MR GRADY'S DAILY BLOG: AMERICAS EARLY BIRD NEWS

EXCLUSIVE 'You used to be a hard worker when you were a guy': Former Forever 21 employee files suit after being mocked by bosses during gender transition

Alexia Daskalakis, 22, says she was merciless mocked by Forever 21 bosses while she was transitioning to a woman.

BREAKING Gunmen attack Kenya university, killing 15 and wounding 29 in 'fierce shootout'

Gunmen attacked Garissa University College early Thursday, shooting indiscriminately and killing at least two people, police said.

Compromise expected for Indiana's 'religious freedom' law to ensure LGBT protection: report

Indiana Republican leaders are expected to announce an alteration to the state’s wildly polarizing Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Grandson of Getty Oil tycoon filed restraining order against 'deranged' ex-gal pal before death: court papers

J. Paul Getty, who was found dead and bleeding from his rectum in his L.A. home, claimed that Lanessa Grace DeJonge — the ex-girlfriend who reportedly found him dead — was using his mysterious medical condition against him.

'Royals' Buckingham Palace publicity stunt fooled NBC News

STILL RUNNING WILD AND FREE! Coyote spotted on roof of bar is now roaming borough

The wiley coyote spotted Sunday atop a Long Island City bar seems to have disappeared without a trace after eluding cops, authorities said.

EXCLUSIVE De Blasio, Schneiderman to announce task force fighting fake immigration lawyers

Mayor de Blasio, state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman are set to announce a joint task force fighting fake immigration lawyers.

'IT WAS STOPPING A SIN': Dad insists he had to arrange marriage for daughter, 12, with older man to protect her from premarital sex: reports

Fearing his daughter would quickly become active with premarital sex, he arranged a marriage with a then-26-year-old man, who had sex with his daughter four times at a hotel and the father's home, according to Sky News.

Monica 'View'-insky? Source says she won't host gabfest

EXCLUSIVE Bronx jury says DNA is ‘iffy’ and acquits Dale Robertson in 2006 murder of Stacey Inman after he spent 6 years in jail

Jurors rejected DNA evidence Wednesday that linked a Bronx man to a cold-case killing of a pregnant nursing student.

'Get ready to die': Armed Oregon man threatens teens before being thwarted by mystery man on a motorcycle

An armed Oregon man allegedly told two teens to get "ready to die" moments before a stranger on a motorcycle saved the day.

N.J. Sen. Robert Menendez indicted after federal corruption probe into his exchange of gifts with doctor

The Justice Department charged the New Jersey Democrat with using his power as a senator to advance the business interests of a friend in exchange for gifts.

'I JUST KEPT SMACKING HIM': Homeless man saves D.C. woman from rape, beats attacker with stick: report

The 23-year-old suspect, Alemen Gonzalo, was bleeding from his head when he was cuffed near the scene of the crime, police said. He was charged with assault with the intent to commit first-degree sexual abuse.

Butt seriously, THAT'S what you wear on stage?!

BREAKING Suicide bombing in eastern Afghanistan kills 16, wounds 40: official

The explosion in the eastern city of Khost wounded a local member of parliament, according to a spokesman.

Family of 4 found dead in suspected murder-suicide in Tulsa, Okla.

A family of four was found dead in a Tulsa, Okla. home Wednesday afternoon in what police called a murder-suicide.

McDRUNK! Woman wearing only bra and panties busted for DUI at Florida drive-thru

An underwear-clad woman whose blood-alcohol content was three times the legal limit got busted at a Florida fast-food drive-thru.

Rick's Cabaret agrees to settlement with dancers who say they were stripped of cash

Rick’s Cabaret became the latest jiggle joint to agree to a settlement with dancers who said they were stripped of cash they should have been allowed to keep.

New York

EXCLUSIVE Lawyer, a fixture at the Occupy Wall Street protests, gets $25K settlement after being beaten by cops

A lawyer who says cops beat him has scored a $25,000 settlement from the city.

EXCLUSIVE Senate Judiciary Committee chairman opens investigation into NYCHA's sale of new supplies

Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee has opened an investigation into NYCHA’s sale of supplies.

OFF THE HOOK: 15-year-old girl gets probation for role in brutal brawl at Brooklyn McDonald’s that went viral

A 15-year-old Brooklyn girl must adhere to a curfew and participate in a mentor program run through the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office.

NYPD uses ShotSpotter technology to detect Brooklyn shooting after locals fail to call 911

Twenty-four bullets were fired from an automatic pistol during a single shooting in Brooklyn last month — but no one bothered to call 911.

Staten Island Ferry to add 6 round-trips per week to schedule

The Staten Island Ferry is getting a boost in service, Mayor de Blasio announced Wednesday.

LATEST FROM AROUND NEW YORK

Bratton SLAMS claim he stormed out of meeting with de Blasio, says 'Alexander Hamilton would be embarrassed' of false reporting

Police Commissioner Bill Bratton flat-out denied a report Wednesday that he stormed out of a City Hall meeting and vowed to go around Mayor de Blasio to secure 1,000 new cops.

Four pet cats reunited with their thankful owners after East Village blast after tireless campaign

Four beloved cats living in one of the buildings badly damaged by a gas explosion that rocked the East Village last week have been reunited with their owners.

Sen. Chuck Schumer's path to becoming minority leader threatened by spat with Sen. Dick Durbin

Sen. Chuck Schumer’s easy road to becoming the Senate’s Democratic leader is threatened by a spat with Sen. Dick Durbin.

