April 19, 1977

EPA Admr Douglas M Costle tells HR subcom that Pres Carter backs comprehensive amendments to Clean Air Act; reveals Carter Adm urges delay in enforcing auto emission standards but generally calls for tough regulation of polluters, including econ penalties on those who fail to comply with clean air laws; environmentalists and some members of Cong, including Sen Edmund S Muskie, disappointed with willingness to put off compliance with emission standards; Sen Gary Hart says he will fight for more rapid crackdown on emissions; GM Corp pres Thomas Murphy calls Adm's emission standards 'unnecessarily drastic'; calls Costle's testimony 'perplexing' (M)

LOS ANGELES April 18 — Patricia Hearst pleaded no contest today to state charges of armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. Nine other chargs, including kidnapping, were dropped.

Postal Service Comm recommends increased subsidies and that deliveries be cut to 5 days a week to reduce operating costs; urges service consider use of electronic communications as means to transmit messages and funds; says if measures are adopted 1st class rate could be held to around 22c by '85; Bailar, supporting recommendations, says rate will have to increase to 16c in '78 if measures are not adopted; comm rept fails to press for abolition of independent bd that sets Postal Service policy or suggest that White House appoint Postmaster Gen directly; other recommendations noted; Repr James Hanley, chmn of Subcomm on Postal Operations and Services, is 'disappointed' because he expected rept to emphasize service improvements rather than cuts (M)

Pulitzer Prize for gen local reptg goes to Margo Huston of Milwaukee Journal for articles on nursing homes and health care for aged (M)

Pres Carter says US faces possible 'natl catastrophe' unless it responds with 'moral equivalent of war' to dwindling energy supplies by accepting stringent conservation of fuels, higher energy prices and penalties for waste, Apr 18 TV speech; outlines 10 principles on which program will be based, the 7th of which is that prices should generally reflect true replacement costs of energy; sets forth energy goals for '85: reduction in annual growth rate in energy demand to less than 2%, 10% reduction in gasoline consumption, reduction in oil imports to 6-million bbls a day, 2/3 increase in coal production to over 1-billion tons a day, insulation of 90% of homes and all new bldgs and use of solar energy in over 2.5-million homes; illus with energy adviser Schlesinger (M)