MR GRADY'S DAILY BLOG: AMERICAS NEWS

'BRUTE FORCE IS THE FIRST IMPULSE': Shocking reports reveals beating of teen inmates at Rikers Island is routine

The U.S. federal government said Monday that the New York City Department of Correction does not adequately protect male teenagers at Rikers Island from patterns of violence from staff and other inmates. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara speaks at a press conference on Monday.

Cruelty to adolescents at Rikers Island will ruin the lives of thousands: expert

The damning report from U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara is just the latest indictment of the city’s operation of Rikers Island — a house of horrors home to the unwarranted physical abuse of inmates, the gross mistreatment of mentally ill prisoners and a level of neglect so inhumane that apathy has led to death.

Judge says Jodi Arias, who fatally stabbed boyfriend 30 times, to represent herself at death penalty trial:

The 34-year-old was convicted of first-degree murder last year in Travis Alexander's grisly 2008 murder but the Arizona jury deadlocked on whether she should get life behind bars or death.

NYPD cop charged for breaking into woman's apartment and beating her just after being honored by de Blasio

A Bronx cop lauded on Medal Day for his heroics has been charged for breaking into a Bronx woman’s home and drunkenly assaulting her just hours after being honored, police said Monday.

Decomposing body ‘preliminarily identified’ as missing Florida teen as mom's boyfriend is charged with tampering with evidence: officials

A decomposing body discovered last week in woods in Florida has been “preliminarily identified” as missing 16-year-old Alexandria Chery, according to court documents and officials.

NY Housewife: Ratings collapse due to lack of 'big personalities'

'SHE WAS EVERYTHING TO US': Rural Maine town reeling over sudden death of popular high school student athlete

A 17-year-old Maine girl who “had everything going for her” suddenly died after suffering a pulmonary embolism, family said.

WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO Soccer fan's hand blown off by grenade during skirmish with riot police

The new Macedonian soccer season got off to a gory start over the weekend when a fan's hand was blown off by a stun grenade during a stadium skirmish with riot police.

Expert: Don't panic over Ebola in NYC — the hospital has it covered

As Mount Sinai doctors try to determine if a patient has the Ebola virus, New Yorkers don’t have to be worried about it unless the person was on the subway and vomited blood on them.

Second American infected with Ebola en route to Georgia

A chartered plane specially equipped to contain infectious diseases took off early Monday from the airport in Liberia's capital, Monrovia.

REVIEW: Laid-back One Direction charms the crowd at MetLife Stadium

EXCLUSIVE Ex-state lawmaker Gabriela Rosa rejects offer to wear wire

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara made disgraced former Assemblywoman Gabriela Rosa an offer she could refuse, sources said.

Pol's 'healthy’ food stores cited seveal times for live mice, filth flies and roaches

Aaron Woolf, a downstate Democrat running for Congress in the Adirondacks upstate, touts on his campaign website his hip Brooklyn business — Urban Rustic, a “local craft food store” in Williamsburg.

'I KNEW IT WAS WRONG': Ex-Christian radio host admits he photographed sex acts with 12-year-old boy

A former Christian radio host admitted in a Michigan courtroom that he photographed sex acts with a 12-year-old boy.

Hamill: Court ruling allowing parents to spank their kids could lead to further abuse

The New York Appellate Division ruled on July 19 to overturn a child abuse case against a Long Island man who spanked his 8-year-old son for cursing at a party.

Which leading lady makes a whopping $51M a year?

De Blasio defends 'broken windows' policing after Daily News analysis

Responding to a Daily News report that found minorities were overwhelmingly targeted for quality-of-life summonses, the de Blasio administration defended the “broken windows” crimefighting tactic Monday — but said it should be used in a “respectful” way. A spokesman for the mayor credited broken windows — which calls for aggressively enforcing quality-of-life offenses to prevent more serious ones — with driving down crime to historic lows.

Man’s body found with legs bound in laundry bag left on Jamaica Bay island: cop source

A dead man was found stuffed into a laundry bag with his legs bound together on an island in Jamaica Bay, a police source said Monday.

EXCLUSIVE EMTs turn in 4 NYPD officers who violently beat handcuffed, emotionally disturbed patient

Two FDNY EMTs who had to intervene to stop four police officers beating a handcuffed patient on a stretcher have turned the cops in to authorities, the Daily News has learned.

National Republican Committee urges Cuomo to 'come clean' on Moreland Commission scandal

While New Jersey Gov. and Republican Governors Association Chairman Chris Christie refuses to weigh in on the scandal engulfing Gov. Cuomo over his anti-corruption commission, the Republican National Committee on Monday called on the governor to "come clean. "

New York

Melinda Katz urges court to let her ax library trustees

Queens Borough President Melinda Katz is urging a Brooklyn federal court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by six trustees of the scandal-plagued Queens Library.

