MR GRADY'S DAILY BLOG: AMERICAS EARLY BIRD NEWS

GRISLY FIND: Skull of nursing student, located close to suspected killer's home, confirmed as missing Tennessee native Holly Bobo

The human skull found in the Tennessee woods belongs Holly Bobo, authorities confirmed late Monday.

DELAY OF SHAME: Ray Rice suspended indefinitely by NFL, cut by Ravens as video of him punching then-fiancée emerges

The Baltimore Ravens running back was initially suspended for just two games after knocking his then-fiancée Janay Palmer out cold in an Atlantic City casino elevator — now a shocking video shows the absurdity of that "punishment."

DNA links Oregon inmate to 1976 San Francisco serial killings: FBI

The FBI named a person of interest Monday in a series of five-decade old unsolved murders in the San Francisco Bay Area.

MAULED IN MOTOWN: Giants get torched by Calvin Johnson, Lions in Detroit 35-14

So much for that big offseason of improvement. It was all supposed to be so different for the Giants in 2014, from the new-look offense to the revamped defense to the new leaders in the locker room.

EXCLUSIVE Tougher fitness test eyed for new correction officers at city jails

The City Department of Correction is losing the battle of the bulge — and the commish is planning a counterattack.

Famous designer begins Fashion Week with Rivers tribute

Air marshal attacked with syringe at African airport

A federal air marshal was attacked with a syringe at the airport terminal in Lagos, Nigeria, on Sunday, leading authorities to place him in quarantine back in the U.S.

Aaron Hernandez asks judge to throw out cell phone evidence

Lawyers for disgraced NFL star Aaron Hernandez have asked a Massachusetts judge to throw out any evidence police recovered from the former New England Patriots tight end's cell phone.

'He "didn't say, "Get on the ground"': Witness to Michael Brown’s shooting reveals cop 'didn't say anything' before fatally shooting teen

The witness, who spoke to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, is described as one of only a few known witnesses who didn't know Brown, live in the area of Ferguson or have family there at the time.

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crash was likely caused by 'high-energy objects from outside the aircraft': investigators

The preliminary report published Tuesday by the Dutch Safety Board stopped short of saying the Boeing 777 was shot down by a surface-to-air missile, but its findings appear to point to that conclusion.

Taylor reveals she's 'straight-up enemies' with a fellow singer

Mathew Martoma, hedge funder behind largest insider trading scheme in U.S. history, sentenced to 9 years in prison

Mathew Martoma, 40, must also forfeit a $9.3 million bonus he earned while working at Steve Cohen's SAC Capital as a result of confidential pharmaceutical information he obtained in 2008.

Five New Yorkers have been treated for West Nile virus

Five New Yorkers — two Brooklyn residents, and one each in Queens, Staten Island and Manhattan — have been treated for the virus, which is spread by mosquitoes, the Health Department announced.

EXCLUSIVE 'YOU GOT ME': Tracking device on stolen iPad leads cops to Brooklyn thief who confesses to 24 burglaries

A tracking device on a Bedford-Stuyvesant woman’s stolen iPad helped the victim and police find the thief — who then confessed to 23 other burglaries, the Daily News has learned.

Two women used violence and death threats to force tenants out of Brooklyn apartment: prosecutors

The two women accused of taking over an apartment by gunpoint — threatening three roommates with murder if they didn’t pack up — apparently took the extreme measure after they lost out on the rental, prosecutors said Monday.

Times Square costumed characters will need licenses under proposed law

A city councilman on Monday introduced legislation to regulate the costumed characters that roam Times Square making money by posing for photos with tourists.

Bey enjoys bikini weather during Cannes vacation

'It is time to change course': World leaders convene in NYC to propose changes to drug criminalization

Politicians from around the world will present new recommendations from the Global Commission on Drug Policy.

SEE IT Sedan crashes on Brooklyn street after robbery victim hops in suspect's getaway car

A robber was cuffed Sunday after his victim jumped into the getaway car, leading to a crash on a crowded Brooklyn street, police said. Ahmed Hassan, 22, had just lifted $50 dollars off of a 23-year-old man on Brighton Beach Ave. near Ocean Ave. in Brighton Beach on Sunday when he jumped into his green sedan in a bid to flee, police said.

Armed South Carolina woman planned to kill pregnant mother and extract unborn baby: police

A woman wearing a black wig had been seen prowling around a Berkeley County neighborhood, peering into home's patios, before police said Julie Gordon Gookins found her pregnant victim unloading groceries in her garage Thursday.

PICTURED Famous wooden roller coaster catches fire at Six Flags Magic Mountain in California

A fire on the recently closed Colossus ride at Southern California’s Six Flags Magic Mountain park has collapsed part of the famous wooden roller coaster, but no injuries are reported.

Fourth American Ebola patient to fly to U.S. hospital for treatment

The patient has not been identified but the World Health Organization said one of its doctors in Sierra Leone, who's identified as from the U.S. by the State Department, will be evacuated after testing positive for the disease.

