Bronx Zoo deadly escaped Egyptian Cobra is found alive after 6 days on the lam

Snakes alive! - the cobra has been found.

The Bronx Zoo's escaped snake was snared in the House of Reptiles on Thursday, six days after she slithered out of her enclosure.

"We found our snake and we're very happy," Jim Breheny, the zoo's director, told the Daily News.

The fanged fugitive was spotted coiled in a corner around 9 a.m., during one of three daily sweeps by a half-dozen zoo workers.

Using special tongs and hooks, they easily apprehended the deadly Egyptian cobra, which is now under observation.

"We knew it was going to be a game of patience. We set the place up to make it easier to search," Breheny said.

Contrary to one report, the zoo did not set any traps with mice for the snake. It simply kept the Reptile House dark and quiet.

"We wanted to just let her feel comfortable," he said. "We did everything we could to help her feel secure."

The snake escaped from a fiberglass box with a sliding glass front while no one was around.

"Clearly she finagled her way out of the enclosure," Breheny said of the cold-blooded Houdini.

Zoo officials are now reviewing the safety of the enclosures and plan to reopen the Reptile House soon.

The cobra will eventually go on exhibit - which should be a big draw, given its notoriety.

The hunt for the missing adolescent made headlines across the globe and prompted either anxiety or amusement from New Yorkers.

An anonymous wit even created a Twitter feed chronicling the reptile's made-up misadventures - and picked up nearly 200,000 followers, from Mayor Bloomberg to Ellen DeGeneres.

All along, zoo officials said they were confident the pencil-thin 20-inch-long reptile was still somewhere in the House of Reptiles, not roaming the city.



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/03/31/2011-03-31_bronx_zoos_deadly_escaped_egyptian_cobra_is_caught__near_the_reptile_house.html#ixzz1IE7hSLGX

NYC patient infected with AIDS virus by transplant

ATLANTA – Health officials are reporting that a patient was infected with the AIDS virus through a kidney transplant from a live donor.

They are calling it the first confirmed instance of HIV spreading through an organ transplant from a live donor since routine laboratory screening of donors began in the 1980s.

It happened in New York City in 2009, but New York City health officials said Thursday that they only learned of the case late last year.

The male donor had been tested for HIV about 10 weeks before he donated a kidney. Health officials believe he was infected in the time between that test and the surgery.

No other details about the donor or recipient were released. Health officials say both are alive and receiving HIV treatment.

Travel Picks: Top 10 big cities that are not capitals

SYDNEY - What's the capital of Australia? If you answered Sydney, you're wrong but in good company, with travel website VirtualTourist.com coming up with a list of the 10 most surprising non-capital cities in the world.

"We've been conditioned to think that because a certain city is the biggest or most popular in its state or country it must be the capital, but that's often not the case. I think some of the cities named on this list might really shock people," VirtualTourist.com general manager Giampiero Ambrosi said.

1. New York City, New York
It may be king of the hill and the top of the heap, but only figuratively. NYC is not the state capital, an honor given to the upstate town of Albany, which is also the birthplace of perforated toilet paper.

2. Sydney, Australia
Iconic though its harbor and opera house may be, it doesn't get star billing. Canberra, which is just a few years away from its centennial celebration, is actually capital of the land "Down Under."

3. Chicago, Illinois
They may have the market cornered on deep dish pizza and football, but the Windy City is the only state title this big city has. Springfield, home to Abraham Lincoln and the annual state fair, is actually the Midwestern state's capital.

4. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
It's fun, exciting and has something for everyone, but that still doesn't make it Brazil's capital. While the city famous for the carnival used to be the capital, Brasilia now takes that position.

5. Istanbul, Turkey
It may have served as capital to ancient Romans and Ottomans, but that designation is long gone for Istanbul. Ankara, a city that is perhaps most famous for its angora-producing goats, is the capital.

6. Geneva, Switzerland
Neither this nor Zurich serve as this precise country's capital. The picturesque, tranquil, UNESCO-recognized town of Bern holds this honor.

7. Johannesburg, South Africa
Interestingly, South Africa has three capital cities, none of which are "Jo'Burg". Divided by branch of government, the capitals are: capital of the judiciary is Bloemfontein, capital of the administrative branch is Pretoria with Cape Town acting as the country's legislative capital.

8. Timbuktu, Mali
Mysterious, exotic, and perhaps the country's most recognizable name, it takes second place to the city of Bamako. Not only is Bamako supposedly the fastest growing city in Africa, but it has emerged as a world-respected center for music, attracting huge industry names to its local pubs where hometown artists play through the night.

9. Las Vegas, Nevada
Betting types gambling on the City of Sin also being the state capital would find themselves with empty pockets. The more family-oriented Carson City wins this hand.

10. Casablanca, Morocco
Not only is Casablanca not the capital of Morocco, neither are the other two top contenders, Fez or Marrakesh. Peaceful and culture-rich Rabat serves as this North African country's capital.

H.S. student Zhanna Smsarian charged after she splashed classmate with acid to 'burn her eyes out'

Zhanna Smsarian, 16, leaves Brooklyn Criminal Court after her arraignment for allegedly throwing acid on her classmate during chemistry class.

A Brooklyn teen, irate over a classmate's play for a mutual male friend, tried to blind the girl by splashing her with acid during chemistry class, authorities said Thursday.

Sobbing suspect Zhanna Smsarian, 16, was freed Thursday on $7,500 bail for the attack one day earlier on Albina Eshimbaeva, 15, in the first-floor lab at Fort Hamilton High School.

The suspect told a police officer she "was trying to burn Eshimbaeva's eyes out," according to court documents.

The pair were friends before their falling out over a 22-year-old Staten Island man who had briefly dated Eshimbaeva.

The older man said they went out for a week before breaking up - and then the trouble began.

"[Eshimbaeva] was stalking me," said the Egyptian-American man. The spurned teen also mistook his friendship with Smsarian as romance, the man said, creating further tension.

The man told his woes to Smsarian, who assured him that she would handle things.

"I told her to do what she had to do, but I didn't expect her to throw acid," said the man, whose name is Mohammad.

Doctors who treated Eshimbaeva said the teen could have been blinded. Instead, she only suffered skin irritation because the diluted solution contained just 10% acid, sources said.

After Smsarian emptied the acidic bottle on her adversary just before the bell rang, a teacher quickly flushed Eshimbaeva with water.

She was rushed to the burn unit at Staten Island University Hospital and was later released.

"They made a fake fire drill, and got everybody out of the school," said student Mohammad Elashry, 15. "They took us out the sides. Then the cops came in, and took her out the front."

Smsarian, a volleyball player for the school team, told a police officer she "was trying to burn Eshimbaeva's eyes out," according to court documents.

The tall teen, an ROTC member still wearing her fatigues, was arraigned in Brooklyn Criminal Court for attempted assault and a slew of other charges.

"She's never been in any problems before," her lawyer Igor Vaysberg told the judge. "She's an honor roll student with excellent grades."

Her parents, Vaysberg said, were "destroyed."

A Department of Education spokeswoman said the school has also taken disciplinary action against Smsarian.

oyaniv@nydailynews.com

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2011/03/10/2011-03-10_16yearold_zhanna_smsarian_charged_after_she_splashed_classmate_with_acid_to_burn.html#ixzz1GFaz42lE