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Articles by Michael Whitehead
‘Are those books actually on the shelves?’: Mo. Supreme Court takes up question of explicit books in public schools?
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (BP) — A question from Missouri Supreme Court Judge Mary R. Russell during oral arguments Sept. 23 may have captured what many Missouri Baptist parents are wondering about books containing graphic sexual images in public school libraries. “Are those actually on the shelves at our public school libraries?” Russell asked an attorney representing school librarians who are challenging a Missouri law prohibiting school personnel from providing sexually explicit material to students.
October 20, 2026 • Pathway
Trending October 20, 2026 Stories
Is Your Insurance Ready for Spring?
Is Your Insurance Ready for Spring? What to check before the season of storms, change and new beginnings As the seasons change, so does life. Homes are renovated, possessions are replaced, new purchases are made and the way we use our properties and vehicles can evolve. Yet our insurance policies don’t always keep pace with those changes.
A SARS audit doesn’t have to be a crisis
Michael Whitehead | Business Unit Manager | Affinity-HNW | Aon South Africa | mail me | Running a business means managing risk every day. Whether it’s protecting assets, managing cash flow or ensuring regulatory compliance, business leaders understand the importance of planning for the unexpected. However, one risk often receives far less attention. It is the possibility of a tax audit.
A SARS Audit Doesn't Have to Be a Business Crisis
20 August 2026 | SMMEs | General | Michael Whitehead of Aon South Africa Why Every SME Should Be Prepared for the Financial Impact of a Tax Audit The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has conducted approximately 230,000 tax and customs compliance audits in the last fully reported financial year, alongside an additional 1.7 million verification cases[1], which means it’s not a case of if - but when - your business will be audited.
Bank accounts remain vulnerable – one click can cost thousands
Michael Whitehead | Business Unit Manager | Affinity-HNW | Aon South Africa | mail me | For most South Africans, digital banking has become second nature. We pay accounts from our phones, shop online, book holidays, transfer money to family and friends, and invest through banking apps. We can complete all these transactions within seconds. Unfortunately, criminals have become just as comfortable operating in this digital world.
How AI is making banking more personal
In a world where Uber Eats remembers your favourite order, Netflix seems to know exactly what you'll want to watch next, and Google Maps can predict the fastest route home before you even start driving, personalised experiences have become an everyday expectation.
Is fibre the new protein?
A few years ago, getting extra protein in your diet seemed relatively straightforward. You ate a steak or cooked some eggs and got on with your day. These days, protein seems to have gone from its traditional sources and spread right across the supermarket. It turns up in everything from iced coffee, breakfast cereal, snack bars, desserts to pancake mixes.
Women’s sports scores ‘9-Nil’ win at U.S. Supreme Court
by Michael K. Whitehead and Jonathan R. Whitehead, Attorneys, Kansas City, Mo. WASHINGTON, D.C. – In one of the most significant rulings of the decade for women and girls, the U.S. Supreme Court on June 30 upheld state laws protecting female athletes from male competition — and delivered an historic double victory for Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), the nation’s leading religious-liberty legal organization. The Court ruled in *West Virginia v. B.P.J.* and *Little v.
SCOTUS protects privacy of donor records of pro-life pregnancy center
EDITOR’S NOTE: Michael K. Whitehead and Jonathan Whitehead practice law in Lee’s Summit, Missouri and often serve as allied attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom. Mike serves on the Board of Directors for ADF. The personal views expressed are their own.
Understanding the importance of insurance for high-net-worth individuals Original
Michael Whitehead|Published 13 minutes ago As climate-related risks escalate, high-net-worth individuals must reassess their insurance strategies to protect their assets and ensure financial stability. Image: Freepik As winter sets in and South Africa continues to face increasingly severe weather-related events, now is a critical time to reassess yourpersonalrisk landscape.
Supreme Court ruling removes gag on Colorado Christian counselor, raises questions about Kansas City-area restrictions
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a sweeping First Amendment decision issued March 31, the United States Supreme Court removed a virtual gag on free speech which the state of Colorado had imposed on Christian counselors when talking to minors about their sexuality. In Chiles v.
The Easter egg isn’t just chocolate
As Australians head toward Easter Sunday on 5 April, one of the annual rituals around the event has begun. Not the planning for the egg hunt, or the preparation for the Sunday family gathering - but the annual debate about cocoa prices and how much they will impact the cost of the foil-wrapped eggs and chocolate bunnies lining the shelves.
