Russia Passes Law That Will Create a Blacklist for Websites

Critics contend that the law's reach will go far beyond the child-pornography and suicide-promotion sites it is intended to shutter.


Reuters

A day after massive online protests, including a temporary shut-down of the Russian-language Wikipedia, the State Duma has today gone ahead and passed the Information Act by a wide margin, with 441 of 450 members of the legislative body voting in support of it, according to the Washington Post. Though the law was amended at the last minute to be more explicit as to the reasons sites could be banned -- and reasons such as child pornography, the promotion of substance abuse and suicide -- critics say that expansive interpretation by the courts could leave many legitimate websites in peril.

EEE detected in Massachusetts

 

Credit: AP Graphic

Outdoor activities are banned in some towns.

Eastern equine encephalitis has been discovered in mosquitoes in Easton, Massachusetts.

Because this is an earlier-than-normal finding, experts say people should limit outdoor activities in the evening in Easton.

No human cases have been reported this year.

Two people in Massachusetts contracted the disease last year, including a Bristol County man who died from the illness.

Health officials are also raising the threat of mosquito-borne illness in the towns of Easton, Raynham, and Taunton from "moderate" to "high."