NPR : News

Filed Under:

Cuomo OKs High-Wire Artist's Bid To Cross Falls

By: NPR Staff and Wires // September 23, 2011
comments

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed on to daredevil Nik Wallenda's request to walk a tightrope across Niagara Falls.

Cuomo signed a bill Friday that would permit Wallenda, 32, to attempt a feat that would otherwise be illegal.

He wants to walk over the falls between the U.S. and Canada on a wire 2 inches in diameter and about 1,800 feet long. It would be the first wire walk in more than a century.

In an interview with Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon in June, Wallenda said the feat "has been a dream of mine forever. It's in my blood."

Canadian parks officials have yet to support the idea, though. The Buffalo News reports that Wallenda plans to wait until after upcoming elections in Canada to formally seek permission from the Niagara Parks Commission. The Ontario commission has denied such requests in the past.

Wallenda is a seventh-generation member of the famed Flying Wallendas. Also known as the "King of the High Wire," Wallenda holds multiple Guinness World Records.

Copyright 2011 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

Arts & Culture

NPR

Not My Job: Three Headless Chicken Questions For Alice Cooper

We've invited the heavy metal rocker to answer three questions about Mike, a chicken in the 1940s who lost his head and still went on to achieve fame and fortune.

Food

NPR

'Picture Cook': Drawings Are The Key Ingredients In These Recipes

Designer Katie Shelly's upcoming cookbook offers 50 illustrated recipe "blueprints" for basic meals — from simple snacks to more hefty dishes like eggplant Parmesan. She hopes they'll inspire any level of cook to improvise in the kitchen.

Politics

NPR

Why The IRS Scandal Is Built To Last

Of all the current Washington scandals, the one involving the IRS appears to have the most staying power. It rolls into one package an agency many love to hate, partisan suspicions and the American appetite for conspiracies.

Technology

NPR

Book News: Amazon May Be Called Before Parliament Over Taxes

Also: AARP and The Nation join a growing list of ebook publishers; Hilary Mantel on Jane Austen; Anne Applebaum on Sheryl Sandberg.

Leave a Comment

Help keep the conversation civil. Please refer to our Terms of Use and Code of Conduct before posting your comments.