MR GRADY'S DAILY BLOG: AMERICAS NEWS

'Make them remember our children': Trayvon Martin's mother pens heartfelt letter to family of fallen Michael Brown

Tracy Martin (left), mother of Trayvon Martin, reached out to Lesley McSpadden (right) — mother of Michael Brown — and his family with words of support and advice for dealing with the controversial death.

CANCER SCAMMER: Illinois mom accused of faking illness for money is arrested on way to 'Dr. Phil' show: report

Melissa D. Barton, 25, was allegedly attempting to board a Chicago-bound plane at Springfield's Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport when arrested for theft by deception, police told the Belleville News-Democrat.

Delta passenger says she was forced off plane for appearing sick — '(They were) acting like I had leprosy'

Suzanne Hays, 72, was in the middle of a flight transfer in Detroit when the Ohio woman says a passenger seated next to her complained of her appearing unwell.

New York Amish dad feels 'sorry' for couple charged in kidnap, assault of his daughters

In a stunning act of compassion, the father of two upstate Amish girls who were kidnapped and sexually assaulted says he feels “sorry” for the sicko suspects in the chilling crime.

Tennessee mom drove drunk through McDonald’s drive-thru with unbuckled toddler in back: police

Sadiqa McRae, 22, was allegedly found tipsy while behind the wheel of her car outside of a Rock Hill, S.C. restaurant Thursday while her toddler slept unrestrained in the back.

Handler's no-layoff vow proves bogus as Netflix move nears

Ebola scare prompts UAE airline to disinfect plane

THE NATIONAL airline of the United Arab Emirates said Monday it has disinfected one of its planes after health authorities there announced that a Nigerian woman who died after flying to the capital, Abu Dhabi, may have been infected with the Ebola virus.

Two Southern California teens planned school massacre: police

Two California teens were arrested Monday after cops foiled their plans to shoot up South Pasadena High School.

ON SECOND THOUGHT: Julian Assange backtracks on plan to leave Ecuadorean Embassy

The Wikileaks founder indicated that he would exit the embassy on Monday before an aide clarified his statement. The 43-year-old has been staying in the apartment since 2012, having holed up there to avoid extradition to Sweden in relation to sex crime allegations.

Killer sexually assaulted, kidnapped, then strangled N.C. high school counselor to death: indictment

The man accused of murdering a popular high school guidance counselor first kidnapped and sexually abused the 31-year-old before strangling her to death, according to an indictment unveiled Monday.

Which brunette beauty is flaunting her famous curves?

Raissman: Former Giants OL David Diehl is new man on NFL Sundays

It will come as no solace to Eli Manning, but his measly 49 passing yards in four quarters of exhibition games has provided plenty of fresh meat in the Valley of the Stupid and other media precincts.

'She was the innocent bystander': Cops hunt gunman who killed sleeping pregnant woman through wall of home

Police in Houston, Tex., are hunting for a gunman who opened fire on a house during a teen's birthday party and killed a pregnant woman sleeping in a back bedroom.

Texas dad says he didn’t fatally shoot alleged drunk driver who killed his sons

A Texas man denies taking the law into his own hands by killing the suspected drunk driver who hit and killed his two sons.

Veteran Tulsa police officer charged with murdering teen daughter's boyfriend

A Tulsa police officer who gunned down his daughter’s boyfriend was charged with first-degree murder Monday stemming from the off-duty shooting of the transient teen.

'TIL DEATH PENALTY DO US PART? Jailed Indiana quadruple murder suspect asks to marry fiancée

The alleged shooter in a February Indianapolis quadruple murder wants a judge to allow him to marry his fiancée as he awaits trial.

Jared Leto Superstar! Actor transforms into 30 Seconds to Mars savior for N.J. show

EXCLUSIVE Councilman wants Board of Elections to use texts and emails to notify voters about their polling sites

A new bill would push the Board of Elections out of the Stone Age — requiring it to send voters texts and emails identifying their polling sites.

Melissa Mark-Viverito praised for revealing she has HPV

The city Health Department applauded City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito Monday for disclosing that she has HPV and urged New Yorkers to be vigilant about the disease.

Texas district attorney's arrest for drunken driving is at center of Gov. Rick Perry’s indictment

Three days after Governor Rick Perry called himself “awesome,” he was indicted by a grand jury for abuse of power — but the circumstances of the charges left Democrats and Republicans alike wondering if they are politically motivated.

SEE IT Signs outside South Korean pub ban Africans due to fears of Ebola virus

Signs posted outside of a South Korea pub over the weekend banned all Africans from patronizing the establishment out of fears from Ebola.

