Observation Deck

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The observation deck of the world’s tallest skyscraper reopened yesterday in Dubai, two months after an elevator malfunction that left visitors trapped more than 120 stories above the ground forced it to close. Dozens of tourists were lining up for tickets to take an elevator to the 124th floor of the half-mile-high Burj Khalifa, where the tower’s observation deck is located. The deck was shut in February after an elevator packed with visitors got stuck between floors for 45 minutes before rescuers dropped a ladder into the shaft so those...

NEW YORK - The Statue of Liberty will close for a year at the end of October as it undergoes a $27.25 million renovation that will make the interior safer and more accessible, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Wednesday. The renovations are limited to the monument, and Liberty Island will remain open and the statue itself will be mostly unobstructed from view, officials said in a statement. Tegan Firth, a spokeswoman for Statue Cruises, which on an average Saturday during the summer ferries about 18,000 people to Liberty Island, said the renovation will not have a significant impact...

NEW YORK — A Yale University junior left a suicide note in his dorm room before heading to New York, where he apparently plunged to his death by jumping from the Empire State Building, police said yesterday. Cameron Dabaghi, 21, from Austin, Texas, jumped from the 86th floor observation deck Tuesday during evening rush hour. His note said he was sorry and he would be jumping from either the George Washington Bridge over the Hudson River in upper Manhattan, or the Empire State building, police said.

A New Hampshire couple was on board an Amtrak train when a tractor-trailer crashed into it, killing six. Eugene Rheault tells the Reno Gazette-Journal that he and another man helped pull a woman who had several broken bones to safety from the wreckage. A truck driver and at least five others died when the truck slammed into the side of a passenger car in the Nevada desert Friday. About 20 others were injured in the fiery crash. Rheault, a dentist who lives in Manchester, N.H., and his wife were on their way to San Francisco when the crash happened.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Visitors on the observation deck of the world’s tallest tower heard a loud boom, then saw dust that looked like smoke seeping through a crack in an elevator door 124 floors above the ground. The 15 people inside were trapped for 45 frightening minutes until rescuers managed to pry open the doors. Because the elevator was stuck between floors, rescuers dropped a ladder into the shaft so those inside could crawl out. On the observation deck, about 60 more people were stranded.

A New Hampshire couple was on board an Amtrak train when a tractor-trailer crashed into it, killing six. Eugene Rheault tells the Reno Gazette-Journal that he and another man helped pull a woman who had several broken bones to safety from the wreckage. A truck driver and at least five others died when the truck slammed into the side of a passenger car in the Nevada desert Friday. About 20 others were injured in the fiery crash. Rheault, a dentist who lives in Manchester, N.H., and his wife were on their way to San Francisco when the crash happened.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Astronauts ran into trouble yesterday while setting up the International Space Station’s newest room, Tranquility: A critical insulating cover does not fit. The fabric, multilayered cover is supposed to go between Tranquility and its observation deck, but the metal bars are not locking down properly because of interference from a hand rail or some other structure at the hatch. Flight director Bob Dempsey said engineers are trying to figure out how to proceed.

NEW YORK -- Access to the Statue of Liberty, which has been closed since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, will be relaxed beginning this summer, although tourists will still not be allowed inside the statue itself. Pledges of $7 million in donations, including a $100,000 gift from Mayor Michael Bloomberg, will finance upgrades that were necessary before the monument could be reopened. Interior Secretary Gale Norton said yesterday that the observation deck on the statue's pedestal will be reopened sometime in late July.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - The world’s tallest skyscraper has unexpectedly closed to the public a month after its lavish opening, disappointing tourists headed for the observation deck and casting doubt over plans to welcome its first permanent occupants in the coming weeks. Electrical problems are at least partly to blame for the closure of the Burj Khalifa’s viewing platform - the only part of the half-mile high tower open yet. But a lack of information from the spire’s owner left it unclear whether the rest of the largely empty building - including dozens of...

