MR GRADY'S DAILY BLOG: AMERICAS NEWS

Embattled Mayor Rob Ford, who was asked by Justin Bieber 'did you bring any crack to smoke' at Toronto nightclub, taking leave to address substance abuse after ANOTHER wild video surfaces

A lawyer for the crack-smoking, booze-loving Toronto mayor say he’ll take a leave of absence from the job to seek help for substance abuse. Pop star Justin Bieber (inset) reportedly asked the troubled politician if he had any drugs on him in a Toronto night club back in March. read full story »

DRAGON ROLL: Japanese chef roars out of kitchen wielding 8-INCH butcher knife after customer complains about fat on tuna

Diners at two-star Michelin eatery Soto Japanese Restaurant were treated impromptu dinner theater Tuesday when a fed-up chef reportedly stormed into the dining room shouting, “You don’t understand!”

'Just kill me': WWII veteran from Indiana faces prison time for transporting more than 1,400 pounds of cocaine and other drugs

Leo Sharp, a drug runner called the ‘Old Man’ by colleagues, has admitted to smuggling more than 1,400 pounds of cocaine and other drugs from Arizona to points north.

BROAD-DAYLIGHT BLOODSHED: Fargo man stalks, then attacks, female neighbor with a tomahawk: police

An unhinged North Dakota man accused of stalking his neighbor used a tomahawk to attack and try and kill the woman just days before she was to move to get away from the creep, prosecutors said.

TWO MORE NYPD cops allegedly shoot guns while drunk: sources

Two drunken NYPD cops fired their guns in separate, off-duty incidents, one of which involved an officer emptying his gun — firing 13 rounds — at a man inside a nearby car, hitting him six times, sources said.

Block-long Baltimore landslide tumbles cars, roadway onto railroad tracks below

Heavy rains caused half of an entire Baltimore block to split in half and slide down onto freight railroad tracks below, bringing a dozen cars and other debris with it, officials in the Maryland city said.

PHOTOS: 8 lessons LiLo missed from filming 'Mean Girls'

Afghan couple cuts off Muslim cleric’s ears, nose for allegedly raping their daughter

A married couple in Afghanistan cut off the ears and nose of a Muslim cleric in retaliation for him allegedly sexually assaulting their 14-year-old daughter, police said.

4 Chicago men sexually abuse same 14-year-old boy found through Craigslist: police

Four alleged pervs in the Chicago area have been collared for sexually abusing the same 14-year-old boy who offered sex for cash on Craigslist, police say.

George Washington Bridge jumpers stole money from uncle they lived with and killed: cops

Nicki Hunt and boyfriend Gary Crockett are suspected of killing Hunt's uncle, William Valenti, before they themselves jumped to their deaths from the George Washington Bridge on Monday.

Kansas boy fatally shoots 19-month-old brother after finding gun in nightstand: report

The two brothers had been playing together in their parents' Wichita home Tuesday when the older brother found the gun in the nightstand’s drawer and squeezed its trigger, according to a report.

Hamill: Mayor de Blasio, these knockout gyms need your help

Patty Russo is an ex-NYPD narcotics detective who runs the Atlas/NYPD Cops and Kids Boxing Program. The outfit has given the city more Golden Gloves champions out of its two gyms on Staten Island and one in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, than any other in the city in recent years.

EXCLUSIVE Taxi & Limousine Commission adding 30-cent surcharge to aid handicapped

The Taxi & Limousine Commission agreed Wednesday to slap a 30-cent surcharge on every city taxi fare — part of a historic plan to make half the city’s yellow cabs wheelchair-accessible.

State Senate approves more speed enforcement cameras for NYC

The state Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a bill to add 120 speed enforcement cameras to the 20 currently in operation in the city. The bill was already approved by the Assembly and Gov. Cuomo is expected to sign the measure.

