Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Indiana will receive $1.1 million in a settlement with Pfizer Inc. over its marketing of the drugs Zyvox and Lyrica. Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller said Wednesday that the $1.1 million is Indiana's share of a $42.9 million settlement Pfizer reached to resolve allegations that the company unlawfully promoted those drugs. Thirty-two states and the 32 states and the District of Columbia claimed that Pfizer used deceptive practices in marketing Zyvox, an antibacterial agent, and promoted off-label uses for Lyrica, which is used to treat fibromyalgia.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The latest push to move all of Indiana to the Central time zone has stalled after lawmakers decided not to vote on the measure, effectively killing the issue until next year. WRTV-TV reports ( http://bit.ly/yVgGac ) the House Transportation Committee discussed a resolution Wednesday that would have urged the federal government to hold hearings on switching the entire state from Eastern time to Central time. Most of Indiana is on Eastern time, but parts of the state in the Chicago area and the Evansville area are on Central time.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The National Weather Service has confirmed 21 tornadoes touched down this week in Indiana, including four in Orange County. Information posted on weather service websites Friday also showed newly confirmed tornadoes hit Switzerland, Scott and Washington counties Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. The Orange County tornados included one rated as EF-2 on the Enhanced Fujita scale. It packed winds of 115 mph and carved a 200-yard-wide path for a mile through rugged terrain near the Martin County line.

The controversy over so-called "canned hunts" in Indiana is heating up during this legislative session. A "canned hunt" is when marksmen take aim at deer enclosed in a fenced in area. Indiana has five preserves that offer that style of hunting. Right now, you wouldn't be able to start up a new "canned hunt" operation in Indiana because it's illegal. That wouldn't change. But there are five existing fenced preserves operating under a court injunction. Hoosier legislators are considering a proposal to allow those preserves to remain open.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fox News Channel has hired former Democratic Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh as an on-air contributor. The network announced it had hired Bayh to offer commentary and analysis across Fox News' programming ahead of the 2012 elections. Bayh left office in January after representing Indiana for two terms in the Senate. Bayh was considered a moderate within the Democratic Party and regularly appeared on Fox News as a senator. Since leaving politics, Bayh has also signed on as a partner at a law firm and was appointed a senior adviser to private equity firm Apollo Global Management.

PENDLETON, Ind. (AP) — Many states look to Indiana as a model of fiscal austerity, but Indiana might have to find money for new prisons if prosecutors succeed in scuttling a cost-reduction plan. The Legislature had been considering reducing some inmates' sentences and diverting others into community programs to contain the growing prison population and save the state $1.2 billion. But prosecutors complain the state has become too lenient after earlier sentence modifications.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Seven people in Indiana have died of influenza during what is considered one of the worst outbreaks in several years. State health officials say the illness is spreading across Indiana sooner than usual this year. Respiratory epidemiologist Shawn Richards tells The Indianapolis Star most of the flu circulating now is an H3N2 virus that tends to be more severe than some other influenzas. A weekly health department report on flu activity says five of those who died were older than 65 and two were under 18.The next report will be released Wednesday.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A hospital spokeswoman says a 2-year-old girl found alive in an Indiana field after violent storms is the sole survivor of her immediate family. Cis Gruebbel is a spokeswoman for Kosair Children's Hospital in Louisville, Ky. She said Saturday that the girl's mother, father, 2-month-old sister and 3-year-old brother all died Friday when the storms devastated southern Indiana. Gruebbel says the toddler is in critical condition. She would not identify the child and says she could not provide details on the child's ordeal.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana officials say more 850 National Guard soldiers and airmen are positioned around the state to help with storm-related problems along roadways and emergencies like transporting stranded people to hospitals. The soldiers on alert are among the preparations that have been made ahead of the major winter storm hitting the state Tuesday. State homeland security director Joe Wainscott says concerns about the storm's ice and wind include potential widespread and extended power outages and disruptions to travel and communications.

MONTICELLO, Ind. - In a lawsuit filed Monday on behalf of a Monticello, Indiana middle school student, the American Civil Liberties Union argues attire featuring the breast cancer awareness slogan “I [heart symbol] boobies” is protected speech under the First Amendment. A spokesperson for the ACLU of Indiana says In January the student, who attends Roosevelt Middle School, was told by school officials to turn a bracelet bearing the phrase and a pink ribbon inside out. He was told he would be expelled if he continued to wear the bracelet at school.