Elderly woman accidentally hits, maims pedestrian outside Queens Dunkin' Donuts

An 85-year-old driver accidentally caused a horrific collision that nearly cleaved a 64-year-old woman’s leg, police said.

Elisabeth Moss gets intimate with her 'Mad Men' character

Arrest made in hotel murder of D.C. attorney who was found lying in a blood-covered hotel room: cops

Jamyra Gallmon, 21, was charged Wednesday with 30-year-old David Messerschmitt's murder at the Donovan Hotel, Metropolitan Police announced.

Rapper arrested after allegedly coercing 16-year-old girl to dance at his Baton Rouge strip club, cops say

A Baton Rouge rapper was arrested in connection with an unlicensed strip joint where cops found a 16-year-old runaway dancing for cash.

'It was like a big boom': Pregnant woman, man killed in their Florida bed after SUV plows into their mobile home

Brenda Avilez, 18, who was nine months pregnant, and 21-year-old Ivan Carlos were pronounced dead at the scene of the Lone Oak Mobile Home Park in Palmetto. The fetus did not survive.

Dozens dead after Russian trawler sinks in Sea of Okhotsk

Dozens of people are dead after a Russian freezer trawler sank in the Sea of Okhotsk Thursday morning, rescue workers said.

Aasif Mandvi: Give Trevor Noah a another chance

Brooklyn woman raped, robbed by man following her to apartment: cops

A 64-year-old woman was raped and robbed by a man who followed her into her Brooklyn apartment, cops said Wednesday.

Bikram yoga founder dismisses rape allegations: ‘Women loves me ... I don’t have to assault the women’

Bikram Choudhury, founder of the heat-fueled Bikram yoga, denies that he attacked six female students who are suing him for sexual assault.

Pa. man choked, stabbed, hacked wife before killing himself in gruesome chainsaw murder-suicide: coroner

Christopher Peppelman, 48, hacked 43-year-old estranged wife Nicole in the abdomen, CBS Philly reported, citing a coroner’s findings.

I WASN'T SUICIDAL: Ex-Fortune 500 executive says he didn't have death wish during deadly crash that killed young parents-to-be

In December 2013, Robert Dellinger drove his pickup truck across a median and smashed into a SUV carrying 24-year-old Amanda Murphy, who was eight months pregnant, and her fiance, 29-year-old Jason Timmons.

Sports

State attorney generals are fed-up with supplements

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman isn’t letting up on the supplement industry.

Carmelo Anthony shows face at Garden for Knicks vs. Nets

Carmelo Anthony was at the Garden on Wednesday to rehab his surgically repaired knee, and he was spotted interacting with a few teammates.

Jets eye ex-Patriots running back Stevan Ridley

The Jets are taking a look at another ex-Patriot.

Tom Brady wins again ... on April Fools Day

Tom Brady earned kudos for his game this year — his Facebook game.

New York Auto Show: 2016 Smart ForTwo is the right size

The pint-sized Smart ForTwo is making its U.S. debut at the 2015 New York International Auto Show.

Photos New York Auto Show: Throwback to the 1930s

We throw it back to all of the automobile beauty of the New York auto shows of the 1930s. Taking place at Grand Central Palace, these auto shows show the grandeur of burgeoning automobile industry.

Kathie Lee & Hoda: We're Wilde over Olivia's post-baby body comments

Passenger upset over wait time for sandwich PUNCHES flight attendant, forces emergency landing in Rome

The easyJet plane, carrying 180 passengers, had taken off from Geneva and was bound for Pristina, the capital of Kosovo. It touched down in Rome, where police arrested the unruly man.

First U.S. woman to be convicted of feticide to serve 20 years in prison

Purvi Patel was found guilty last month after prosecutors argued the 33-year-old took drugs from China to end her pregnancy in 2013, and then dumped the baby’s body in a trashcan.

SICKO DOCTOR: Ariz. pediatrician sentenced 14 years in prison for distributing child pornography

Emilio Luna, 44, was also handed down a lifetime term of supervised release after his federal prison stint, the U.S. Attorney’s office announced Tuesday.

17-year-old rapist arrested in stabbing death of 29-year-old Oregon woman

The case’s prosecutor had suspected Jaimie Tinoco’s rape and kidnapping of the 39-year-old woman on the University of Oregon campus followed other serious crimes, but until this week it wasn’t clear what.

Lena goes topless — again — and tanks in her Spanx

Drunk Maine woman runs down sex offender boyfriend after finding him sexually assaulting girl, 12: cops

James Oliver, 48, was hospitalized with a serious leg injury after the ruckus broke out late Saturday in the rural Lincoln County town of Nobleboro, Maine, authorities said.

'I thought I was going to die': Kentucky grandma fights off bra strangler with ceramic chicken

Patricia Leece, 61, said she thought the person trying to get into her Lexington home was her granddaughter. She mistakenly opened up.

HELLO, HEARTLAND! De Blasio will visit Iowa, Nebraska this month

Mayor de Blasio is hitting the heartland later this month, with back-to-back stops in Iowa and Nebraska.

11 Atlanta educators convicted of racketeering in standardized test grade-inflation conspiracy

Eleven former Atlanta public school educators were convicted Wednesday of racketeering for their role in a wide-ranging conspiracy to inflate scores on students' standardized tests.