news in the new york region this morning:

New York Region News

Elmira: Cremated Remains Recovered
"A large ceramic turtle containing the cremated remains of a woman has been recovered after being accidentally sold for 50 cents at a rummage sale. Anita Lewis, of Elmira, did not know the container held the ashes of her husband’s late wife when she sold the turtle on Saturday..."


New York: Queens: Passenger Sneaks Monkey Aboard Plane
"A man and his small spider monkey were detained yesterday after a flight crew alerted airport officials that they had a monkey aboard their aircraft en route to La Guardia Airport....It was only on the second leg of the flight, from Fort Lauderdale, that other passengers noticed the monkey. “It was clinging to his ponytail underneath his hat,” said Alison Russell, the airline’s spokeswoman."


Manhattan: Principal Faces Dismissal After Religious Ritual
"A principal at a Lower Manhattan high school who performed a Santeria religious ceremony at the school and coerced an assistant to help pay for it is likely to be fired, officials of the Department of Education said yesterday. The principal of Unity Center for Urban Technologies, Maritza Tamayo, paid a friend $1,800 to perform a ritual that involved sprinkling chicken blood on the floors to wipe out negative energy and as an antidote to students who misbehaved, according to a report released yesterday by the department’s special commissioner of investigation."


and in the division of world news:



A giant, smiling Lego man was fished out of the sea in the Dutch resort of Zandvoort on Tuesday.