High court backs corona rules

The U.S. Supreme Court, on a 5-4 vote, upheld a lower court decision Friday rejecting a Nevada church’s challenge to state virus protection rules. Chief Justice John Roberts joined the four liberal justices in this ruling.

Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley, located near Reno, alleged it was being discriminated against because its indoor seating limits were at 50 people while casinos were only limited to 50 percent of capacity, regardless of size.

In an earlier case, Roberts wrote that elected officials were better suited to establish health and safety rules during a pandemic that the courts. State officials said that organizations other than churches were subject to the same or similar rules that Calvary Chapel challenged.

Hurricane Douglas heads toward Hawaii

Weather officials are predicting that Hurricane Douglas will lose strength before it hits the nation’s 50th state. As of Friday, it was classified as a Category 4 storm. It’s now been downgraded to Category 3, but it still is packing winds of 111 to 129 miles an hour.

The storm is about 725 miles away from Hilo, Hawaii and high winds are expected to arrive by Saturday night. The exact course of Douglas is difficult to predict, according to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu.

Also in the news:  $600 unemployment and more?

• Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives are still battling over the shape of relief payments for money for those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. GOP congresspersons want an extension to the $600 weekly unemployment benefit, but Democrats want a broader package that will include more money for schools, cities, states and coronavirus testing.
• For the third consecutive day, the count of deaths in America from the pandemic has exceeded 1,000 people. The total number of American coronavirus cases is now around 4,057,000 and the death toll is at 144,500. Dr. Anthony Fauci suggested that some restrictions that have been lifted might be re-instated.
• In retaliation for the U.S. demand to close the Chinese consulate in Houston, the Beijing government ordered the American consulate in Chengdu closed. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the shutdown of the Houston office was in respond to “spying and intellectual property theft.”

Angels lose, Dodgers go to 2-0

The Los Angeles Angels lost their season opener Friday night on a 10th-inning walkoff grand slam home run and the Dodgers improved to 2-0 with their victory over the Giants.

• Oakland 7, Angels 3 (10): Ramon Laureano cleared the bases with his blast with one out in the bottom of the 10th in Oakland. Jason Castro tied the game up with his solo homer in the ninth for the Halos. The Angels had plenty of baserunners with seven hits and six walks, but batted only 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
• Dodgers 9, San Francisco 1: A 13-hit attack sparked LA to the victory, improving the team record to 2-0 on the young season. Max Muncy was the top hitting star for the Dodgers, slamming two  home runs and collecting three hits.Corey Seager went 3-for-4, scored a run and drew a walk. Ross Stripling (1-0) pitched seven innings, giving up four hits and one run while striking out seven batters.

Both teams are in action Saturday against the same opponents.