Today was a big news day – and we’ll dig into the Alabama Senate race and hearings before the House Judiciary Committee in just a minute.

But first, here's a different issue that is confounding cities and towns across the world.

We all know we’re texting a lot. But we’re increasingly texting and walking – into another person, into fountains, into traffic. The results range from rudeness to embarrassment to life-threatening encounters. The battle is now engaged against the world’s “smartphone zombies.”

Come Monday in Tokyo, for example, three companies will test a messaging system on the subway that connects pregnant women hoping to snag a seat with people happy to offer one but oblivious to everything but their devices.

In Honolulu, pedestrians who screen-gaze while crossing the street will pay up to $99 if caught. A bill in Boston would boost jaywalking fines if mobile devices and headphones are involved. Seoul, South Korea, the world’s most connected city, has experimented with warning signs embedded in the pavement. (Few have noticed them.) A town outside Amsterdam has laid down LED strips whose color changes in sync with traffic signals.

Some say the root problem is a society where work and leisure blur, where expectations drive constant attention to smartphones. For now, the best step may be a simple New Year’s resolution: Just look up.

Now to those other stories I mentioned – including ones that examine how policy changes can drive behavioral changes in everything from education to savings.