A statewide fire alert is in effect in California as strong winds and dry conditions have prompted the state’s largest utility company to shut off power to thousands of residents. Jonathan Vigliotti has the latest on the ground in California. Then, weather producer David Parkinson joins CBSN with what to expect heading into the weekend. Source

The Maryland congressman and civil rights champion lies in state at the U.S. Capitol Thursday Source

The former vice president talks to Norah O’Donnell about the state of his presidential campaign Sunday, October 27 at 7:30 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. PT on CBS Source

“Those are 1,600 hundred families we’ll now have to find and search all over the world for,” Lee Gelernt, an ACLU attorney, told CBS News Source

Across the country, police and prosecutors are using the term “exceptional clearance” to close rape cases, marking them as resolved, even when there’s enough evidence to make an arrest. Nikki Battiste reports on how women in Austin, Texas, are fighting back against a system they say has failed them. Source

The 10-year plan aims to bury power lines, increase natural gas use and create a system that can withstand winds of at least 160 mph Source

In the mountains of Siberia, few snow leopards remain. But as Elizabeth Palmer explains, cameras and former poachers, are helping to save them. Source

The Pentagon confirms the U.S. is sending additional troops into northeast Syria to protect oil fields from ISIS. This comes as Russia, the newly self-appointed sheriff in northern Syria, ordered all U.S. troops out. David Martin reports. Source

A top official in the federal student loan program resigned, calling the system “fundamentally broken.” With $1.6 trillion in student loans on the books, he’s also calling for massive loan forgiveness. Mark Strassmann reports. Source

“The goal from my standpoint is to make as much of our report public as possible,” Inspector General Michael Horowitz wrote to lawmakers Source