Scoops to Superfoods: how frozen treat outlets became a consumer trend barometer
Summer is in full swing across the Southern Hemisphere while those in the north reach for jumpers and hot drinks. "Frozen outlets are more than dessert counters - they’re a fascinating social indicator for how people balance wellness, joy and time." Yet from Melbourne to Milan, the same ritual repeats outside the frozen counter - a line forming at the ice cream or gelato window, the fro-yo bar or the açaí bowl café.
FULL COVERAGE: ANZ's 2025 AGM
Today ANZ hosts the bank's 2025 Annual General Meeting. In these stories we bring you all the key presentations from the 2025 Annual General Meeting, messages from our Chairman and CEO and insights from our Chief Economist.
FY25 Results: In conversation with Farhan Faruqui
ANZ Chief Financial Officer Farhan Faruqui says the bank’s full year results allow the bank a strong base to “reset ourselves for the future”. Speaking with bluenotes on video, Faruqui said the result was reflective of a “a big year of change” that included resolving regulatory penalties, restructuring costs and the first full year of including the Suncorp Bank acquisition. {Video} Click here to read the transcript. “All of those things have come into the results.
Recipes for Rover: the big business of fuelling our four-legged friends
COVID-19 didn’t create the pet economy – but it gave it a serious boost. Lockdowns drove a surge in pet adoptions across Australia and globally. Pet ownership in Australia jumped from 61 percent of households in 2019 to 69 percent by 2022. In the United States, it grew from 56 percent in 2010 to 70 percent by 2022. In China, pet ownership in major cities quadrupled between 2010 and 2020, driven by rising incomes, smaller households and a growing sense that pets are a lifestyle statement.
U.S. Supreme Court case challenges gag rule on Christian counselors
Chiles v. Salazar could also resolve case on ‘counseling censorship’ in Jackson County, Mo. EDITOR’S NOTE: Mike and Jon Whitehead practice law in Lee’s Summit, Mo. Mike serves on the Board of Directors for Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). Mike and Jon volunteer as allied attorneys with ADF. The opinions in this article are their own. Washington, DC – On Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Chiles v.
Commentary: Now, disaster recovery will look a lot different from Katrina
August 29 was the 20th anniversary of the landfall of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana and Mississippi. A lot of people have heard stories about what happened in New Orleans after Katrina. This is another Katrina story. This is a story about what happened after a Category 5 storm passed over Mississippi. The situation in Mississippi was desperate.
Out of the box: unpacking the Labubu phenomenon
It’s one of the hottest consumer trends in the world – but customers don’t even know what they are buying until they get home and open the box. “We’re wired to follow the crowd. The ‘bandwagon’ effect is our tendency to follow what others are doing, simply because it seems like everyone else is doing it.
Trade talk: cars, sneakers and X Men
Have you ever wondered how a jacket made in Vietnam with wool from Australia, linen from China, and plastic buttons and zippers derived from Middle Eastern petroleum products ends up on your back? “Footwear importers have been known to add decorative features to shoes—like a fuzzy lining or a rubber sole—just to qualify them as House Slippers, a lower tariff category.” It is thanks to supply chains. What are they exactly?
AI in the FBA Supply Chain: The Smartest Thing in Your Fridge
“AI isn’t just changing how food is produced and delivered - it’s rewiring the entire system, from data point to dinner plate.” It’s 6 AM. You groggily prepare your coffee, making a mental note to buy more beans. Then you remember - your new AI-enabled coffee machine already knew you were low and ordered more before you even realised. Months earlier, thousands of kilometres away, AI ensured your favourite blend was harvested at peak ripeness, transported efficiently and delivered without delays.
Platters that matter: wine and cheese night transformed
While people often talk about them, when did you last actually have a wine and cheese night? While they have long been thought of as a way of welcoming the new neighbours - as well as impressing them with your Cab Sauv and Camembert selections - the humble ritual is changing as the global middle-class grows and transforms. From Mumbai to Chongqing consumers are embracing - and changing - the way we eat these dinner party staples. Take global cheese consumption.
Getting to the heart of Valentines spending
For the second year running, pizza and takeaway have replaced flowers and diamonds as the most romantic gesture on Valentines Day, with Australian couples showing that quality time is their preferred love language. “Travel also rose by 7 per cent, to hit $135 million, suggesting romantic weekends away are not fading out.” It seems to be part of a growing trend of Aussies transforming how they spoil each other on the most romantic day of the year.
