NEW YORK
Train strikes woman
New York City police say a young woman stumbling around on a Manhattan subway platform not far from Times Square fell onto the tracks and was killed by a train. The accident happened at around 5 a.m. on New Year’s Day at the No. 2 line station on 34th Street and Seventh Avenue. That’s one stop from where revelers gather in Times Square to see the ball drop. Police say the victim was in her 20s. Her name wasn’t immediately released. Subway deaths are common in the city. Last year, according to a report in the Daily News, there was about a fatality a week.
Ferris wheel in plans
As the city grapples with rebuilding after Superstorm Sandy, developers are pressing ahead with plans for an ambitious addition to the shoreline of storm-torn Staten Island: the world’s largest Ferris wheel. Sandy’s flooding spurred some changes to the nearly $500 million project, which includes an outlet mall and hotel. But developers haven’t slowed it or scaled it back. Supporters say Staten Island needs the boost now more than ever.
LOS ANGELES
Oscar voting extended
Growing concern that problems with the new electronic Oscar voting system could lead to record-low turnout has prompted the motion picture academy to extend the deadline for members to vote for Oscar nominations. But with next week’s highly anticipated announcements looming, the extension is only for a day, until Friday. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Monday any votes received after the new deadline will not be counted. There are reports of difficulty accessing the Oscars’ first-ever online voting system.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska
Shell ship appears OK
Crews aboard two aircraft flew over an oil drilling ship Tuesday that went aground in a severe storm and saw no sign that the vessel was leaking fuel or that its hull had been breached. The Dutch Royal Shell drilling rig used this summer in the Arctic was aground off a small island where the ship appeared stable, said federal on-scene response coordinator Capt. Paul Mehler.
Compiled from wire reports.
