Militants acquitted in Jordanian terror plot News
Militants acquitted in Jordanian terror plot

[JURIST] A Jordanian military court has acquitted 13 Muslim militants of conspiring to commit terrorist attacks against US interests in Jordan, including the US Embassy in Amman and Jordanian military bases where US troops were believed to be stationed. The attacks were never carried out and the suspects were arrested in December 2002. Eleven of the 13 men were nonetheless sentenced to prison terms of 6 months to 15 years for possessing explosives. The accused are not believed to have had ties to al-Qaeda. Al Jazeera has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

No lynchings reported in US for first time

On December 30, 1952, the Tuskegee Institute reported that 1952 was the first year of no lynchings of African Americans in the United States in the 71 years it had kept records. Learn more about lynching and listen to Billie Holiday's jazz recording of the 1938 protest song Strange Fruit.

USSR established

On December 30, 1922, representatives of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and the Transcaucus approved the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR and the Declaration of the Creation of the USSR, creating the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). During World War II, the USSR would also annex Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Moldova. Learn more about the history of the USSR from the BBC.