NYC Crane Collapse Kills at Least 1

Probe centers on equipment, not operators

(NEWSER) - City officials investigating a crane accident that killed two workers yesterday think a bad weld may have been to blame, the New York Times reports. The top of the crane, which met all the city's regulations, snapped off and hit a building. The city has suspended all crane construction until Monday and plans to hire new safety engineers. More»

Boom snaps, plunges into subway construction site

(NEWSER) - A 170-foot crane cracked and tumbled to the ground last night, killing a workman and injuring four others. The upper section of the crane broke off during work in midtown on the extension of the No. 7 subway line. It crashed "like a dinosaur," a construction site worker told the New York Times. Investigators are "looking at some kind of failure in the rear of the crane," a source told the Times. A 30-year-old worker was killed. Those hurt were a crane operator, a flag man, a relative of one of the victims, and another man. Some were saved from 60 feet below ground, and ropes were used to lift people out. "It was a complicated job," said Fire Chief William Seelig. The rescue scene was a "very precarious area with a lot of construction material." More»

Daily Beast ranks America's pot-loving locales

(NEWSER) - In honor of today's date, 4/20—and the pot-steeped lore of those numbers—the Daily Beast has ranked the nation's 40 "highest cities," where weed culture reigns supreme. To read the full list and see how it was compiled, click here . The top 10:

1. Eureka, California
2. Tallahassee, Florida
3. Manhattan
4. Boston
5. San Francisco

Gig Jordan 'grasped at straws' at clinics

(NEWSER) - A wealthy Manhattan mom found babbling incoherently next to the lifeless body of her 8-year-old autistic son last week gave the boy a fatal overdose because she was overwhelmed by his condition, said a family friend. Pharmaceutical executive Gigi Jordan, 49, "went to clinics all over the country looking for a treatment, grasping at straws" to find effective treatment for her "severely autistic" son, Dr. Marcus Conant told the New York Daily News . More»

... And promotes shrinks' books, in 180-second encounters

(NEWSER) - Freud must be shuddering in his grave, but that doesn't bother Susan Shapiro, the author of Speed Shrinking and the cheerful organizer of speed-dating-style therapy sessions for New Yorkers. On a recent evening, 200 talk-therapy-seekers stood in line at a lecture hall for their turn to spill their problems and get some quickie advice from each of eight therapists, at just 3 minutes a pop. "It's amazing what you can achieve in a short space of time," said one. It "makes something which can be intimidating fun," said Shapiro. More»