US defends attending Sudan leader's inauguration
Headline Legal News
The Obama administration is defending its decision to send a representative to the inauguration of Sudan's president, who won re-election despite facing an international arrest warrant for war crimes.
Omar al-Bashir was sworn in Thursday to another five-year term. Among those in attendance was a U.S. foreign service officer.
The State Department notes that the inauguration also was for a vice president, Salva Kiir, from the largest party representing southern Sudan.
Al-Bashir is sought by the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands for allegedly masterminding atrocities in Darfur.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Friday that al-Bashir should cooperate with the court and "should be held accountable."
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Texas Adopts Statewide Texting-While-Driving Ban
Effective September 1, 2017, Texas will become the 47th state to pass a statewide ban on texting while driving. Governor Abbott’s signing of House Bill 62 is an effort to unify Texas under a uniform ban and remedy the “patchwork quilt of regulations that dictate driving practices in Texas.”
The bill specifically prohibits drivers from reading, writing, or sending an electronic message on a device unless the vehicle is stopped. That includes texting and emailing. It does not, however, prohibit dialing a number to call someone, talking on the phone using a hands-free device, or using the phone’s GPS system.
Violations would be punishable by a fine ranging from $25 to $99, to be set by each municipality. Although penalties could rise to as much as $200 for repeat offenders.
Studies have found that a driver’s reaction time is half as much when a driver is distracted by sending or reading a text message. According to state officials, in 2015 more than 105,000 traffic accidents in Texas involved distracted driving, leading to at least 476 fatalities.