News In Brief
| Washington
Martin Luther King Day to be official US holiday
The Senate gave final congressional approval Wednesday to a federal holiday honoring slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. At a press conference shortly after the 78-to-22 vote, President Reagan said he will sign the legislation even though he favored a lesser form of recognition. Reagan cited the ''symbolic importance'' of such a holiday. The House had passed the bill overwhelmingly in August.
Dr. King will be honored each year on the third Monday of January, beginning in 1986. The day becomes the 10th official national holiday, the first in recognition of a black.
