Limits on class-action awards head GOP Senate agenda News
Limits on class-action awards head GOP Senate agenda

[JURIST] US Senate Republicans [official website] Monday announced that in the new Congressional session they will consider putting limits on awards in class-action lawsuits before taking on President George W. Bush's top domestic goal of Social Security privatization. In an attempt to limit forum-shopping, a proposed GOP bill would remove to federal court most lawsuits seeking more than $5 million in damages. Other measures would seek to limit liability for doctors, hospitals, and insurers, and make President Bush's 2001 and 2003 tax cuts permanent. Read Senate Republican Majority Leader Bill Frist's press release on the Republican agenda [PDF]. Meanwhile Senate Democrats [official website], who have resisted changes to the Social Security system, stated that their top legislative goals would be to increase the number of active-duty military, and to up the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour over the next two years. Democrats also outlined fair trade initiatives, among which is a measure that would force China to stop manipulating its currency. Review the Democratic agenda. Bloomberg has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Montgomery started racially-integrated bus service after boycott

On December 21, 1956, buses in Montgomery, Alabama, started racially integrated service following federal court rulings ending on-board segregation. Bus boycott leaders Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and Rev. Ralph Abernathy were among the first riders under the new scheme. Learn about the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Stalin born

On December 21, 1879, Joseph Stalin was born in Gori, Georgia. In 1922, he became leader of the USSR until his death in 1953. During his time as Soviet dictator, Stalin industrialized his country, which he then led to become one of the world's two superpowers after WWII. Through his infamous purges, show trials and nationwide famines, Stalin also became responsible for millions of deaths.