MR GRADY'S DAILY BLOG: AMERICAS EARLY BIRD NEWS

TOSSED A BONE! Rivers leaves $150M fortune to her four adorable rescue pups — and daughter Melissa

Joan Rivers has left her $150 million fortune to daughter Melissa Rivers, her grandson Cooper and, perhaps most importantly, to her four beloved rescue pups.

FDNY firefighter who called black postal worker N-word during road rage incident cleared of hate crime rap

A city firefighter dodged a hate crime rap Wednesday when a Brooklyn judge acquitted him of a felony charge that he smacked a black postal worker while using the N-word because of racial bias.

Australia Prime Minister Tony Abbott says knowledge of possible attack led to counterterrorism raids

Australia's prime minister says intelligence that Islamic State supporters were planning to carry out a killing to demonstrate its abilities led to counterterrorism raids in Sydney.

Spider-Man, Mickey Mouse and other costumed characters talk with cops about rules working in Times Square

Spidey and his pals held a pow wow Wednesday with NYPD brass fed up with the less-than-cuddly behavior of some of the costumed characters who haunt Times Square.

HEARTBREAK: Yankees' Carlos Beltran tragically loses unborn son

Carlos Beltran and his family suffered a personal tragedy on Wednesday as he and his wife, Jessica, lost their unborn son to a miscarriage.

Brangelina lacks People power as $2M wedding pics fail to boost mag sales

POLLS ARE OPEN! Scotland votes on independence

After three centuries of union with England, Scotland will decide its own fate Thursday as polls open for its contentious and landmark independence vote.

'Very disturbing on so many levels': Masturbating sex offender disrupts yoga class, cops say

Downward dog was more than a yoga position at a Florida fitness studio when a registered sex offender began fondling himself during a morning yoga class.

Heart transplant patient claims female nurse initiated 'unsolicited' sex acts in intensive care unit

In a lawsuit filed against Rachel Shaper and Advocate Christ Medical Center, John Cantone claims the 33-year-old nurse 'initiated unsolicited sexual relations, including intercourse' with him in the hospital's cardiac intensive care unit in 2012.

OUT FOR A WALK: Lost dog in Pennsylvania turns up 2,700 miles away in Oregon

A Jack Russell terrier went missing in Pennsylvania and was discovered an astonishing 2,700 miles away along an Oregon roadside nearly five months later. That's a 40-hour drive by way of the interstate.

Hasselbeck: NFL's domestic fumble mirrors Obama's Benghazi debacle

WATCH 'Fighting has just begun': ISIS threatens America with blockbuster movie trailer-style video

The 52-second video includes footage of Islamic State fighters shooting at American troops paired with audio of Barack Obama making a presidential address.

Husband arrested in 1999 Montana cold case for drowning wife in river

The husband of a woman found drowned in a Montana reservoir in 1999 was charged in her murder last week after a break in the 16-year-old cold case.

NO BOOTS ON THE GROUND: Amid questions, Obama assures he won't send U.S. ground forces to fight ISIS

WASHINGTON — President Obama personally assured U.S. troops Wednesday that "I will not commit you to fighting another ground war in Iraq," amid new questions about his strategy against ISIS terrorists.

China woman wins suit against man who ‘stole’ her virginity, gets $5K settlement

The price of lying about being single and seducing a virgin? For a married man in Shanghai, it's $5,000.

Ben Affleck admits he counted cards in Vegas casino

'SHAMEFUL': Iranian President Hassan Rouhani denounces ISIS practice of beheading of innocent people

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani denounced Islamic State's beheading of innocent people, saying the militant group's shameful actions violate Islamic principles, NBC News said in excerpts of an interview released on Wednesday.

Texas executes woman for starvation death of 9-year-old boy

A Texas woman convicted of the starvation and torture death of her girlfriend’s 9-year-old son a decade ago has been executed.

HEALTH ALERT: CDC says first enterovirus 68 case confirmed in New Jersey, New York City

The state’s first case of EV-D68, a respiratory illness with severe cold-like symptoms, was confirmed Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Lighting driver's armpit hair on fire caused Idaho rollover crash: cops

A rollover crash on a suburban Idaho road that sent three teenagers to the hospital was the result of a fiery prank gone wrong when one of the passengers used a lighter to ignite the armpit hair of the driver.

Minnesota Vikings owners changed course on Peterson — after the money talked

The Minnesota Vikings team owners stood by alleged child beater Adrian Peterson until suddenly they didn’t, treacherous behavior, some say, that has been a hallmark of the two brothers for decades.

Here's 4 more NFL owners, in addition to the Minnesota Vikings' Wilfs, that have made horrible decisions

The Minnesota Vikings’ Wilf brothers are not the only NFL team owners with trouble or controversy in their past.

COLD CASH: Suspended Peterson will still collect $11.75 MILLION salary as NFL boss remains silent on abuse case

Adrian Peterson's tough love act has earned him a stinging NFL-style rebuke as Minnesota Vikings owner Zygi Wilf (inset right) placed the star NFL running back on the league's exempt list until his child-abuse case is resolved. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell (inset left) still hasn't weighed in on the decision.