Queens nonprofit stiffed employees out of more than $250K in wages while hosting lavish parties at hotels: lawsuit

Five ex-employees of a politically connected Queens nonprofit claim there were stiffed out of more than $250,000 in wages at the same time the organization was hosting lavish parties at posh hotels, a lawsuit charges.

City study will determine streets where speed limit will lower to 25 mph to reduce traffic fatalities

The city Transportation Department is conducting a street-by-street analysis to determine where a new 25 mph default speed limit would be suitable — and where there should be exceptions to the cap.

LATEST FROM AROUND NEW YORK

Good Samaritan drivers save autistic boy, 6, after he rides toy ATV onto Bronx River Parkway

Westchester Police said the tyke was riding the toy car at a park in Mount Vernon at around 7 p.m. when he slipped away from relatives who were watching him.

Queens Beep appeals to de Blasio to fund one more year of the Rockaway Ferry

More time is needed to gauge the actual demand for the Rockaway ferry, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz said in her latest bid to keep the route afloat.

From baby North to Emmy Rossum, SEE the day's best celebs

Comic sues MTA over train accident she used in comedy routine

A Brooklyn woman who fell under a train and lived to joke about it in her standup comedy routine is suing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, blaming the agency for the accident that disfigured her leg.

Israeli, Palestinian officials agree to 72-hour ceasefire following month-long battle in Gaza Strip

Israeli officials accepted a 72-hour cease-fire agreement late Monday, halting nearly a monthlong war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip as the two sides try to hammer out a long-term truce.

Pennsylvania golfers land themselves in emergency room after arguing about rules

Two golfers ended up real hitters when they got into an argument that landed them at the emergency room in Uniontown Hospital, Pennsylvania State Police said of a case they're still investigating.

China investigates two Canadians for suspected theft of state secrets: report

Canadian nationals, Kevin Garratt and Julia Dawn Garratt, are being investigated for suspected theft of state secrets about China's military and national defense research, the official Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday.

SEE IT: Kate catches ball from pitcher beau Justin during Yanks game

New York inn under attack for $500 complaint fees

Negative reviews for the Union Street Guest House in Hudson have consumed nearly 15 pages on Yelp after the discovery of their astronomical, three-digit fee for 'every negative review of USGH placed on any internet site.'

‘RUSSIA DOESN’T MAKE ANYTHING:’ President Obama slams Putin in new interview

President Barack Obama dismissed Russia as a nation that "doesn't make anything" and said in an interview with the Economist magazine that the West needs to be "pretty firm" with China as Beijing pushes to expand its role in the world economy.

Wafer: 'Wasn’t going to cower’ in house night he shot dead Renisha McBride

A suburban Detroit man said Monday that he was afraid when someone showed up on his porch before dawn one morning last year and started banging on his doors, but he wasn’t going to be a victim in his own home.

U.S. covertly sent young Latin Americans to Cuba to spark political rebellion

An Obama administration program secretly dispatched young Latin Americans to Cuba using the cover of health and civic programs to provoke political change, a clandestine operation that put those foreigners in danger even after a U.S. contractor was hauled away to a Cuban jail.

Lady GaGa's adorable pup Asia banned from... ASIA!

BACK TO COOL: Teen Vogue assembles fashion looks for fall classes

Sports

Isola: Kevin Durant could earn $30M a year from Under Armour, help Wizards

Kevin Durant won't hit the free agent market until July 2016 but the NBA's Most Valuable Player is on the verge of landing a blockbuster endorsement deal which could influence his future on the court as well.

Lawyer: Anthony Bosch transcript clears Victor Conte

The transcript has spoken, according to Victor Conte’s lawyer. Mary McNamara told the Daily News Monday that tweets posted last week by writers Tim Elfrink and Gus Garcia-Roberts claiming that Biogenesis founder Anthony Bosch testified in Rodriguez’s arbitration hearing last fall that Conte provided A-Rod with the banned performance-enhancer EPO do not appear in the transcripts of Bosch’s testimony.

Vacchiano: Like many, David Wilson's NFL dream is short-lived

David Wilson thought he was invincible, and why wouldn't he feel that way? He was 23 years old, a physical specimen and he had spent his life being the best athlete in whatever room he was in.

Myers: Geno Smith's best may not be enough for Jets

The best quarterback news for the Jets this summer is Tom Brady turned 37 the other day and sometime in the next five or six years, he’s probably going to retire. There hasn’t been a lot of positive quarterback developments on the practice fields here in upstate New York.