EDITORIAL Democrats should turn out in a much-deserved show of support for Cuomo

A small slice of New York State’s 5.8 million registered Democrats will nominate the party’s candidate for governor on Tuesday.

OPINION Why not engage his opponents? Cuomo is running in place

Hammond: Gov. Cuomo’s legendary political instincts have been failing him lately — especially when it comes to justifying his decision not to debate Zephyr Teachout, his upstart challenger in Tuesday’s primary.

New York

Staten Island dad files $4.5M lawsuit over 'defective' T-ball set that splintered and left his 5-year-old boy with 300 stitches

The father of a Staten Island youngster has filed a $4.5 million lawsuit against the maker of a plastic T-ball bat that came apart and caused a horrific laceration.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand talks being a woman in politics — and Congressman who called her 'porky' when she was pregnant

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand doesn’t remember which “old man” in Congress called her “porky” when she was pregnant. Speaking to a group of Hearst employees Monday evening before the launch of her book, “Off the Sidelines,” Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) recapped the chapter where she talks about the unwanted focus on her figure in Washington.

State GOP chairman defends GPS tracking of Long Island Democrat

State GOP Chairman Ed Cox defended Monday the Assembly Republicans’ use of a GPS tracking device to see if a Long Island assemblyman lived in the district he represents.

Woman, 46, fatally shot by man on street in Flushing before he turns gun on himself: police

The man shot the woman in the head as they quarreled on 41st Ave. near Main St. in Flushing at 5:30 p.m., police said. He then shot himself in the head.

LATEST FROM AROUND NEW YORK

NYCHA hopes to transform Rockaway neighborhood eyesore into a badly-needed supermarket

A ramshackle strip of shuttered stores along Beach Channel Drive and 54th St. may soon become the oasis this Rockaway food desert desperately needs.

R train tunnel could reopen ahead of schedule: MTA

The R train tunnel between Manhattan and Brooklyn may open a bit sooner than scheduled, a transit official said Monday.

Six Upper West Side schools will get added police security during voting on primary day

Six public schools on the Upper West Side will get added police protection on primary day in a new pilot program to increase security at schools where voting takes place.

Ian Somerhalder defends girlfriend from Internet haters

PICTURED 'God Loves Gays' billboard unveiled in home city of Westboro Baptist Church

Take that, Westboro. A new billboard with the message "God Loves Gays" has been unveiled in Topeka, Kansas. It was created by God Himself. Kind of.

Oklahoma to get new equipment for executions — including a tool to help find veins for lethal injections

Oklahoma is renovating its death chamber and buying new equipment for executions, including a tool to allow staff to more easily find suitable veins for lethal injections after a troubled execution in April, the director of the state Department of Corrections said Monday.

Mayor of 'dry' Alabama city busted for DUI after driving elsewhere for booze: reports

The mayor of Alabama's largest dry city was arrested for driving under the influence Friday, authorities said.

Simon Pegg makes Daily News readers happy with live chat

Billionaire head of Arab Bank denies turning blind eye to funding Hamas, suicide bombers

Terrorism is bad for business, the billionaire chairman of the Arab Bank testified Monday in Brooklyn Federal Court.

'We’ve been waiting for this day for a long time': Alleged Virginia serial killer indicted on 3 murder charges

A suspected serial killer was indicted in Virginia on Monday for a string of murders dating back to 2003, prosecutors announced.

SEE IT Penn State students chant for Joe Paterno statue to be brought back after the school ruled bowl-eligible

Citing academic progress, the NCAA announced it would fully restore the scholarships the program lost as a result of the Jerry Sandusky sex-abuse scandal next season.

Child, 2, stuffed in clothes dryer, suffers burns

An infant suffered second-degree burns along his back and arms and had blistered feet after being thrown into a clothes dryer by his mom's boyfriend, according to police in Bangor, Maine.

Mark-Viverito 'extremely disappointed' in Obama's delay on immigration

In a rare swipe at a fellow Democrat, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito on Monday criticized President Obama for putting off action on immigration reform until after the November election.

NYPD records safest August ever since the start of CompStat data system in 1994

Dog days they were not. The NYPD recorded the lowest number of murders, shootings, robberies and burglaries in August compared with any August since the department began its CompStat data system in 1994, police sources said.

Obama to begin briefing Congress on ISIS strategy

WASHINGTON — President Obama will begin briefing leaders of Congress Tuesday on his new strategy to “degrade and destroy” ISIS, officials said Monday as U.S. airstrikes killed an unusually large number of the jihadists. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Obama wants Congress to “buy in” to his plan, but Earnest left the door open to military action without congressional authorization.

James Zadroga's dad pushes Congress to remember 9/11 first responders

The father of James Zadroga — the first cop whose death was attributed to working at Ground Zero after 9/11 — pressed Congress on Monday to reauthorize the law that funds treatment for first responders. “These people are really sick,” said Joseph Zadroga, urging renewal of the law, named the Zadroga Act after his late son. “It’s very important.”