MR GRADY'S DAILY BLOG: AMERICAS NEWS

EXCLUSIVE: Heartbroken Jagger, L'Wren kin to share late fashion icon's ashes; Mick also gets Scott's entire estate valued at $9M

In papers filed Wednesday in Manhattan court, Scott, 49, left everything she owned to her partner of 13 years, Mick Jagger. read full story »

CASH FOR CONTRABAND: Calif. State Sen. charged with promising weapons from Muslim group for campaign $$

Leland Yee has been arrested for promising shoulder fired automatic weapons and missiles from a Muslim separatist group to an undercover FBI agent in exchange for campaign donations, according to court docs.

CAPTAIN'S CALL: Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 pilot 'deliberately' flew jet off course: report

The pilot of the missing Malaysia Airlines plane could be solely responsible for steering the flight hundreds of miles off course, a source said.

Missouri man convicted of raping, killing teen makes funny faces, mouths words to two daughters moments before execution

Jeffrey Ferguson abducted Kelli Hall as she finished her shift at a gas station in St. Charles on Feb. 9, 1989. Her naked, frozen body was found 13 days later on a St. Louis County farm.

Copier company CEO sexually abused 22-year-old staffer and taunted, ‘I can replace you anytime’: suit

Melanie Alvarado, 22, says in a Manhattan Federal Court filing that her boss, Abraham Thomas choked her, ripped her pants off and sexually assaulted her in the back of his chauffeured car.

Hamill: Hey Rudy & Rummy, just zip it on your Obama, de Blasio criticism!

Talk about jeers from the peanut gallery. I was amused this week to see that former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, two of the biggest hypocrites in modern politics, had the gall to surface from their holes to criticize President Obama and Mayor de Blasio.

Mississippi set to execute first woman in 70 years after she confessed to murder along with son

If all goes according to the state attorney general's plan, a 56-year-old woman will die by lethal injection on Thursday, becoming the first female convict killed in Mississippi in 70 years.

Were these pics of Gwyneth kissing her ex the end for Chris?

Fatal Washington state mudslide sees 16 bodies recovered, 90 still missing

Washington authorities on Wednesday reduced the number of people missing from a community wiped out by a mudslide to 90, as the families and friends of those still unaccounted for begin to confront the reality that some may never be found.

'I’m just a guy who was caught in a bad situation': Houston construction worker recalls horror escape from licking flames

Trapped on a balcony by smoke and flames, construction supervisor Curtis Reissig knew he had to take action to stay ahead of the blaze that was quickly consuming the Houston apartment complex he had helped build. “The flames were getting closer and hotter."

'I just can't believe this': New Jersey janitor apologizes for burning down elementary school after tossing lit cigarette into trash

Jerome C. Higgins, 48, said he was 'just thankful' that no-one was injured in the devastating Sat. night blaze at James Monroe Elementary in Edison.

4-year-old Louisiana girl mauled to death by 'monster' family pit bull; mother hospitalized

Little Mia Derouen, who would have turned 5 next week, died from face and head injuries after the family dog attacked her as she watched TV.

The ruling that could transform college sports: Northwestern University football players get approval to unionize

The Northwestern Wildcats took another step toward forming college sports' first union on Wednesday when the National Labor Relations Board cleared the way for the school's football players to hold an election.

KATHIE LEE & HODA: Hopefully, Selena Gomez gets her groove back

NSA: We're not spying on Jimmy Carter

The head of the National Security Agency said Wednesday that the bureau is not spying on the ex-President, who earlier this week raised the idea that the spy faction was monitoring his emails and phone calls.

GRAVE OUTRAGE: Georgia crooks caught stealing from burial sites of veterans and BABIES

Marissa Dawn Savage, Brian Keith Hicks and Samantha Diane Mathis were each slammed with two counts of theft for stealing 29 bronze vases from the Hill Haven Cemetery in Walton Count, according to a report.

New York City schools get an F for racial segregation, diversrity: report

Schools in New York suffer from the worst racial segregation of any U.S. state, and city schools also earn depressingly dismal marks for diversity, a damning report released Wednesday said. Many black and Hispanic kids in New York attend schools with almost no white classmates, according to the paper from the Civil Rights Project at the University of California at Los Angeles.

