Alito tells senators abortion ruling deserves respect News
Alito tells senators abortion ruling deserves respect

[JURIST] In meetings with US senators on Tuesday, US Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito [official profile; US News profile; JURIST news archive] said that the Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision guaranteeing women the right to an abortion was long-standing precedent and therefore entitled to respect. Speaking to Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) he did not, however, commit to upholding the decision in the future. Although pro-choice Senators were encouraged by their latest discussions with Alito, the abortion issue is still likely to be a key issue during January's confirmation hearings. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

UN General Assembly approves Palestine partition plan

The UN General Assembly approved UN Resolution Resolution 181 (II) on November 29, 1947, recommending that the British Mandate for Palestine be split into a Jewish state, an Arab state, and an international zone for Jerusalem. The vote in the assembly was 33 for to 13 against, with 10 abstentions. The resolution sparked a war between Palestinian Arabs and Jews in 1947 and a wider war after Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon invaded the new State of Israel in 1948. Read Resolution 181 (II).

UN divided Palestine between Arabs and Jews

On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly voted to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab territories, leading to the establishment of a Jewish state the following year. Read UN General Assembly Resolution 181.

Defense Secretary Robert McNamara resigns during Vietnam Conflict

On November 29, 1967, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara announced that he was resigning from his office to accept an appointment as head of the World Bank. The announcement came as the Vietnam Conflict was becoming increasingly unpopular in the United States and abroad.