News In Brief

Reagan raps Mondale on Grenada criticism

President Reagan criticized Walter Mondale on Monday for saying the invasion of Grenada eroded the United States' moral authority to criticize the Soviet Union. ''When we liberated Grenada from communist thugs, we were being a good friend to our Caribbean neighbor,'' Mr. Reagan told about 9,000 students at the University of Alabama.

Appearing at a high school gymnasium in Weldon Spring, Mo., Mr. Mondale charged that the Reagan administration officials ignored threats to public health from toxic waste dumps until worries about the president's ''political health'' prompted them to make cleanup promises. The Reagan administration announced a cleanup plan for the radioactive waste dump here only last week.