WashU Experts

The U.S. Senate’s proposed overhaul to the health-care system, released last week, will cause more than 24 million Americans to lose coverage, estimates a health economist at Washington University in St. Louis.

President Donald Trump has made the decision to pull the U.S. out of the 2015 Paris climate agreement, a move that that cannot be justified on the stated grounds for withdrawal, says an expert in environmental law at Washington University in St. Louis.

The U.S. Supreme Court this week struck down North Carolina’s federal House district boundaries as unconstitutional, finding the lines were drawn based on race. However, Democrats and liberals who welcomed the decision may not be cheering for long, said a constitutional law and Supreme Court expert at Washington University in St. Louis.

The newest computer ransomware to hit on a global scale first appeared late last week. Dubbed “WannaCry,” the malware attacks computers, then demands a ransom in Bitcoin to regain the ability to access files. A cybersecurity expert at Washington University in St. Louis says programmers were aware of the potential trouble months ago, but playing catch-up to remedy the problem is difficult.

Puerto Rico filed for bankruptcy protection May 3, the largest-ever American municipal debt restructuring in history. As the U.S. territory seeks forgiveness in $73 billion to assorted creditors, an expert at Washington University in St. Louis says the situation should serve as a dire wake-up call to the municipal bond market.

President Trump has revealed his proposed tax plan, which involves, among other things, cutting the corporate tax rate and reducing tax brackets to three, down from seven. What do the proposed changes mean? Adam Rosenzweig, professor of law and tax law expert, explains.

While courts around the United States have found President Trump’s travel ban on Muslim-majority nations unconstitutional, the courts may have overlooked an important point, says an expert on law and religion at Washington University in St. Louis.

Although one can fault the Obama administration for its tepid policy towards Syria, President Donald Trump’s April 6 air strikes against a Syrian military base take the U.S. policy towards Syria to a new low, said an expert on international war crimes at Washington University in St. Louis.

A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has heard arguments on Mississippi HB 1523, which allows people with certain religious beliefs to refuse goods and services to LGBTQ and unmarried people. The bill is a textbook example of an unconstitutional law, says a law and religion scholar at Washington University in St. Louis.

As a European-based conglomerate prepares to buy U.S. restaurant chain Panera Bread, a finance professor at Washington University in St. Louis says the move points to the growth of the private equity industry as a viable alternative to the public market.