10 things you need to know today: October 29, 2019

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1. Pelosi: House to vote on impeachment process
2. Official who heard Trump's Ukraine call to testify about serious concerns
3. Parliament brushes off Johnson proposal for early election
4. Justice Department appeals order to provide evidence from Mueller grand jury
5. Firefighters make progress against fire that forced evacuations in L.A.
6. S&P 500 closes at record high
7. N.C. court rules GOP-leaning congressional maps violate state constitution
8. Hong Kong pro-democracy activist barred from running for office
9. Trump trashes Chicago police leader in first visit to city as president
10. Former Sen. Kay Hagan of North Carolina dies at 66

published 29 October 2019

1. Pelosi: House to vote on impeachment process

House Democrats will vote Thursday to formally outline the steps in their impeachment inquiry of President Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Monday. Trump and his supporters have been arguing that the investigation is not legitimate because the House has not held a vote to officially start it, and they've used that argument to justify telling administration officials to defy subpoenas to testify. Democrats are expected to argue after the vote that the White House will have no further justification for refusing to cooperate. In a letter to House Democrats, Pelosi said the vote will be on a resolution that "affirms the ongoing, existing investigation" and maps out future public hearings on the question of whether Trump abused his office to pressure Ukraine into investigating Democrats for political gain.

Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council and decorated Iraq war veteran, will testify before House impeachment investigators on Tuesday that he listened to President Trump's July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and reported what he heard to a superior out of a "sense of duty," according to an opening statement first revealed by The New York Times. Vindman will be the first White House official who listened to Trump's phone call with Zelensky to be deposed in the impeachment inquiry. During that call, Trump asked Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, a request Vindman will say he found damaging to American interests. Vindman will also implicate U.S. Ambassador Gordon Sondland in Trump's pressure campaign, and he will tell investigators he is not the whistleblower.

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Britain's Parliament on Monday rejected Prime Minister Boris Johnson's call for an early election on Dec. 12. Johnson's latest setback came after he begrudgingly accepted the European Union's offer to push the Brexit extension until Jan. 31. Johnson hoped to break the impasse in Parliament over Brexit by holding an early vote and regaining a majority in favor of his deal on exiting the EU. He says this Parliament has "run its course" and is "incapable" of getting Brexit done. The opposition Labour Party blocked a call for early elections by abstaining so there wouldn't be a quorum, which is necessary to call elections. Labour says it won't back an election until Johnson takes a no-deal Brexit off the table.

The Justice Department on Monday appealed a federal judge's order to hand over previously withheld grand jury evidence from former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into 2016 Russian election interference. Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell initially ruled Friday that the Justice Department was required to produce the material because it could contain evidence that affects the House impeachment inquiry of President Trump. The court gave the Justice Department until Oct. 30 to release it. Justice Department lawyers requested a stay of the order until a federal appeals court reviews the case. The department said that if the grand jury testimony is released to the House Judiciary Committee it may not remain secret.

Firefighters in California began making progress on a fast-burning fire that forced evacuations from some of the most exclusive neighborhoods on Los Angeles' Westside. The Getty fire quickly burned more than 500 acres in L.A., forcing mandatory evacuations for about 10,000 homes, including those of celebrities such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and LeBron James. Several homes were destroyed. "Get out when we say get out," Mayor Eric Garcetti said. "The only thing you cannot replace is you and your family." In Northern California, a much larger blaze continued to burn out of control in the state's wine country, scorching several vineyard properties. Continuing high winds were making it hard for firefighters to fight that fire, which had burned nearly 12,000 acres by Monday and remained just 5 percent contained.

The S&P 500 index gained nearly 0.6 percent on Monday to close at an all-time high at the start of one of the biggest weeks of earnings season. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.5 percent, and the Nasdaq gained 1 percent. "Despite some high-profile misses, earnings season has been generally positive," said Kristina Hooper, global market strategist at Invesco. "It's no surprise stocks have reached a new sugar high." Microsoft, Intel, and AT&T are among the companies that have given Wall Street a lift with strong quarterly reports. Big financial news also will affect markets this week. The Federal Reserve starts a two-day meeting Tuesday that is expected to end with a quarter-point interest rate cut.

A North Carolina court ruled Monday that the state's congressional distract maps are invalid partisan gerrymanders and cannot be used in the 2020 elections. The ruling declaring that the districts violate the state constitution marked a major win for Democrats, who accused Republicans of drawing the maps to deprive Democrats of voting power. The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year said federal courts don't have the authority to step into fights over state voting districts, sending the matter back to state courts. A three-judge panel of state judges barred the use of the current maps, which have resulted in Republicans winning three-quarters of the state's congressional seats with total votes fairly evenly split between the two parties. The judges stopped short of requiring new districts, leaving it to lawmakers to address the matter.

Hong Kong authorities on Tuesday barred Joshua Wong, a prominent pro-democracy activist, from running in district council elections in November. Wong, a leader of the 2014 umbrella protests, called the decision to invalidate his nomination "a political order that Beijing has handed down" to the leaders of the semi-autonomous Chinese city. Wong's organization has called for letting the people of Hong Kong determine the future of the financial hub and former British colony. The government said in a statement that "advocating or promoting 'self-determination' is contrary" to the requirement that candidates declare they will uphold Hong Kong's mini-constitution known as the Basic Law, which states that Hong Kong is part of China.

President Trump on Monday made his first visit to Chicago since taking office, speaking to the annual gathering of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Trump appealed for help cracking down on "far left activists" and sanctuary cities opposed to his hardline immigration policies. He also harshly criticized Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson in front of a gathering of his peers, blaming him for crime in the city. "You could fix this up so fast," Trump said. "Good leadership would be pretty easy to find. ... But remember, 565 people were murdered last year. And it's a shame. And I want Eddie Johnson to change his values and change 'em fast." Trump's remarks came after Illinois adopted what Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) called a "firewall against Donald Trump's attacks on our immigrant communities."

Former U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, who served as North Carolina's first Democratic female senator, died Monday after a three year battle with encephalitis caused by Powassan virus. She was 66. Hagan served one term after beating Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole in 2008. She lost to Sen. Thom Tillis in 2014 in what was at the time the nation's most expensive Senate race. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper said Hagan was "a fierce advocate for North Carolina" and represented the state "with courage and grace her entire career." Hagan had made a rare public appearance on Sunday in Durham to see former Vice President Joe Biden, now a candidate for the party's 2020 presidential nomination. "(She) was a courageous soul," Biden said, "who lived every day of her too-short life with incredible dignity and character, even as the days became more difficult physically."

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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.