MR GRADY'S DAILY BLOG: AMERICAS EARLY BIRD NEWS

'I WAS SCARED': North Carolina florist calls in crucial tip that brought down church shooting suspect Dylann Roof, reports say

Debbie Dills (left) was driving to work at a florist shop when she spotted Dylann Roof's (right) black Hyundai and called in a crucial tip.

New Jersey high school valedictorian banned from graduation for sassing his teachers

Devan Solanki is the valedictorian of his New Jersey high school class, but the outspoken senior has been banned from graduation, he says.

Rachel Dolezal unanimously voted off Spokane’s police oversight commission

Dolezal was unanimously voted out of her role leading Spokane’s police oversight commission, following an investigation that found a slew of misconduct and bullying under her watch.

Florida mom leaves two kids, ages 3 and 5, home alone so she can go get drunk: cops

Angelina Lopresti was so intoxicated she drove her car into a marina, then begged first responders to rescue her children from the sinking vehicle. But the youngsters were really at home in bed.

LOVE IS IN THE AIR: Miley finds romance with Victoria's Secret model Stella Maxwell

Missouri woman charged for mother's murder kept strange, secret Facebook accounts: cops

The Missouri woman charged with murdering her own mother had covert Facebook pages under fake names, where she “liked” pictures of sadomasochism and professed her love for her boyfriend.

Brooklyn man convicted of killing friend for ‘hooking up’ with his sister

Johnny Garriga-Velez, 25, shot his friend Shawn White in the hallway of his Coney Island apartment building in December 2013.

Workers at Chinese restaurant zap customer with stun gun during argument over 75 cents

Gary Zheng, 37, and Robert Zheng (pictured), 41, brought the argument out to the street, then punched and zapped the customer who refused to cough up three additional quarters, cops said.

Editorial Dylann Roof is homegrown terrorist born of American racism and Second Amendment extremism

The massacre of nine black women and men in a Charleston church was an act of terrorism by a born-in-the-U.S.A. racist armed with a gun.

SHOW SOME RESPECT: Confederate flag flying high in S.C. after 9 slain

The South Carolina capitol’s U.S. and state flags were lowered to half-staff following the Charleston church shooting — but the Confederate flag was flying at its full height.

THEIR BAD: S.C. newspaper runs gun ad sticker next to massacre story — calls it ‘regrettable’

The Charleston Post and Courier apologized Thursday for gun range ads atop its front page story detailing the city's church rampage.

GOP presidential candidates offer somber words for Charleston murders — but were not linking shootings to gun control

The murders in Charleston were on most of the GOP presidential candidates' minds, but none were willing to blame guns.

Gunman's attack on black S.C. church is motivated by history

Dylann Storm Roof's attack on a S.C. church occurred 200 years after a slave revolt led by Denmark Vesey.

‘WHITE PEOPLE ARE TERRORISTS!’ Heckler yells at CNN during broadcast, calls Don Lemon an ‘Uncle Tom’

"Stop the lies! Stop the lies - he’s an Uncle Tom too. President Obama’s an Uncle Tom too. Uncle Tom!” the woman yelled.

Dylann Roof, suspected Charleston church gunman who killed 9 in massacre, caught in North Carolina

The killer who slaughtered nine worshipers inside a South Carolina church sat with his victims for an hour before he opened fire.

SEE IT Chilling photo shows alleged killer in Bible study group just before he gunned down nine people

A chilling photo shows what appears to be the South Carolina killer in a bible study group before he fatally shot nine people.

President Obama condemns 'heartbreaking' Charleston shooting

President Obama addressed the tragic shooting at a Charleston Church that left nine dead, calling the horrific incident 'heartbreaking.'

GUEST COLUMN Charleston shooting: It's time to have open dialogue about racism and privilege in America

We must understand the salience of systemic racism and the dominant cultural narrative in America.

BALDWIN IS BLACK AND BLUE: Ireland has mystery bruises

Long Island Rail Road train slams into 2 cars, leaving 2 injured

Two people were injured Thursday when a Long Island Railroad train smashed into two cars in Suffolk County, a day after the MTA launched a safety campaign targeting the rail crossings.

After marrying, getting a visitor's visa can be hard to get

Once you marry, you may have a harder time getting a visitor’s visa. A U.S. consular officer may think you are moving here to be with your wife.

Woman accused of stalking Yankees GM Brian Cashman lied to get luxury subsidized apartment, prosecutors say

The woman accused of stalking Yankees general manager Brian Cashman “played the system” by lying on paperwork to get a luxury subsidized apartment in Tribeca, prosecutors said.

Non-profit housing homeless, ex-cons denied temporary restraining order to stop city from adding sex offenders

A non-profit that houses the homeless and ex-cons while providing them jobs and assistance was denied a restraining order to stop the city from “swapping” their residents with sex offenders.

FOR BETTER MEETS WORSE: L.A. couple fights cancer together after dual diagnoses

Shad and Shari Martin of Los Angeles learned the sad news within a few weeks of one another, CBS Los Angeles reported.

BYE-BYE BRANDI! ‘Real Housewives’ star leaving show

Brooklyn man who murdered sister, shot niece gets 15 years

William Thurmond shot Carol Lovell, 63, in the chest and grazed Crystal Birk’s forehead 'for no reason' in February 2013, said Birk.

