FCC to consider lifting cellphone restrictions
WASHINGTON – Rules against making cellphone calls during airline flights are “outdated,” and it’s time to change them, federal regulators said Thursday, drawing immediate howls of protest from flight attendants, airline officials and others.
Tom Wheeler, the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, said in a statement that the commission was proposing greater in-flight access to mobile broadband.
The proposal will be considered at the commission’s Dec. 12 meeting.
“The time is right to review our outdated and restrictive rules,” Wheeler said, adding that modern technologies can deliver mobile services in the air safely and reliably.
The proposal would also allow passengers to use their smartphones to send email, text and download data.
The proposal would apply to flights when they are over 10,000 feet in altitude, but not during takeoffs and landings.
Cities planning events to mark death of JFK
DALLAS – Loose gatherings of the curious and conspiracy-minded at Dallas’ Dealey Plaza have marked past anniversaries of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, featuring everything from makeshift memorials to marching drummers to discussions about who else might have been in on the killing.
But in the place where the president’s motorcade passed through and shots rang out on Nov. 22, 1963, a solemn ceremony on the 50th anniversary of his death designed to avoid such distractions will include brief remarks by the mayor and the tolling of church bells.
It’s an approach that will be mirrored today in Boston, where the JFK Library and Museum will open a small exhibit of never-before-displayed items from President Kennedy’s state funeral and host a musical tribute that will be closed to the public.
That will also be the case in Washington, where President Barack Obama will meet privately at the White House with leaders and volunteers from the Kennedy-established Peace Corps program.
Associated Press
