Statue of Liberty closes indefinitely

NEW YORK » The National Park Service says the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island will not reopen to visitors this year.

Both sites have been closed since Superstorm Sandy hit the region Oct. 29. Cleanup and repairs have been ongoing.

The Statue of Liberty itself received little or no damage. The pedestal and base, including the main floor and exhibits upstairs, are OK. But docks, a brick promenade, railings and other facilities on Liberty Island were damaged.

At Ellis Island the storm damaged doors, windows and exhibits in the ferry building among other sites.

Park Service spokes­woman Daphne Yun said Wednesday no projected reopening date has been established.

Both the statue and Ellis Island, which served as an entry point for immigrants for a half-century, are among New York’s top tourist attractions.

King assassination site opens

MEMPHIS, Tenn. » The balcony where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis is now open for visitors for the first time since the National Civil Rights Museum opened in 1991.

The museum says visitors can stand on the spot where King was fatally shot on April 4, 1968.

The museum is on the grounds of the former Lorraine Motel, where King stayed while supporting a sanitation workers strike. It includes various exhibits about the history of the civil rights movement and allows visitors to see the room where King stayed.

The balcony will likely close around the time renovations to the museum end in 2014.