Topic: Niagara Falls

‘Fiscal cliff’: Will Wall Street light a fire under Congress?

So far at least, many on Wall Street seem to think that no matter what happens over the next few days with the fiscal cliff, Congress will still come through early in the new year.

Got student debt? Move fast, and some cities will help you pay it off.

Some cities and counties looking to revitalize offer an incentive – help repaying student loans – to college grads who agree to relocate to their borders. Can it be a win-win for grads and struggling communities?

Keeping your balance on life's tightropes

A Christian Science perspective: Nik Wallenda’s walk across Niagara Falls may have lessons for walking life’s less dramatic tightropes.

Wallenda exuberant after wire walk across Niagara Falls

There was 'wind coming from every which way,' mist so powerful it clouded his vision and an unfamiliar wire beneath him, but daredevil Nik Wallenda didn't let that stop him.

Valentine's Day: Three new love stories

Three couples risk it all in three great new novels

New Year’s Eve: five ways to ring in 2012

New Year’s Eve festivities are already under way in some parts of the world. Here’s a sampling of fun ways people can celebrate the dawn of 2012 – in the United States and beyond.

Genius of Place

Frederick Law Olmsted – a man of strange and restless talent – dreamed of making a better, greener world accessible to all.

The Monitor's View: 'Apocalyptic' contagion and invasive species

The pandemic-thriller film 'Contagion' opens Sept. 9, and along with it come a couple books that question whether fear of all invasive species is always justified.

New York gay marriage bill passes

New York has legalized gay marriage after a week of delays. Celebrations erupted and the Empire State building was lit up in rainbow pride colors.

Existing home sales dip, but prices vary wildly. Top 5 most, least expensive cities.

Existing home sales dipped below an annual rate of 5 million in May. Not counting condos and coops, single-family home sales stand at 4.2 million a year, which, if it held for all of 2011, would be lower than the worst of the slump in 2008. But home prices vary dramatically, depending upon where you live in the United States: the average listing for a typical four-bedroom, two bathroom house in the most expensive real-estate market is more than 40 times the average listing in the least expensive city, according to a recent survey of more than 2,300 markets by Coldwell Banker Real Estate. Here are the Top 5 most and least expensive cities. Is yours on the list?

Opinion: Letting Mississippi run its natural course could save New Orleans from hurricanes

The full diversion of the Mississippi River back down the Atchafalaya basin would flood millions of acres, permanently submerge entire communities, destroy oil refineries and farms, and leave the port of New Orleans without its river. But it could also save Louisiana from the next hurricane.

Morganza spillway: Flooding farmland to save New Orleans

The US Army of Corps of Engineers has opened the Morganza spillway to prevent the surging Mississippi from endangering New Orleans. But farms and natural habitat will be flooded as a result.

J.D. Salinger letters reveal a more human side

J.D. Salinger letters show that the enigmatic writer of 'The Catcher in the Rye' was an affectionate friend who enjoyed gardening, trips to the theater and church suppers — and thought one restaurant chain's burgers were better than the rest.

Hungary toxic sludge reaches Danube River: Top 10 environmental disasters worldwide

The toxic sludge now covering 15 square miles of Hungary and seeping into the Danube River is a serious environmental disaster whose severity and long-term consequences are still unclear. Will the release of the 35 million cubic feet of alumina refining waste become one of the Top 10 manmade environmental disasters of the past century?

After oil spill cleanup, will we tighten the laws?

As the BP oil spill cleanup continued last week, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) proposed new legislative action that would raise the BP's liability. Are we entering a new era of increased regulation?

Where is unemployment falling? Try these Frost Belt cities for hot jobs.

Minneapolis and Buffalo, N.Y., are the only two large metro areas that saw jobs climb or unemployment rates fall over the past year.

Earth Hour 2010 aims to get 1 billion to turn off the lights

For this year's Earth Hour, set for 8:30 p.m. Saturday, more businesses and governments are expected to take part in the campaign to turn off the lights. The aim: at least 1 billion participants.

Home values rise in 30 cities: Is your city one of them?

New survey shows 30 cities saw home prices rise in the third quarter.

Ken Burns: Allowing guns in national parks is 'foolish'

Opinion: Faith in America lifts the public mood

A recent cross-country road trip showed that despite struggles, few people seem to doubt that the nation will rebound.