Israel begins removing settlers

On August 17, 2005, Israel began removing settlers from certain occupied territories in the West Bank. The move began Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s unilateral disengagement plan.

Learn more about the Israeli disengagement plan from the Washington Post.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Standard Oil incorporated

On January 10, 1870, John Davison Rockefeller incorporated Standard Oil. Rockefeller's corporation would grow to achieve a virtual monopoly over oil production in the United States. Standard Oil's dominance lasted until the corporation was split into 34 separate companies in 1911 after the Supreme Court found the company in violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. The rise of Standard Oil made Rockefeller America's first billionaire and eventually the richest man in the world. Read the text of Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey vs. United States, 221 U.S. 1 (1910).