MR GRADY'S DAILY BLOG: AMERICAS EARLY BIRD NEWS

EXCLUSIVE SWEET DEAL: Brooklyn trio get $33K each after settling with city over NYPD arrest that confused Jolly Ranchers candy for crystal meth

The city has dispensed a sweet settlement to three Brooklyn men who sued the NYPD after cops bizarrely mistook Jolly Rancher candies for crystal meth, the Daily News has learned.

EXCLUSIVE Companies run by Cuomo's biggest donors have won millions in state grants: records

Several companies run by big-time donors to Gov. Cuomo have won millions of dollars in state economic development grants since he took office, state records show.

Wisconsin girl who was victim of vicious ‘Slenderman’ attack goes back to school

After being mutilated and left for dead, a Wisconsin girl has started school, another steady step on her road to recovery.

Port Authority cop told to 'shut up' after questioning gridlock during Bridgegate: report

A Port Authority police officer complaining about the Bridgegate gridlock on his department radio earned a two-word rebuke from his boss: “Shut up.”

Oregon man, convicted of rape and murder of high school classmate in 1990, granted parole

A convicted rapist and murderer who killed his 16-year-old classmate is slated to be released from prison early, stunning the victim’s relatives.

Rosie Perez, Nicolle Wallace join Whoopi & O'Donnell on 'View'

BREAKING At Least 52 injured as Taliban attacks Afghan government compound with truck bombs, gunmen

Asadullha Ensafi, the deputy police chief in the provincial capital of Ghazni, says at least 52 people — both civilians and security forces — were hurt in Thursday's early morning attack.

'You bet you’re sorry you nasty thing!': Arizona widow shoots home invader, 20, who assaulted her

A terrified Arizona widow, armed with a revolver, hid in her bathroom then shot and subdued a robber who broke into her home.

Man on Maryland-Florida bike trip to propose to girlfriend stabbed to death by homeless man: cops

Kevin Adorno, 28, of Hartford Conn., was chronicling an epic bike ride from Wye Mills, Md., to Miami, where he planned to propose to his girlfriend, according to a report.

Verizon to pay $7.4M to settle FCC investigation into customer information being used for marketing

The FCC said the payment will be the largest such in the agency’s history for settling an investigation related to the privacy of telephone customers’ personal information.

'THEIR HORRIFIC ACTS ONLY UNITE US': Obama vows to 'degrade and destroy' ISIS after second American journalist is beheaded by terrorists in grim video

Following the execution of Steven Sotloff, a freelance reporter kidnapped while on assignment in Syria, Obama promised to eliminate the threat of the Islamic State in the Middle East.

Barak Barfi, friend of Steven Sotloff, challenges ISIS leader

An emotional statement Wednesday on behalf of murdered journalist Steven Sotloff’s family ended with spokesman Barak Barfi speaking in Arabic to challenge ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to a debate.

American wannabe ISIS member is ‘practicing Muslim’ hoping to join caliphate

He just wants to fit in. An American trying to join the Islamic State terrorist organization claims he’s just “a practicing Muslim” hoping to find a sense of belonging with the militant, bloodthirsty group.

GLOBAL EFFORT: World governments take strides to cut Islamic State off from new fighters

New laws make it easier to seize passports. Suspected fighters are plucked from planes. Authorities block finances and shut down radical mosques.

Executed journalist Sotloff had lived in Israel since 2008 and hid Jewish faith from ISIS captors, praying secretly and faking illness to fast on holidays: report

When ISIS terrorists mercilessly executed Steven Sotloff, America wasn't the only country that lost a citizen. Israel did, too.

Expert: While risky, military intervention against ISIS may be the only option

If President Obama is serious that the objective now is to “degrade and destroy” ISIS, then U.S. air strikes must be stepped up targeting the Islamic State.

'Duck Dynasty' star Phil Robertson on ISIS: ‘Convert them or kill them’

“I'm just saying either convert them or kill them,” the minister said during a Tuesday night interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity.

EDITORIAL The barbarians' beheading of Steven Sotloff is a stark reminder of why they must be defeated

The beheading of a second American confirmed, where no confirmation was necessary, that ISIS is a determined and depraved enemy at war with the United States and civilization itself.

Kathie Lee & Hoda: J-Law, celebs deserve justice in nude hack scandal

Gay group allowed to march in next St. Patrick's Day Parade

A gay group will be able to march under its own banner in the city's St. Patrick's Day Parade for the first time on March 17, organizers said Wednesday.