Half-blind security guard at World Trade Center fired after sleeping on the job

A half-blind guard hired to help protect the World Trade Center has been canned after getting caught sleeping on the job in the wake of startling security breaches at the site, officials said.

Australian teacher rants on Facebook about student who had just committed suicide

He should be expelled. An Australian teacher slammed a 16-year-old former student on Facebook the day after he committed suicide, The Australian reported.

EXCLUSIVE Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand will endorse Rep. Charles Rangel in re-election bid

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is set to endorse Rep. Charles Rangel Thursday — the first statewide endorsement in the heated race for the congressional seat Rangel has held for 22 terms.

400-pound Florida cop arrested for posing online as teenage girl, asking boys for racy photos

A Florida police officer was arrested for posing as a teenage girl on Facebook and soliciting young boys to send him pictures of their penises, authorities charge.

California State Sen. Leland Yee faces conspiracy, wire fraud charges in corruption case

Sen. Leland Yee is accused of conspiracy and wire fraud charges, while North Carolina Mayor Patrick Cannon was taken into custody on charges he accepted more than $48,000 in bribes from undercover FBI agents.

SWIFT ON A SPREE: Taylor hits NYC shops

Beagle missing from Ky. home found 400 miles away in Penn.

The 7-year-old pooch named 'Sassy' was discovered Saturday living a kind of double-life in Brentwood, Pa. under the name of 'Jenny' when a trip to the vet discovered her microchip.

THIS is trespassing: Two CNN journalists arrested for trying to sneak into World Trade Center site: officials

Producer Yon Pomrenze, 35, and cameraman Connor Fieldman Boals, 26, were busted by Port Authority cops after they were caught trying to climb a fence, according to a PA spokesman.

TSA wants armed law enforcement at checkpoints in review following LAX shooting

The Transportation Security Administration is recommending that armed law enforcement be present at airport security checkpoints during peak hours.

Warren: Obama reminds how economics trumps politics

President Obama sliced up Vladimir Putin pretty good Wednesday, but inadvertently reminded how economics really trumps politics.

Obama calls Putin's reasons for taking Crimea 'absurd'

Obama speaks against Vladimir Putin's viewpoints while talking to a Brussels audience.

'Are you ready for me?': New Jersey woman wakes up to find shirtless stranger standing next to bed

A Montclair woman jolted awake at 4:50 a.m. on Thursday and found herself staring straight into the eyes of a shirtless man. “Are you ready for me?” he asked.

Charges dropped against Arkansas mom for guzzling beer and nursing baby

Tasha Adams, 28, was eating pizza and spinach dip with her parents and a nursing baby in arms when a pair of police officers waltzed through the door of the restaurant and arrested her for child endangerment.

EXCLUSIVE Former campaign workers for NYC councilwoman charged with fraud for forging Derek Jeter and Kate Moss' name on her reelection petitions

Betty Julien, Elbin Lopez and Luis Vargas were arrested — eight months after being accused by Councilwoman Maria del Carmen Arroyo of forging signatures for her reelection petitions.

GUILTY! Osama Bin Laden's son-in-law convicted of conspiring to kill Americans as an Al Qaeda spokesman in 9/11 terror trial

Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, 48, was found guilty on Wednesday by a Manhattan Federal Court jury. He now faces a sentence of life in prison.

Man jailed for New Jersey shoe store robbery 15 years ago robs store again day after release: police

Christopher M. Miller was arrested Saturday after allegedly reenacting the same crime he committed at the Stride Rite store in Toms River in 1999.

'Uncoupled' forever: Meet the men of Gwyneth’s past

'CONSCIOUS UNCOUPLING' A LONG TIME COMING: Paltrow and Martin 'haven't been a couple for a number of years,' source says

Time has run out on Gwyneth Paltrow and “Clocks” singer Chris Martin. The Oscar-winning actress and Grammy-winning Coldplay front man announced the end of their 10-year marriage.

'Conscious uncoupling': Gwyneth Paltrow may not have invented the term, but what does it mean?

