BOSTON – Following up on a 2010 law that critics say has been ineffective, the Massachusetts Senate on Thursday approved a ban on the use of hand-held cell phones and other electronic devices while driving.
After an afternoon of debate on more than 20 amendments, the Senate passed the measure that would expand the current state law that bans texting while driving to prohibit the use of all electronic devices behind the wheel, except for those used in hands-free mode. The bill was approved on a voice vote, without votes recorded for each member.
LONDON (AP) — Almost a decade after former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko lay dying in a London hospital bed, a British judge has concluded who poisoned him: two Russian men, acting at the behest of Russia's security services, probably with approval from President Vladimir Putin.
That finding prompted sharp exchanges Thursday between London and Moscow, and a diplomatic dilemma for both countries. With Russia and the West inching closer together after years of strain, neither side wants a new feud — even over a state-sanctioned murder on British soil.
