MR GRADY'S DAILY BLOG: AMERICAS EARLY BIRD NEWS

EARLY BIRD

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NO PANIC, PLEASE! NYC hospitals assure they are ready for Ebola after first U.S. victim dies

'HE FOUGHT COURAGEOUSLY': Ebola victim Thomas Duncan succumbs to virus as health officials deny second Texas case

A Liberian national identified last month as the first U.S.-diagnosed Ebola patient died from the virus Wednesday morning in a Dallas hospital, officials said.

Expert: It is inexcusable that while the U.S. has been researching Ebola for decades there is a shortage of promising medicine

For one thing, the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Army Research Institute of Infectious Diseases have been dealing with Ebola for decades as a potential bioweapon.

Off-duty St. Louis police officer fires 17 times, kills 18-year-old suspect in gunfight: cops

A St. Louis police officer moonlighting for a private security firm fired 17 shots and killed an 18-year-old man late Wednesday during a violent altercation and chase where gunfire was exchanged, cops said.

EXCLUSIVE Patients suffering from asthma make up nearly a quarter of Harlem Hospital's emergency room visits

Breathing isn’t easy in Harlem. Nearly a quarter of the 13,551 patients who visited Harlem Hospital’s emergency room in fiscal year 2014 were suffering from asthma, records show.

Pras sues NY Post for $30M over story he blew off 9/11 concert

'I guess I lost my virginity to a dead corpse': Sicko teen gets life after killing Texas mother with hammer, raping lifeless body

A stone cold 18-year-old Texas man was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday for killing his mother with a hammer and then sexually assaulting the corpse.

Some football parents refuse to acknowledge Sayreville HS hazing rituals were sexual in nature despite reports — 'They are in denial mode'

A player would be pinned onto the locker-room floor, then be brought up onto his feet while a finger was inserted into his rectum and later into his mouth.

EVIL DUO: Two Calif. brothers charged with felony assault over horrific beat down at 49ers game over impatience for bathroom stall

Two California brothers have been charged with felony assault over the vicious, videotaped beating of two cousins at a San Francisco 49ers game.

SEE IT 'He was still and quiet after that': Alleged cop-killer Eric Frein's notes describe ambush of two Pennsylvania troopers

He's pure evil. That's how police portrayed fugitive Eric Frein, who they accuse of coolly assassinating a Pennsylvania state trooper.

IT'S OVER! Paula officially files for divorce from Robin

EXCLUSIVE NYPD's 'Summer All Out' comes to an end — for most

The end has come for an NYPD initiative that flooded 15 commands with extra cops to fight gun crime — but not for a handful of officers, one of whom was accused of pulling a retirement switcheroo to dodge the assignment.

One dead, another injured as Arizona landscapers attacked by 800,000 BEES

A man was killed and another injured after a marauding cloud of more than 800,000 bees attacked them as they did lawn Work.

MONKEY BUSINESS: N.Y. court to hear arguments that chimps have rights

A state appeals court will decide in coming weeks whether chimpanzees are entitled to 'legal personhood' in a case that could lead to expanded rights for animals such as gorillas, elephants and dolphins, according to the lawyer advocating for a 26-year-old chimp named Tommy.

British terror suspect ID'd as medical student who tweeted about 'war' just hours before he was swept up in London raids

“Oi lads… I smell war.” Those were the words a young medical student and suspected Islamic State sympathizer tweeted just hours before he was swept up in a series of predawn terror raids in London.

'They lied about me in every way': Angry Amanda threatens to sue In Touch, Star

Kim Jong ill? Analysts say 27-year-old sister Kim Yo Jong may be running North Korea

Where is Kim Jong Un? The saber-rattling North Korean leader has not been seen in public for more than a month, spurring rumors he is ill and leading to speculation over who - if anyone - has filled the power vacuum in Pyongyang.

GRRROWL! Bobcats seen prowling in town of Ardsley Village outside of Westchester

The big cats that used to roam all of New York are reclaiming some of their territory.

Fired Catholic high school teacher, 28, may be pregnant with 17-year-old student’s child: charges

Mary F. Gilles, 28, was fired from Minnesota's Pacelli High School Tuesday after allegedly confessing to the sexual trysts which began in her home back in February.

EXCLUSIVE LaGuardia Airport cabin cleaners walked off the job claiming unsafe, unsanitary conditions

Fed up over what they say are unsafe and unsanitary working conditions, dozens of LaGuardia Airport cabin cleaners walked off the job Wednesday night.

New York

Bondy: Sayreville hazing scandal brings back memories of abuse all too familiar for many young athletes — myself included

This happened a long time ago, in a suburban land not far away from Sayreville. I was on the East Brunswick High School junior varsity soccer team, and basically I was being tortured. It wasn't just me.

RACIAL TENSION BOILS OVER: Israel fan slugged by Palestinian outside Barclays Center

A man waving a Palestinian flag slugged a Brooklyn Jewish leader outside the Barclays Center, authorities said Wednesday.

