Afghanistan has a new president

Hamid Karzai was declared the winner of the 2009 Afghanistan presidential election on Monday. His win came after the Independent Electoral Commission announced that they would be canceling this weekend’s second round of voting. According to CNN.com, the opposing candidate, Abdullah Abdullah resigned from the race on Sunday.

Karzai’s win comes with much speculation. In the first election held on August 20, widespread fraud was suspected. Two months after the vote, the U.N. threw out a third of Karzai’s votes declaring fraud. Karzai had agreed to a presidential runoff against Abdullah.

On Sunday, Abdullah said that he did not believe a transparent election was possible. Karzai took over the role of president in 2001 following the removal of the Taliban. He was elected to office in 2004 and now will begin his second term.

My Take: Because, October has been the highest U.S. death toll in Afghanistan since the war began eight years ago, the presidential election is of special interest to many Americans.

Texting and driving is now illegal

Beginning on November 1, texting while driving is illegal in New York State. The state law says that drivers can only be pulled over if they are committing some other offense; however, Onondaga County has passed its own stricter ban. Onondaga officials say that drivers can be ticketed if they are caught texting while driving regardless of if they are pulled over for another offense, according to WSYR.com.

The New York State Police says that state law overrules county law; yet, the Onondaga County Sheriff’s office says they will enforce the county law as long as it is in effect.

Both state and county laws say that drivers guilty of texting while driving are subject to a $150 fine.

My Take: This new law will affect many drivers who are guilty of texting while driving. 515,000 people were injured last year in crashes involving distracted drivers. Hopefully this new law will act to reduce the number of cases like these.

Bill Owens receives some major endorsements

After dropping out of the 23^rd Congressional race, Dede Scozzafava, announced her support for democrat, Bill Owens. Scozzafava, a republican said, “I strongly believe Bill is the only candidate who can build upon John McHugh’s lasting legacy in the U.S. Congress,” according the news10now.com. McHugh the former 23^rd District leader will take over as the Secretary of the Army.

Vice President, Joe Biden is also supporting candidate Bill Owens. He is in Watertown today and will be hosting an event with the candidate at 10 a.m. on Monday.

Owens now only faces one opponent, democrat Doug Hoffman.

My Take: The fact the Dede Scozzafava is choosing to support a member from the opposite party is quite unusual. Her support for Bill Owens is giving his campaign a great deal of publicity.