BREAKING NEWS ~ Bush tabs progenitor of No Child Left Behind for Education portfolio News
BREAKING NEWS ~ Bush tabs progenitor of No Child Left Behind for Education portfolio

[JURIST] Filling the vacancy left when Secretary of Education Rod Paige announced his resignation on Monday, President Bush will nominate domestic policy advisor and longtime confidante Margaret Spellings to fill the top post in the Department of Education, according to White House sources. Spellings was Bush's education advisor for six years in Texas, putting together programs focusing on student accountability and early reading initiatives which became the foundation for the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which Spellings also helped construct. An official announcement is expected Wednesday. AP has more. See Spellings' White House bio. A recent online White House Q&A hosted by Spellings on education policy, No Child Left Behind, and her White House service is available here.

THIS DAY @ LAW

38 Santee Sioux hanged by US for rebellion

On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for purchases was not advanced in the meantime, threatening the tribe with starvation. The Santee Sioux Tribe's members were deported first to South Dakota and ultimately to Nebraska, where they remain today. Learn more about the 1862 Minnesota Sioux Rebellion.

Louis XVI put on trial during French Revolution

On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the following January 21.