Back in Eastern Zone

Back in Eastern Zone

INDIANAPOLIS — After a maddening two years in which Indiana residents saw the official time shift this way and that, it looks like the pendulum is finally about to stop swinging.

The U.S. Department of Transportation, which regulates time zones, announced Thursday that five southwestern Indiana counties will be switched back from the Central Time Zone to the Eastern Zone beginning Nov. 4, when daylight-saving time ends.

It appears to be the final step to erase the chronological confusion created when Indiana decided to start following daylight-saving time in 2005. The five counties — Daviess, Dubois, Knox, Martin and Pike — were among eight that federal officials had allowed to switch from Eastern to Central time in 2006.

Store, firefighters fined

COLUMBIA, S.C — State regulators fined the Charleston Fire Department and a furniture store Thursday for violating safety standards in a blaze that killed nine firefighters. The state Occupational Safety and Health Administration did not say that the violations led directly to the June 18 deaths of nine firefighters. It was the nation’s single worst loss of firefighters since the 2001 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center. The combined fines totaled $42,100.

The report cited the fire department for four violations, including one “willful” violation for having an inadequate command structure that could ensure firefighter safety in an emergency. In all, the department was hit with four violations totaling $9,325 in fines.

’Raptors had feathers

WASHINGTON — Velociraptor, the terrifying predator made famous in the movie “Jurassic Park,” appears to have had feathers in real life. A close study of a velociraptor forearm found in Mongolia shows the presence of quill knobs, bumps on the bone where the feathers anchor, researchers report in today’s edition of the journal Science.

Dinosaurs are believed to be ancestors to modern birds. Evidence of feathered dinosaurs has been found in recent years, and now velociraptor can be added to that list. The velociraptor the researchers studied was about 3 feet tall and weighed about 30 pounds. The size of these animals was exaggerated in the movie.

Vigilante on board?

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When the mayor named a 73-year-old grandmother to the city’s park board — which considers issues like off-leash dog areas and outdoor party permits — the move might have gone largely unnoticed. But Frances B. Semler’s appointment could now cost the city millions of dollars because she is a member of the Minutemen, a group that advocates vigilante patrolling of the Mexican border and reports illegal immigrants to authorities.

Her membership has drawn sharp criticism from the National Council of La Raza, the nation’s largest Hispanic advocacy group, and the NAACP. Both groups are threatening to show their displeasure by canceling conventions scheduled to be held in Kansas City. The NCLR’s four-day convention in 2009 is expected to generate $5.5 million in revenue for hotels, restaurants and other businesses. The weeklong conference by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 2010 could bring in $9 million.

Meteorite hits Peru

LIMA, Peru — Peruvian astronomers said Thursday that evidence shows a meteorite crashed near Lake Titicaca over the weekend, leaving an elliptical crater and magnetic rock fragments in an impact powerful enough to register on seismic charts. As other astronomers learned more details, they too said it appears likely that a legitimate meteorite hit Earth on Saturday — an rare occurrence.

More details emerged when astrophysicist Jose Ishitsuka of Peru’s Geophysics Institute reached the site about 6 miles from Lake Titicaca. He confirmed that a meteorite caused a crater 42 feet wide and 15 feet deep, the institute’s president, Ronald Woodman, told The Associated Press on Thursday. Ishitsuka recovered a 3-inch magnetic fragment and said it contained iron, a mineral found in all rocks from space. The impact also registered a magnitude-1.5 tremor on the institute’s seismic equipment — that’s as much as an explosion of 4.9 tons of dynamite, Woodman said.

Terrorism arrests

MADRID, Spain — Spanish police and the FBI arrested two Pakistani nationals in a joint operation in Madrid and Barcelona on suspicion of being involved in financing international terrorism, the Interior Ministry said Thursday.

The men, identified as Anar Muhammad Shan and Preces Mehmood Sandhu, were also held on suspicion of belonging to a terrorist organization, a ministry statement said. Among items seized were documents showing $74,360 had been transferred to radical Islamic sympathizers in Arab countries and $9,820 in cash, it said.

Associated Press