May 24, 1975

US begins large-scale evacuation of aid program personnel and their dependents from Laos; Embassy workers and many private contract workers have been told to leave (M)

NYS Dept of Parks and Recreation imposes sharp cuts in state park facilities open to public; parks will open late, have shorter hrs and remain closed on some days; fees for recreational facilities have been increased; net result is that Parks Dept will save $1.7-million; 44 permanent jobs in dept will be eliminated and summer hiring will be curtailed; details of cutbacks in various state parks noted (M)

NYC Police Dept Asst Chief Carl Ravens announces that Capt Edward W McCab has been relieved as commanding officer of Chinatown precinct and will be reassigned; action follows 2 major demonstrations at City hall over alleged police brutality in Chinatown; Ravens says move was made because Chinese community had lost confidence and was openly antagonistic toward McCabe; Police Comr Michael J Codd refuses to dismiss Ptl Robert Schulman and Richard Sichler, who were accused by Chinese community leaders of attacking Peter Yew during traffic argument on Apr 26; case revd; por of McCabe; Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Assns head Man Bun Lee comments (M)

Pres Ford says he plans to ask NATO leaders to consider whether Portugal's leftist Govt should remain member, int before Eur trip; State Dept officials dealing with Portuguese matters had no advance knowledge that Ford would raise alliance question and knew of no plans to seek Portugal's ejection; White House official says Ford's statement was based on consultations with subordinates; senior Adm officials have said privately US is troubled by possibility that Communist influence in Portuguese affairs could neutralize alliance or set pattern for similar developments in Italy and France, which have sizable Communist parties; Ford's remarks were considered effort to bolster non-Communist sentiment in other member nations; Pres Ford asserts CIA had no involvement in country's recent elections (M)

Atty Gen E H Levi says, in lr to Repr P W Rodino Jr, that in period from '60 to '71, FBI conducted 5 previously undisclosed counterintelligence programs against domestic pol orgns, including 1 designed to turn organized crime elements against Amer Communist party; in addition to that effort, termed Operation Hoodwink, Levi says separate programs were aimed at harassing and confusing members of unidentified Puerto Rican independence groups and 3 unidentified orgns with foreign connections; Justice Dept study ordered by then-Atty Gen W B Saxbe reptd that Cointelpro consisted of only 7 separate programs; Levi says Operation Hoodwink included only 4 actions from Oct '66 to July '68; says largest of 5 programs was aimed from Aug '60 to Apr '71 at militant groups that sought independence for Puerto Rico (M)