MR GRADY'S DAILY BLOG: AMERICAS NEWS

Woman who lost husband AND son in WTC attack asked to leave 9/11 Museum so workers could set up for VIP cocktail party

After trekking to lower Manhattan from her South Carolina home, Susan Simon (right) stood her ground when workers tried to rush her out of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum about noon Tuesday. Simon was paying respect to her later husband Arthur (left) and son Kenneth. read full story »

EXCLUSIVE: Two sadistic students put RAT POISON in Brooklyn teacher's water bottle

A veteran Brooklyn teacher Johanna Cherepany, who was poisoned by her psycho students Monday, is well enough to get out of bed, but said she’s ill and badly rattled because of the incident.

Two teens shot in Virginia park after couple spotted having sex near basketball courts

Two teenagers were shot after a group of children found a man and a woman having sex near the basketball courts at a central Virginia park, it was reported.

Woman who attacked 4-year-old girl at Walmart celebrated bludgeoning toddler: 'I wanted to kill the Asian girl because she's a reject'

The 20-year-old attacker also told detectives she was "upset with herself" that she had not killed the child and bragged that she was "strong enough to kill a kid/"

SEE IT: Alabama fan in drug bust yells ‘Roll Tide!’ during arrest

There’s no high like rooting on your favorite football team. An Alabama pigskin superfan nabbed in a drug sting proclaimed his innocence to a local news team before paying homage to his favorite team by blurting out, “Roll Tide!”

O.J. Simpson submits new appeal in Las Vegas robbery conviction

O.J. Simpson's lawyers submitted a super-sized appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court, seeking the former football star's release from prison and a new trial in his 2007 Las Vegas armed-robbery case.

RED HOT! Models hit the runway at amfAR gala in Cannes

New York teacher arrested in Park Slope break-in: cops

Brent Adams, 41, a teacher and debate coach at Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn, was arrested after he was caught breaking into a brownstone in the Park Slope neighborhood, cops said Thursday.

North Dakota only state not face gay marriage ban challenges

Federal lawsuits filed this week in Montana and South Dakota leave just one state — North Dakota — with a gay marriage ban that's not facing some form of legal challenge.

Nigeria protesters demand more action from president to find girls

ABUJA, Nigeria — Scores of protesters chanting “Bring back our girls” marched Thursday to Nigeria’s presidential villa to demand more action to free nearly 300 schoolgirls abducted by Islamic militants.

Lupica: King Henrik outdueled as Rangers fall to Montreal wins in OT

We can talk and talk about how this would be the first Stanley Cup for the Rangers in 20 years, and about how Henrik Lundqvist commands the great stage in the city right now, and about how the Rangers have done the one thing we always ask sports to do, and that means surprise us.

Charlie rips Rihanna in epic rant after she snubs his fiancée

EXCLUSIVE Queens man dies from wounds two years after trying stop fight

Two years after Isteak Quadir, 51, was seriously injured trying to quell a brewing bar fight, the Queens man has died from his wounds, his family said.

Raissman: Mets circus continues, but when will SNY crew blow top?

As the incredible shrinking product disintegrates between the lines and becomes unwatchable, the Mets will be left with only a baseball circus to sell. It’s early but inevitable.

France’s rail system must widen platforms after spending $20 billion for trains that don’t fit

Well, that's embarrassing. France's rail system has to widen some 1,300 platforms after buying 2,000 trains that are too big for the stations.

911 screwup may have been caused by 'criminal activity': city investigator

Department of Investigation Commissioner Mark Peters said it's too premature to tell what really happened to overhaul of 911 system that has fallen years behind schedule and cost almost $1 billion over budget.

‘I felt compelled by a higher power’: Calif. teacher put on leave for video showing his attack on skateboarder

A California elementary school teacher was suspended for a second time after parents planned to protest over a video of the man apparently attacking a skateboarder on the street, officials said.

Beyonce trades her bouncy tresses for extra-long braids

Five Orthodox Jewish men, 4 of them rabbis, are charged with conspiring to kidnap men and force them to divorce their wives

Five Orthodox Jewish men — four of them rabbis — were indicted by a federal grand jury in New Jersey Thursday on charges of conspiring to kidnap Jewish men and force them to grant their wives religious divorces, known as “gets.”

Anti-Muslim group sparks controversy by posting ads featuring Hitler on Washington, D.C. buses

The American Freedom Defense Initiative, a group led by right-wing blogger Pamela Geller, paid for the controversial ads. The campaign will run on 20 buses in the nation's capital for about a month.

EXCLUSIVE Historic Brooklyn Navy Yard becomes a national landmark

The US Department of the Interior’s National Park Service added the iconic 300-acre industrial park to the National Register of Historic Places Thursday, The News has learned.

LOVEFEST: Gov. Cuomo accepts nomination for reelection as Bill Clinton lends video support

With his happy father watching and Bill Clinton joining in by video, Gov. Andrew Cuomo accepted the New York state Democratic party's nomination for reelection Thursday.

John Madden: I know a broadcaster who gets pain-killing drugs from NFL locker roms before games

Hall of Famer John Madden said it wasn't just the NFL players who were lining up to take advantage of the easy access to pain-killing drugs.

