MR GRADY'S DAILY BLOG: AMERICAS EARLY BIRD NEWS

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

AMERICAS EARLY BIRD NEWS

EXCLUSIVE NYCHA throws out $550G in new appliance parts, plumbing fixtures and other supplies that were bought over the years but deemed useless

In the past few weeks, NYCHA workers have chucked out $550,000 in taxpayer-purchased appliance parts, plumbing fixtures, drapery rods and a host of other items destined for recycling centers or landfills.

EXCLUSIVE Gang member wanted for murder of Florida teen cuffed in Brooklyn

Christopher Walker had been indicted in the fatal shooting of Noricia Talabert (pictured) in a car in Florida City, authorities said.

French terrorist who beheaded his boss is found dead in cell

Yassin Salhi was held in isolation at the Fleury-Merogis prison after the barbaric beheading during the summer. The 35-year-old was found hanged with bed sheets from his cell and later died.

Sponsor Content Provided By

Girl Power: Two Rock Stars Chat Life, Music and the Industry [Watch]

Indie rockers discuss the transformative nature of performing, the awesome responsibility of instilling confidence in others and what kind of legacy they want to leave behind.

In the third episode of In Focus, indie rockers Alexis Krauss of Sleigh Bells and Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast discuss the transformative nature of performing, the awesome responsibility of instilling confidence in others and what kind of legacy they want to leave behind, all in the sporty Ford Focus.

Steve Harvey will return to host Miss Universe pageant

Man named Jihad arrested after telling California police he left bomb in backpack outside their station

Cops in El Monte carried out a controlled explosion on the bag after Jihad Mufaddi Khalaf Haddadin claimed he had left a bomb outside their police station.

Shackled Brooklyn man climbs into hospital bathroom ceiling in NYPD escape attempt only to fall on floor

Alonzo McQueen, 24, still had shackles on his legs when he made his crawl for freedom at Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn, sources said.

Denver man falsely imprisoned after rape victim claimed she saw him in dream released 28 years later

Clarence Moses-EL, 60, had just posted a $50,000 bond that a judge required for his freedom after she overturned his 1988 conviction on rape and assault charges.

SIGN HIM UP! Player seeking NFL job gets shot with Jets

Hacker busted after trying to sell stolen scripts, celeb sex tapes

Alonzo Knowles, 23, of Freeport, Bahama, was arrested in Manhattan Monday after trying to sell scripts to an undercover agent, according to U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.

Fireball blazing over Los Angeles and Las Vegas was Russian rocket booster from Soyuz launch: military

The space junk was mistaken for a mere meteor streaking across the night sky at 7 p.m. local time in Arizona, where the debris began the final legs of its descent alarming those who witnessed it on the ground.

Mo. toddler dies from hyperthermia while parents do meth

On Dec. 18, Lucas Russell Barnes, 25, and Kathleen Peacock, 22, put their 2-year-old son Braydon Barnes in a back room at their St. Charles mobile home, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

8-month-old boy dies in Bronx hospital

Lavelle Langley was picked up from his home on East Tremont and Bronx Park Aves. in West Farms around 1:14 p.m., police said.

VATI-PAN! Church reviewer tears into 'The Force Awakens'

Robert Durst will return to Los Angeles to face charges in killing of woman

Robert Durst has agreed to return to Los Angeles to face charges that he killed a woman to stop her from cooperating with an investigation into the disappearance of his wife, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Survivor rescued 67 HOURS after landslide buries Chinese industrial park

A survivor was pulled from a devastating landslide in China, 67 hours after an industrial park collapsed into a mountain of mud and debris.

Hillary Clinton wants to spend $2B to cure Alzheimer’s disease by 2025

Hillary Clinton unveiled Tuesday a proposal for $2 billion in annual funding to cure Alzheimer’s disease by 2025, calling for doubling federal spending to combat the illness.

Virginia won't recognize some concealed carry permits

If you're a citizen of a state with weaker gun laws than Virginia, check your firearms at the border.

Judge Perez Hilton: Miss Colombia was ‘diva b---- rude’

SEE THE VIDEO Off-duty cop doing Christmas shopping tells News how he took down robbery suspect at Roosevelt Field Mall

The two lawmen — one off duty and the other a retired detective — ran toward danger at the Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City around 1 p.m. Tuesday during the height of the Christmas shopping season.

