2nd woman dies after copter crash

2nd woman dies after copter crash

NEW YORK

A woman who was seriously injured when a helicopter carrying a group on a birthday celebration crashed into the East River became the second person to die from the accident, a hospital spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Helen Tamaki, a citizen of New Zealand who lived in Sydney, was pronounced dead Tuesday night, Bellevue Hospital Center spokeswoman Francis Arscott said.

The Oct. 4 crash also killed passenger Sonia Marra, a British citizen living in Australia who was celebrating her 40th birthday in the city with her mother, her stepfather, Tamaki and the pilot, a family friend.

Accident investigators said in a report released Wednesday that the helicopter had been in the shop just two days before the fatal flight.

Congress passes 3 trade agreements

WASHINGTON

Congress approved free- trade agreements Wednesday with South Korea, Colombia and Panama, ending a four-year drought in the forming of new trade partnerships and giving the White House and Capitol Hill the opportunity to show they can work together to stimulate the economy and put people back to work.

In rapid succession, the House and Senate voted on the three trade pacts, which the administration says could boost exports by $13 billion and support tens of thousands of American jobs.

Perry: Iran plot proves security need

INDIANAPOLIS

Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Wednesday an Iranian-backed terror plot coordinated in Mexico proves the U.S. must secure its southern border, an attempt to shore up his standing among Republicans on immigration.

The Republican presidential hopeful used Tuesday’s announcement that Iranian forces had sought to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the U.S. to call for more border troops, improved fencing along the Mexican border and increased border patrols including the use of predator-drone surveillance.

UN council extends NATO Afghan force

UNITED NATIONS

The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Wednesday to authorize the 130,000-strong NATO-led force in Afghanistan for another year, expressing serious concern over ongoing terrorist and criminal activities in the country and the increase in civilian casualties.

The resolution adopted by the U.N.’s most powerful body calls for increased training of the Afghan army and police to accelerate progress toward their self-sufficiency and meet the target of gradually transferring security responsibility from the coalition force to the Afghan government by the end of 2014.

Hurricane Jova kills 5 in Mexico

MANZANILLO, Mexico

Hurricane Jova slammed into Mexico’s Pacific coast as a Category 2 storm early Wednesday, killing at least five people and injuring six, while a tropical depression hit farther south unleashed steady rains that contributed to 13 deaths across the border in Guatemala.

Jova came ashore west of the Mexican port of Manzanillo and the beach town of Barra de Navidad before dawn with 100 mph winds and heavy rains, before moving inland and weakening to a tropical depression by afternoon.

Peanut-butter prices expected to rise

ATLANTA

Consumers should be prepared to shell out a bit more for peanut butter soon.

Another hot, dry summer in key producing states and competition from more- profitable crops such as cotton have significantly shrunk the U.S. peanut crop this year. The tight supply means consumers will soon pay more for yet another grocery staple.

Associated Press