MR GRADY'S DAILY BLOG: AMERICAS EARLY BIRD NEWS

Thursday, January 1, 2015

AMERICAS EARLY BIRD NEWS

NEW YEAR'S NIGHTMARE: Wild stampede results in 36 dead, 47 injured in Shanghai chaos

At least 36 people were killed and 47 injured in a New Year’s Eve stampede in Shanghai, China, according to a Chinese state media report.

'WE ARE SUFFOCATING': New Year's Eve inferno kills 3, injures 4 firefighters battling 2-alarm blaze

Three people died and four firefighters were injured when a two-alarm fire tore through a high-rise apartment in Queens.

The first homicide of 2015 takes place in the Bronx on Thursday morning with man being shot in head and torso

A 26-year-old male was fatally shot and died shortly after being rushed to Lincoln Medical Center.

DEADLY GIFT: Idaho mom accidentally shot to death by tot son in Walmart given gun purse for Christmas by hubby

Veronica Rutledge's husband gave her a new purse for Christmas designed to conceal weapons that she had with her at Walmart.

2015 Preview: The return of 'Star Wars,' the end of Don Draper and Taylor's huge tour

'Our ER nurses see a lot of terrible things... when they saw his body, they wept': DA pushing for death penalty in torture death of Pennsylvania boy

Gary Fellenbaum, 23, and the boy’s mother Jillian Tait, 31, pleaded not guilty to the torture death of 3-year-old Scott McMillan.

WATCH ON PAR: Dad plays dentist with a golf club, yanking son’s tooth with floss and ball

This goof ball used a golf ball to yank his son’s tooth.

SEE IT Child goes on epic rampage at Florida Dollar General store

You might have thought it was a Tallahassee tornado by all the damage inflicted at a Florida Dollar General store.

PHOTOS FROZEN APPLE! De Blasio, Idina Menzel and New Yorkers say goodbye to 2014

VIDEO Tanks for the help! Driver has a gas trying to figure which side her tank is on

Ever forget which side your gas tank is on? This woman in the United Kingdom did too – five times.

De Blasio reappoints judge who was criticized for releasing man accused of threatening NYPD cops

Bill de Blasio had OK’d a judge who came under fire last week for releasing a man accused of threatening cops.

Ind. couple charged with murder for starving 3-week-old baby

Lakeland, Fla., police have a charged a couple from Indiana with first-degree murder for starving their 22-day-old daughter to death.

PHOTOS From Sydney to Moscow to Beijing, the rest of the planet rings in 2015 in style

S.I. bar owner to host benefit for NYPD cops Liu, Ramos fund

The latest New Yorker donating to the families of slain Officer Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu is raising the bar on donations.

S.C. mother working as escort charged with son's death

South Carolina mother who was charged with death of 3-year-old son brought him along while she worked as an escort.

Gov. Cuomo uses pardon power to clear ex-cons with charges threatening immigration status

Cuomo exercised his pardon power Wednesday to clear two ex-cons of charges that threatened their immigration status.

From ‘conscious uncoupling’ to royal heartbreak: See 2014's shocking celebrity splits

Take a look back at the top 20 most shattering celebrity break-ups of 2014.

IN MEMORIAM: Stars we lost in '14, who still burn bright

In memoriam: From Robin Williams to Joan Rivers, the Daily News takes a look back at the notable deaths of 2014.

HOW WE COVERED IT: A new mayor, Sochi, celebrities lost too soon, ISIS terror — Look back at some of year's best News fronts

From the death of Robin Williams and Philip Seymour Hoffman to the rise of ISIS, the Daily News has covered the biggest stories of 2014.

FLASHBACK Solange Knowles attacks Jay Z in elevator at Met Gala after-party

Jay Z got a beatdown at the hands and feet of Beyoncé’s hot-headed little sister while the three rode in a Manhattan hotel elevator — and video of the attack is burning up the Internet.

Eric Garner to the Ebola scare, photos from the big stories of 2014

As 2014 winds down, take a look back at some of the biggest news stories of the year ...

Wrong arm of the law: Bizarre crimes of 2014 highlight the odd, wacky side of misdemeanors

Alleged criminals found new, and weird, ways to get in trouble with the law in 2014.

FLASHBACK Kim Kardashian bares all in newly released full-frontal nude photo

Kim Kardashian is really trying her best to "break the internet."

The 10 best viral Internet animal moments in 2014 caught on camera

The Daily News ranks the 10 best videos featuring animals that occurred over the past year.

FLASHBACK Staten Island man dies after NYPD cop puts him in chokehold — SEE THE VIDEO

A 400-pound asthmatic Staten Island dad died Thursday after a cop put him in a chokehold and other officers appeared to slam his head against the sidewalk, video of the incident shows.

