NYC News Briefs

Missing cobra likely hiding, workers say

Zoo workers continued to search for a venomous cobra that vanished from an enclosure outside public view at the Bronx Zoo.

While the roughly 20-inch-long Egyptian cobra -- a highly venomous species of snake -- has been unaccounted for since Friday afternoon, zoo officials say they're confident it hasn't gone far and isn't in a public area. Its enclosure was in an isolation area not open to visitors.

"To understand the situation, you have to understand snakes," zoo director Jim Breheny said in an email Sunday.

The animals seek out confined spaces, so this one has doubtless hidden in a place it feels safe, he said.

Once the snake gets hungry or thirsty enough to leave its hiding place, workers will have their best opportunity to recover it, Breheny said.

In the meantime, the Reptile House had been closed indefinitely.

The missing cobra is an adolescent of its hooded species, which is believed to be the type of snake that was called an asp in antiquity.

Cobra bites can be deadly if not treated properly, but the snakes aren't likely to attack people unless the reptiles feel threatened, according to a fact sheet on the San Diego Zoo's website.

-- AP

Ferraro Mass for family, friends only

A funeral Mass for Geraldine Ferraro is set for Thursday morning in New York City.

Ferraro, the first woman to run for U.S. vice president on a major party ticket, died Saturday of multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer. She was 75.

The funeral will be held at the Church of Saint Vincent Ferrer in Manhattan. It will be limited to friends and family. No press coverage will be permitted.

Ferraro's family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to several charities including two multiple myeloma research foundations.

-- AP

Sitter given 1 to 3 years for baby death

A New York City babysitter will spend one to three years in prison after the drowning of an 11-month-old boy who was left unattended while she slept.

The sentence for Krystal Khan was announced Monday by Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown.

Khan was convicted last month of reckless assault of a child by a day-care provider and endangering the welfare of a child.

James Farrior died on June 15, 2009.

Prosecutors say Khan took nighttime cold medicine even though she knew it caused drowsiness.

She found the baby after her own 4-year-old woke her up.

James had tumbled headfirst into a mop bucket containing about 6 inches of water.

-- AP

Court tosses verdict for cop shot in leg

An appeals court has thrown out a verdict that awarded $5 million to a former New York City police officer who accidentally shot himself in the knee.

Anderson Alexander claimed he shot himself in 2002 while leaning back in a faulty chair in Brooklyn's 73rd Precinct. He retired after undergoing several surgeries.

The 2008 jury found the city was negligent despite testimony that nothing broke on the chair.

A lower court had declined to throw out the verdict. But last week, the Appellate Division overruled that judge.

Attorney Matthew Naparty said Alexander is evaluating his options.

Tort Division Chief Fay Leoussis said the suit was without merit and the city's Law Department is pleased that the appeals court agreed.

-- AP