After a brief foray into contriteness over his brother's drinking at Taste of the Danforth, Doug Ford is back to maintaining there were "no issues." Speaking with CP24's Stephen LeDrew, Ford said he the media twisted his word of the use "mistake," and continued to complain how "every person now is a reporter." Stop the accountability!

This July's flood was the worst natural disaster (in financial terms) ever to hit Ontario. An early estimate released yesterday by the Insurance Bureau of Canada puts the total cost of the damaging rain and wind storm in excess of $850 million, and that figure could climb. The figure factors in damage to power equipment, subway shut-downs, and road closures. Previous storms have cost between $228 and $670 million, IBC says.

A bomb threat closed the Sheppard line and part of the Yonge line yesterday but the TTC was unable to find anything. A call came from Crime Stoppers that said someone had placed something under one of the seats. Police cleared and searched all of the trains as a precaution.

Get ready to lose your lunch at the CNE - the cronut burger has landed. Yep, continuing the awful and endless "epic" food trend, the cronut - a cross between a croissant and a donut - is now seeing use as a bun, sandwiching a beef patty and a slice of processed cheese for your culinary enjoyment. This Frankenfood also comes with dollop of brown maple-bacon jam on top. Yikes.

Also in digestion, food trucks have been a tough swallow for the neighbours of Woodbine Park. Complaints of exhaust fumes and noise has forced the city to pull the park from its list of locations participating in a trial program to gauge public reaction. Fear not, foodies. New parks will be added soon.

The driver who was at the wheel of a cube van that fatally struck an idling TTC bus yesterday was properly licensed, according to the company that owns the vehicle. Police are still piecing together the moments before the crash at Steeles and Middlefield that killed bus rider Ranjana Kanagasabapathy. Witnesses say the driver of the van may have been talking on a cellphone. If you're having a hard time picturing the details, the CBC has a graphic.

As we recalled yesterday, the August 14 was the 10th anniversary of the great North American blackout. CTV News has uploaded video of the Lloyd Robertson evening newscast very few people in Toronto actually saw and the channel was barely able to produce. Hooray for batteries.

Looks like some nutcase is going vigilante over cyclists locking bikes to trees. Reddit user w4nderlusty reports this morning that someone sliced her helmet straps and left a note inside at Bathurst and Lake Shore after locking up to a thin tree.

Finally, Toronto taxi cab #666 is safe to ride once more. Police issued a warning that the Co-Op vehicle had been stolen early yesterday morning in Etobicoke and that passengers should avoiding getting inside. The car, painted red and orange like the fires of Hades, was recovered yesterday and will be returned to the owner.

IN BRIEF:

• Toronto data reveals hundreds of discarded syringes [Toronto Star]
• Police investigating after gunshots fired in northwest Toronto [CTV News]
• Blue Jays trade Emilio Bonifacio to Royals [CBC]
• Rajai Davis leads Blue Jays over Red Sox in extra innings [CBC]

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

Image: Vik/blogTO Flickr pool.