NYC Waterfalls Make a Splash

Sightseeing tour ends in tragedy for family

(NEWSER) - Last month’s New York City helicopter crash has claimed a third victim. Harriet Nicholson, 60, died yesterday from "respiratory complications of near-drowning"—meaning a lack of oxygen to her brain—the AP reports. The English tourist was to take a sightseeing tour with her husband, daughter, and daughter’s partner when the pilot lost control and crashed into the East River shortly after takeoff on Oct. 4. Nicholson’s 40-year-old daughter was found dead after the accident, and her partner died a week later. The pilot and Nicholson’s husband survived. More»

Four others, including pilot, survive

(AP) - A helicopter with five people aboard crashed into the East River this afternoon after taking off from a launch pad on the riverbank, killing one passenger and injuring the others. Police divers pulled the dead woman from about 50 feet of water about an hour after the Bell 206 helicopter went down around 3pm. All the passengers appeared to be British tourists, police said. The pilot, Paul Dudley, managed to swim to shore while police rescued two women and a man from the chilly water. The women were in critical condition, and the man was stable. More»

She made her mark creating giant environmental artworks with husband

(NEWSER) - Jeanne-Claude, the artist who with her husband, Christo, traveled the globe creating massive works of public art, died yesterday in New York at age 74 after a brain aneurysm. Christo and Jean-Claude first caught the public eye in the 1960s and '70s in Europe wrapping landmark buildings and bridges in colorful fabric, the New York Times reports. They recently installed thousands of saffron-colored gates in Central Park in New York. More»

NYPD fears an overcome visitor will take life in the sunken pools

(NEWSER) - The New York Times today takes a look at a potential problem that, as of yet, has mercifully not come to pass: suicide at the 9/11 memorial. The article focuses on the fears of the NYPD, and is spun off of comments Commissioner Raymond Kelly made to Esquire yesterday about the memorial's two sunken pools. In the article, he acknowledges that, "We have to think of these possibilities. We're concerned about the possibility of somebody jumping in. This is what we're paid to think about." More»

It jumps ahead of Tokyo in new rankings

(NEWSER) - A stronger Swiss franc has given residents of Zurich, Switzerland, a distinction they might rather do without: It's now the most expensive city in the world in which to live, according to an Economist survey. It knocked Tokyo out of the top spot:

1. Zurich
2. Tokyo
3. Geneva (tie)
4. Osaka (tie)
5. Oslo
6. Paris
7. Sydney
8. Melbourne
9. Singapore
10. Frankfurt