Much like kale, macrobiotics and oil pulling, "conscious uncoupling" wasn't invented by Gwyneth Paltrow.

'I have to go back to (being) mommy:' Gwyneth Paltrow revealed plans to take acting break one week ahead of 'conscious uncoupling' with husband Chris Martin

Gwyneth Paltrow's "conscious uncoupling" means less time in front of the camera and more time with her children. The 41-year-old actress and husband Chris Martin announced their split Tuesday and one week prior, Paltrow dished about her plans for the year ahead.

PHOTOS Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin join the never ending list of celeb couple break-ups

Breaking up is hard to do, even if you're rich and famous. See the latest star couples to join the celebrity broken hearts club.

Rivers rips Dunham's weight: 'It's OK! Stay Fat! Get Diabetes!'

Massachusetts kindergarten teacher says standardized testing 'takes the joy out of learning'

Veteran teacher Susan Sluyter explained Tuesday why she walked off the job in Cambridge, Mass., after nearly two decades. Standardized testing "takes all the joy out of learning," she said.

Justina Pelletier placed in permanent Massachusetts state custody by judge as parents continue yearlong fight over sick teen's treatment

The judge is fed up with her parents' public campaign to bring their daughter back home. He claims the parents are unfit to care for the 15-year-old Connecticut teen as they dispute the state's diagnoses.

Pigs at illegal Florida slaughterhouse were stabbed, beaten, gutted and boiled alive: state

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT: A five-month undercover investigation at the Miami-Dade facility exposed the extreme torture of animals in graphic video footage taken by the Animal Recovery Mission late last year.

MONSTER RAT: Giant kitchen rodent terrifies Swedish family

EDITORIAL Protect faith-based businesses from the Obamacare contraception mandate

Judging by questions posed during oral arguments on Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court is divided over whether religious freedom should trump Obamacare’s mandates for contraception coverage.

Billy Graham’s son supports Putin’s anti-gay policies, says he’s fearful of Sharia law

Franklin Graham is lashing out against gay and lesbian couples, Islam, and President Obama. But in the end, he says he’s the one who is being “demonized” for having a different opinion.

Philip Seymour Hoffman’s suspected heroin dealer denied bid to move case to drug court

Robert Vineberg, 57, had argued that his 10-bag a day heroin habit means his criminal case should be handled by drug court.

Too young? Coco Arquette, 9, wears face full of makeup

Hit-and-run goon charged in murder of ex-Rutgers student found beaten to death outside off-campus house

EXCLUSIVE NYC marshal accidentally locks boot on a man's brand new car

MAD ABOUT JESSICA: 'Mad Men' beauty strips down

Don't 'red' on their parade: Communist Party sues to use sound truck in Brooklyn May Day march

SEE IT British prisoners try to smuggle in cellphone inside hollowed-out breakfast bar

Sports

MLB taking hi-tech approach to video replays

In a room on the fifth floor of a refurbished former Nabisco factory Wednesday, 37 sleek HD monitors glowed with varying camera angles and views of baseball plays. The guts of Major League Baseball’s new instant-replay system were on display for reporters, and the place seemed so space-age that one baseball official quipped, “It looks like NASA in here.”

Bondy: Paying college players should not be name of game

There is one injustice to the ruling Wednesday by a regional director of the National Labor Relations Board that allows for the unionization of Northwestern’s football players: It should have happened elsewhere first.

New Garden, same old Izzo at Michigan State

Tom Izzo, master sergeant of No. 4 Michigan State, views Madison Square Garden as the ultimate college basketball battleground despite a career record of two wins in eight trips to Eighth Avenue. He likens his love for the arena to that of a player’s, and notes the ins and outs he’s grown familiar with over the years.

NFL eyes playoff expansion for 2015

It’s not likely to happen until 2015, but the NFL playoffs could be getting just a bit easier to make with two more teams qualifying. The momentum is building to add one wild-card team per conference with just the No. 1 seeds getting a first-round bye.

Autos

Nissan recalls Altima, Leaf, Pathfinder, Sentra models for airbag problem

Nissan is recalling just over 1 million cars, SUVs and vans because the front passenger air bags may not inflate in a crash. It's the company's second recall to fix the same problem.