George Michael was secretly trying to heal the pain around the world. The superstar singer — who died on Sunday at 53 — never boasted about his charitable side, but now countless people are coming forward to share stories of Michael’s giving ways.

“A woman on ‘Deal Or No Deal’ told us she needed £15k for IVF treatment. George Michael secretly phoned the next day and gave her the £15k,” game show host Richard Osmond tweeted on Monday. After Osman shared his tale, dozens of people came forward to publicize the charitable efforts carried out by the “Heal the Pain” musician.

Michael’s website briefly addresses his charitable ways, noting that much of it was undocumented.

The Grammy-winning pop star donated all of the royalties from his group Wham!’s single “Last Christmas/Everything She Wants” to Ethiopian famine relief, according to the site. The founder of the children’s charity, Childline, told the Press Association that Michael donated millions to the organization and was determined to keep it quiet.(nydailynews.com)…[+]

More than 1,200 people had to be evacuated and several subway lines were closed down after an electrical fire broke out in Midtown on Christmas night, authorities said. The fire erupted on W. 53rd St. in between Sixth and Seventh Aves. around 10:15 p.m., according to an FDNY spokesman. The cause of the fire was not immediately known, but the flames quickly spread underground, prompting the MTA to turn off power to several train lines along Seventh Avenue.As firefighters quenched the flames, hundreds were evacuated at the Seventh Ave. subway stop near 53rd St. Some had to be evacuated at the 34th St. station at Seventh Ave. as well.(nydailynews.com)…[+]

An off-duty court officer who shot and killed a man trying to rob him at gunpoint outside a Queens Dunkin’ Donuts was justified in his use of deadly force, officials said Thursday. Ian Caine, 50, will not face any charges in the September shooting death of Kadeem Trotter, said Queens DA Richard Brown.

Caine was in uniform Sept. 17 for his weekend job as a security guard when the robber approached him near the coffee shop on Liberty Ave. and Merrick Blvd. in Jamaica at about 8:45 p.m., cops said. As the officer — who had a gun clearly visible in his holster — went to step into his car parked outside the store, Trotter, 24, stepped up to him and whipped out a gun, police said. The robber demanded cash and the officer’s handgun, cops said.(nydailynews.com)…[+]

Two hijackers who overtook a Libyan plane and diverted it to the Mediterranean island of Malta have threatened to blow it up with hand grenades, officials and local media said.

The Afriqiyah Airways flight was carrying 111 passengers — including one baby — from Sebha in southwest Libya to Tripoli when two people took it over, Malta media reported. The duo landed the jet in Malta and have allegedly threatened to detonate hand grenades. Emergency crews and police are on the tarmac and working to diffuse an “unlawful interference,” The Malta airport authority said. The tiny Mediterranean island is about 300 miles north of the Libyan coast.(nydailynews.com)…[+]

An Arkansas man accused of shooting a 3-year-old boy to death during a road rage incident is behind bars after being on the lam for over five days, officials announced.

Greg Holmes, 33, turned himself into authorities in Little Rock Thursday after his parents worked together with U.S. Marshals to ensure his peaceful surrender, cops said. He was booked at the Pulaski County Jail later in the evening on two counts of making a terroristic act and one count of capital murder for allegedly killing little Acen King during a traffic stop on Saturday.Holmes, who has a lengthy rap sheet that includes domestic battery, allegedly became impatient at a stop sign after the victim’s grandmother, Kim King-Macon, apparently didn’t move “fast enough,” cops said. He began honking his horn and when King-Macon honked back, things escalated quickly and tragically.(nydailynews.com)…[+]

The military transport plane which took long, slow circles around Manhattan at low altitude on Dec. 13 was on a Trump security recon mission, sources said Wednesday.

The low-flying C-130 cargo plane scared New Yorkers and even took city officials by surprise. “The Secret Service was working on something involving Trump security,” a source said. “It was basically practice they were doing as a result of his election.” In addition to the C-130, two HH-60 Pave Hawk search and rescue helicopters were also involved.“The guy is the President of the United States,” a source said of the exercise. “If they didn’t do it that would be negligent.”

In addition to a survey, the mission was part of the contingency planning in the event that Trump had to be rapidly relocated, a second source said. City officials were not informed of the airborne survey until after it had already started, sources said.(nydailynews)…[+]

A Manhattan landlord backed off his plan Wednesday to evict a 94-year-old widower from the rent-regulated apartment the tenant has lived in since 1950.

Pine Management — which is under investigation by the state attorney general over accusations of harassment of tenants — had moved to evict Maxwell Levy in August.

On Wednesday, after the Daily News wrote about the case, co-owner Daniel Rohlman issued a statement insisting the company never intended to evict him. Instead, Rohlman now claimed Pine Management was simply using the eviction notice to get Levy to clean up his apartment. Pine Management accused Levy of being a hoarder, though months ago he arranged to throw out dozens of boxes in his apartment.(nydailynews)…[+]

Barbados -A rural school in Jamaica, built 80 years ago, will receive its first upgrade thanks to a grant of USD430,113 from the Caribbean Development Bank through its Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF). Ground was broken on December 20, to begin rehabilitation work on the Browns Hall Primary School in St. Catherine.

Browns Hall Primary was constructed in 1936, and because there have been no significant upgrades since its construction, the facility has been rendered unsuitable to deliver quality education due to the age and configurations of the existing buildings.  The school currently has a population of 310 students and 13 teachers.

The sub-project is estimated to cost a total of USD 452,750, to which the Government of Jamaica will contribute USD22,637. It will improve the quality of the existing infrastructure and provide additional facilities, thereby creating additional space and improved security.    Works will include:

• Rehabilitation of the three existing classroom blocks to facilitate 12 classrooms
• Rehabilitation of the administrative area to house the principal’s office, staff room, guidance counselling room, sick bay and washroom facilities;
• Construction of a new block containing a kitchen, washroom, and tuck shop;
• Installation of 304 m of new perimeter fencing;
• Construction of a new multi-purpose court; and
• Construction of driveway and parking area.(CDB)…[+]

Detectives have busted a 52-year-old Bronx man for a shooting over a parking spot outside the Hells Angels’ East Village clubhouse earlier this month, police said Tuesday. Cops say Anthony Iovenitti shot David Martinez, 25, during a brawl outside the E. 3rd St. club house early Dec. 11.The 1:20 a.m. fracas started after Martinez and four friends pulled up in a black Mercedes-Benz, and Martinez moved an orange cone placed in front of the clubhouse, sources said.

Martinez’s friend was driving, and he wanted to pass a livery cab on the street. Cop sources said a club member came outside to confront Martinez, and threw the first punch.(nydailynews.com)…[+]

Husband and wife Joshua Boyle and Caitlan Coleman have been held hostage by Taliban terrorists in Afghanistan since 2012 — and a recently released video clip confirms that Coleman has given birth to two boys while trapped in what she describes as a “Kafkaesque nightmare.” Boyle, who’s Canadian, and Coleman, a U.S. citizen, were abducted by the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network while backpacking through Afghanistan.

The couple can be seen in the three-minute clip, posted on YouTube Monday, together with two young boys, whom they refer to as their “children.”

In the video, believed to be recorded by the couple’s captors, Coleman pleads for an end to her family’s “nightmare” before criticizing both the American and Canadian governments for failing to negotiate their release.(nydailynews.com)…[+]