Poison suspected for U.S. women

Two American women were hospitalized after ingesting the deadly poison thallium, Russian media and hospital officials said.

A U.S. Embassy spokeswoman said consular officials were in touch with family of the women, reported to be Soviet-born U.S. citizens who had come to Moscow for a wedding.

A spokeswoman for the Sklifosovsky clinic said Marina and Yana Kovalevskaya were in “medium serious condition” 10 days after falling ill. She declined to give other details.

There was no indication of whether the women, who the Moscow Times said had come from Los Angeles, had business or political interests in Russia.