THE BUZZ: As California nears a perilous new high point in the pandemic, the courts are still setting limits on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ability to respond.

Religious liberty carried the day at the U.S. Supreme Court last week as newly installed Justice Amy Coney Barrett supplied the swing vote to block New York’s coronavirus restrictions on places of worship. The 5-4 decision was a reversal of the high court’s May ruling that rebuffed a San Diego church’s challenge to Newsom’s rules — and as POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein reports, Justice Neil Gorsuch last week excoriated Chief Justice John Roberts’ rationale for letting California’s public health restrictions outweigh the concerns of the observant.

The court’s decision to prioritize freedom of worship could affect another California church’s case, with implications for the entire state. Harvest Rock Church last week asked the Supreme Court to take up its challenge to Newsom’s limits on in-person worship. Naturally, the lawsuit included some French Laundry photos to assert that Newsom was discriminating against the faithful and imposing rules that the “Governor disregards at his own whim.”

While the Newsom administration keeps a wary eye on SCOTUS, it’s fending off a check on the governor’s powers in California state court. The 3rd District Court of Appeals stayed Sutter County Superior Court Judge Sarah Heckman’s injunction barring Newsom from wielding his executive powers to alter state law; we’re still waiting for the appeals court to rule on the underlying question of Newsom’s latitude under the California Emergency Services Act. The brushback from Heckman was a victory for Republican Assemblymembers Kevin Kiley and James Gallagher, who have battled what they see as Newsom’s unconstitutional overreaches. Kiley is already planning legislation to limit states of emergency.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles’ outdoor dining ban and San Diego’s halt on indoor operations withstood legal challenges and a counterattack from the LA County Board of Supervisors last week. A proposed initiative to strip Newsom of his emergency powers, backed by an alimony reform crusader, is likely to fizzle.

The legal machinations are playing out as soaring coronavirus numbers have compelled Newsom to clamp down further, pulling most California counties into the most stringent tier and issuing a nighttime curfew. LA has retreated back under a stay-at-home order. It’s the type of dangerous, rapidly changing situation that makes a good argument for broad and swift executive authority. But after nearly a year of the coronavirus pandemic, weary Californians — from elected officials to churchgoers to restaurant owners — are demonstrably chafing under prolonged prohibitions.

BUENOS DÍAS, good Monday morning. We hope you had a relaxing and safe holiday. We should get a call today in California’s sole outstanding race, the CA-25 nailbiter in which GOP Rep. Mike Garcia leads Democratic Assemblywoman Christy Smith by about 400, with LA planning to release a final batch and certify the results. In addition to another House flip, we learned over the holiday that GOP Sen. Scott Wilk and Democratic Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris will be returning to Sacramento.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “This pandemic is like a high-speed train and our projections tell us that we are on target to derail by the third week of December if we don’t apply brakes right now with all our collective might.” Santa Clara County Health Officer Sara Cody.

TWEET OF THE DAY: @RepMaxineWaters on Thanksgiving: “Home alone in Washington, husband in LA, spending the day plotting on the Republicans about how I’m going to kick butt to get another stimulus plan to put food on the table for so many families in need. Must pass HEROES Act. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!”

ALTERNATE TOTD: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy @GOPLeader on Trump pardoning former national security adviser Michael Flynn: “What happened to @GenFlynn was a national disgrace. No American should ever be targeted for simply belonging to a certain political party. President @realDonaldTrump is right to pardon the respected three-star general.”

WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.

WHAT GOES AROUND … “Are California prison guards covering up misconduct? Lawmaker wants an investigation,” by the Sac Bee’s Wes Venteicher: “The chairman of the Assembly Public Safety Committee has requested a broad investigation into whether California prison guards are covering up misconduct … The union representing California prison guards spent more than $1 million this year attacking [Assemblymember Reggie] Jones-Sawyer and supporting his opponent in an aggressive but unsuccessful bid to unseat him.”

— “CHP removes activists from Caltrans-owned homes in El Sereno during violent confrontation,” by ABC 7.

GERALD THE TERRIBLE — “'All we could do was run': the strange story of Gerald, the turkey who terrorized a city,” by the Guardian’s Kari Paul.

LA LOCKDOWN — “Los Angeles issues stay-home order as coronavirus surges,” by the AP’s Brian Melley: “The three-week order takes effect Monday.”

— "California smashes record for COVID-19 hospitalizations as fears mount that facilities could be overwhelmed," by the SF Chronicle's Tatiana Sanchez , Sam Whiting and Vanessa Arredondo.

— “Santa Clara County tightens rules amid alarming case surge, including required quarantine for travelers,” by the SF Chronicle’s Janelle Bitker, Erin Allday and Sarah Ravani.

— “San Francisco and San Mateo land in purple tier, curfew to start Monday night,” by the SF Chronicle’s Erin Allday , Janelle Bitker and Tony Bravo.

GIMME SHELTER — California has fewer hotels for homeless people as pandemic surges in state, by POLITICO’s Mackenzie Hawkins: “Local officials say they must shut many of the hotels that have accommodated more than 23,000 people during the pandemic. Counties are hesitant to rely on uncertain federal funding, while Gov. Gavin Newsom and local leaders are focusing on permanent hotel conversions that can keep residents off the streets for good.”

— “Many in Fresno County can't afford a free COVID-19 test. Why it's complicated and dangerous,” by the Fresno Bee’s Manuela Tobias.

SENATE SCRAMBLE — “Democratic fight emerges ahead of appointment to fill Kamala Harris' Senate seat,” by CNN’s Alex Rogers and Manu Raju: “The jockeying among various groups to promote their preferred candidates has already led to a tense fight within the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, as some members privately criticized what they viewed as heavy-handed tactics in its political arm's endorsement of [Secretary of State Alex] Padilla.”

