Judges Reject Jewish, Catholic Group Challenges to New NY Coronavirus Restrictions

A federal judge has approved the implementation of restrictions on religious gatherings in designated coronavirus hotspots in New York, citing the urgency of preventing the spread of the illness.Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday announced a series of restrictions on large gatherings in areas with coronavirus clusters. Those restrictions ban gatherings of more than ten people in houses of worship, entirely forbid mass gatherings, and shutter non-essential businesses while allowing restaurants to operate on a takeout-only basis.New York has seen a coronavirus resurgence in areas containing large populations of orthodox Jews, including parts of Rockland and Orange Counties and several neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens. (Another cluster has appeared in Broome County, west of the Catskill Mountains.) Agudath Israel, an ultra-orthodox Jewish advocacy group, sued the state of New York arguing that the restrictions constituted religious discrimination.However, Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto of the Eastern District Court in Brooklyn said in a Friday ruling that the new restrictions were not discriminatory and were justified in light of new coronavirus outbreaks."How can we ignore the compelling state interest in protecting the health and life of all New Yorkers?" Matsumoto said.The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn brought its own lawsuit against the restrictions, which was also defeated on Friday in a ruling by Judge Eric Komitee of the Eastern District Court.Governor Cuomo "made remarkably clear that this [executive] order was intended to target a different set of religious institutions," namely ultra-Orthodox religious gatherings, Komitee wrote in his ruling. The Brooklyn Diocese "appears to have been swept up in that effort having been mostly spared, so far at least, from the problem at hand."Both Agudath Israel and Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio have vowed to appeal the rulings and called on residents to obey health guidelines to prevent coronavirus spread.

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Africa 'needs $1.2tn' to recover coronavirus losses

The economic damage caused by coronavirus leaves the continent with a big repair bill, the IMF says.

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Gingrich on the state of the 2020 race

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich weighs in on the 2020 race as election day draws near.

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Kentucky governor to quarantine

One of his security guards tested positive for Covid-19.

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Fact check: Alex Jones' claims about Trump's COVID-19 treatments, 'deep state' are false

An InfoWars video claims evidence is mounting the president is being deliberately killed by his doctors on behalf of the "deep state." That's false.

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Trump’s Virus Treatment Revives Questions About Unchecked Nuclear Authority

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Hurricane Delta makes landfall in storm-battered Louisiana

The state is still recovering from the damage caused by another storm, Hurricane Laura, in August.

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Republicans have packed the courts and openly 'brag about it,' top Senate Democrat complains

The US Constitution does not specify how many federal judges there must be, including on the Supreme Court

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Fauci says Trump ad uses his words without permission and out of context

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on Sunday that a new Trump campaign ad about the coronavirus pandemic uses his words out of context and without his permission.The 30-second ad, titled "Carefully," praises President Trump for how he has handled the pandemic, which has left more than 214,000 Americans dead. It also features an edited clip of Fauci, his words spliced together so he says, "I can't imagine that ... anybody could be doing more."In a statement to CBS News, Fauci said that in his "nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed any political candidate. The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials."The soundbite was taken from an interview Fauci did on Fox News in March, when he was asked about the federal response to the virus. Fauci discussed how the White House Coronavirus Task Force was doing an "impressive" job trying to tackle the pandemic, then in its very early stages. Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh told CBS News the video uses Fauci's "own words," and they are "accurate, and directly from Dr. Fauci's mouth."More stories from theweek.com Mike Pence was the unlikely winner of the vice presidential debate The myth of Mike Pence's appeal Trump is shockingly bad at this

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'Saturday Night Live' addresses the 2020 vice-presidential debate in a divisive sketch about the fly and Herman Cain

Some people thought the skit was hilarious, while others viewed it as insensitive since Herman Cain died in recent months.

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Ken Starr: Biden, Harris making terrible decision not to reveal choice for Supreme Court

Former White House independent counsel reacts to the Democrats refusal to name their choices for the high court.

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Philippines says it and China reaffirm strong relations

The foreign ministers of Philippines and China reaffirmed their countries' strong relations on Saturday, Manila's foreign ministry said, amid bilateral tensions over the South China Sea. China, which has for years been locked in maritime disputes with other coastal states in the South China Sea, has in recent months held exercises in disputed parts of the strategic waterway, at a time when other claimants are battling coronavirus outbreaks. "Both sides reaffirmed the continuing vitality of relations despite the constraints imposed by COVID-19," the Philippines' foreign ministry said in a statement following talks in Yunnan between Teodoro Locsin and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

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