Contentious vote set for UN nominee Bolton News
Contentious vote set for UN nominee Bolton

[JURIST] Following heated confirmation hearings last week, a showdown vote by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee [committee website] is set for Tuesday over John Bolton [official profile], President Bush's nominee for the UN ambassador. Bolton has been characterized by his critics as hot-tempered and abusive of subordinates, and has been accused of concealing information from superiors in the State Department. His outspoken criticism of the UN bureaucracy have also come under fire, but colleagues in the State Dept. have come to Bolton's defense [JURIST report]. Democratic members of the Foreign Relations Committee plan to vote against Bolton on Tuesday, but their hopes of defeating the nomination depend on persuading one or both of two wavering Republicans — Sens. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) and Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) — to vote against him. 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.