In brief: Bronx Zoo finds missing cobra

New York – A highly venomous Egyptian cobra that went missing at the Bronx Zoo was found Thursday after nearly a week on the lam in the reptile house, zoo officials said.

The approximately 24-inch snake was found coiled in a dark corner of the reptile house, about 200 feet from where it had escaped from a holding cage outside the exhibit into a space described by officials as a labyrinth of pipes and equipment.

After its disappearance March 25, the snake quickly became the stuff of urban legend. Someone even started pretending to be the cobra on Twitter and sent fake updates to legions of followers about its supposed escapades on the streets of New York City.

But zoo officials said the snake never left the reptile house.

Judge rules law isn’t in effect

Madison, Wis. – A Wisconsin judge on Thursday did what thousands of pro-union protesters and boycotting Democratic lawmakers couldn’t, halting Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s plans – at least temporarily – to cut most public workers’ pay and strip them of most of their union rights.

Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi issued a declaration stating in no uncertain terms that the collective bargaining law that led to weeks of large protests at the state Capitol had not taken effect, contradicting Republican arguments that it had because a state office published it online.

There are three pending lawsuits challenging the statute.