A 15&#8208;foot turnaround jump shot by George McGinnis with a second remaining last night enabled the Philadelphia 76ers to salvage a victory they almost had kicked away as they beat the Knicks, 105&#8208;104, before a capacity Madison Square Garden crowd of 19,694_

76ers Down Knicks On McGinnis Shot

Impact of NJ Sup Ct ruling that it is illegal for any level of govt in NJ to have racial quotas for hiring discussed (L)

Italian‐Americans Sway Mayoral Race

Crude oil, some of it as thick as pudding and polluting 2,850 square miles, has been set loose off the shore of Nantucket by a grounded tanker, and it has a destructive capacity that is essentially Immune to human alteration.

The Destructive Island of Oil

J G Zorn article on 3-mo trip with family across Asia; drawings (L)

Family Trek Across Asia: 3 Months on $20 a Day

HAPPY holidays and please don't bother me. It's the morning after Christmas and I'm rushing to get out all those cards to people who beat us to the punch. I mean they sent us cards and we didn't send them any. That means we have to hurry and get one back to them in time.

Holiday Card Game

This Was Burlesque (Revue): Ann Corio's revue has played for 11 consecutive New Years Eves at Playhouse on the Mall, Paramus, owned by Corio and husband Michael Ianucci

Ann Corio Is Back, Putting It On

Residents in cooperative complex at 110-118 Riverside Drive, NYC, learn total shareholder payments for maintenance will be reduced by 8.9% in '77; complex achieved savings primarily by rebidding repair and maintenance contracts, cutting bldg service staff and repaying $45,000 loan it had taken to meet deficit; number of other bldgs are following suit (M)

A Co‐op Wrestles Inflation And Wins

In what was certainly a gross understatement, one of the nation's top industrialists last week described 1976 as a &#8220;mixed&#8208;up year&#8221; for the American economy. That was an accurate assessment up to a point, but it doesn't delve deeply enough. Economic events and political developments of the last 12 months have made 1976 even more dramatic and traumatic than such a relatively mild characterization suggests. In many ways, the year now ending has been a truly epochal and schizophrenic period.

In the U.S., an Erratic Year Ends on an Upbeat Note

By John Gardner. Illustrated. 434 pp. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. $10.

Steelers Face Raiders,. Vikings and Rams Clash

The New Cabinet Turns Out to Be Largely Familiar

The Insiders

EARLIER this month, the State Supreme Court ruled that it was illegal for any level of government in New Jersey to have racral quotas for hiring. Although there has been considerable reaction against the ruling, it may take several years before the full effect of it is known.

Job Quotas: What Do They Mean?

Absence of fire hydrants in Lloyd Harbor, LI, and many communities in Westchester, suburban Conn and NJ, raises cost of homeowners fire ins; illus (M)

Home Costs and Hydrants

Confronting essentially identical issues, the New York State Court of Appeals has rendered a decision diametrically opposed to that of the United States Supreme Court In the matter of disability benefits for pregnant women.

Pregnancy Pay: A Different Opinion

illus with Pres Ford on ski slope at Vail, Colo

Hardy Birds Brighten Winter

H Kramer comment on cultural offerings during Bicentennial

When Bars Close, Night Is Young At Illegitimate but Abundant Clubs

Dec 26: Syria, in switch of policy, has assured Yasir Arafat and other Al Fatah leaders that it has no intention of ousting them from PLO leadership; Syrian Pres Assad reptdly told middle-of-rd Palestinians that Syria would let Fatah have adequate mil strength in refugee camps and in certain areas of southern Lebanon; in return, Arafat assured both Syria and Egypt that PLO would cooperate with them in proposed '77 Middle East negotiations and would be flexible on issues of negotiating tactics; Fatah officials say crucial issue on which they are holding their ground against Syrians is independence of proposed Palestinian state; reject fed with Jordan or larger confed with Jordan, Syria and perhaps Lebanon; oppose single Arab delegation to Geneva peace conf; Palestinian sources say Fatah has agreed that Palestinian attacks against Israel from southern Lebanon have become politically impossible and that Palestinians instead must help anti-Israeli militants creating unrest on West Bank as means of keeping Israel under pressure; UPI repts Popular Front official Abdel Wahab el-Sayed and his wife were killed by gunmen in Beirut (L)

ARAFAT SAID TO GET SYRIAN ASSURANCES

USSR defeats Czech, 3-2, and wins Izvestia Cup; illus (M)

Soviet Six's Latest Victory a Hard‐Fought One

Article on future of Sunset Park, S Bklyn community which 7 yrs ago set out to turn around slum neighborhood threatening to engulf entire community but did not succeed; city and community leaders favor continuance of funding for Sunset Park Redevelopment Com but FHA and HUD so far have declined to come to rescue; illus (L)

Sunset Park Seeks Another Chance

Article on brownstone at 69 W 83rd St, NYC, which was built in 1884; house, which has long and varied history, has been purchased and extensively restored by architect Francis Fleetwood; house's and area's history described; illus (L)

Biography of a Brownstone

Critics&#8217; nominations for major cultural figures of the year include the late Alexander Calder, center, and, clockwise from the top left, Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman in &#8220;All the President's Men&#8221;; Mikhail Baryshnikov; Cyril Harris, the acoustics engineer of Fisher Hall; I. M. Pei; Stevie Wonder; Louise Lasser as Mary Hartman, and Eva Le Gallienne in &#8220;The Royal Family.&#8221;

Editorial Cartoon 1 ‐‐ No Title

Any film year is more than simply the best films of the year. It's also people, events, trends, affirmations of old truths, exceptions to rules. The following is 1976 decimalized, including my choices for the best films of the year, though not in any particular order of chronology or importance.

FILM VIEW

OAKLAND, Calif., Dec. 25&#8212;At the American Football Conference championship game here tomorrow in the Oakland &#8212; Alameda County Coliseum there will be three competing teams: the Raiders, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Rozelle Rockets. The last named will be the team of six officials, with two reserves available, and its goal is not to win the game but to make sure neither of the other two maim one another in reaching a decision. The nation will

Rough Game Expected

LEIGH&#8208;ON&#8208;SEA, England &#8212; Nicholas J. Cross runs a company here that makes a line of inflatable objects, notably lifejackets and rubber rafts. He doesn't know how to go about making the one that he thinks the British economy could use today, so, like number of other British businessmen, especially young unfettered ones, Mr. Cross wants out.

In Britain, a Frustrating System

The Bicentennial: It already requires a certain effort of mind, in looking back on the events and accomplishments of the year, to recall exactly what this 200th anniversary of the nation's birth brought us in the way of artistic revelation about our culture and our lives. There were stretches of weeks and months during the year when we seemed to be glutted with performances, exhibitions and publications geared to the Bicentennial observance &#8212;or&#8217; at least financed by the generous sums of money allocated for the Bicentennial celebration&#8212;yet a clear sense of what it all added up to is by no means easy to come by. The feeling persists that, amidst all the clamor and energy, a great opportunity was

The Culture Scene in 1976: Key People and Creations

Simon Goodwin is an Australian rules football coach and former player. He has been the senior coach of the Melbourne Football Club of the Australian Football League (AFL) since 2017.

December 26, 1976

Headlines from December 26, 1976

76ers Down Knicks On McGinnis Shot

Italian‐Americans Sway Mayoral Race

The Destructive Island of Oil

Family Trek Across Asia: 3 Months on $20 a Day

Holiday Card Game

Billboard 200

Songs In The Key Of Life

A Night On The Town

Boston

Hotel California

Pretender

Notable Births

Historical Context for December 26, 1976