Rescuers honored...U.S., Israel sign agreement...Wyeth dies



NEW YORK (AP) New York City's mayor is praising the rescuers who helped save 155 people from a plane that landed on the Hudson River yesterday. At a City Hall ceremony, he said the civilian and uniformed rescuers "wasted no time" during the emergency in frigid river waters. He says he'll give the key to the city to the plane's pilot, who's credited for landing the jet safely.

NEW YORK (AP) Investigators are expected to meet today or tomorrow with the pilot and crew of the U.S. Airways jet that crashed into New York's Hudson River. A spokesman for the pilots union says the 57-year-old pilot is in good spirits after yesterday's ordeal. He says the flight crew has been asked not to speak publicly about the accident until after a federal investigation is complete.

WASHINGTON (AP) The U.S. and Israel are signing an agreement aimed at reassuring the Jewish state that a Gaza cease-fire would not give Hamas militants a chance to rearm. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the document will cover questions involving possible weapons supplies coming in from Iran and elsewhere.

WASHINGTON (AP) A federal agency report is giving a boost to a proposed wind farm off Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The project is the focus of a bitter public fight, with foes like Sen. Edward Kennedy saying the turbines would ruin the view and hurt fishing and tourism. But today's report says the project would pose no major environmental problems.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) There's word that American painter Andrew Wyeth has died at his suburban Philadelphia home. His portraits of people and landscapes were known for showing a hidden melancholy.

Wyeth was 91, and died after a short illness.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 01-16-09 1050CST | save this article / add to your favorites list