NEW YORK - The Statue of Liberty's crown, with its exhilarating view of New York's skyscrapers, bridges, and seaport, is reopening on Independence Day for the first time since terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center across the harbor. Safety and security issues have been addressed, and 50,000 people, 10 at a time, will get to visit the 265-foot-high crown in the next two years before it is closed again for renovation, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said yesterday. "On July 4, we are giving America a special gift," Salazar said at a news conference on nearby...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The observation deck of the world’s tallest skyscraper reopened yesterday in Dubai, two months after an elevator malfunction that left visitors trapped more than 120 stories above the ground forced it to close. Dozens of tourists were lining up for tickets to take an elevator to the 124th floor of the half-mile-high Burj Khalifa, where the tower’s observation deck is located. The deck was shut in February after an elevator packed with visitors got stuck between floors for 45 minutes before rescuers dropped a ladder into the shaft so those...

NEW YORK — A Yale University junior left a suicide note in his dorm room before heading to New York, where he apparently plunged to his death by jumping from the Empire State Building, police said yesterday. Cameron Dabaghi, 21, from Austin, Texas, jumped from the 86th floor observation deck Tuesday during evening rush hour. His note said he was sorry and he would be jumping from either the George Washington Bridge over the Hudson River in upper Manhattan, or the Empire State building, police said.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Astronauts ran into trouble yesterday while setting up the International Space Station’s newest room, Tranquility: A critical insulating cover does not fit. The fabric, multilayered cover is supposed to go between Tranquility and its observation deck, but the metal bars are not locking down properly because of interference from a hand rail or some other structure at the hatch. Flight director Bob Dempsey said engineers are trying to figure out how to proceed.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Visitors on the observation deck of the world’s tallest tower heard a loud boom, then saw dust that looked like smoke seeping through a crack in an elevator door 124 floors above the ground. The 15 people inside were trapped for 45 frightening minutes until rescuers managed to pry open the doors. Because the elevator was stuck between floors, rescuers dropped a ladder into the shaft so those inside could crawl out. On the observation deck, about 60 more people were stranded.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - The world’s tallest skyscraper has unexpectedly closed to the public a month after its lavish opening, disappointing tourists headed for the observation deck and casting doubt over plans to welcome its first permanent occupants in the coming weeks. Electrical problems are at least partly to blame for the closure of the Burj Khalifa’s viewing platform - the only part of the half-mile high tower open yet. But a lack of information from the spire’s owner left it unclear whether the rest of the largely empty building - including...

CALGARY, Alberta - Just listening to the description of what bobsleigh riders at Canada Olympic Park have in store for them made my stomach flip. "There are 14 corners," said the guide at the 1988 Winter Olympics track. "The first three are nice little corners, then you get into corner four, where there's lots of speed and pressure, then five, six, and seven all come together and in eight you get to rest. " The "rest" lasts a few seconds before riders hit the "Kreisel corner.

AUGUSTA, Maine -- The replacement for Maine's aging Waldo-Hancock Bridge will be named the Downeast Gateway Bridge to reflect the span's location at the entrance to the Down East region of the state. The name was announced Friday following months of deliberation during which hundreds of suggestions ranging from silly to serious were submitted. "The Downeast Gateway Bridge is the greatest piece of civil engineering in the state's history, and the proposed name reflects the significance of the bridge to the entire state and acknowledges that the bridge belongs to all Mainers," said...

NEW YORK - The Statue of Liberty will close for a year at the end of October as it undergoes a $27.25 million renovation that will make the interior safer and more accessible, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Wednesday. The renovations are limited to the monument, and Liberty Island will remain open and the statue itself will be mostly unobstructed from view, officials said in a statement. Tegan Firth, a spokeswoman for Statue Cruises, which on an average Saturday during the summer ferries about 18,000 people to Liberty Island, said the renovation will not have a...

NEW YORK - The Statue of Liberty's crown, with its exhilarating view of New York's skyscrapers, bridges, and seaport, is reopening on Independence Day for the first time since terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center across the harbor. Safety and security issues have been addressed, and 50,000 people, 10 at a time, will get to visit the 265-foot-high crown in the next two years before it is closed again for renovation, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said yesterday. "On July 4, we are giving America a special gift," Salazar said at a news conference on nearby Ellis Island.

BALTIMORE - We are standing at the top of the Washington Monument - the first one planned in the United States - looking down at the sights. And, no, we are not in Washington. In 1809, ten years after George Washington's death, some prominent Baltimoreans, noting there was no grand memorial to our first president, petitioned the state's General Assembly thusly: "Trophies to the memory of great and good men are an encouragement to virtuous and heroic deeds. " Construction was approved in 1810 and completed in 1829, nearly six decades before the more famous monument in the...