Wrongfully detained men suing for right to face former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, former FBI Director Robert Mueller

Benamar Benatta says he still has nightmares about the nearly five years he spent at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn following the 9/11 attacks.

THE CRABS WILL COST HIM: College football standout Jameis Winston suspended by Florida State after alleged supermarket shoplifting

That alleged theft from a Publix supermarket led to a suspension of the Florida State baseball player — who won the Heisman Trophy playing for the Seminoles’ BCS championship-winning football team — on Wednesday.

Harvard professor says she's being punished for speaking out on sexual assaults

Dr. Kimberly Theidon, a professor of anthropology at Harvard University alleges that she was denied tenure because she came to the defense of sexual assault victims on campus.

White House says botched Oklahoma execution not done humanely

Execution of an inmate who writhed, clenched his teeth and appeared to struggle before officials halted the procedure fell short of humane standards required, the White House said Wednesday.

'Little House' cast reunites for 40th anniversary

O, really? Oprah reportedly interested in Clippers

The NBA's next big three could be in the Clippers' board room.Oprah Winfrey is interested in joining music mogul David Geffen and software billionaire Larry Ellison in a bid to purchase the Clippers, ESPN is reporting.

READY TO RUMBLE: Sterling set to hit back at lifetime NBA ban with lawsuit to block sale of Clippers: source

Donald Sterling won’t go down without a fight, according to an NBA executive who is close to the disgraced owner of the Clippers, and will sue the NBA if the other 29 owners vote to force him to sell.

Donald Sterling's wife had own racist views: court records

Clippers coach Doc Rivers voiced his support of Donald Sterling’s wife following Sterling’s lifetime ban of all things related to his team and the NBA Tuesday, although it was unclear if Rivers was aware of reports that Shelley Sterling had expressed her own bigotry against blacks and Latinos in court records uncovered this week.

JLaw: I got drunk and vomited at Madonna's Oscars after-party

Construction worker contracted by Brooklyn landlord Menachem Stark fingered in the Hasidic man's killing

Kendel Felix, 26, was a worker with a construction company contracted by Menachem Stark. A source told The News Felix initially set out to rob, not kill, Stark, whose burned body was found in a dumpster.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tells NFL commish Roger Goodell to follow NBA's lead and get Washington Redskins to change name

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says it’s time for the NFL’s Washington Redskins to change their name, linking the issue to racist comments by a professional basketball team owner.

Drug resistant superbugs a serious threat to public health worldwide: WHO

The spread of deadly superbugs that evade even the most powerful antibiotics is no longer a prediction but is happening right now across the world, United Nations officials said on Wednesday.

Kathie Lee & Hoda Hey Doutzen! You can't control your child's dreams

Seattle militant says hook-handed preacher sent men to train at Taliban camp

A homegrown militant from Seattle, convicted of attempting to set up a jihad training camp on a rural Oregon ranch in 1999, identified hate preacher Abu Hamza al-Masri as the man who sent fighters from London to run the camp.

Calif. man busted in child 'sextortion' case targeting Bieber fans: feds

Jeremy Brendan Sears, 23, was arrested by a Ventura federal task force Wednesday after authorities say he posed as an online teen to manipulate dozens of boys and girls into sending him sexually explicit photos and videos.

EXCLUSIVE City Council wants to join State Attorney General's fight with Airbnb

The City Council wants in on the state attorney general’s fight with the apartment-sharing website Airbnb.

Move over Cressida! SEE Prince Harry's many admirers

Teachers union deal could return mothballed teachers to classroom

The City’s looming deal with the teachers union could include a controversial proposal to move mothballed teachers back to the classroom. The city’s “absent teacher reserve” includes about 1,200 teachers whose salaries and benefits cost the city about $144 million each year.

Schoolgirls kidnapped in Nigeria being forced to marry their captors: group

Scores of girls and young women kidnapped from a school in Nigeria are being forced to marry their Islamic extremist abductors, a civil society group reported Wednesday.