Iowa lawmaker arrested for sexually abusing his mentally incapacitated wife: report

A Republican lawmaker in Iowa was arrested and charged with felony sexual abuse over the weekend for allegedly forcing sex on his mentally incapacitated wife, according to a new report.

Ex-NYPD top cop Ray Kelly slams Ferguson cops over handling of shooting

New York City’s former top cop advised St. Louis officials Monday to come clean about the police shooting of an unarmed black teenager because “the toothpaste is out of the tube here.”

OPINION Ferguson, through a glass darkly: The cost of state violence has gone up

Siegel: The glossy pictures and gritty livestreams of the post-apocalyptic night battles in Ferguson, Mo. — where the national press has parachuted in to cover the heavy-handed, to say the least, police response to the protests sparked after a cop shot an unarmed teen — are both horrifying and familiar.

What vacation? Obama returns to White House for meetings on Iraq and police shooting in Missouri

Obama returned to work at the White House Monday, replacing images of him bicycling and golfing on an island resort with those of him at the White House huddling over current crises with top advisers.

Cedric the Entertainer questions Missouri cops after teen's death: ‘Why can't they get to the results?’

A Hollywood comedian with Missouri roots said the fear in Ferguson is that a white cop will get away with killing a black teenager.

PHOTOS Violent clashes continue between Ferguson police, protesters

Turmoil erupted in Ferguson, Missouri as police and protesters clashed following the death of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teen who was shot by a police officer.

Hamill: From cheers to tear gas as cops again clash with protesters in Ferguson

In a local church, people gave a standing ovation on Sunday afternoon to Capt. Ron Johnson of the Missouri Highway Patrol.

New York

State reveals plan to dish out $300M to expand city’s full-day pre-K

The state revealed Monday how it would parcel out $300 million of city funding for the expansion of full-day prekindergarten.

Fire in Hamilton Heights apartment building kills one person, injures 11; people used fire escape to flee

The fire broke out inside a stairwell on the first floor of the building on W. 136 St. near Amsterdam Ave. about 5:43 p.m., FDNY officials said. It spread quickly up the stairwell and onto the building’s five other floors.

Friends say slain Bronx rapper was an emerging talent on the verge of breaking out

The aspiring rapper gunned down during a drive-by shooting in Harlem on Sunday was a rising star that fell too soon, grieving friends and family members said

LATEST FROM AROUND NEW YORK

Pipe spilled oil into Hudson River in upstate New York

Oil spilled from a pipe found floating in the Hudson River south of Albany, state authorities said.

Metropolitan Opera settles contracts with two unions, but lockout still looms

The Metropolitan Opera reached deals with two of its largest unions Monday while talks continued with 10 more unions in hopes of averting a lockout.

Katharine McPhee caught kissing her coworker ... again

EDITORIAL Francis makes a bold and timely statement against ISIS brutality in Iraq

In the run-up to World War II, Joseph Stalin asked: “How many divisions does the Pope have?” The Russian dictator scoffed that the world’s preeminent religious leader wielded moral rather than military power.

Advocates want city jails to end solitary confinement

Prisoner advocates are demanding an end to solitary confinement at city jails, claiming that throwing an inmate into a cell by themselves for hours on end is considered torture, not a timeout.

Bank officer, husband arrested in theft from downed Malaysia Flight MH 370 passengers bank accounts

Malaysian police say a HSBC bank officer and her husband were collared Thursday in the theft of nearly $35,000 from four missing passengers' bank accounts in July, CNN reported.

POWER PLAY: Iraqi dam reclaimed with help of U.S. air strikes, Obama says

President Obama announced Monday that Iraqi and Kurdish forces, backed by U.S. airstrikes, recaptured the giant Mosul Dam from Islamic State extremists, eliminating a “catastrophic” threat facing large numbers of Iraqis.

EDITORAL Israel is being held to an impossible standard

Cohen: Back in 1980, an Israeli diplomat met with Ronald Reagan as he was running for President. Reagan was furious over the hostages being held in the American Embassy in Iran and told the diplomat he could not understand why the U.S. didn’t do what Israel would have done: land troops on the embassy roof and take the Americans out.

Which celeb got cheeky on the beach in Maui?

EDITORIAL In praise of the President's response to the unrest in Ferguson

Again calling for calm, President Obama smartly dispatched Attorney General Eric Holder to visit Ferguson, Mo., as a federal guarantor that justice will be done in the death of Michael Brown.

Paris bandits rip off Saudi Arabian royal convoy

Armed robbers ambushed a Saudi prince’s diplomatic convoy on its way to a Paris airport, raiding one of its vehicles — a Mercedes — for valuables, then torching it, officials said Monday. Five to eight assailants flashed handguns but fired no shots in the Sunday night attack, the Paris prosecutor’s office said. No injuries or arrests were reported.