MR GRADY'S DAILY BLOG: AMERICAS NEWS

UNSAFE AT HOME: Residents live in fear inside New York's public housing as crime skyrockets — the Daily News investigates

Many of the working people and elderly who make up the vast majority of New York City Housing Authority residents live in a constant state of hyper-awareness to avoid becoming a victim. read full story »

Navy warship reaches stranded sailboat hundreds of miles off the coast of Mexico after toddler falls ill on trip around the world

Eric and Charlotte Kaufman, along with Lyra and 3-year-old Cora, were two weeks into a journey bound for the South Pacific islands and eventually New Zealand. Lyra, 1, fell ill and the family issued distress signal.

How a violent Gowanus Houses kingpin was brought down by littering, YouTube rap videos

How dangerous was the Gowanus Houses five years ago? Even the project’s most violent gang leader wore a bulletproof vest for protection.

Ft. Hood gunman penned Facebook rant on Newtown killer Adam Lanza — blasting government over gun control

Fort Hood gunman Ivan Lopez slammed the government for allowing people with mental health issues such easy access to guns. Adam Lanza (top left) killed 26 people in school shooting in Newtown, Conn.

Dad allegedly kills girl, 3, in tragic murder-suicide: cops

A 3-year-old girl was stabbed to death in a tragic murder-suicide by a 34-year-old man, police said. The heartbreaking incident occurred at 4:30 p.m. Friday as police in Woodbridge, Ill., responded to the suburban Chicago house, police said in a statement.

Six-year-old child left brain dead from Pennsylvania mom’s drowning attempt dies

Daniel Schlemmer, 6, was confirmed dead Saturday — four days after he and younger brother Like, 3, were drowned in a hot tub near Pittsburgh by their mother Laurel Michelle Schlemmer, coroner says.

Wildling at heart: How 'Game of Thrones' star fell into role

Lupica: Yankees use new big contracts to put old ones behind them

The beginning of the kind of contract that the Yankees gave to Masahiro Tanaka, the same kind of contract they gave to CC Sabathia once, is what Tanaka looked like Friday night in Toronto.

Boy, 5, finds jewelry treasure worth thousands of dollars in pond

A five-year-old boy has found a stash of jewelry worth tens of thousands of dollars. The German youngster found the horde in a pond in a village close to the southern city of Nuremberg. The treasure trove, which included rings, bracelets and necklaces, is said to be worth tens of thousands of dollars by police.

Kansas City boy, 12, finds dad’s body in car trunk

A Kansas City, Mo., boy cracked open the mystery of his missing dad, when he found a body belonging to his father stuffed in the trunk of a car. The 12-year-old son was searching for the keys to the car when he found his dad, described as a man in his 50s, inside the trunk of the silver sedan.

Video Romanian thugs brutally spin elderly woman

Romanian police are looking for a gang of young thugs who swung a terrified elderly woman around in circles.

Paralyzed man overhears doctors talk about taking his organs

A paralyzed Swedish man in hospital could hear doctors telling his girlfriend he would die and discussing transplanting his organs. Jim Fritze was conscious but unable to tell medics he could hear them. The 43-year-old, who had suffered a stroke, has filed an official complaint after making a full recovery.

Boy, 13, dies after falling from 15th floor of Florida building: police

The unidentified child from Indiana was in a room looking for his cell phone when he fell off a balcony in Panama City Beach.

Pakistan charges 9-month-old baby with conspiring to murder

Muhammad Mosa Khan is alleged to have thrown stones at officers during a police raid, according to The Nation website.

Two Detroit teens arrested over attack on suburban man

Two Detroit teenagers were arrested Saturday over an attack on a suburban man who was brutally beaten by a mob after accidentally striking a boy with his pickup truck.

SEE IT California teacher placed on leave after wrestling alleged drug-dealing student in classroom

The science teacher at Santa Monica High School was seen on video wrestling a student to the ground for dealing drugs. The teacher, identified as Mark Black, is better known as "Coach."

U.S. funded 'Cuban Twitter' creates challenges for bloggers, exile groups

The revelation that a U.S. government-funded program set up a cellphone-based social network in Cuba is likely to pose new challenges for bloggers and exile groups working to increase tech access.

‘Bello Mania’ star reveals acrobatic secrets - VIDEO

Former Washington math teacher charged with child rape faces new allegations of sex with students

A fourth teen student has come forward claiming sexual misconduct with his 24-year-old Washington state math teacher, who two months ago was fired and jailed after three other students' allegations.

Sengalese girl, 10, raped, now pregnant, denied abortion

A 10-year-old Sengalese girl who was raped and is carrying twins has been denied an abortion. The young girl was raped by a neighbor, reports The Guardian. "She is going to have to go through with the pregnancy," said Fatou Kine Camara, president of the Senegalese women lawyers' association, which has been campaigning to the authorities for her to have a legal abortion.

Did you hate 'HIMYM' ending? Here's your chance for a new one

Biology teacher at Christian high school busted half-naked with 14-year-old female student in Florida

Eric Beasley, 24, was arrested after cops spotted him parked up with his 14-year-old student in Deerfield Beach, Florida.

Judge to end Ohio ban on recognizing gay marriage

A federal judge says he will strike down Ohio’s voter-approved ban on gay marriage, meaning the state must recognize marriages of gay couples who legally wed elsewhere.

Listen Russian ambassadors talk about what next to 'annex'

Watch out, the Russians are coming! A recording of two Russian ambassadors discussing which parts of the world they want Moscow to annex next after Crimea has surfaced online.

