“Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in a withering dissent that the Supreme Court’s ruling blocking COVID-19 restrictions for religious services in New York “will only exacerbate the Nation’s suffering.” “Justices of this Court play a deadly game in second guessing the expert judgment of health officials about the environments in which a contagious virus, now infecting a million Americans each week, spreads most easily,” Sotomayor wrote in her dissent. The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled in a 5-4 vote in favor of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and two Orthodox Jewish congregations that challenged New York state’s restrictions on large indoor gatherings amid the worsening coronavirus pandemic. It was the first major decision since Amy Coney Barrett joined the court, and the newest justice sided with the conservative majority. Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts joined the three liberal justices in dissent. Notably, Justice Elena Kagan, who is Jewish and from New York, joined Sotomayor, who is Catholic and also from New York, in the latter’s dissent. “Amidst a pandemic that has already claimed over a quarter million American lives, the Court today enjoins one of New York’s public health measures aimed at containing the spread of COVID–19 in areas facing the most severe outbreaks,” Sotomayor wrote. The U.S. has seen coronavirus cases skyrocket, with an average of more than 170,000 confirmed cases per day over the past week, more than double the average daily rate of cases a month ago. Hot damn, Justice Sotomayor:“Justices of this Court play a deadly game in second-guessing the expert judgment of health officials about the environments in which a contagious virus, now infecting a million Americans each week, spreads most easily.”https://t.co/l8NhxnwFWA— Cristian Farias (@cristianafarias) November 26, 2020 Sotomayor in her dissent also dismissed the diocese’s argument that New York’s restrictions are “impermissibly targeted at religious activity.” The justice pointed to the court’s own precedent just two years ago in a ruling upholding President Donald Trump’s travel ban targeting Muslim-majority countries. “Just a few Terms ago, this Court declined to apply heightened scrutiny to a Presidential Proclamation limiting immigration from Muslim-majority countries, even though President Trump had described the Proclamation as a ‘Muslim Ban,’ originally conceived of as a ‘total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.’” Sotomayor also dissented in that case, along with late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Supreme Court Rejects GOP Bid To Reverse Joe Biden’s Pennsylvania Win
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["WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has rejected Republicans’ last-gasp bid to reverse Pennsylvania’s certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the electoral battleground. The court without comment Tue...
Lou Holtz Calls Donald Trump ‘Greatest President During My Lifetime’
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["People on social media wanted to jeer, jeer for old Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz. He called President Donald Trump “the greatest president during my lifetime” while being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom at t...
Supreme Court Orders Review Of California’s Coronavirus Restrictions For Churches
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["WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a lower federal court to reexamine California restrictions on indoor religious services in areas hard hit by the coronavirus in light of the justices’ recent r...
Naomi Watts Calls ‘Game Of Thrones’ Prequel Cancellation A ‘Deep Shame’
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["A “Game of Thrones” prequel is coming ... but Naomi Watts isn’t. Late last year, HBO shocked “Game of Thrones” fans everywhere by canceling one of its much-hyped prequels to the series, this one starring none other ...
Supreme Court Seems Skeptical Of Trump’s Census Plan
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["WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court sounded skeptical Monday that President Donald Trump could categorically exclude people living in the country illegally from the population count used to allot seats among the sta...
Arizona Certifies Biden Win, GOP Governor Calls State’s Elections System ‘Strong’
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["Arizona officials have certified Joe Biden’s narrow victory over President Donald Trump in the state. Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs and Republican Gov. Doug Ducey stood up for the integrity of the electi...
Supreme Court Weighs Trump Bid To Bar Illegal Immigrants From Census Count
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["Erin Scott / Reuters A general view of the Supreme Court building at sunset in Washington, November 10, 2020. (REUTERS/Erin Scott) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Monday is set to take up President Donal...
Iran’s Supreme Leader Vows Revenge Over Slain Scientist
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["TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s supreme leader on Saturday demanded the “definitive punishment” of those behind the killing of a scientist who led Tehran’s disbanded military nuclear program, as the Islamic Republic blam...