May 27, 1973

NYS Legis approves Gov Rockefeller's bill authorizing up to 100 new judges to hear narcotics cases; bill passes Assembly by 78‐67 vote along party lines after Sen had approved it by 36‐22 vote; Repub majority defended measure as as a necessary response to existing narcotic traffic 'emergency' and to increased trials expected to result from newly enacted drug law; Rockefeller legis will levy harsh prison penalties on all narcotics traffickers

NY Times survey, 1st in series of 2 articles on reading problems in US public schools, notes educators in NYC, Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Boston, Milwaukee and other large cities are unable to find ways to reverse downward trend in reading scores of inner‐city children; declining proficiency seems linked to increasing numbers of disadvantaged children in urban enrollments; much higher reading levels are reptd in more affluent suburbs; Boston school bd head has proposed that amount of time pupils spend on reading be doubled because reading scores have dropped to record low; Milwaukee reading specialist says avg reading level at 1 all‐black high school is 'not much above functional illiteracy'; percentage of NYC public school pupils reading below grade level has increased in every grade since '66; chart; graph of median scores for selected grades in Phila, Los Angeles and Chicago; NYC pupils comment; blame schools for not teaching them to read; criticize reading tests because questions allegedly are on material they have not covered; say not enough time is given to finish tests; NYS Regents Bd plans special task force investigation of problem; lack of coordination in reading training among NYC community school dists noted; lack of corrective reading programs in most NYS schools noted; students illus

NY Times survey of changes in French society since '68 revolt sees high school students still being neglected

Sources close to Watergate investigation disclose on May 26 that Fed prosecutors now have evidence directly linking H R Haldeman and J D Ehrlichman to illegal activities against Dr D Ellsberg in '71; say that prosecutors have concluded that those activities were major factor behind decision at White House to cover up Watergate bugging yr later; theory is outlined to special Watergate prosecutor A Cox in his meeting with Fed prosecutors this wk; spokesman for Haldeman and Ehrlichman denies that 2 men participated in or covered up any criminal activities while in White House; prosecutors are known to believe that Pres Nixon's May 22 statement on Watergate cover‐up was designed, in words of 1 official, 'to provide an unbrella of natl security for Haldeman and Ehrlichman'; sources say that prosecutors' thesis is that White House participated in covering up bugging of Dems not only for pol reasons but to insure that E H Hunt Jr and G G Liddy kept silent about their role on in activities against Ellsberg

Skylab astronauts on may 26 board space station for 1st time and unfurl mylar awning over vehicle in attempt to make overheated vehicle habitable for planned 28‐day mission; extend awning through airlock in wall of Skylab, but fail to achieve its total deployment; J A Kinzler, tech dir at Houston Space Center, says awning should 'flatten out' as it is warmed by sun; astronauts sample air in connecting passage between Apollo spacecraft and Skylab to test whether overheated plastic material in cabin might have given off lethal gases, but tests are negative; Capt Conrad relays rept to flight controllers that passage is 'clean as a whistle' except for 'one screw, one nut and one red string' floating about; Comdr Weitz enters Skylab wearing face mask, gloves and coverings over shoes; repts vehicle 'appears to be in good shape,' with temperatures 'like 90 to 100 degrees in the desert'; diagram of Skylab depicts deployment of sunshade; temperatures within space station have soared because of loss of thermal and micrometeorite shield during launching from Cape Kennedy and because of failure of solar power panel to deploy; crew illus