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US Law Week
Assistant Managing Editor at US Law Week, a legal and business news service associated with Bloomberg BNA
PROFILE
Tom Taylor
Guest
FROM Tom Taylor
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Hobby Lobby FAQs The Supreme Court ruled today that Hobby Lobby can decline to offer contraceptive coverage under the Affordable Care Act for religious reasons. But now that we have the ruling, we’re left with many questions. Like, what is a closely held corporation? Will the ruling also allow certain corporations to not hire gays and lesbians? Does the ruling apply to all contraception?
To the Point
SCOTUS Rules on Cell Phone Searches, Cable Copyright Now a constitutional right to privacy extends to the smartphones Americans hold in their hands. “The privacies of life” -- that’s how Chief Justice John Roberts put it in the unanimous ruling today. Here to explain the case and what it means for anyone carrying a cellphone is Tom Taylor, Assistant Managing Editor at Bloomberg’s BNA Law Week.
To the Point
SCOTUS Strikes Aggregate Limits on Campaign Contributions "Congress may regulate campaign contributions to protect against corruption" but, "it may not regulate contributions simply to reduce the amount of money in politics." That's from Chief Justice John Roberts today in the latest Supreme Court decision rolling back limits on campaign donations. Tom Taylor is Assistant Managing Editor of US Law Week for Bloomberg BNA Publications.
To the Point
Supreme Court Hears Union Organizing Case The US Supreme Court today heard arguments for and against a strategy used recently by unions to successfully organize workers. It's called a "neutrality agreement," and a case turns on whether it constitutes a "thing of value" under federal law. Tom Taylor is Assistant managing editor at Bloomberg BNA .
To the Point
Supreme Court Rules that Isolated Genes Can't Be Patented A unanimous opinion today by the US Supreme Court says human genes cannot be patented after all, because they are natural phenomena. But that's not all they decided. Tom Taylor is assistant managing editor at US Law Week .
To the Point
Supreme Court Says Police Can Swab for DNA The US Supreme Court ruled today that police can take cheek swabs for DNA when they make arrests, just as they can take suspects' fingerprints or photographs. It was another five-to-four decision, but this time Justice Antonin Scalia broke with fellow conservatives and sided with liberals. Tom Taylor is Assistant managing editor at Bloomberg BNA .
To the Point
Genetic Breakthroughs: Patents and Profits Mapping the human genome began "the biological gold rush of the 21st Century," with companies now owning patents on 4000 human genes. Today, the US Supreme Court is being asked to strike down two patents on BRCA 1 and BRCA 2, genes that helped doctors discover both breast and ovarian cancer. Nobody can do that without paying Myriad Genetics , which isolated the genes. But opponents argue the genes are "products of Nature." We hear about a case with long-term implications for the future of "personalized medicine" designed to serve the needs of each individual patient.
To the Point
State Laws, Federal Laws and the Institution of Marriage The federal Defense of Marriage Act was cobbled together in 1996, after the Supreme Court of Hawaii suggested there might be a right to same-sex marriage. Because of DOMA, more than 1100 rules and regulations limit taxes and benefits only to heterosexual couples. Bill Clinton now says he regrets having signed it. Lesbian plaintiff, 83-year old Edith Windsor, challenged the law, and today the US Supreme Court considered arguments that it violates the rights of gays and lesbians in states that recognize same-sex marriage. We hear about the arguments and ask whether this week's disputes are all about a declining institution — with fewer Americans getting married than ever before.
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To the Point
Trump's new look at civil rights and global warming President Trump is reportedly ready to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We look at the possible consequences. On the second half of the program, we hear about cuts in Obama-Era civil rights programs called for by the Trump Administration's first budget plan.
To the Point
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
To the Point
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.
To the Point
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.