BETHLEHEM BANS CHRISTMAS! Little upstate town votes to not display any yuletide signs in public

That little town in upstate New York shut down any hopes of happy holidays by voting to not display any "Merry Christmas" signs in public — and even taking down a banner for Hanukkah, too.

VIDEO THAT'S IT! YOU'RE BOTH ON THE NAUGHTY LIST! 13-year-old driver, little sister lead police on high-speed chase

A pint-sized fugitive led Michigan deputies on a harrowing, high-speed chase.

NO SALVATION: Blind bell ringer beaten up on lunch break after suspects accuse him of cutting line at White Plains' Smashburger

Cops Tuesday said a man and woman beat up a blind Salvation Army bell ringer outside a White Plains restaurant.

DRAKE & SLOSH! Bell arrested on suspicion of DUI

THEY TOOK THE OATH! Three 13-year-old N.J. boy scouts, who helped rescue scoutmaster from bear, hailed as heroes

The boys laid down food to lure out the black bear and calmly relayed the horrifying scene to 911 dispatchers.

‘World’s stupidest criminal’ steals Ground Zero shirt covered in toxins

The toxic shirt a man wore while volunteering at Ground Zero was stolen in Miami.

Man who loaned Boston Marathon bombers gun sentenced to 17 months he already served

Stephen Silva told a judge Tuesday in U.S. District Court that he was “young, dumb, and thought I could outsmart everyone.”

Westchester strip club owner sentenced to 37 months in prison in fraud case

Zherka must spend 37 months in prison and cough up more than $8 million after pleading guilty to defrauding banks and the IRS.

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE 2015

HAPPY HOME HAPPY HEART: Some gifts for the castle this holiday season

From wine to mugs, get some inspiration on ways to warm up your home or a friends this holiday season ...

PAJAMA PARTY: Festive jammies for the holidays

Baby, it's cold outside so make sure to wrap up warm this winter in our favorite festive pajamas for the holidays. By Tracy Brock and Raakhee Mirchandani

AUTOS

Google teaming up with Ford for self-driving cars

The tech giant is targeting 2020 to put autonomous cars on the road and looking to team up with the American automaker to do so.

Ford issues recall for 313,000 cars with faulty headlights

The recall includes 2003-05 Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis.

Lexus makes cool and completely unnecessary ice wheels

Lexus designed a unique upgrade for an NX promotion, wheels made entirely of ice.

Review and Test Drive: 2016 Acura MDX

With the new MDX, Acura is doing a lot of things right.

Viral Auto Videos of the week

This week’s slate of videos features everything from Super Mario to .. Wayne Rooney?

New York

Queens man stabbed 4 times by stranger who followed him off subway

The victim, 42, told police he was with his 13-year-old daughter and her friend when a man reeking of booze followed them onto the Forest Hills/71st Ave. station platform.

EXCLUSIVE Queens pols support controversial music festival in Flushing Meadows Corona Park

Several lawmakers are supporting a controversial plan to rent out Flushing Meadows Corona Park for a Coachella-like music festival.

Son of 'You Light Up My Life' songwriter Joseph Brooks loses murder conviction appeal

Nicholas Brooks, 29, was sentenced to 25 years to life for the 2010 drowning of his girlfriend, designer Sylvie Cachay, 33, at the Soho House hotel in the Meatpacking District.

Brooklyn man arrested for possession of Viagra wins $22G lawsuit against NYC

Earl McLeod, 33, filed a lawsuit less than four months ago and the case reached a climax Tuesday without even the briefest of encounters between lawyers in Brooklyn Federal Court.

Death of NYPD Detective Joseph Lemm brings grief to police family that lost relative in Iraq in 2005

“It was day one all over again for us,” said Michelle McNaughton, of hearing that Detective Lemm had been killed by a Taliban suicide bomber in Afghanistan.

LATEST FROM AROUND NEW YORK

CCRB investigator suspended for improperly searching info about NYPD cop

Stanislav Sazonov used CCRB’s confidential tracking system to look up the cop and then revealed information about his years of service during his NYPD investigative interview in August.

Rugby player sued in drunken rampage in NYC

A couple and a tourist are suing a rugby player they say terrorized them while drunkenly rampaging in an Upper West Side building.

FDNY union narrowly agrees to 7-year contract with 11.5% raise over length of deal

The vote to approve the retroactive, seven-year pact passed by fewer than 200 votes, despite concerns that the 11.5% raise over seven years that was offered in the deal was too stingy.