Hedgehog Killed in Chinatown Fire; Woman's Body Found in Suitcase in Harlem; Senate Passes $160B Defense Bill

Adorable animals in trouble.

• Yesterday it was reported that a wolverine (illegal to be kept in New York as housepets) was killed in a fire in Chinatown on Tuesday night. It was not a wolverine, but instead a two-year-old hedgehog (also illegal) named Lillith and three-year-old rabbit named Velma. (Hug your hedgehogs!) The pets' owner's two cats were saved. Four people were injured in the fire, which residents believe may have been electrical. [DNA Info]

• A woman's body was found in a suitcase after midnight in front of Rao's at East 114th Street and Pleasant Avenue last night. According to cops, "the woman was dark-skinned and in her 20s or 30s." [CBS]

• Democratic aides expect an initial Senate vote on the 9/11 Health bill, which would help people who became ill from toxins in the area after the attacks, late this morning. [NBC NY]

• Meanwhile, the Senate just approved a bill that will let the Pentagon spend almost $160 billion on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan "without major restrictions." [Yahoo]

• Today is thought to be the busiest day of the year for UPS, with some 24 million packages being delivered worldwide. Hope you get something good! [WSJ]

• The Al Qaeda salad bar plot (poisoning salad bars and buffets in the U.S. with ricin and cyanide) is again in the mainstream media, with officials saying it's months old, and more a "discussion of "tactics" than actual plot. Still, there are probably other reasons to stay away from the buffet mac and cheese. [CNN]

[JDoll]