Good evening, SoCal. We're wrapping up the day for you with the most important stories you need to know and your weather outlook.

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An area of low pressure will continue to impact the region through the weekend.After today, we will see a slight decrease in moisture which will lead to less coverage in showers and thunderstorms.

The low pressure system is expected to move inland across northern Baja California this weekend, bringing a better chance for more rain across the entire region with cooler weather.

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Today's Big Stories

1. Los Angeles leader in racism scandal resigns Council seat

The Los Angeles City Council member whose racist slurs in a leaked recording created an uproar resigned Wednesday hours after the state attorney general announced an investigation into possible criminal charges involving a meeting where she made the remarks.

Former Council President Nury Martinez, the first Latina to hold the seat, announced her decision in a press release following a groundswell of outrage and calls for the resignations of her and two other council members involved in the conversation recorded last year.

In the conversation, she made racist remarks about the Black son of a white councilman and other crude comments.

Her resignation statement did not mention those remarks, though in words directed at her daughter and said: “I know I have fallen short recently of the expectations we have for our family. I vow to you that I will strive to be a better woman to make you proud.”

The announcement came after Attorney General Rob Bonta said he would investigate Los Angeles’ redistricting process that the three council members were discussing with a labor leader in which they schemed to protect Latino political strength in council districts.

Bonta, a Democrat like the three council members, said the investigation could lead to civil liability or criminal charges, depending on what is found.

2. LA Council meeting canceled as 2 embattled members rebuff resignation calls

Activists vowing to shut down Los Angeles City Council meetings until three members caught participating in a conversation that included racial slurs and discussions about redistricting resign their seats won a battle Wednesday when the council was forced to cancel its regular session due to vocal protesters in the chamber.

Two of the three embattled council members — Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo — have thus far rebuffed calls for their resignations.

None of the three was in the council chamber Wednesday. Interim Council President Mitch O’Farrell said he advised both de León and Cedillo to not come to the floor Wednesday, and they agreed.

Protesters again filled much of the council chamber Wednesday, holding signs and loudly chanting slogans such as “shut it down,” reflecting their desire for the council to halt all of its business until the trio of council members resign their seats.

O’Farrell called several recesses in hopes of quieting the crowd before the meeting could begin. But the protesters refused to relent. After about an hour, O’Farrell announced that the meeting was being adjourned, with all items on the agenda postponed until Friday’s scheduled meeting.

3. CalMatters: Recent cyberattacks highlight the vulnerability of California schools

If Los Angeles Unified, the state’s largest school district, can be hit with a ransomware attack, how prepared are California’s public schools for the increasing threat of cyberattacks?

It depends, according to experts, working in cybersecurity and information technology in the state’s public schools. Some districts might have a handful of cybersecurity professionals on staff, while others don’t have any. On top of that, there are currently no statewide guidelines for digital security at school districts.

“The vast majority of districts don’t have a single member dedicated to cybersecurity threats,” said Terry Loftus, assistant superintendent for the San Diego County Office of Education. “There’s no real set standard.”

Loftus has his own team of five cybersecurity professionals, the largest in the state. But he says that’s largely because he did his graduate studies in cybersecurity and made the team a priority. Not all districts are that equipped. Loftus said Los Angeles Unified, which serves about 400,000 students, was fortunate to have some cybersecurity experts on its payroll, but the California Department of Education does not.

Public schools possess confidential data ranging from Social Security numbers to health records and financial information. While the Los Angeles Unified attack has drawn national attention, Loftus says this prominent case is just the latest example of public education’s vulnerability to cyberattacks.

4. Jamie Lee Curtis places handprints, footprints outside TCL Chinese Theatre

Jamie Lee Curtis placed her handprints and footprints in cement in the forecourt of the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX in Hollywood Wednesday in connection with what is being billed as the conclusion of the “Halloween” film franchise.

Curtis portrays Laurie Strode for the seventh time in “Halloween Ends,” which debuts in theaters and begins streaming on Peacock Friday.

Strode was a high school student and babysitter pursued by the mask-wearing evil killer Michael Myers in the first entry of the franchise, “Halloween,” released in 1978. In “Halloween Ends,” Strode is a grandmother writing her memoirs, again facing off against Myers, in a final confrontation described as “unlike any captured on screen before.”

Curtis is a seven-time Golden Globe Awards nominee. Her first of two victories came in 1990 for best performance by an actress in a television series — comedy or musical for her work in the 1989-92 ABC comedy “Anything But Love.”

Curtis won her other Golden Globe Award in 1995 for best performance by an actress in a motion picture — comedy or musical for her portrayal of the legal secretary wife of a computer salesman who is actually a secret agent (Arnold Schwarzenegger) in “True Lies,” a role she also received a Screen Actors Guild Awards nomination for outstanding performance by a female actor in a supporting role.

Actor Jamie Lee Curtis, center, gets help pressing her hands in cement during a ceremony for her at the TCL Chinese Theatre, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

5. FDA, CDC sign off on omicron-specific boosters for kids as young as 5

The Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday signed off on updated COVID-19 boosters for children between the ages of 5-11, clearing the way for the younger group to bolster their protection against the coronavirus. 

The new bivalent vaccines protect broadly against COVID-19 while also specifically targeting the omicron variant BA.4 and BA.5 lineages, which are the dominant strains of the coronavirus in the U.S., according to the CDC.

"Updated COVID-19 vaccines add Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 spike protein components to the current vaccine composition, helping to restore protection that has waned since previous vaccination and targeting recent Omicron variants that are more transmissible and immune-evading," the CDC explained.

The vaccine from Moderna is authorized as a booster dose for children as young as six, while the shot from Pfizer-BioNTech is authorized for kids as young as five.

Your Notes for Tomorrow 

• Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol holds a hearing
• ​President Biden delivers remarks on “historic investments in our nation’s infrastructures”
• Jury trial for the Louisville police officer charged with depriving Breonna Taylor of her civil rights
• President Biden attends a DCCC reception in Brentwood
• SpaceX Crew-4 mission return to Earth