Final report on 9/11 victim compensation [US DOJ] News
Final report on 9/11 victim compensation [US DOJ]

Final Report of the Special Master for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001, United States Department of Justice, November 18, 2004. Excerpt:

The Fund provided generously for those directly affected by the attack. In total, the Fund distributed over $7.049 billion to survivors of 2,880 persons killed in the September 11th attacks 1 and to 2,680 individuals who were injured in the attacks or in the rescue efforts conducted thereafter. The average award for families of victims killed in the attacks exceeded $2 million. The average award for injured victims was nearly $400,000.The success of the Fund was directly attributable to the unprecedented cooperation from the legal and financial communities, the judiciary, federal and state agencies, state governments, public and private sector employers, individual citizens, and of course, the victims and their families.

Read the full text of the final report here. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Indian National Congress founded

The Indian National Congress (INC) was founded on December 28, 1885 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. In subsequent decades, the so-called Congress Party would advocate for Indian independence from the UK, which was eventually achieved in 1947. The first Prime Minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was elected as a member of the INC. Learn more about the history and founding of the Indian National Congress.

Congress recognized Pledge of Allegiance

On December 28, 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance and encouraged its recitation in schools. The Pledge was supposedly written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus Day. The words “under God” were added by Congress in 1954. The revised version of the Pledge was the subject of litigation before the United States Supreme Court originally brought by Michael Newdow, a parent who unsuccessfully objected to his daughter's school district policy requiring daily recitation of the Pledge. The court ruled that Newdow had no standing.

Nepal ends monarchy, establishes republic

On December 28, 2007, the Kingdom of Nepal's interim parliament ended the country's monarchy and established the Republic of Nepal. Free elections were held on April 10 of the following year to elect a Constituent Assembly.

Learn more about the rise of democracy in Nepal.