New York

Helicopter crashes in water near U.N. building

A corporate helicopter plunged into the East River just blocks south of the United Nations on Friday, the second helicopter crash in four days in the waters off Manhattan.

Rescuers pulled all eight on board out of the choppy water. None of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening, said Jared Bernstein, spokesman for the city Office of Emergency Management.

Two pilots and six businessmen were aboard the Sikorski S-76 when it went down seconds after taking off from the 34th Street heliport. The chopper made it barely one block north before it suddenly tumbled tail-first into the water.

Three of the victims had been swept by the current more than a dozen blocks south before they were rescued, apparently by a private vessel. All eight were taken to Bellevue Hospital, said Fire Department spokeswoman Virginia Lam.

Rescue workers were also treating a ninth victim who jumped into the water to help the victims, Lam said.

The Federal Aviation Administration did not immediately return a call for comment.

On Tuesday, another helicopter crashed into the East River shortly after takeoff for a sightseeing flight. Six tourists and the pilot were hospitalized.

Illinois

Murder charges dropped after results of DNA test

Confronted with a DNA test that didn’t match, authorities dropped murder charges Friday against a man accused of sexually assaulting and drowning his 3-year-old daughter.

Kevin Fox, 28, claimed he was bullied by police into falsely implicating himself in the girl’s death.

Police said they charged Fox after he told them he faked the abduction because he thought he had accidentally killed the girl by hitting her in the head with a bathroom door.

But Fox filed a federal lawsuit in November claiming detectives subjected him to threats, lies and promises of a deal during a 14 1/2-hour interrogation. He claimed investigators led him to believe that he would get a more lenient sentence if he said he accidentally killed his daughter.

State’s Atty. James Glasgow said Friday that authorities are now reinvestigating Riley Fox’s death and have a number of leads to pursue.

California

Patriarch convicted of slaying nine children

Marcus Wesson, the domineering patriarch of a large clan he bred through incest, was convicted Friday of murdering nine of his children.

Wesson, 58, could get the death penalty.

The jury took more than two weeks to find Wesson guilty on nine counts of first-degree murder. He was also convicted on all 14 counts of raping and molesting seven of his underage daughters and nieces.

The defense had argued that Sebhrenah Wesson, 25 – the oldest to die – killed herself as well as her siblings and the 1-year-old son she had with her father.

Prosecutors said Marcus Wesson was the triggerman, but they also argued that even if Sebhrenah did the shooting, her father should still be found guilty if he encouraged her to kill.

The jurors accepted the prosecution’s second theory: They found Wesson guilty even though they decided the government did not prove he pulled the trigger.

Several witnesses had testified that Wesson had repeatedly coached the children to be ready to kill each other and themselves if authorities ever threatened to break up the clan.

Washington, D.C.

Reports show possible conflict for DeLay

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay owns stock worth more than $50,000 in ExxonMobil, according to financial disclosure reports, while at the same time he is one of the driving forces behind legislation that would shield that company and other manufacturers of the gasoline additive MTBE from lawsuits that could cost them millions.

Already under fire for alleged ethical lapses, DeLay, a Texas Republican, has hired the Houston law firm Bracewell and Giuliani to defend against those charges. But the firm, in which former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani is a partner, also represents a host of MTBE manufacturers in court and in Congress.

The use of the additive has been a key issue in the nation, where areas have been dealing with the chemical tainting water supplies.

“It looks like a serious conflict of interest,” said Jeffrey Stonecash, a political scientist at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. “I think the issue of owning the stock and then promoting it just doesn’t look good.”