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More than 100 U.S. lawmakers and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights groups on Thursday urged the Obama administration to stop trade talks with Brunei unless the country revokes Islamic criminal laws they say jeopardize human rights. _0"> Brunei, the first East Asian country to introduce Islamic criminal law, has announced laws that will impose fines or jail terms for offenses such as pregnancy outside marriage and failure to perform Friday prayers. The laws will ultimately punish sodomy and adultery with the death penalty, including by stoning. One hundred nineteen members of the House of Representatives signed a letter urging Secretary of State John Kerry and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman to shun Brunei in talks on a Pacific free trade zone unless the code is repealed.   true       The United States and Brunei are among 12 countries negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, which aims to set common standards on issues from labor to class

class="mandelbrot_refrag"> The Hershey Company is not sweet on the idea of Maryland lawmaker Stephen Hershey Jr's campaign signs looking a lot like the chocolate maker's own brown-and-white design. Hershey, the maker of treats such as Mr. Goodbar and Krackel, has filed a federal lawsuit saying the state senator's re-election campaign optics violate trademark law. The colors and lettering on the Queen Anne's County legislator's signs appear nearly identical in style to the Hershey chocolate bar's distinctive logo. "Our brand trademarks are among our most important and valuable assets," Hershey Company spokesman Jeff Beckman said in a statement on Thursday. Misuse of its brand trademarks "may mislead consumers into believing that Steve Hershey is somehow affiliated with or endorsed by class="mandelbrot_refrag"> The Hershey Company ," Beckman said. Hershey and the chocolate company have clashed for a number of

The U.S. House of Representatives has approved an amendment that would put new restrictions on the way captive orca whales and other animals are treated at theme parks such as Sea World, but the legislation's prospects for becoming law appeared dim. The amendment, which was attached to a larger appropriations bill currently before Congress, would require the Department of Agriculture to create new rules reducing the amount of noise whales are exposed to, limit programs where the public is allowed to swim with dolphins and regulate the temperature of the water in the tanks where the animals are held. But the amendment is not expected to gain final approval in Congress because it is attached to a larger appropriations bill to allocate funds to the USDA for other unrelated programs, like food stamps and school nutrition programs, which are more contentious.   The White House has said that President class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Barack Obama would veto the larger bill

The defeat of House of Representatives Majority Leader Eric Cantor shifted the political ground under U.S. multinational corporations this week, just as they seemed to be gaining traction in their push for a $95 billion tax break on bringing foreign profits home. With House Republicans in turmoil after their leader's loss, lobbyists and policy analysts said the proposal, known as the offshore corporate income tax holiday, was losing momentum. The setback underscored the inability of the U.S. Congress to handle difficult tax issues, including renewing dozens of temporary laws that have expired and tackling a long-overdue tax code overhaul. The offshore income tax holiday had been gathering some support, but Cantor's defeat in the Virginia primary election damaged that, observers said. The proposal, which calls for short-term tax breaks to pay for road repairs, frustrates some conservatives who oppose more government spending and believe tax breaks should be permanent, not a

A high-ranking California lawmaker, Kevin McCarthy, emerged on Thursday as the leading contender in the Republican contest to fill one of the top positions in the U.S. Congress, but some of his colleagues complained he was not conservative enough and urged others to jump into the race. House Majority Whip McCarthy has been asking other lawmakers to support his bid to become House of Representatives majority leader to succeed Eric Cantor, who is stepping down after his shock primary election defeat to a little-known challenger from the populist Tea Party movement. Representative Pete Sessions of Texas, who chairs the House Rules Committee, has also said he would run in the party's June 19 election for the number two post in the House.   true       McCarthy, the No. 3 ranking House Republican who is in charge of lining up support for legislation, grabbed early momentum over Sessions by picking up some endorsements. One was from Cantor, who will serve out the rest of his term thr

A federal judge in Nevada has ordered a competency evaluation for a woman charged with throwing a shoe at former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during an April speaking appearance in Las Vegas, according to court papers released on Thursday. _0"> Alison Michelle Ernst is accused of getting past security at an event at Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay Hotel where Clinton was speaking and hurling a soccer shoe and several papers at Clinton from the audience. A video of the incident posted on the website of CBS News shows Clinton ducking as a shoe flies over her head.   true       "Is that somebody throwing something at me? Is that part of Cirque de Soleil?" Clinton said. "Thank Goodness she didn't play softball like I did." The evaluation will consider whether Ernst may have been "legally insane" at the time of the incident as well as whether she is fit to stand trial, U.S. Magistrate Judge Peggy Leen said in issuing the order. The eva

A federal judge in Nevada has ordered a competency evaluation for a woman charged with throwing a shoe at former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during an April speaking appearance in Las Vegas, according to court papers released on Thursday. _0"> Alison Michelle Ernst is accused of getting past security at an event at Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay Hotel where Clinton was speaking and hurling a soccer shoe and several papers at Clinton from the audience. A video of the incident posted on the website of CBS News shows Clinton ducking as a shoe flies over her head. "Is that somebody throwing something at me? Is that part of Cirque de Soleil?" Clinton said. "Thank Goodness she didn't play softball like I did." The evaluation will consider whether Ernst may have been "legally insane" at the time of the incident as well as whether she is fit to stand trial, U.S. Magistrate Judge Peggy Leen said in issuing the order. The evaluation was m