NEW YORK (AP) — A skyscraper-scaling daredevil told police that he and his girlfriend climbed the Empire State Building’s antenna and unfurled a banner about love and peace because he wanted to “do something special” for their engagement, prosecutors said Thursday at the couple's arraignment on felony reckless endangerment, burglary and other charges.
The couple, who go by Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus, said little as they left court, though Beerkus responded to a journalist's question about the stunt by saying: "We believe in love."
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Two people stand on the tip of the antenna of the Empire State Building in New York while holding a banner on Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (WABC-TV via AP)
Two people stand on the tip of the antenna of the Empire State Building while holding a banner on Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Two people descend the spire of the Empire State Building, in New York, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A person is shown atop the spire of the Empire State Building, in New York, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Angelina Nikolau and Ivan Kuznetsov, who go by Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus, depart New York criminal courthouse building on Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz)
Angelina Nikolau and Ivan Kuznetsov, who go by Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus, depart New York criminal courthouse building on Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz)
Authorities said the two — who were the subject of the 2024 Netflix documentary “ Skywalkers: A Love Story ” about their “rooftopping” exploits and budding romance — created not only a spectacle but a danger by ascending the famed skyscraper's broadcast antenna Wednesday.
After reaching the top, 1,454 feet (443 meters) above midtown Manhattan, the climbers displayed a black banner reading: “When the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace," news helicopter video showed.
Then they collected the banner and descended to a slightly lower ledge, where an apparently successful marriage proposal unfolded. Nikolau posted images of the escapade on her social media accounts, including a photo that modeled an engagement-style ring above a bird’s-eye view of Manhattan.
Police waited about a half-hour for the antenna to be powered down before Emergency Services Unit officers started ascending and eventually intercepted the climbers on their way down, according to the complaint, which noted the danger to officers who climbed about 1,250 feet (381 meters) above the ground. The court document identified the two by their formal names, Angelina Nikolau and Ivan Kuznetsov.
“Skywalkers: A Love Story” follows Beerkus, now 32, and Nikolau, 33, as they make often unauthorized ascents of tall structures, sometimes posing as construction workers to sneak in.
The court complaint said police found a broken lock on a security door on the Empire State Building's restricted-access 104th floor, which provides access to the antenna. The highest public floor is the 102nd, where there’s an observation deck. Going higher requires a key card, according to the court complaint.
The Empire State Building's management has called the climb “unauthorized” but hasn't answered questions about what interactions, if any, the daredevils had with security workers. Visitors to the skyscraper are screened and told not to bring large packages, sports equipment, costumes or masks, among other items.
Beerkus and Nikolau were released without bail, in accordance with New York laws that restrict when monetary bail can be set. Their attorney, Jason Krinsky, said outside court that once prosecutors provide evidence, he and his clients would assess it and determine next steps.
“What a way to propose — something you can only dream of," Krinsky said. “So you've got to, you know, give him some credit for that.”
Other daredevils have climbed the antenna and other parts of the Empire State Building. Those ascents have largely been unauthorized, but actor and musician Jared Leto was allowed to climb up to the base of the antenna from the 86th floor in 2023 to promote a tour.
Two people stand on the tip of the antenna of the Empire State Building in New York while holding a banner on Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (WABC-TV via AP)
Two people stand on the tip of the antenna of the Empire State Building while holding a banner on Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Two people descend the spire of the Empire State Building, in New York, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A person is shown atop the spire of the Empire State Building, in New York, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Angelina Nikolau and Ivan Kuznetsov, who go by Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus, depart New York criminal courthouse building on Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz)
Angelina Nikolau and Ivan Kuznetsov, who go by Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus, depart New York criminal courthouse building on Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz)
NEW YORK (AP) — Most U.S. stocks are rising Thursday after the latest update on the job market suggested the Federal Reserve may feel less pressure to hike interest rates. But more swings for chip stocks and other winners of the artificial-intelligence boom are keeping indexes mixed.
The S&P 500 fell 0.4%, even though two out of every three stocks within the index were rising. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 297 points, or 0.6%, as of 2:10 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.1% lower after erasing an early gain.
Stocks broadly got some help from easing Treasury yields in the bond market, which fell after a report from the U.S. government said employers added 57,000 jobs to their payrolls last month. That’s growth, which is good for the economy, but it was also short of the 100,000 jobs that economists expected and a slowdown from May’s hiring pace.
The weaker-than-expected result could keep pressure off inflation, which has been accelerating worldwide because of jumps in oil prices caused by the war with Iran. And if inflation slows in upcoming months, now that oil prices are back below where they were before the war, the Federal Reserve may feel less need to raise interest rates several times this year.
That would be a relief for investors, who tend to love lower interest rates because they can give the economy a boost by making it cheaper for U.S. households and businesses to borrow money and spend. Lower rates also tend to push upward on prices for stocks and other investments.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury got to 4.50% in the morning, up from 3.97% just before the war. But after the release of the U.S. hiring data, it fell back to 4.49%.
The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for the Fed, fell more sharply. Traders now see an 82% chance that the Fed and its new chairman, Kevin Warsh, will not raise the federal funds rate at its next meeting later this month. That’s up from the 71% chance seen a day earlier, according to data from CME Group.
“The labor market isn’t overheating,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at Annex Wealth Management. He said the data could allow the Fed to wait through the summer to get more clues about how inflation is behaving before having to decide on hiking rates.
On Wall Street, the company behind LaCroix sparkling waters helped lead the market and climbed 13.4% after National Beverage said it will pay a special dividend of $3.25 for each share that investors hold.
Dollar Tree rose 1.9% after the retailer said it approved a program to send up to $2.5 billion to its shareholders by buying back its stock.
Stocks of companies in the crypto industry were also strong after the price of bitcoin rose roughly 2.6%, a day after dropping near its lowest level since 2024. Robinhood Markets rose 3.2%, and Coinbase Global gained 3.6%.
But more drops for computer chip companies weighed on indexes. They’ve come under pressure because of worries that their stock prices shot too high in the frenzy around AI and that all the spending on chips and data centers may not result in as much profit and productivity growth as hoped.
Memory maker Micron Technology erased an early gain to drop 7%, a day after plunging 10.6%. Nvidia fell 2.4%, and Applied Materials sank 10%. They were some of the heaviest weights on the S&P 500 because they've grown so huge in size amid AI mania.
In stock markets abroad, continued drops for chip companies sent indexes sharply lower in several Asian markets. South Korea's Kospi index sank 7.9% due to losses for chip companies like SK Hynix. That’s its worst drop since a 10% plunge a little more than a week ago.
Indexes also fell 2.5% in Tokyo and 2% in Shanghai.
European indexes were stronger, and France’s CAC 40 rallied 1.7%.
In the oil market, prices continued to ease on hopes for negotiations for a permanent end to the war with Iran. Brent crude, the international standard, dipped 0.1% to $71.49 per barrel.
AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed to this report.
Trader Robert Charmak works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Options traders Serge Marinovich, left, and Phil Phil Fracassini work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
An electronic board shows Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index, bottom, and exchange rate of the Japanese yen against the U.S. dollar in Tokyo Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (Kenichiro Kojima/Kyodo News via AP)
Members of media film near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A dealer watches computer monitors at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A dealer walks past near the screens showing the foreign exchange rates at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A currency trader watches monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
