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Greece's Economic Troubles Delay King Memorial

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By Sabri Ben-Achour

Greece's economic crisis has affected markets in New York, and now it's delaying work on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in D.C.

The 159 giant blocks of granite that will form the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial are stuck, for the moment, in China. Greece had offered to transport the blocks to the U.S. as a gesture of it's respect for the civil rights leader. But now it says it can't deliver because of it's economic crisis.

A Baltimore shipping firm estimates the cost could range from $96,000 to $240,000 dollars. The King memorial architect, Ed Jackson Jr., says the memorial foundation did budget money for transporting the stone, but a new shipper hasn't been lined up yet.

Jackson wanted the stones shipped by May 1. Now he's hoping for them to arrive by the end of July.

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