The Latest: Calif. settles pandemic challenge by churches

The Latest: Calif. settles pandemic challenge by churches

SeattlePI.com

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LOS ANGELES — The state of California has agreed to pay more than $2 million in legal fees in a settlement with churches that challenged pandemic closure orders.

Church lawyers who successfully took their appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court said Wednesday that the state has agreed not to impose restrictions on houses of worship that are more stringent than those for retail businesses.

Several churches challenged Gov. Gavin Newsom’s restrictions as violations of their First Amendment right to worship.

Newsom’s office says the governor put the health of Californians first and the settlements provide clarity on how public health standards can be applied to churches.

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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:

— Japan gives $800M to UN-backed COVID-19 vaccine program

— AstraZeneca starts deliveries of Thailand-made vaccines

— EU eyes revamp of ID check-free zone to improve travel flow

— Sinovac vaccine restores one Brazilian city to near normal

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— Follow more of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

UNITED NATIONS — The International Labor Organization says the COVID-19 pandemic has created an “unparalleled” global labor market crisis that will affect the job market for years.

The U.N. agency said in a report Wednesday an estimated 8.8% of total working hours were lost last year. It says that is “the equivalent of the hours worked in one year by 255 million full-time workers.”

The Geneva-based agency estimates that if there had not been a pandemic, the world would have...

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