Five people hospitalized after box truck crashes into Bagels for You in Queens: NYPD

Five people were hospitalized after a box truck barreled into a Queens bagel store Wednesday morning. Authorities said the victims suffered injuries that were serious but not life-threatening.

At annual FDNY memorial service, Mayor de Blasio lauds ‘what these heroes have done’

An FDNY lieutenant who died this summer battling a blaze in Brooklyn was remembered on Wednesday during a somber tribute at the Firemen’s Monument on the Upper West Side.

LATEST FROM AROUND NEW YORK

Cuomo commands 32-point lead among women over Astorino in gov. race: poll

Gov. Cuomo's play for women voters appears to be paying off.

Cars could be banned from Central Park for summer 2015 under proposed bill

Two city pols are holding up a stop sign for cars in Central Park.

'TIRED OF HIS ABUSE': Man found dead in Staten Island house set ablaze, wife will be charged with murder: police

An 82-year-old Staten Island man was found bludgeoned in his home Wednesday, and cops say his wife is the killer.

De Niro honors close pal Williams: 'No one made me laugh like Robin'

SUNY board approves creation of 17 new city charter schools

The State University of New York Board of Trustees approved the creation of 17 new city charter schools Wednesday, including 14 to be run by former City Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz.

'Whole family killed': Four people slain in upstate New York home

Four people were found slain inside an upstate New York home Wednesday that neighbors said belonged to a Chinese family with three elementary school-aged children.

Drunk Florida stripper attacks boyfriend with an ax in hotel domestic dispute: cops

Tammy Hiser, 34, was busted at a Days Inn in Daytona Beach early Monday after she tried to hack Andrew Whitaker, 28, to death during a fight over her drinking, according to a report.

Muslim mother barred from Colorado public pool because of dress worn over street clothes

A Colorado city is standing by its decision to turn away a Muslim woman from its recreation center pool for wearing an Islamic dress over a shirt and pants.

BRRRILIANT! 'Frozen'-inspired Wedding dress a huge hit for Disney

MIS-SPRAY-KEN IDENTITY: Cops pepper spray black teen in his own home, mistaking him for burglar

A neighbor called 911 to report a break-in after seeing DeShawn Currie, 18, walk into his home in Fuquay-Varina, N.C., after school on Monday, according to local media.

Bernie Madoff writes emails from prison to defend former co-worker convicted for role in Ponzi scheme

Who better to provide a character witness for a Wall Street swindler than Bernie Madoff, the king of disgraced Ponzi perpetrators himself?

'MURDERERS!' Excalibur the Spanish dog put down after possibly contracting Ebola from infected owner despite protest

The Spanish dog that captured the hearts of hundreds of thousands of people was also feard of having contracted Ebola, and he was euthanized Wednesday afternoon as a preventative measure, according to El Pais.

Daughter of woman beheaded in Oklahoma speaks out, calls mom 'caring and compassionate woman'

The woman who was beheaded by a disgruntled former coworker at Vaughan Foods was a loving wife, mother and grandmother, her daughter said Wednesday in her first public comments about the death.

‘Google me, b---!’ UFC fighter red-faced after bar fight

Inmate chomps on turkey leg, posts pic online with smuggled cellphone

Sports

Jermain Taylor, out on bail for allegedly shooting cousin, captures IBF middleweight title

In a fight that may have set boxing safety standards back a hundred years, Jermain Taylor captured the IBF middleweight title with a unanimous decision victory against Sam Soliman, who fought the second half of the fight with a balky right knee.

Battle of the bullpens between Orioles and Royals in ALCS

The Tigers and Dodgers will be watching their respective League Championship Series from their homes, having been sent packing for an early winter. Perhaps they should take some notes.

With puck set to drop, Daily News breaks down Rangers roster

There will be a No. 19 on the ice for the Rangers’ season opener against the Blues on Thursday night at Scottrade Center, but it won’t be Brad Richards. It will be Jesper Fast. There will be a No. 15: Tanner Glass, not Derek Dorsett. No. 22 is Dan Boyle, not Brian Boyle. No. 13 on this roster is not Dan Carcillo; it’s Kevin Hayes. No. 24 is Ryan Malone, not Ryan Callahan.

Allred says Goodell’s adviser is mum on details of C.J. Spillman case

Gloria Allred still has more questions than answers after meeting with Roger Goodell’s sex-crimes adviser on Wednesday in New York. The civil rights attorney said former Manhattan prosecutor Lisa Friel, hired by Goodell last month to advise the NFL commissioner on criminal cases, told her the league is working on making its personal conduct policy consistent and transparent.

Teresa: 'I wish I could do everything differently'

U.S. needs to sway Turkey to join fight against ISIS

The war of words between the United States and Turkey over the next steps in Syria and the response to the crisis in Kobani is an early sign of the tough job the Obama administration is going to have building and maintaining a regional coalition to counter the Islamic State.