at issue, a colorado business seeking permission not to work for same-sex wedding couples, only this time it wasn t the baker. that case was decided in 2018 when jack phillips refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple. back then the court narrowly decided for the baker but didn t determine whether a business owner s speech writes can justify refusing service to gay couples. well, five miles from the colorado baker is a graphic artist named lorie smith who will join me momentarily. she said she didn t want to create any same-sex wedding message at odds with her religious beliefs. she said she had never received a request to design a same-sex couple site, nor had she turned anyone down. smith won. a majority of the court saw colorado s public accommodation laws an unconstitutional attempt by the state to compel her speech. the minority cast the outcome as the first time the court permitted a commercial business to refuse service to a protected class. justice neil gorsuch
i m michael smerconish in philadelphia. the supreme court comprised by appoint east of former president donald trump ended a most consequential term. scotus on voting rights, affirmative action, student loans and adoption. this on top of last year s rulings concerns abortion, guns, religion and climate change. yesterday, the court released a much anticipated opinion concerning speech and gay rights. at issue, a colorado business seeking permission not to work for same-sex wedding couples, only this time it wasn t the baker. this case was decided in 2018 when jack phillips refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple. then the court decided for the baker, but didn t determine whether a business owner s speech writes can justify refusing service to gay couples. well, five miles from the colorado baker is a graphic artist named lorie smith who will join me momentarily. she said she didn t want to create any same-sex wedding message at odds with her religious beliefs. she neve
commons. time for a look at the business news now. we start with the unfolding crisis in the red sea and concerns that the continued attacks on cargo ships by yemen s houthi rebels will affect developing countries the hardest. that s the warning from the world trade organization. today the us has launched a fourth round of airstrikes against the rebels the us military said it targeted missiles that could be intended for attacks on ships. as vessels divert to longer and more costly routes that avoid the red sea, supply chains have been disrupted and economists have warned it could add to inflation. the wto s director general, dr ngozi 0konjo iweala, has been speaking to our economic editor faisal islam at the world economic forum in switzerland. iamjoined i am joined here by the director general of the world trade organization. thank you forjoining 0rganization. thank you forjoining the bbc. 0bviously people are concerned about the fluidity of trade given this big geopolitic
o er the ramparts we watched were so gather lently streaming and the rocket s red glare the bomb s bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave o er the land f the free and the home of the brave pete: secretary of state antony blinken in beginning shinning this beijing this morning on a rare trip to china as relationships sour. will: unclear if he ll sit down with president xi jinping. rachel: alexandria hoff is live with the latest. good morning. reporter: yeah, the question is if the sit down will happen and the primary goal of the visit is to reestablish senior level communication and that includes military to military. there s also other issues that will be brought up as well. secretary blinken meeting with chinese officials and that official plaid down that a broad range of deliverables would come from the trip. the visit was delayed once after the chinese spy craft was found drifti
investigating donald trump s role in the january six insurrection has finally secured the testimony of former vice president, mike pence. i will talk to one of pence s former top aides and the day after i last spoke with volodymyr carr moussa, the russian opposition figure was arrested for speaking out against russia s invasion of ukraine. he has now been sentenced to 25 years in prison. his wife, the afghan-y tara bosa, goings me this morning. today s meeting of the velshi book club futures award-winning author, lauren broths, who is acclaimed story of marriage and identity with was removed from public shelves in her home state of. florida chill talked me about the book and the ban. velshi starts now. good morning to, you it is saturday april 29th and i m ali velshi. back in 2020, most of the country had not heard of his always ever. but as the montana legislature was in session that, year she was playing close attention to the bills that were being introduced. and she was