Happening Today: Travel Ban, Paul Manafort, Hurricane Harvey, Kevin Spacey, Bryan Singer

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Supreme Court Allows Full Enforcement of Trump Travel Ban

The Supreme Court is allowing the Trump administration to fully enforce a ban on travel to the United States by residents of six mostly Muslim countries. This is not a final ruling on the travel ban: Challenges to the policy are winding through the federal courts, and the justices themselves ultimately are expected to rule on its legality. But the action indicates that the high court might eventually approve the latest version of the ban, announced by President Trump in September. Lower courts have continued to find problems with the policy. Opponents of this and previous versions of the ban say they show a bias against Muslims.

Paul Manafort Wrote Op-Ed With Colleague in Russia, Prosecutors Say

In an attempt to burnish his public image and leave no fingerprints behind, Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort recently enlisted a longtime colleague "assessed to have ties" to Russian intelligence to help him ghostwrite an op-ed, prosecutors said. Prosecutors working for special counsel Robert Mueller say in court papers that they believe the opinion piece — written while Manafort is on house arrest facing several felonies — would have violated a judge's order that bars him from trying his case in the press. They are now pushing for Manafort to remain confined to his home on GPS monitoring for the time being. According to the court papers, Manafort and the colleague sought to publish the op-ed to influence public opinion about his political consulting in Ukraine, work at the heart of the criminal case against him. Prosecutors did not name Manafort's colleague.

Southern California Fire Forces Thousands to Evacuate

Nearly 200,000 people are without power after a deadly 26,000-acre fire scorched through Santa Paula, California, according to Southern California Edison. At least 57 power outages were reported in cities in the Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Ventura and Orange Counties. The fire -- named the Thomas fire -- was burning just south of Thomas Aquinas College. The college issued a fire alert Monday around 8 p.m. and evacuated all students to nearby homes as a precaution. It was initially reported as 500 acres. By 2:20 a.m., the blaze reached 26,000 acres, prompting officials to order mandatory evacuations for over 100,000 residents. Two buildings were damaged in the flames and at least one person died in a car crash as they tried to escape the fire.

Thousands Hit by Hurricane Harvey in Texas Still Without Clean Water

Thousands of people are still waiting on access to safe drinking water in parts of Texas more than three months after Hurricane Harvey. The storm and the heavy rains that followed overflowed drainage districts, cut off water and prompted hundreds of boil-water notices across the Gulf Coast. More than a dozen boil-water notices remain in effect across affected areas. The areas included cities, mobile home parks and housing developments in seven counties across southeast Texas, the Beaumont Enterprise reported. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality reports more than 3,700 people in those areas haven't had clean drinking water since late August. In Rose City, the city's boil notice hasn't been lifted because the plan hasn't met TCEQ standards for pH levels and other chemicals, said the city’s water operator. Running water returned to the city's 600 residents in September, but it still requires a two-minute rolling boil before safe consumption.

“House of Cards” Final Season to Resume Without Kevin Spacey

It seems the House has weathered the storm. Netflix's content chief Ted Sarandos announced "House of Cards" will carry on, with Robin Wright as the focal point. E! News has learned the final season will be eight episodes and likely resume production in early 2018. Production of "House of Cards" was put on hold after allegations of sexual misconduct leveled at the show's star, Kevin Spacey. After a number of allegations were reported against Spacey, Netflix announced it would not move forward with him in any capacity.

Director Bryan Singer Departs Queen Biopic Mid-Production

Director Bryan Singer has left the Queen biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody" in the middle of production. A representative for Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. says Singer is no longer the director of the film. The Hollywood Reporter said Singer failed to show up to the film's London set on a number of occasions. Actor Rami Malek, who stars as Freddie Mercury in the film, complained to the studio about Singer's unprofessionalism on behalf of the cast. Studio representatives declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding Singer's departure or future plans for the film, which is currently slated for a Dec. 2018 release. Singer, 52, is best known for directing the "X-Men" films and "The Usual Suspects."