1. Difficult days in California

2. Today will be another difficult day in the fight against the Southern California wildfires that started about 6:25 p.m. on Monday. The winds will be strong, with gusts up to 80 mph. It's still dry, with humidity at less than 10%. Those conditions, paired with dangerously dry vegetation, mean Los Angeles' fire danger number will be 296, a record high (165 or higher is considered extreme). More than 100,000 acres have burned so far in the region, an area that stretches more than 10 miles. State fire officials say about 12,000 homes remain threatened by flames, while 50,000 people have been forced to flee. Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency, as approximately 1,100 personnel continued to battle the blaze. Many schools in LA are closed. And the wildfires are affecting Hollywood too, temporarily stopping production on sets as fire neared. Meantime, authorities are looking into whether California utility company Edison International’s power lines may have started the fires.

3. Hello Mr. Loughran!
I don't know if you know, but the vocal group I'm in at South, South Vocal Ensemble (S.V.E), made it into the finals for the annual Christmas Choir Competition!
Voting is open all day tomorrow and is unlimited (you can vote as many times as you wish), so if you could please have your classes vote at least once or twice tomorrow that would be greatly appreciated!
All of us at South value this competition a lot and would love to be able to win! Voting can be done by going to 101.1's website and going to Christmas>Christmas Choir Competition>Vote Now! Voting starts at 7 AM and will go until 9 PM! Vote for Council Rock High School South- Vocal Ensemble- You Are a Mean One Mr. Grinch!
Thanks for any help you can give!
Happy Holidays,
Dominick Conte
Here is the link to our song on YouTube:

4. In Other News
Same-sex marriage is now legal in Australia. The country's parliament approved it after a non-binding vote by Australians showed that 61% were in favor. Australia is now the 24th country to allow same-sex couples to marry. The first same-sex weddings there won't happen until January, at the soonest, though, because all couples in Australia must give a full month's notice before they can get married.
Time magazine has named "The Silence Breakers," representing people who came forward to report sexual misconduct, as its Person of the Year. It is a recognition of the #MeToo movement, which represents the people, mostly women, who have fueled a worldwide discussion about sexual harassment and assault. President Trump was the runner-up for Person of the Year. Chinese President Xi Jinping came in third.