— “One Seat, Competing Pressures as Newsom Considers Senate Pick,” by NYT’s Shawn Hubler and Alexander Burns: “Though many names have been floated to succeed Ms. Harris, Mr. Padilla has emerged as the front-runner.”

NICHOLS NUDGE — “Top California air, climate regulator hopes to run Biden EPA,” by the AP’s Kathleen Ronayne: “Over four decades, Mary Nichols has been the regulator behind some of the nation’s most ambitious climate policies and, in recent years, she’s been their staunchest defender against President Donald Trump’s effort to dismantle them.”

SECRETARY SU? “California’s Su Rises in Biden Labor Chief Race as Unions Split,” by Bloomberg’s Ben Penn and Josh Eidelson: “Organized labor’s divide over at least three White men they’re promoting for Joe Biden‘s selection as labor secretary has vaulted another candidate with a lower national profile, California Labor Secretary Julie Su, into stronger contention for the job.”

— “How Biden administration could upend Prop. 22 and make Uber, Lyft drivers employees,” by the SF Chronicle’s Bob Egelko: “Labor officials in the incoming Biden administration could propose rules that would overturn key provisions of Prop. 22, entitling the drivers to minimum wages, worker benefits and union representation.”

VALADAO MAKES 3 — Republican David Valadao reclaims California House seat, by POLITICO’s Jeremy B. White: For the second consecutive cycle, voters in California's agriculture-dominated 21st congressional district were choosing between Valadao and Democratic Rep. T. J. Cox. Two years after Cox prevailed by 862 votes in California's tightest house race, Valadao wrested back the district he had formerly represented for three terms, prevailing by around 1,700 votes.

THE BIGGER PICTURE — GOP finds silver lining in Trump’s landslide California loss, by POLITICO’s David Siders: It was the best year for Republicans in California in more than a decade.

COMING SOON — California Assembly will tip off at Golden 1 Center for session start, by POLITICO’s Jeremy B. White: Leaders announced the details Wednesday for a constitutionally mandated Dec. 7 session where newly elected members will be sworn in. The Senate and the Assembly are taking different approaches: the upper house will convene in chambers while the Assembly will gather at Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center, the city's NBA arena blocks from the Capitol.

— “Life, death and pandemic greet California’s struggling Main Streets,” by the LA Times’ Hailey Branson-Potts: “From the quaint Myrtle Avenue in Monrovia to the dying strips of old Gold Rush towns to the bucolic Main Street, U.S.A., in the still-closed Disneyland to the famed Colorado Boulevard — part of Route 66, dubbed the Main Street of America — these are places that invoke a sense of a more prosperous yesteryear. A time when mom-and-pops thrived and community was at the center of everything.”

BAD AIR — “Wildfire Smoke Is Poisoning California’s Kids. Some Pay a Higher Price,” by the NY Times’ Somini Sengupta: “For a child, it matters where you live. It matters how much foul air you breathe in on days when there are no fires at all. It matters whether your family can afford an air purifier at home or whether they can whisk you away when ash rains down from the sky.”

— “Along the crumbling Sonoma coast, an ambitious project paves the way for ‘managed retreat’,” by the LA Times’ Rosanna Xia: “The ambitious project — approved this month after more than a decade of planning — comes at a time when city and state leaders across California are waking up to the social and economic disasters of sea level rise. At least $8 billion in property could be underwater by 2050, according to recent legislative reports, with an additional $10 billion at risk during high tides.”

— “BART, unions reach accord over labor contracts but layoffs still possible,” by the SF Chronicle’s Michael Cabanatuan.

FRENCH LAUNDRY FLAYING — “Gavin Newsom, What Were You Thinking?” Miriam Pawel opines for the NY Times: “The party at a restaurant where dinner for two costs more than many people earn in a week reinforced a fundamental schism between those who value government as a force for good and those who resent it as the bastion of an out-of-touch elite oblivious to people’s needs.”

— Late complication tangles FTC’s decision on suing Facebook, by POLITICO’s Leah Nylen: While the five commissioners had been expected to file the suit by the end of this month, the agency’s commissioners are now grappling with the prospect that Republican Chairman Joseph Simons’ likely departure before the next administration could lead to 2-2 splits in future votes.

ICYMI — “Parler’s vibe is MAGA-red and unreal. Extremism by design?” by the LA Times’ Carolina A. Miranda: “Parleys by verified influencers such as Ivanka Trump and the Los Angeles Police Department (that’s right, the LAPD is on Parler) appear amid posts by other verified influencers such as the Proud Boys, who recently shared a meme that mocked George Floyd’s death with explicit images of a sexual act, and Alex Jones, who recently posted that ‘Slave Camps’ are ‘Headed to Biden’s America.’”

— “Hollywood’s Obituary, the Sequel. Now Streaming,” by NYT’s Brooks Barnes: “The moment of crisis in which Hollywood now finds itself is different. In the 110-year history of the American film industry, never has so much upheaval arrived so fast and on so many fronts, leaving many writers, directors, studio executives, agents and other movie workers disoriented and demoralized.”

— How One of the Reddest States Became the Nation’s Hottest Weed Market, by POLITICO’s Paul Demko: Oklahoma is now the biggest medical marijuana market in the country on a per capita basis. More than 360,000 Oklahomans — nearly 10 percent of the state’s population—have acquired medical marijuana cards over the last two years.

— “MLB gives city of Fresno ultimatum on Grizzlies: It’s Single-A affiliation or nothing,” by the Fresno Bee’s Brianna Calix.

— “Former Israeli fugitive pleads guilty in Northern California video slot gambling ring,” by the Sac Bee’s Dale Kasler.

— “‘Toy Story’ at the start,” by the SF Chronicle’s Peter Hartlaub.

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