Rob Ford: ‘I do not use crack cocaine.’ After a week of silence, Toronto’s mayor finally spoke to reporters to deny allegations that he was seen in a video smoking from a glass pipe. The news comes as members of the city’s executive committee released a letter assuring residents that despite all the controversy, city business continues on as usual. More on this and other stories below:
Tasty! Police say a New Jersey bar was mixing food dye with rubbing alcohol and selling it as scotch. ‘Operation Swill’ led to 29 bars and restaurants being accused of putting cheap booze in premium brand liquor bottles and selling it to unknowing patrons. Officials seized 1,000 bottles for testing, and say thirteen of the restaurants cited are TGI Fridays franchises.
Washington police say a Canadian truck driver caused the bridge collapse. William Scott, a 41-year-old from Alberta, was behind the wheel of a semi-truck carrying a large load of steel when he struck one of the bridge’s girders. The disaster sent at least two cars and three people plunging into the frigid waters of the Skagit River.
Board up the windows: Atlantic Canada should brace for an ‘active’ hurricane season. The Canadian Hurricane Centre is backing U.S. predictions that an unusually warm tropical Atlantic Ocean will trigger a potentially dangerous season beginning June 1.
The worker accused of taping kids’ mouths shut no longer works for the school board. A parent of one of the alleged victims said that two workers with the Excel after-school program in Bedford South School in Nova Scotia have been terminated. The second worker allegedly witnessed the duct-taping, but did not intervene.
‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ star Tim Curry is recovering from a major stroke. The star is said to be ‘doing fine’ at his Los Angeles home following a collapse last night. His long-time agent Marcia Hurwitz dismissed claims that the stroke affected Curry’s speech, and insisted he’s in good spirits.
UK police say 2 men were arrested after a flight was diverted from Pakistan. A fighter jet was launched to intercept a Pakistan International Airlines plane carrying nearly 300 passengers to Britain’s Stansted Airport. A spokesman for the Pakistani airline said he had been unable to contact the pilot after repeated attempts. This comes as the country is still coping with the horrific murder of an off-duty soldier.
Drink up! Montreal’s boil water advisory has ended. The city’s mayor Michael Applebaum held a press conference last night to tell 1 million residents that water sample tests came back clean. He added that if brown water is still coming out of your tap, run it for a while before consuming.
Senator Mike Duffy says he isn’t going anywhere. He said he’ll be ‘happy to co-operate’ with anyone investigating the expense scandal that forced him to leave the Conservative caucus, but he won’t quit. Speaking to reporters yesterday, Duffy said ‘Canadians deserve answers’ and called for an ‘open inquiry’ into the spending controversy.