Shirt worn by SEAL Team Six on mission to kill Osama bin Laden going to 9/11 Museum

A shirt worn by a member of Seal Team Six on the midnight raid that killed Osama bin Laden is being donated to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, the Daily News has learned.

Indian teen raped, murdered after she protested the public beating of her father: report

In the latest horrific case of gang rape in India, a teenage girl has been assaulted and killed after she tried to intercede in the public beating of her father by village elders.

Alums vow to stop donations after Catholic high school kicks out gay teachers in 'blatant case of discrimination'

Alumnae of a Catholic high school in Missouri are rallying around two teachers who lost their jobs after administrators found out they were married.

DJ Deadmau5 battles Mickey over use of famous mouse helmet

Al Qaeda claims to have expanded into Indian subcontinent

The terror group has expanded into the Indian subcontinent, its leader said in a video statement released Thursday, with a regional group that he vowed would bring Islamic law to the region and 'wage jihad against its enemies.'

Indiana teen was likely abducted, killed in ‘random’ attack before body set on fire: police

The charred remains of 15-year-old Dominique Allen were found by a man walking his dog in his Indianapolis backyard around 12:30 p.m. Sunday.

Texas girl, 5, hospitalized after being trapped in washing machine as it spun on high speed

It’s not known how the 5-year-old managed to climb inside a machine at Le Washateria in Pasadena on Tuesday evening that somehow turned on to high speed.

Ferguson shooting victim Michael Brown did not have a felony rap sheet

The unarmed 18-year-old who was shot and killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., last month never had an adult criminal record, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

2014 NFL SEASON PREVIEW

Giants Among Men: Daily News selects greatest players in Big Blue history

The Giants have sent 16 players to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but there is no doubt and no argument about who is the greatest of the Giants’ greatest.

Big Blue belief: Giants confident they'll get off to fast start vs. Lions

In Eli Manning’s mind, it’s going to happen. And it’s going to happen fast.Never mind everything the Giants have been through in the preseason.

Giants at a Glance: Position-by-position look at 2014 team

There was a $116 million offseason spending spree, an offensive coaching staff overhaul, a defensive makeover, and all of it was aimed at transforming a Giants team that got off to an embarrassing 0-6 start last year.

NFC East Preview: Great rivalries, bad teams in once-proud division

Once beastly, the NFC East could be the weakest division in football. All four teams are flawed — especially on the defensive side — and it’s likely that there won’t be a wild card team out of this bunch. Fierce rivalries abound, though, so it will be a pretty good scrap for first.

NFC South Preview: Saints plan to march all the way back to Super Bowl

$Cam Newton takes a big step forward in 2013, but he could face steep challenges this season with a host of new receivers and fractured ribs suffered in the preseason.$ The NFC South has always been a topsy-turvy division, with teams going from worst to first year to year. It’s up for grabs again with the Saints favored, the Bucs seemingly stabilized, the Falcons healthy and the Panthers full of question marks.

NFC North Preview: With QB Rodgers back, Green Bay leaders of the Pack

There is offense enough for two divisions here. Consider that the division could contain the best running back (Adrian Peterson), best quarterback (Aaron Rodgers) and best receiver (Calvin Johnson).

NFC West Preview: Seahawks stellar defense still looking Super

Can the Seahawks repeat? They look to have as good a chance as anyone since the Pats did it, but first they’ll have to get out of their own division, which was a combined 44-22 last year.

High-Flying Jets: Daily News chooses best to ever play for Gang Green

He was the embodiment of New York — flashy, cool and hell-bent on letting the world know that nobody was better than the guys who wore green and white.

Taking flight: Improved Geno Smith key to Jets' hopes for 2014

Hope. It may have been the campaign slogan for Barack Obama in 2008, but in 2014, it’s the feeling emanating from the locker room at One Jets Drive. Hope that a young quarterback can take a giant leap in Year 2.

Jets at a Glance: Position-by-position look at 2014 team

The rebuild is over. The Jets’ first year under GM John Idzik saw him reshape the team with a younger group, but the window of patience in the NFL is short, and fans and the team want to win − now. The Jets are capable of making the playoffs after a three-year drought, but only if they get a couple of breaks along the way.

AFC East Preview: Brady, Patriots still without peers in weak division

Can anyone prevent the Patriots from running away with the division again? Rex Ryan has been full of his usual bravado, hoping that Geno Smith finds himself in his second year but the gap between East Rutherford and Foxborough hardly looks closed.