Liquid gold: How olive oil became a global essential
Almost everyone has an olive oil story. It might be an Italian nonna who swore by a spoonful each morning “for the heart” or the half-empty bottle on your kitchen bench that goes into everything from roast potatoes to chocolate cake. "What was once a staple of Mediterranean diets has become a truly global food.
Judge’s split decision leaves Missouri abortion clinics closed for now
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Abortion clinics will remain closed in Missouri for now, in spite of Amendment 3, after a split decision by a Kansas City trial judge on Friday, Dec. 20, enjoined the total ban on abortions, but left in place certain licensing regulations that Planned Parenthood facilities do not meet. The abortion business was not happy.
U.S. Supreme Court hears case on Tennessee law protecting children from transgender medicines
EDITOR’S NOTE: Mike Whitehead is an attorney in private practice in Lee’s Summit, Mo., and serves on the Board of Directors for Alliance Defending Freedom. The opinions of the author are his own. This article is not legal advice, but is provided for education and information only. WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Supreme Court considered on Dec. 4 whether to uphold a Tennessee law protecting children from high-risk medicines that alter their bodies to try to make them look like the opposite sex.
Judge hears motions in Planned Parenthood suit on Missouri's Amendment 3 • Pathway
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For nearly 4½ hours on Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 4, Jackson County Circuit Judge Jerri Zhang listened to detailed legal arguments from New York attorneys for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, regarding various motions in their lawsuit to strike down two dozen Missouri statutes regulating abortion providers, based on the newly enacted Amendment 3.
Aussie Christmas: prawns, puddings and prosecco
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Across most parts of the world, the Christmas decorations are up across city streets – almost as soon as the Halloween ones came down. “In contrast, in Japan, fried chicken - especially KFC - has become a staple of the Christmas season, with millions ordering their “Christmas Chicken” weeks in advance.” Jingle Bells is playing in shops and businesses are scouting for anywhere still available for Christmas parties.
Planned Parenthood files lawsuit to enforce Missouri Amendment 3
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Just a few hours after passing Missouri constitutional Amendment 3, abortion industry lawyers filed a lawsuit in Kansas City, asserting their new fundamental right to make money by providing abortions in Missouri.
Planned Parenthood files lawsuit to enforce Missouri Amendment 3
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Just a few hours after passing Missouri constitutional Amendment 3, abortion industry lawyers filed a lawsuit in Kansas City, asserting their new fundamental right to make money by providing abortions in Missouri.
Federal judge strikes down Biden overtime rule nationwide
SHERMAN, Texas – This summer, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) adopted a new rule increasing the salary thresholds for overtime pay exemption, and the rule may have had a negative impact on churches and ministries. But a federal judge, last week, struck down the new overtime rule nationwide. On Nov.
Mixing in the right circles
The agricultural revolution of the 20th century – driven by changes in cultivation and mechanisation – drove higher and higher crop yields. "Should Australian farmers consider mixed production systems – combining crops and livestock and even fisheries - as a response to challenges including weather and volatile price cycles?” One crop over a large farming area has characterised this revolution and has helped create the modern global agricultural industry.
New Overtime Rules for Salaried Employees May Impact Churches
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Weather: against the grain?
Ask any cropping operator and most likely they’ll remember different cropping rotations going back years and decades. This practical knowledge is more connected to our day-to-day life than many of us consider. "Farmers are likely to remember the exact week each year when the break – or the first significant rains which follow the dry summer period – finally arrived.” We talk about this in the latest ANZ Agri Infocus Commodity Insights Winter 2024 report.
New overtime rules for salaried employees may impact churches
Posted Tuesday, June 18, 2024 10:04 am WASHINGTON – The US Department of Labor has adopted a new rule effective July 1, 2024, that increases the salary thresholds required to exempt a salaried executive, administrative or professional employee from federal overtime pay requirements. Pastors and some ministers may continue to be exempt from overtime rules, but the new rule may still impact a church’s payroll for non-ministerial program and support staff.
New overtime rules for salaried employees may impact churches
WASHINGTON – The US Department of Labor has adopted a new rule effective July 1, 2024, that increases the salary thresholds required to exempt a salaried executive, administrative or professional employee from federal overtime pay requirements. Pastors and some ministers may continue to be exempt from overtime rules, but the new rule may still impact a church’s payroll for non-ministerial program and support staff.
Searching for the good oil
A few weeks ago around the time of “Western” Easter (largely celebrated by the Catholic and Protestant churches), the surge in the price of cocoa was causing consumers concern about the price of chocolate eggs?
