Supreme Court to hear arguments by phone, airline travel, Star Wars Day: 5 things to know Monday

Editors, USA TODAY
·4 min read

Supreme Court to hear oral arguments over the phone and stream them live

The Supreme Court will begin hearing oral arguments over the phone Monday – a small step for social distancing, but a giant leap for the justices. For decades, the court has ignored most of the technological and transparency advancements adopted by other branches of government. But when Supreme Court Marshal Pamela Talkin cries "Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!" at 10 a.m. sharp Monday, she will be using Alexander Graham Bell's invention of 1876, but with a twist: C-SPAN, which will carry two weeks of arguments live. The court will kick off the phone hearings with a case by the travel website Booking.com to trademark its name.

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Costco returns to regular hours – but you must wear a mask; Macy's reopens

In something like a return to normalcy amid the coronavirus pandemic, most Costco stores and gas stations on Monday will return to regular operating hours, which vary by location. Customers and employees alike will be required to wear face-coverings or masks, however. The requirement does not apply to children under the age of 2 or to people who are unable to wear a mask or face covering due to a medical condition, the company said. Meanwhile, Macy's plans to reopen 68 stores in states where restrictions placed to stem the spread of coronavirus have been lifted. The retailer will institute several significant changes to the shopping experience, including "no-touch" consultations in beauty departments and the suspension of alteration services.

State reopenings: Arkansas, Montana, Kansas take steps toward normalcy

Monday will bring a flurry of reopenings across the country amid the coronavirus pandemic, including gyms, fitness centers and indoor athletic facilities in Arkansas and restaurants, bars, casinos, breweries and distilleries in Montana. Also, Kansas will begin a three-phase reopening strategy upon the expiration of its statewide stay-at-home order and Colorado and Minnesota will begin opening nonessential businesses. While California isn’t reopening on Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday that he would make an announcement this week on plans to ease coronavirus restrictions.

Pack your face mask when headed to the airport

Delta, United and JetBlue will require all passengers to wear face coverings beginning Monday. Delta and JetBlue will make them mandatory from the time passengers check in through the time they deplane. United said it will provide the required face coverings to passengers and the new policy will also make masks compulsory for other front-line employees such as pilots, customer service agents and ramp workers. Flight attendants for these airlines are already wearing masks. What else is changing? More airports may use machines to check passengers for fever and security checkpoints may have plexiglass shields between passengers and screeners.

Happy Star Wars Day! ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ to hit Disney Plus

May the Fourth be with you, Star Wars fans. “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” will begin streaming on Disney Plus on Monday, about two months earlier than scheduled, and just in time for “Star Wars Day.” The release will give fans the option of streaming the full nine-part saga, though “The Rise of Skywalker” was the worst reviewed of the nine “Star Wars” installments, according to Rotten Tomatoes. During the pandemic, Disney has diverted several of its titles to its streaming service early for housebound viewers, including “Frozen 2” and “Onward.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Supreme Court phone hearings, Star Wars Day: 5 things to know Monday