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Halloween weather? Frightful for many

Oh, the weather outside is frightful this Halloween as an onslaught of rain, snow and cold is in the forecast for many trick-or-treaters. A large storm system will bring soggy weather to much of the eastern U.S. on Halloween. Meanwhile, snow will give Halloween night a Christmasy feel in the Upper Midwest and western Great Lakes regions. Bone-chilling cold will be the story for Halloween revelers in the northern Rockies and northern and central Plains as wind chills dip into the teens and 20s in many areas. On the bright side? The weather over much of the northwestern U.S. will be fine for trick-or-treating, although certainly chillier than most Halloweens have been. The Southwest, too, will also enjoy mostly mild and dry weather on Halloween. 

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The National Retail Federation estimates that people in the United States will spend a total of almost $9 billion on Halloween in 2019. 10Best Editors, USA TODAY 10Best

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House to vote on resolution on impeachment inquiry procedures ...

The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote Thursday on a Democratic resolution that maps out the rules for public hearings in the impeachment investigation of President Donald Trump. The House is expected to debate the resolution in the morning and vote on it as part of a series.  The vote will be the first of the full House under the formal impeachment inquiry and will put moderate lawmakers from both parties under scrutiny heading into the 2020 election. The resolution formalizes the public phase of the investigation with hearings and evidence-sharing with the president’s counsel, even as Republicans continue to criticize the process as a “sham.” 

... and will hear testimony from key White House aide

The House impeachment inquiry is scheduled on Thursday to listen from a key witness who could shed more light on how Trump withheld military aid for Ukraine while urging the investigation of his political rival. Timothy Morrison, the National Security Council's senior director for Europe and Russia, was mentioned repeatedly in earlier House testimony about Trump withholding nearly $400 million that Congress had approved, under the condition that Ukraine announce an investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. Morrison's testimony would follow that of Alexander Vindman, who told lawmakers he raised concerns twice that Trump and his European Union ambassador, Gordon Sondland, inappropriately pushed Ukrainian leaders to investigate the Bidens.

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Dangerous wildfires keep California on edge

"Extreme" red flag warnings in Southern California are expected to persist Thursday, bringing the potential for "rapid fire spread" and "extreme fire behavior," according to the National Weather Service. Fueled in part by strong winds and high temperatures, wildfires have spread fast and have forced thousands to evacuate. In Simi Valley, a Ventura County city of 125,000 about 40 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, the new blaze dubbed the Easy Fire consumed about 1,650 acres. Crews had no containment by Wednesday evening, and the fire was threatening at least 7,000 buildings. The fire came dangerously close to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, spokeswoman Melissa Giller said, but was saved by a shift in the winds — and the work of goats brought in every year to create a fire break by chewing through vegetation surrounding the complex.  

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With a week of wild Santa Ana winds, California is under siege by several fires such as the Kincade, Getty, Easy and Tick Fires. Harrison Hill and Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY

Chicago teachers strike: When will it end?

The Chicago teachers strike marks its eleventh school day Thursday. Union representatives voted Wednesday night to accept a tentative agreement with City Hall but to remain on strike until Mayor Lori Lightfoot agrees to make up the school days lost to the strike. Lightfoot  says she won’t extend the school year or cut into scheduled school breaks. The tentative agreement addresses key union concerns, such as limiting class sizes and hiring more support staff. "We really feel like important things were accomplished over the last ten days—things that would never have been accomplished if we hadn’t walked the picket lines," said Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey. "Now, we feel like we’re just being punished because we had the audacity to defy the mayor.”

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