Man plunges six-stories to his death from a building in Koreatown: cops

A man in his 30s plunged six-stories to his death from a building in Koreatown Thursday afternoon, police said.

Durkin: Donald Trump did not have 'hundreds' trying to get into his campaign announcement

Donald Trump claimed Thursday that there were “hundreds and hundreds of people out on the street” trying to get into his campaign announcement two days earlier — but I must have missed them.

PERVERT OF WAL-MART: Ga. woman allegedly stole 131 pairs of panties from megastore

Julia Jones, 22, jammed 131 undergarments from a Wal-Mart into her bags and tried to walk out, authorities said.

Florida robbery suspect bought condoms with stolen credit card: authorities

Jack Noubert, 21, swiped a man’s wallet early Wednesday morning from a Boynton Beach sports bar, and then bought $10 worth of rubbers with the purloined plastic at a 7-11, cops said.

Autos

South Korean cars score big in J.D. Power quality index

Photos Every diesel car, truck, and SUV on the market in 2015

Diesel is growing in popularity in the United States and we have rounded up a list of every diesel model on the market in 2015.

Honda’s Field of Dreams: Inside the Honda Museum

We get unlimited access inside a secret warehouse in Southern California, where Honda keeps its priceless automotive artifacts.

New York

Federal prosecutors, city officials reach tentative agreement on Rikers Island reforms

Federal prosecutors and city officials have reached a tentative agreement on reforms at Rikers Island that include body-cameras for correction officers.

Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman saluted by NYPD for raising $700G for families of slain Officers Rafael Ramos, Wenjian Liu

Zuckerman was saluted by the NYPD Thursday for helping Police Commissioner Bill Bratton keep a promise to aid the families of slain police officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu in their time of need.

City education officials unveil new science curriculum

Officials unveiled a new science curriculum to better prepare kids for science, technology, engineering and math — better known as STEM.

Creep charged with spying on women with hidden cameras sued by victim for $1 million

Olga Kunina claims that Eli Kadoch, 49, planted cameras in a bathroom and bedroom at his townhouse, 7 W. 82nd St.

LATEST FROM AROUND NEW YORK

New York is first state to allow pregnant women to sign up for Obamacare outside enrollment period

Legislators have voted to count pregnancy as a “life event” — making New York the first state in the country to let pregnant women sign up for Obamacare outside the designated enrollment period.

Ex-Rikers captain gets 5 years for letting inmate die

A former Rikers Island captain who allowed a mentally ill inmate to suffer for hours and die was sentenced to five years in prison.

PHOTOS WHAT IN THE WORLD TRADE? Peek inside the Oculus structure

The highly anticipated and very expensive Oculus structure at the World Trade Center transportation hub is set to open to the public later this year.

Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner 'been out of the loop socially'

Houston father indicted on murder charge year after being named a suspect in death of his lesbian daughter and her girlfriend

James Cosby has sat in a jail cell since March 2014, when a prior indictment accused him of dumping two bodies, his own daughter and her girlfriend behind a Port Bolivar convenience store.

Boston Police Academy cadets are likely nation’s first gay couple to join force together

“At the Boston Police Department, there's a seat at the table for everybody. The more diverse we are, the stronger we can be,” Commissioner William Evans said in a statement.

Boko Haram kills 40 in Nigerian village, official says

Militants from the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram killed at least 40 in Nigeria, a local government official said Thursday.

State Senate poised to OK 5-day rent regulation extension for city’s tenants

State Senate was poised to back a temporary four-day extension of the expired city rent regulation laws, two GOP senators said.

PHOTOS Children of Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones just like them!

New York man tries, but fails, to help victim stuck under a lawnmower

Police said a man who lied about being a government rescue worker and offered to help free a victim stuck under a lawnmower actually made the situation worse.

Deportations of undocumented Haitians from Dominican Republic will not be 'witch hunt,' official says

Thousands of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent were bracing themselves for deportation from the Dominican Republic — but the mass roundups many feared did not appear to be happening.

Assistant wrestling coach at Florida high school arrested, accused of soliciting nudes from boys

A wrestling coach at a Florida high school was arrested after he allegedly posed as a girl to get boys to send him nude photos.

Man, 19, wounded in Brooklyn gang shooting last month dies

A 19-year-old Brooklyn man wounded in a gang-related shooting last month died after clinging to life for more than two weeks.

Lamar Odom's best pal died from flesh-eating disease

Paulina Gretzky shows off bikini body just 5 months after giving birth

Sports

Tiger Woods shoots awful 80 at U.S. Open

How could anyone once that good be this bad? Two weeks ago, Tiger Woods shot his highest score ever, a third-round 85 at the Memorial, a tournament he had won five times. Thursday, he lowered his bar at the U.S. Open.

Mets hope deGrom, Harvey, Noah can match Braves legends

Jacob deGrom grew up a huge Braves fan. Then a long and lanky shortstop, the Florida native idolized Chipper Jones.

BASEBALL INSIDER Don't punish Pablo Sandoval for Instagram!

If you had to watch the Boston Red Sox every day this season, you would seek escape on Instagram, too. That, at least, is the first thought after seeing the news that third baseman Pablo Sandoval was benched for liking an Instagram photo during the seventh inning of Wednesday’s game in Atlanta.