Ex-cop reveals Tupac's final words on day he was shot

Children get shocked as they swim in Florida pool filled with electricity

A group of children suffered serious injuries when a malfunctioning pump at a Florida condominium complex released electricity into a swimming pool.

Virginia teacher tried to teach second-grade class while drunk: cops

Police arrested 28-year-old Michael Corbett on Wednesday at the Aldie elementary school. He's been charged with public intoxication — the second time he's faced such charges this week.

Hamill: Snobby ghouls who partied at 9/11 Museum party have no common decency

That’s the question for the people who sipped bubbly and nibbled crab cakes at the black-tie, invitation-only party at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum on Tuesday.

Obama’s request for BlackBerry ‘bothered a lot of people’: ex-NSA official

When President-elect Barack Obama requested that the government supply him with a secure BlackBerry when he assumed office, it “just really bothered a lot of people,” a former NSA official has revealed.

Joanna Krupa shows off toned abs in crop top ensemble

Oregon hotel suing TripAdvisor user who posted stinging review: 'Breakfast is nasty, the rooms are nasty'

The Ashley Inn, in Lincoln City, wants $74,500 in damages from the as yet unknown customer who reportedly wrote: "Breakfast is nasty, the rooms are nasty."

Bar owner accused of stealing deposit money

The runaway restaurateur who abruptly shuttered his Brooklyn gastropub reBar and took off with hundreds of thousands in wedding deposits was confronted for the first time Thursday by some of the couples he left in the lurch.

Virginia mayor arrested for sexually abusing woman

The mayor of a small Virginia town was arrested Tuesday after he allegedly sexually abusing a woman.

‘The Shield’ actor Michael Jace charged with murder

Prosecutors have charged actor Michael Jace with murder after his wife was shot and killed in their Los Angeles home.

Jilted tennis star Wozniacki breaks silence over Rory split

21-month-old Brooklyn boy who died in fall from window, laid to rest Thursday

Scores of mourners attended a funeral service Thursday for Theodore (Teddy) Levi Nemon, a 21-month-old Brooklyn boy who fell out of a 6-story window of his parents’ apartment.

Prison inmate wants to sue city for $1M, claiming a man posing as a correction officer sexually abused him

A prison inmate wants to sue the city for $1 million for allegedly allowing him to be sexually abused by a pervert posing as a correction officer.

Woman may have been victim of slap cam craze

A woman was attacked while asleep in a Baltimore McDonald's and the victim fears she was the target of a new online assault prank.

SEE IT 'Silicon Valley' actor spotted at scene of D.C. shooting of 7-year-old girl: photographer

An eagle-eyed photojournalist spotted a man who looks just like actor T.J. Miller from "Silicon Valley" on HBO — just minutes after a bullet struck a 7-year-old girl at 7:21 p.m. in Washington, D.C.

Orphaned black bear cub spends night with cops in Oregon

This baby bear is probably the cutest and most polite guest to ever spend a night in the custody of Oregon police officers.

TGIF! Check out the hottest celeb photos of the week

Dodgers suspend Miguel Olivo after ear-biting attack

The Dodgers suspended catcher Miguel Olivo from Triple-A Albuquerque on Wednesday for his alleged dugout attack on Cuban infielder Alex Guerrero on Monday.

Cops stop suicidal man from jumping off Brooklyn Bridge

Cops kept a suicidal man, who was wearing a homemade mask and claimed to be from outer space, from jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge Thursday afternoon.

Group of 50 senators call on Redskins to change team name

Half of the U.S. Senate wrote the National Football League's commissioner Tuesday to urge that he push the Washington Redskins to change their name.

FBI informant: LA County Sheriff’s officials hid me during probe

The inmate informant at the heart of a widespread civil rights scandal overshadowing the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department says he was moved to different jails and hidden in cars to keep him from talking to his FBI handlers.

Conn. mom cyberbullied daughter’s rival: cops

A third-grade teacher at a Connecticut school is accused of sending more than 65 harassing messages to her daughter's 15-year-old romantic rival over a three-month period, authorities said.

Are the Hamptons turning into the 'Jersey Shore'?

North Korea fires near South Korean warship in disputed waters

North Korea fired into disputed waters near a South Korean warship Thursday, a Joint Chiefs of Staff officer said, in the latest sign of tension rising between the bitter rivals in recent weeks.

Heroic woman honored for delivering baby from dying teen mother's abdominal wound on side of the road after car crash

Iria Wolnick stopped to help after she watched an SUV veer off the road last summer. The 36-year-old was then able to deliver the baby girl through a wound on the mother’s abdomen.

'Pretty Little Liars' star defends touched-up photos

Thailand military stages coup to 'restore stability and order' after months of unrest: army chief

Thailand's army chief announced a military takeover of the government Thursday, saying the coup was necessary to restore stability and order after six months of political deadlock and turmoil.

House passes bill that would curb controversial NSA surveillance program

The House on Thursday passed legislation to end the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of American phone records, the first legislative response to the disclosures by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.