■ UNITED STATES
Dog finally returns home
Every day since a tornado damaged the Harris' home and their dog's pen, the family has checked to see whether Pongo made it back. On Friday, nearly three weeks after the storm, he was -- hungry but healthy. The nine-year-old basset hound and blue heeler mix had been missing since the Feb. 5 tornado devastated the Gassville, Arkansas area. He apparently ran off after the tornado broke open a fence. The family has been returning to the home, which they are not living in during repairs, to see whether Pongo returned and to put out food.
■ UNITED STATES
Tastiest tap water chosen
Though they might not believe it, Los Angeles residents have the nation's tastiest tap water, according to the judges of a national competition. The 18th Annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting was held on Saturday in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, with more than 120 waters competing for top honors. Sparkling, tap and bottled water from 19 states and nine foreign countries, including New Zealand, Romania, Macedonia and the Philippines, were in the running. The entries were judged by 10 journalists and food critics. The contest is known as the world's largest and longest-running water tasting. The title for Best Municipal Water this year is shared by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which serves Los Angeles, and Clearbrook in Canada.
■ UNITED STATES
Hair can act as map: study
A single hair is all it takes to map a person's movements across the country with a new test aimed at helping police check alibis and identify murder victims. Using tap water samples and clippings from barbershops across the country, researchers at the University of Utah were able to find significant chemical differences that can be used as geographic markers. The study found that 85 percent of the variation in hydrogen and oxygen isotope levels in a person's hair was due to variations in local drinking water. So a single strand of hair can help trace a person's location during recent weeks or even years.
■ UNITED STATES
Study reveals bee behavior
Killer bees introduced to South America in 1956 have adopted some of the traits of the more docile honey bees they replaced, a study released yesterday found. These more aggressive "Africanized" bees mated with the honey bees introduced by European settlers in the 17th century and now dominate hives from Brazil all the way up to the southwestern part of the country. The most successful of the bees are hybrids that carry some of the traits of the original settlers, according to the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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