Courthouse shootings suspect in custody News
Courthouse shootings suspect in custody

[JURIST] Brian Nichols, 33, who fled an Atlanta courthouse after Friday's fatal shootings of Judge Rowland Barnes and two others [JURIST report] was arrested Saturday, ending the largest manhunt in Georgia state history. Nichols was taken into custody in an apartment complex north of Atlanta, after a woman called authorities to tell them that Nichols had entered her residence. After SWAT teams surrounded the complex, Nichols is reported to have come out waving a white cloth. When the courtroom shooting occurred, Nichols was facing a possible life sentence for rape, assault, and false imprisonment. According to police, Nichols disarmed the female sheriff's deputy escorting him outside the courtroom, and then re-entered the courtroom, taking those inside hostage. He then allegedly shot dead Judge Barnes, the court reporter, and then another sheriff's deputy upon fleeing the courthouse. 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.