'Something clicked in me… I can jump out of the van and get away from him': 23-year-old kidnapping victim describes dramatic escape from 'moveable prison'

The woman was closing up the tanning salon where she worked when she was violently abducted Jan. 27 by a man police identified as Kelly Swoboda. Her first-hand account is only now being released.

Pentagon to review new soldier-appearance policy after bias accusations

The Pentagon will review a controversial crackdown on elaborate hairstyles of service members that had faced accusations of being racially biased, officials said Wednesday.

PARIS BLUES: Kim K rocks all-denim outfit in France

Ukraine's president says police can't control unrest in regions near Russia: 'They are helpless'

Oleksandr Turchynov said the country’s security forces cannot control unrest in regions bordering Russia. Some forces are now cooperating with pro-Russian gunmen who have taken hostages.

Texas Dem Wendy Davis slams national party for dissing her gubernatorial bid

Wendy Davis called Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin a 'Washington, D.C., desk jockey' after he failed to include the Lone Star State in the Democratic Governors Association's list of priorities.

U.S. government lost $11.2 billion on General Motors bailout

The U.S. government lost $11.2 billion on its bailout of GM, more than the $10.3 billion the Treasury Department estimated when it sold its remaining GM shares in December, according to a government report.

Police in Spain arrest soccer fan who threw banana at Barcelona’s Dani Alves

Spanish police arrested the man who racially insulted Barcelona defender Dani Alves by throwing a banana at him, with reports on Wednesday claiming the perpetrator worked for Villarreal.

Ellen Page reveals she felt 'awkward around gay people'

Driver allegedly tried to disguise 22-year-old horse as younger animal

Driver Frank Luo is accused of switching the ID numbers tattooed into a 22-year-old Ceasar’s and a 12-year-old Carsen’s hooves.

Strangers raise more than $40,000 for wrongfully convicted man who spent 24 years in prison

Alex Sutaru, a 32-year-old New York banker, started a fundraising campaign to help Jonathan Fleming, who was released from prison three weeks ago, get back on his feet.

Developer behind 'Ground Zero mosque' plans Islam museum at same site near World Trade Center

Sharif El-Gamal wants to construct a museum devoted to Muslim arts and culture at his property, just blocks from the WTC. The site will also include a sanctuary for prayer services and community programs.

'Paranormal Activity 2' actress claims two ghost lovers

WATCH Bandits stumble, open fire inside Houston lingerie store after robbery

No one was hurt inside the Texas lingerie shop when the gunfire erupted as the bandits stumbled towards the door after the heist.

'Mr. Muscles,' body-building son of a millionaire, died from weight-loss drugs, report says

Body-building drugs killed a millionaire's teenage son who wanted "the body of a Greek god." The British death inquest into Sarmad Alladin found that the 18-year-old failed to heed doctors' warnings.

Animal activists offer $22,500 reward in Yonkers case of 25 dead cats

Five animal welfare groups combined to post the money just days after the dead animals were found stuffed in plastic bags and hung like macabre ornaments from a Yonkers tree.

Lovato opens up about being bipolar, keeping sober

EXCLUSIVE Judge nixes $900K awarded to man who sued Mangia catering company over anti-Semitic harassment

Woman auctions Chinese pot used as doorstop for 40 years for nearly $250,000

'Neighbors' star Zac Efron says AA changed his life

SEE IT Doughnut shop worker prints customized receipt to show contempt for wasting paper – 'We don't need to bring ink and paper into this'

DNA sought to close 1926 missing-person case

Sports

NBA Playoffs: Parker leads Spurs to win, Rockets avoid elimination

Tony Parker had 23 points hours after the birth of his first child and San Antonio never trailed in a 109-103 victory over Dallas on Wednesday night, taking a 3-2 lead in the first-round series. Manu Ginobili had 19 points and Tiago Splitter added 17 points and 12 rebounds as San Antonio regained home-court advantage.