Eggonomics: the hidden cost of Easter
For most Australians, regardless of their beliefs, Easter is a time to buy, cook or eat something special. Clearly, the most popular food sold around Easter is chocolate. "Like a chocolate fountain gone haywire, the price of cocoa, the main ingredient in in chocolate, has shot up.” The chocolate Easter eggs and bunnies have been in the supermarket for months – it feels like they started putting them out on Boxing Day.
Steaks are high
This debate – covered in ANZ’s recent Food for Thought - 2024 report – is far from new and resurfaces every few years. In recent months, the issue’s prominence, particularly in the political and media arenas, has been one factor behind the Federal Government directing the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to conduct an inquiry into the supermarket industry.
A scary surprise: the price of chocolate
They knock on doors and hope their cry of “Trick or Treat” will be rewarded with some kind of lollies or candy. No doubt many of you went shopping for sweet things to keep the kids at bay. "These figures represent an indication of chocolate demand and show consumers may be reducing their consumption in the midst of other household inflationary concerns. If you did, you may have been taken aback by the high price of items in the confectionary aisle, particularly any product containing chocolate.
2018 Roger Goulart Cava Gran Reserva Extra Brut, Spain, Wine Review
This cava is a blend of 35% Chardonnay, 35% Xarel·lo, 15% Macabeo, and 15% Parellada. Light golden in color, clear and bright with a nice mousse of medium sized bubbles. The nose has seltzer, slight diesel notes (which blew off with air), almonds and green apples. Medium bodied. On the palate, this has a nice complexity to it. Lemons, grapefruit, yeast and slight minerals. Good acidity. Nice finish. Hard to beat this for value in sparkling wine. Nice on its own, but better with food.
Truth or dairy: are milk prices going up or down?
There is a good reason. “At a domestic level, these high farmgate prices, combined with other drivers of food inflation, have seen strong rises in the retail price of many dairy products, such as butter, cheese and yoghurt.” In Australia, some dairy products such as butter, cheese and yoghurt may well get more expensive in coming months.
Coffee-nomics
How could any price pressures ultimately impact the Aussie love of drinking coffee? It is already being suggested that supermarket coffee sales are rising as consumers switch from takeaway coffee to more homemade to save their vital pennies. In addition, as the supermarkets widen their overall home-brand ranges they are now including products like coffee pods, selling them far more cheaply than well-known brands.
Immunobiology of a rationally-designed AAV2 capsid following intravitreal delivery in mice - Gene Therapy
Abstract Adeno-associated virus serotype 2 (AAV2) is a viral vector that can be used to deliver therapeutic genes to diseased cells in the retina. One strategy for altering AAV2 vectors involves the mutation of phosphodegron residues, which are thought to be phosphorylated/ubiquitinated in the cytosol, facilitating degradation of the vector and the inhibition of transduction.
Winter is coming for the agri commodity price cycle
The intense buying competition from farmers wanting to restock after the last drought has eased as the national cattle herd approaches optimal levels. Importantly, a lower cattle price is also a benefit for the meat processing sector which has limited ability to pass on the costs of expensive cattle to retailers. In terms of exports, the demand for Australian beef exports remains strong, particularly to the USA where the cyclical rebuild of their herd has meant reduced domestic supply.
How health services can better support boys and men
There’s an increasing number of resources developed for health conditions experienced by boys and men, and you could be forgiven for thinking that most of the innovation in modern men’s health initiatives is online. The reach of these virtual initiatives is wide, aided by rapid dissemination in this present age of digital health, social media and disruption.
Future of Australian agriculture ripe for the taking
This robust position hasn’t come about by chance. The industry has worked hard to reach increasing levels of structural efficiency, resilience and innovation while taking advantage of good production seasons and high prices for most agricultural commodities. “It’s certainly a great time to be part of Australian agriculture.
Export bans a bump in the road for agri
With many of these restrictions having taken place recently - and with the outlook for a number of them uncertain - it becomes important to examine why these restrictions are imposed, what consequences have been seen in the past and how they have been ended. Agri export restrictions can take several forms.
Aus agri: expanding relationships in India
The ECTA with India is the latest signed by Australia over the past two decades, often after years of negotiations. The FTA with New Zealand was signed in 1983 and since 2003 Australia has ratified around 16 FTAs including with US, China, Japan, and South Korea. Each has subsequently seen important benefits for certain agri exports, particularly beef. For Australian agriculture, India provides a massive, evolving and unique marketplace.
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