bugging of Dem Natl Com hq and into alleged attempts to protect some who might have played role in crime; Capitol Hill sources say ex-Defense Sec Laird was offered job of rebldg White House staff but turned it down; Wise Repub leaders close to Laird say they believe he can be persuaded to return to Washington for special duty if Nixon asks him; White House press sec Ziegler discloses under questioning that regular morning meetings of top aides which Haldeman has conducted for more than 4 yrs were broken off about 3 wks ago and have not been resumed; denies this development is connected with Watergate case; says aides involved, H Kissinger, G Shultz, J D Ehrlichman, R Ash and others, feel their time could be better spent in meetings with their subordinates; other sources point out that breakoff of what had become White House inst coincides with more recent explosive developments in Watergate case; other indications that Haldeman's power is declining noted; White House repts indicate that Nixon is spending most of his time on Watergate case and has become chief investigator of case; Ziegler illus

Miss River flooding continues Apr 25 as flood officials term spring 'wettest' in midwest recorded history and warn of more trouble from Rock Island, Ill, to south of New Orleans; options are lessening for limiting flood damage by siphoning off rising waters into uninhabited floodways; Army Corps of Engineers estimates monetary losses thus far at $170-million with 10 million acres reptd under water and 25,000 homeless; flooding situations in Grafton, Ill, near Gulf of Mex and Hannibal, Mo, noted; most of flooding has resulted from breaks in state, county and private levees, majority of which flank Miss tributaries such as St Francis in Ark and Yazoo in Miss; illus; map