March 25, 1982

International A crackdown in Guatemala one day after a coup surprised many people who had expected the new military leaders to form an interim government with civilian politicians and to set speedy elections. The junta of three senior military officers who seized power Tuesday suspended the Constitution and all political activities. (Page A1, Column 6.) Abuses by Salvadoran security forces appear to be diminishing a bit, but many of the traditional excesses are continuing. Much of the international opposition to the ruling junta arises from its general failure to curb the killing of noncombatants by security forces and the paramilitary death squads linked with them. (A1:4-5.)

The United States Supreme Court ruled unanimously today that employees of the state-owned Long Island Rail Road have a Federally guaranteed right to strike. In an opinion by Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, the Court ruled that the railroad's employees retained their rights under Federal labor law when New York acquired the L.I.R.R. in 1966, despite the terms of the state's Taylor Law forbidding strikes by public employees. In another decision, the Court declared unconstitutional the New York law that permits the state to remove children permanently from the custody of abusive or neglectful parents. (Page A27.)

A news analysis article yesterday, discussing the issue of the authenticity of the painting ''The Fortune Teller,'' omitted a word from a statement by John Brealey of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, explaining that the museum had invited CBS News to see the painting. The quotation should have read, ''The test results could not be meaningfully evaluated without simultaneous first-hand examination of the painting itself.''

''Whoever is elected has a responsibility to democracy. Those who come to power and forget the people make a mistake.

WHEN Susan Trentacoste Miller, a New York freelance photographer, decided to document her family's history, she didn't compile an album of pictures. Instead, Mrs. Miller, her parents, sister and uncle spent four hours relating their memories to a videotape camera. ''It's impossible to capture my parents' personalities without the sound and animation of tape,'' she said. Bob and Irma Maurer of Mission Viejo, Calif., hired a video recording service for their daughter Lori's wedding in August 1980. The tape included scenes of her bridal shower, a wedding-dress fitting and an aerial view of the church where the ceremony took place. Since then, the Maurers have used the same company to capture a son's wedding, a younger son's football match, a second daughter's school dance recital and the 65th birthday party for Mr. Maurer's father.