AFC South Preview: Luck is on Colts' side - can they take Super step?

Will coaching changes in Houston (Bill O’Brien for Gary Kubiak) and Tennessee (Ken Whisenhunt for Mike Munchak) signal any change in a rather weak division? The Colts are the outright favorites and with a weak schedule could position themselves nicely for the postseason.

AFC North Preview: Low-key Bengals looking like top cats again

What else but Johnny Manziel? The rookie from Texas A&M, a modern Broadway Joe, isn’t even starting the season but he’s commanded all the headlines. There hasn’t been this much attention on the Browns since Jim Brown was hauling the football. Odds are, he’ll take over at some point from Brian Hoyer.

AFC West Preview: Broncos have improved D, but keep eye on Chargers

The Broncos didn’t take their Super Bowl loss lightly and fortified their defense by adding CB Aqib Talib, pass rusher DeMarcus Ware and safety T.J. Ward.

New York

Back to school for 1.1M students in 1,800 New York City schools

Class starts Thursday for 1.1 million students enrolled in more than 1,800 city schools, kicking off another year for the country’s largest system of public education.

Michael Bloomberg returning to Bloomberg LP

Michael Bloomberg will return to the helm of Bloomberg LP eight months after relinquishing his role as mayor, it was announced Wednesday.

Ex-top lawyer for city Public Advocate says NYPD cops roughed her up during unwarranted arrest: suit

Chaumtoli Huq, 42, says in the suit filed late Tuesday in Manhattan Federal Court that she was waiting for her husband and two young children outside a Times Square eatery when cops arrested her for no reason.

15-year-old Westchester girl was driving SUV that crashed, killing three teenage Pa. boys

The 15-year-old, who was not identified, allegedly took her father’s SUV without permission, and without a driver’s license.

'The court is impressed by your sincerity': Teen daredevil who climbed 1 WTC writes 1,200-word apology

The teen thrill-seeker who snuck to the top of 1 World Trade Center has learned his lesson. Justin Casquejo, 16, penned a 1,200-word essay to a Manhattan judge apologizing for the stunning security breach.

LATEST FROM AROUND NEW YORK

GUEST COLUMN Carmen Fariña: Pre-K gives children a chance to realize their dreams

Today, as I welcome my 49th school opening as an educator, I am even more excited: for the first time in the history of our school system, we will have more than 50,000 4-year-olds attending free, high-quality, full-day prekindergarten.

Former Metro-North exec Sherry Herrington admits getting ex-partner cushy railroad job

Former MTA executive Sherry Herrington admitted she broke state public officers law by helping her live-in partner snag an $85,000-a-year authority job.

EXCLUSIVE Developer Youngwoo & Associates buys historic Bronx General Post Office building

A developer that was spurned in its bid to land the Kingsbridge Armory site has finally found a way to put its stamp on the Bronx.

Cuomo signs the Expedited Missing Persons Act to make it easier for authorities it ID remains of victims

It will be easier for authorities to identify the remains of missing victims like Menachem Stark under a bill signed by Gov. Cuomo Wednesday.

Bar Refaeli shows off trim figure during workout

Bodies found in Texas home of mother accused of killing 10-year-old son in January: police

Police discovered the body of a man inside the Frisco home of Pallavi and Sumseet Dhawan Wednesday afternoon and the body of a woman in the swimming pool. The couple made national news in January when the body of their 10-year-old son was found inside of a bathtub, several days after he died.

British parents released from Spanish prison to reunite with hospitalized son

Brett and Naghmeh King visited their 5-year-old son Ashya at the Children's and Maternity Hospital in Malaga Wednesday after being jailed on child cruelty charges for taking the boy out of a UK hospital against doctors' advice.

Eyeshadow enthusiast busted stuffing $144 worth of cosmetics into her purse, pretending they were used: Arkansas cops

31-year-old Brandy Allen was arrested inside an Ulta Beauty Store on Sept. 1 and faces charges of shoplifting and disorderly conduct.

Juvenile jail escape, where 30 teens fled, latest for troubled Nashville facility

The juvenile detention center where more than 30 teens escaped under a fence has a long history of violence, allegations of sexual abuse and previous efforts to break out.

Man files lawsuit against job over racist acts, including having to use toilet paper with Obama's face on it

An ex-employee at an Alabama company has outlined numerous instances of racist treatment in a lawsuit that includes him being called the N-word and given toilet paper with President Obama's face on it.