Raissman: Boomer's apology is right move, but what's next step?

Being a sports-radio Gasbag means never having to say you’re sorry. When he apologized to Daniel Murphy and his wife Tori, Norman Julius (Boomer) Esiason became one of the few in a profession populated by Loose Lips catering to Nitwits to hold himself accountable.

Heroic female MP officer shot at Fort Hood gunman, credited with stopping bloody rampage

A gutsy, unidentified female MP is being credited for saving lives during the Fort Hood shooting by taking on gunman Ivan Lopez and bringing his bloody rampage to an end.

North Korea tells world ’wait and see’ on new nuclear test

North Korea said on Friday that the world would have to “wait and see” when asked for details of “a new form” of nuclear test it threatened to carry out after the United Nations Security Council condemned Pyongyang’s recent ballistic missile launch.

Michigan cops hunting ‘mystery pooper’ who leaves mark in kiddie park

Police are looking for an irksome prankster who has been defecating on the slides of a kiddie park. The so-called “Mystery Pooper” leaves his or her fecal calling card in Ypsilanti’s popular Prospect Park.

Four teens wanted in murder of Tenn. man arrested in South Carolina with stolen firearms: police

Zack Blanchard, 16, and three of his alleged accomplices were arrested in South Carolina Thursday after the conclusion of a wild car and foot chase in Newberry County.

She's 50?! Lisa Rinna shows off bikini body

Husband of shark attack victim in Australia says she died ‘doing what she loved’

Struggling to keep back tears, the husband of woman killed by a bronze whaler shark in Australia told reporters Friday he is confident her death was quick and without suffering.

Paula Deen's restaurant at center of N-word scandal closes

A spokesman for Paula Deen’s family has confirmed that a Georgia restaurant at the center of a lawsuit that left the celebrity chef’s reputation in shambles has closed its doors.

Florida man sets girlfriend’s closet on fire after argument over tablet device: report

The victim's neighbor, Waltavious Burks, told WPBF that he saw Junior Richmond pedaling away from the fiery scene on a mountain bike as the Belle Glade apartment tore up in flames Wednesday.

French pol to Jewish, Muslim schoolkids: Let them eat pork

The leader of the French far-right said she will prevent schools form serving non-pork alternatives to Muslim and Jewish pupils in towns the party controls. Marine Le Pen, talking to French radio station RTL, said her National Front party would "not accept any religious demands in school menus."

Miley Cyrus gets new puppy after dog's death

Rabbis go bald in honor of son they lost to cancer—and help raise half a million for research

Sammy Sommer’s body succumbed to acute myelogenous leukemia last December. But the 8-year-old’s “Superman” spirit has inspired more than 70 rabbis across the countries to shave their heads to find a cure.

American opera singer wants judge to unseal grandfather’s adoption records so she can get Italian citizenship

Jordanna Rose, 24, and her father have filed papers asking a Manhattan Surrogate Court judge to unseal her grandfather's adoption records so she can more easily work in European opera houses.

British shoe bomb plotter doesn't want to come to U.S. to testify against hook-handed terror suspect

Saajid Badat, who served six years in prison in England, doesn't want to come to America to testify at the upcoming Manhattan Federal Court trial for hook-handed suspect Abu Hamza al-Masri.

Kim Kardashian rocks barely-there black bikini in Thailand

THE DRIVER ON THE BUS GOES TAUNT, TAUNT, TAUNT: Texas bus driver mocks sobbing little girl

A south Texas school bus driver has been caught on camera mocking one of her small passengers and leading the other children onboard in making fun of the distraught girl, telling her to 'cry, cry, cry.'

Man sues Mexican restaurant after finding THUMBTACK in his nachos

Aaron Casey, 33, was noshing with co-workers at Azteca restaurant in Bellevue in Aug. 2012 when he chomped down on a yellow thumbtack, his lawyer said.

Officials fire Chicago train operator who ‘dozed off’ before crash

The Chicago train operator who admitted dozing off before crashing a commuter train at the O’Hare International Airport station was fired from her job, officials said.

Selena's stalker arrested outside of singer's home... again

Mom jailed for giving baby morphine overdose through breast milk

Maine man gets avalanche of cash at ATM

PARTY MONSTER: Bieber's hotel havoc on the floor above

Wikipedia rolls out 'small but important' changes

'That’s my husband?' Barbara Bush rips budding artist W's portrait

Sports

Weiss: Deja blue all over again for Kentucky's Harrison

Perhaps the best description of Aaron Harrison’s three-point shot with 5.7 seconds left that gave Kentucky a 74-73 victory over Wisconsin came from Wildcats’ backup guard Jared Polson as he ran down the hall to his locker room at AT&T Stadium.

Myers: As Clowney wows in pre-draft drills, Lawrence Taylor still waits to pass mantle

It’s pretty clear by now there will never be another Lawrence Taylor, which is good news for quarterbacks. South Carolina’s Jadeveon Clowney is just the latest to be compared to LT, but will undoubtedly fall short because they all do.

Madden: Unprecedented rise in K's is sapping power, fun out of game

If you’re among the ever-dwindling Mets fan base grown weary of watching your Flushing lads striking out in record numbers while killing rally after rally in what has too often been unwatchable baseball, there is this consolation: You are not entirely alone.

Lawrence: Durant's scoring streak just Wilts by comparison

As Bob Cousy remembers it, Red Auerbach was at his happiest when Cousy never had to call one of the six plays that accounted for the Celtics’ entire playbook, back when they were in the early stages of the dynasty that produced 11 championships in 13 seasons.