The top 20 most shocking celebrity splits of 2014

They say breaking up is hard to do, but in Hollywood it seems like staying together is the real challenge. Take a look back at the top 20 most shocking celebrity splits of 2014 ...

New York

EXCLUSIVE Bill de Blasio's tense relationship with the NYPD casting shadow over DNC bid

De Blasio's awful relationship with city’s police unions may be casting a shadow over his bid to bring the DNC to Brooklyn.

Queens pol wants local spa shut down after patron's death

State Sen. Tony Avella (D—Queens) is calling for the closure of College Point’s Spa Palace in the aftermath of a patron’s death on Sunday.

Jeb Bush, wife donate $10G to slain NYPD cops' mortgage fund

Jeb Bush and his wife are donating $10,000 to help buy the homes of slain NYPD Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos.

ANOTHER anti-de Blasio banner flies along the Hudson River

The banner calls for Mayor de Blasio to apologize to cops and is set to fly over the Hudson River, beginning at 2 p.m. on Wednesday.

Court upholds outdoor smoking ban for New York State parks

A ban on outdoor smoking in New York State parks was upheld Wednesday by a midlevel court.

LATEST FROM AROUND NEW YORK

State minimum wage increases to $8.75 an hour

The state minimum wage increased on Wednesday to $8.75 an hour, up from $8 an hour.

Judith Ripka sued by designer over sex for furniture claim

An interior decorator is suing a jewelry designing, claiming she ordered him to trade sex for furniture.

Cuomo began second term in NYC instead of Albany plans

Cuomo quietly began his second term at midnight with his ailing father and other family in New York City.

Hit-and-run driver kills woman outside Mt. Sinai hospital

A woman was crossing the street when she was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver outside Mt. Sinai St. Luke’s Hospital.

Kathy Lee & Hoda: Our 2014 roundup takes us on a trip from Venice to (Bruno) Mars

Senators seek answers on technology sweeping cellphone data

Panel leaders are seeking answers from the Obama administration about use of technology that sweeping up cellphone data.

Maryland police look for bank robber

Police are looking for a man who robbed a Silver Spring bank and for people who picked up some of the stolen money he dropped while fleeing.

'SLASHER' BOOKED: Man who allegedly attacked ‘Mob Wives’ star’s boyfriend in Brooklyn turns himself in

Rodolfy (Rudy) Lopez, 35, attacked London Rene, 37, with a boxcutter outside Club Output in Williamsburg on Saturday, according to cops.

Chinese man jailed 13 years for killing, eating 3 tigers

A Chinese businessman was sentenced to 13 years in prison after he killed and ate three tigers.

Can you guess the heartthrob in disguise?

'I didn't know she was this sick': Great grandmother attacks 10-year-old Miami girl with hammer, police say (VIDEO)

Iona Aiken, 79, was charged with aggravated child abuse after striking her great granddaughter four times in the head with a metal hammer on Monday before the mother rushed the child to a neighbor for help, police said.

Ebola may have been caused by infected bats in a tree: study

The first patient to become infected with Ebola may have gotten it while playing in a hollowed-out tree that housed infected bats.

Spider-Dad’s 5-year-old son dies of brain tumor

Spider-Dad has lost his son and No. 1 fan after a courageous battle with brain cancer.

Baby found dead in Ohio creek, mother charged with child endangerment

Fourteen-month-old Cameron Beckford was abandoned by his mother on a stranger’s porch in Ohio, and police believe his body was found in a creek Wednesday morning.

Sports

Sugar Bowl Preview: No.1 Alabama should handle No. 4 Ohio St.

The battle-tested Crimson Tide cruised through the Iron Bowl and SEC championship game to claim the top seed, and Heisman Trophy finalist Amari Cooper (1,656 receiving yards and 14 TDs) was the biggest reason. The wideout can gain separation from defenders and go for big plays deep with quarterback Blake Sims.

Knicks need a new year as 2014 ends with predictable whimper

Phil Jackson has promised a better year to come for the Knicks and their fans, but a hideously bad 2014 concluded with a familiar whimper.

For 2015, Giants don't have major roster overhaul in works

Tom Coughlin is coming back, and Jerry Reese is returning. And they won't be the only ones back in East Rutherford in 2015, either.

Clippers' Doc Rivers was once in Knicks' Derek Fisher's boat

Doc Rivers entered the head-coaching ranks without any experience, albeit with a few years of broadcasting between his NBA playing days and his move to the sidelines with Orlando in 1999. Before his Clippers sent first-year coach Derek Fisher and the Knicks to their NBA-high 29th loss on Wednesday night, Rivers talked about enduring a 24-58 campaign in Boston.