5 things to know for Oct. 25: Campaign trail, SpaceX, Israeli hostages, Extreme weather, Lead paint

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For decades, Election Day in the US has been held on Tuesdays — when many people have to block off time between their responsibilities at home and at work to vote. There are, however, 28 states where employers must give you time off to do so. Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are campaigning in battleground states as they make their final pitches to voters before Election Day. On Thursday, Harris campaigned with former President Barack Obama in Georgia, where they issued parallel warnings about what a second Trump presidency would look like. Trump, before a rally in Arizona, told Fox News that “everyone knows that’s not true,” in response to Harris’ comment at a CNN town hall that she believes he is a fascist. The former president also said in a radio interview Thursday that he would quickly “fire” special counsel Jack Smith, who has brought charges against him, if reelected. In another radio interview, Trump said he was open to pardoning Hunter Biden, who was convicted earlier this year on felony gun charges. Astronauts aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft splashed down safely off the coast of Florida earlier today. The mission, dubbed Crew-8, was delayed after weeks of bad weather. The four astronauts that returned spent 232 days docked at the International Space Station, making it the longest mission a Dragon has ever been in orbit. Notably, the two test pilots for the inaugural crewed flight of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft — NASA’s Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore — were once again left behind for the simple reason that they were not assigned to that specific spacecraft. They left Earth for the ISS in June under the impression their trip would last only about one week but have now been in space for several months. Talks on a possible hostage release and ceasefire deal in Gaza are expected to resume this weekend, though there is little expectation of a breakthrough before the US presidential election, sources tell CNN. Some US officials have privately acknowledged that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — who is tracking the ins and outs of the upcoming election and the potential implications for US foreign policy — is waiting to make any serious decisions about the future of the Gaza conflict until he knows who his next counterpart in Washington, DC, will be. Meanwhile, more than 130 Israeli reservists signed a letter refusing to fight in Gaza and Lebanon unless a deal is signed to end the war and bring back the 101 hostages that remain in Hamas’ captivity. An unprecedented 91 flash flood emergencies have been issued by the National Weather Service this year, more than any other year since this most-dire language was first used in 2003. Devastating flooding has killed dozens of people, altered entire landscapes and cost the US billions of dollars in the last several months. Climate experts say the most intense rain events are getting heavier and more frequent as the world warms due to fossil fuel pollution. A warmer atmosphere is capable of soaking up more moisture like a sponge and wringing it out in the form of gushing rainfall. Precipitation from hurricanes Debby, Francine, Helene and Milton accounted for about half of all flash flood emergencies issued this year, according to a CNN review.