Vikings executives admit ‘we made a mistake’ on Adrian Peterson, but now feel like they got it right

Saying they “made a mistake” and they are “trying to get this right” countless times, team execs explained in a press conference Wednesday their decision to suspend star running back Adrian Peterson.

Hamill: NFL finally made some good moves but not soon enough

Pro football has justifiably banned Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens indefinitely. This took way too long but at least the NFL acted after seeing the disturbing video of Rice slugging his then-fiancée Janay Palmer in February.

Myers: Vikings bow to pressure and take Peterson off the field, but NFL must still answer for Roger Goodell's inaction

The Vikings have ordered accused child abuser Adrian Peterson to stay away from the team by putting him on a rarely-used exempt list - but they are still paying him his $691,000 per week salary as he works through his legal problems.

Panthers place Greg Hardy on exempt list as he awaits trial for assault conviction

Greg Hardy will go on the exempt list as the Panthers defensive end awaits a jury trial following his July 15 conviction of assault on a female and communicating threats.

NFL, union agree to new drug policy, HGH testing

The NFL says it has reached an agreement with the players association on changes to its performance-enhancing drug policy, including the addition of human growth hormone testing.

New York

Mayor's Management Report: More New Yorkers are dying in fires, streets are dirtier, and violence in jails is surging

The stats for the year ending June 30 capture a transitional period in city government — the last six months of then Mayor Bloomberg's administration, and the first six months of Mayor de Blasio's.

Bronx cop was drunk when he drove into another car in fatal wrong-way crash on New York State Thruway: police

The Bronx cop who drove the wrong way on the state Thruway and crashed into an SUV, killing himself and the other driver, was drunk, state police said Wednesday.

N.J. firefighters fan flames of controversy after unrolling ‘show us your t--s’ banner at convention

A South Jersey firehouse is in the hot seat after firefighters hung a banner imploring women to "Show us your t---ts" at a state-wide smokeaters convention over the weekend.

LATEST FROM AROUND NEW YORK

Occupy Wall Street leader hijacked group's Twitter account, other leaders claim in $500K lawsuit

OWS Media Group Inc. charges that Justin Wedes took over @OccupyWallStNYC on Aug. 8 by changing the password and not letting the 14 other administrators know the new code because he was “unhappy with some of the content of the speech ... being disseminated” from it.

NYC, MTA, Port Authority to share $1.9B in federal aid for post-Sandy fixes

Roughly $1.9 billion in post-Sandy federal funds will soon begin flowing to the MTA, the city and Port Authority to bolster defenses against flooding, officials said Wednesday.

Kathie Lee & Hoda: Can you imagine if video surfaced for Peterson beating?

Washington dad, already in jail for death of wife in 2011, charged with killing 'fussy' 3-year-old son missing since 1983

Stanley Guidroz was already in jail for the 2011 death of his wife when he admitted to killing his son, Wallace, too. He reported the boy missing in 1983, but later told investigators he killed the toddler because he was being fussy.

Pregnant Michigan woman chases down purse snatcher — and delivers healthy baby the next day

A Michigan woman will have a great story to tell her kid one day.

Man allegedly locked inside San Francisco art gallery by mistake — but owner says incident never happened

San Francisco cops were quick to dub a 911 caller a “genius” for allegedly getting stuck in an art gallery.

'I AM SPEAKING THE TRUTH': Oklahoma Republican under fire for racist anti-Muslim comments

An Oklahoma lawmaker is doubling down on racist remarks he made last week and even upped his fiery rhetoric, saying that all American Muslims are a "cancer in our nation that needs to be cut out out."

SEE IT: Hannity takes off belt and whips desk in support for Peterson

FATHER OF THE YEAR: Cops say Tennessee dad forced son to play drinking game until boy passed out

Police say an East Tennessee father forced his son to drink alcohol until he passed out as a punishment after he caught the 15-year-old drinking.

Bill Clinton urges UK voters to reject Scottish independence — 'Unity with maximum self-determination sends a powerful message'

The former U.S. President encouraged voters in Thursday's highly anticipated referendum in Great Britain to vote against a measure that would allow Scotland self-determination.

Death Row themed restaurant rethinks meals after backlash

Death Row Dinners, which hoped to offer guests the chance to 'eat like it's your last meal on earth,' has announced that it is reconsidering its next steps after public outcry over its taste being more appalling than appealing.

House grudgingly approves President Obama's request to arm, train Syrian rebels for ISIS fight

The Republican-run House on Wednesday grudgingly granted President Obama’s request to give the U.S. military authority to train and arm Syrian rebels to fight ISIS terrorists.

Lady Gaga channels a Greek goddess in revealing snap

Joe Manganiello bulks up for 'Magic Mike' sequel

Sports

Myers: As Vikings bow to pressure over Peterson, Goodell still invisible

Giants' Kiwanuka says Goodell dropped ball on violence issues

Mathias Kiwanuka is concerned with the NFL’s increasingly tarnished image. The Giants defensive end said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has “mishandled” the recent domestic violence and child abuse issues that have come to light

Isola: PR tour shows that Knicks owner likes to win and take credit for it

James Dolan is guaranteeing a hugely successful season this year for the Knicks without actually making a guarantee. Instead, he’s bouncing around town tooting his own kazoo to his selected media friends to make sure that the fledgling blues singer is first in line to get credit if and when Phil Jackson turns this thing around.