Russia's lower house of parliament gave its final approval Friday to a contentious bill that retaliates against a new U.S. human rights measure by barring Americans from adopting the country's children.

The State Duma passed the bill without debate in a quick 420-7 vote as protesters picketed the building demanding that the measure be voted down.

A massive and dangerous winter snowstorm blanketed the U.S. Midwest on Thursday, grounding planes and making roads and highways impassable as travelers gear up for the Christmas holiday.

The region's first big storm of the season dumped more than a foot (30 centimeters) of snow in parts of Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota overnight and more was expected as the powerful system moved slowly eastward.

President Barack Obama Wednesday set up a task force to frame "concrete proposals" on ending mass shootings by next month and called for new laws, but denied he had been on "vacation" on gun control.

With trauma still raw after the Connecticut school massacre last week, Obama put Vice President Joe Biden in charge of an inter-agency effort on gun control and mental health, saying America had a "deep obligation" to act.

President Barack Obama on Wednesday will appoint Vice President Joe Biden to lead a panel tasked with devising new policies to address gun violence after last week's school massacre, a White House official said.

The official told AFP Obama would formally name Biden to spearhead the interagency panel at a White House event later in the day. The president is not expected to unveil any new policy decisions during the announcement.

Russia's lower house of parliament gave key support Wednesday to a bill banning Americans from adopting children, resulting in a huge outcry from rights groups.

The bill, which came in retaliation for a U.S. measure that punishes Russia for its rights record under President Vladimir Putin, was approved by 400 lawmakers in the 450-seat chamber.

Head of Parliamentary Information Committee Hizbullah MP Hassan Fadlallah confirmed on Tuesday reports that the U.S. army requested to establish a telecom station in Lebanon.

The lawmaker said in a press conference after chairing a meeting for the committee at the parliament that the committee members will thoroughly discuss the matter on Thursday in presence of Telecommunications Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui.

A U.S. judge jailed a computer hacker for 10 years on Monday for breaking into the email accounts of stars, including Scarlett Johansson, naked pictures of whom were leaked online.

A federal judge in Los Angeles also ordered 36-year-old Christopher Chaney, from Florida, to pay a total of $76,000 to Johansson, Christina Aguilera and Renee Olstead, who were among dozens of other people he hacked.

Japan's presumptive premier Shinzo Abe got his U.S. leaders mixed up Tuesday, when he told business chiefs he had been speaking to "President Bush" after a phone call from Barack Obama.

The gaffe came in one of Abe's first speaking engagements since his landslide victory in weekend polls that saw his Liberal Democratic Party returned to power.

A keenly-awaited inquiry into a deadly militant attack on a U.S. mission in Libya has been completed and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is reviewing it, a top official said Monday.

The findings of the Accountability Review Board set up by Clinton just days after the September 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi could unleash a Christmas bombshell for the U.S. administration.

The official, final votes in the 2012 presidential election were cast Monday by members of the Electoral College, a constitutional formality in President Barack Obama's march to a second term.

The rite playing in state capitols dates back centuries, to a time in early American history when only elected representatives could vote for president. It's now ceremonial, and involves party luminaries and tireless activists carrying out the will of each state's voters. The popular vote from state-to-state dictates whether Democratic or Republican electors get the honor, but the outcome is not in doubt.