The US House Ways and Means Committee approved a massive energy bill Wednesday. The Enhanced Energy Infrastructure and Technology Tax Act of 2005 includes industrial tax breaks, extends the use of ethanol for farmers, and gives authorization for oil drilling in an Alaska wildlife refuge. The House has supported opening drilling operations in Arctic National [...]

China's Progress in Human Rights in 2004, State Council of China, April 13, 2005 . Excerpt: In 2004, China adhered to the scientific view of development by putting people first, and made every effort to build a harmonious society. New progress was achieved in its reform, opening-up and modernization drive. Along with continuous economic growth, [...]

The US House of Representatives voted 272-162 late Wednesday to permanently repeal federal estate taxes in 2010 and beyond. The federal government is estimated to lose $290 billion in tax revenue over a decade if the bill, HR 8 succeeds in the Senate. Many Democrats see the ban as favoring the wealthy while making the [...]

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation vote on the nomination of John Bolton as US ambassador to the UN was delayed Wednesday after Democrats asked for more time to question State Department officials who have worked with Bolton. During a nomination hearing earlier this week, former State Department intelligence chief Carl Ford Jr. testified that [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rejected a challenge to Louisiana's anti-abortion license plates, saying that federal courts lack jurisdiction in the dispute because the case amounts to a tax dispute that belongs in state court. Abortion rights groups challenged Louisiana's "Choose Life" plate, which are available for an extra fee with [...]

The UN Commission on Human Rights has called on the international community to take action against the defamation of religions, especially the ethnic and religious profiling of Muslim minorities after the September 11th attacks. In a resolution adopted Tuesday by a 31-16 vote, with five abstentions, the Commission expressed deep concern that Islam was frequently [...]

Stephen Johnson , President Bush's nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency , received approval from the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Wednesday. The committee's 17-1 vote in favor of Johnson's nomination sends the nomination to the full Senate for consideration. Sen. Thomas Carper, D-Del., the lone dissenter in Wednesday's vote, has said that [...]

Leading Wednesday's corporations and securities law news, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) , the largest US grocery union, has filed a complaint against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to determine whether the company bribed employees to block union activities. The complaint follows a Wall Street Journal report that former [...]

Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski and a bipartisan group of state senators introduced legislation Wednesday that would recognize civil unions for same-sex couples and would outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation. The text of Senate Bill 1000 is not yet available online, but Kulongoski says the bill would: Amend Oregon's existing non-discrimination laws to prohibit discrimination [...]

A British court Wednesday convicted suspected al Qaeda operative Kamel Bourgass of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance by the use of poisons and/or explosives to cause disruption, fear or injury in a plot to spread ricin and other poisons in Britain. British authorities suspect that Bourgass' work was part of a larger plan to [...]