STATE HOUSE — Tom Brannelly wanted legislators to be able to put a face to the issue of distracted driving as they weighed a bill that would ban hand-held cell phone use while behind the wheel, so he held up an oversized photo of his daughter Katie, who died in 2013 after being hit by a car.
The driver who hit Katie Brannelly and two others in Norwood center on March 8, 2012 said she was not on her phone at the time, Tom Brannelly said, but law enforcement officials told him that the woman's phone sent or received eight text messages during a 25-minute period before the crash.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Driven by the Paris terror attacks, the House voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to tighten controls on travel to the U.S. and require visas for anyone who's been in Iraq or Syria in the previous five years.
The legislation takes aim at the "visa waiver" program that allows citizens of 38 countries to travel to the U.S. for stays of 90 days and less without first obtaining a visa from an embassy or consulate. Belgium and France, home to most of the perpetrators of last month's Paris attacks, are among the participating countries.
