Stories tagged "law"

Chinese state media reports four milk company executives and five others have gone on trial in connection with the melamine-tainted milk scandal. Sanlu, the company at the center of the scandal, has gone bankrupt after officials blamed their milk and milk-based products of killing at least six people and sickening hundreds of thousands of others. The BBC's James Reynolds is covering this story from Beijing.

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In its final weeks the Bush Administration has issued a federal rule that allows health care workers to refuse to participate in any procedure they find morally objectionable. Doctors and nurses have had the right to opt-out of providing abortions for decades, but this new rule is much broader. Slate's senior legal correspondent, Dahlia Lithwick, gives The Takeaway the rundown.

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Ed Genson defended R. Kelly and Conrad Black, not to mention countless mobsters and disgraced pols.

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Five employees of Blackwater are indicted in the killing of 17 unarmed Iraqi civilians.

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You might think that free speech is controlled by international laws, but law professor Jeffrey Rosen says you're wrong. He says free speech — at least, online — is now controlled by Nicole Wong, known within the halls of Google as "The Decider." Wong controls what video stays on YouTube and which links are picked up by the Google search engine. Jeffrey Rosen writes about "Google's gatekeepers" in a piece for this weekend's New York Times magazine, where he is a frequent contributor.

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The White House announced last night that President Bush would grant 14 pardons and commute 2 sentences before leaving office in January. The pardons did not include any of the high-profile defendants who have previously petitioned the Bush administration for help.

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One of our listeners was particularly proud of the selection of Eric Holder as U.S. Attorney General:

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When Nebraska's legislature crafted its safe-haven law to protect newborns from abandonment, state lawmakers had the best intentions. But without an age limit set, those best intentions have opened the door to some 30 children being abandoned at Nebraskan hospitals — and those "children" have often been teenagers, never newborns.

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When President-elect Barack Obama takes office in January, he'll take over a transformed executive branch with expanded power — more power than most presidents have had. New York Times magazine contributor Jonathan Mahler talks about what he sees as an imbalance of power between Washington's legislative and executive branches in his upcoming article about presidential power, called "After the Imperial Presidency."

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Early voters are turning out like never before, which could lead to a record-setting overall election turnout. Why is it happening? A black presidential candidate (Barack Obama), a female presidential candidate (ultimately, not Hillary Clinton), an energizing and polarizing VP candidate (Sarah Palin)? And what does the high turnout mean?

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With the case of Senator Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, is going to the jury, and a verdict expected any day now, Capitol News Connection's Todd Zwillich looks into the history of other senators who've been in legal trouble while in office.

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If the NSA is listening to your phone calls and reading your emails, would you want to know about it?

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The next president will have the power to sculpt the legal landscape for decades to come through judicial picks.

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The trial of U.S. Senator Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, continues. Sen. Stevens takes the stand in Washington D.C. — an extraordinary step for a sitting senator, let alone one running for re-election. Alaska Public Radio Network’s Libby Casey joins The Takeaway with a wrap-up of this week’s trial developments.

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Protests by troops and veterans have been a part of American life since the Vietnam War. But technology has changed the game, and many soldiers say they are confused by military anti-protest rules that seem haphazard and subjective. Meanwhile, the military is scrambling to adjust its policies to fit a world changed by YouTube, blogs and digital photos.

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A federal judge in Washington, D.C., will hear the case of 17 Chinese Uighurs who have been held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for seven years. Though the government cleared them for release in 2004, they can't be returned to China for fear that they will be tortured. No other country will take them.

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This Sunday, pastors across the country will stand before God and break the law. The crime? Delivering a sermon that either endorses or opposes a political candidate by name. Churches and other non-profit groups have tax exemptions that come with a price: They are not allowed to have any involvement in political campaigns. The Takeaway hears from two pastors with opposing views on politicizing the pulpit: Pastor Gus Booth, who will make an endorsement this Sunday, and Pastor Eric Williams, who will honor the separation of church and state.

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