GAGARIN FLIGHT WAS NEAR DISASTER.

Handwritten notes to be auctioned off in New York this month indicate that the first Soviet space flight, in April 1961, experienced severe technical problems and nearly ended in disaster and the death of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. The private notes were written by Gagarin’s commander, Colonel Yevgeny Karpov. The 108-minute flight — the West was unaware of the problems — helped spur America’s own space program. (AP, March 5)

Are the Communists Planning Expropriations?