US: William Barr becomes attorney general

US Senate on Thursday (local time) voted to confirm William Barr as the nation's next attorney general, putting him in charge of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's inquiry into alleged Russian intervention in the 2016 presidential elections. The Senate voted 54-45 for Barr's nomination. The veteran lawyer is expected to take oath before the end of this week. Barr became the first confirmed chief of the Justice Department, barely few months after Jeff Sessions stepped down from his post after he was at loggerheads with Trump over a number of issues, The Hill reported.