US lawmakers call for pressure on Sudan to halt violence News
US lawmakers call for pressure on Sudan to halt violence

[JURIST] Responding to violence in Sudan's western Darfur region [Human Rights Watch backgrounder] that has claimed some 70,000 lives, US lawmakers gathered on Capitol Hill Thursday to call on world leaders to put pressure on both rebels and government forces to halt the bloodshed. Disturbed by what they had seen during visits to camps for Sudanese refugees, the delegation from the House of Representatives called on the UN Security Council to impose sanctions, calling the situation a problem of global importance. The legislators also suggested the expansion of an African Union peacekeeping force currently in southern Sudan. Review the statement [transcript] of delegation leader Rep. Ed Royce, R-Cal., chairman of the House International Relations Committee Subcommittee on Africa [official website]. AP 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.