Here's what's happening across the United States and around the world today.
Suu Kyi party projects landslide win in Myanmar, she tells supporters not to gloat
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party was confident Monday that it was headed for a landslide victory in Myanmar's historic elections, as the democracy icon urged supporters not to provoke losing rivals who mostly represent the former junta that ruled this Southeast Asian nation for a half-century.
The opposition National League of Democracy had won about 70 percent of the votes counted by midday Monday, party spokesman Win Htein said. The comments, if confirmed by official results that began trickling in, indicate that Suu Kyi's party would not only dominate Parliament but could also secure the presidency despite handicaps built into the constitution.
"We will win a landslide," Nyan Win, another party spokesman, told The Associated Press.
"I want Mother Suu to win in this election," said Ma Khine, a street vendor, referring to the 70-year-old Suu Kyi with an affectionate term many here use. "She has the skill to lead the country. I respect her so much. I love her. She will change our country in a very good way."
The government's Election Commission started announcing official results late Monday afternoon, saying that the NLD had won 12 lower house seats from the main city of Yangon. The announcement elicited raucous cheers outside the opposition party's headquarters.
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Glimmers of civilization amid squalor in Calais camp as 6,000 migrants gird for French winter
CALAIS, France (AP) — Residents of France's biggest refugee camp near the English Channel port of Calais must combat hunger, filth and illness in a tent village as they scramble to build hard roofs for the winter.
Many of the estimated 6,000 residents spend hours queuing for six-minute showers and one daily meal at a government-funded facility on the camp's Atlantic-facing edge. Elsewhere, campers stand in mud to collect cold water from batteries of hose-fed taps and burn tree branches to cook and boil water, turning the air acrid with smoke.
Dozens of wooden-framed shops and restaurants, mostly Afghan, stock shelves with supplies bought at Calais supermarkets. Aromas of cardamom and aniseed, cumin and ginger waft from the tarpaulin-covered shacks advertising fire-blackened chicken. Diesel generators and gas canisters keep lights burning and curries sizzling.
More are built daily as aid workers and migrants work together, hammers and saws in hand, constructing hard roofs with tarps and insulation over tents.
Shops offer power top-ups from extension cords overloaded with smartphones. Some campers use stationary bikes to charge phones, taking turns pedaling for two hours or more per device. A new WiFi signal boosts campers' connections.
The Latest: Number of Russians brought home from Egypt to reach 23,000 by midday
CAIRO (AP) — The latest on the crash of a Russian plane in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula over a week ago that killed all 224 people onboard. (All times local.)
11:30 a.m.
Russian news agencies are quoting Dmitry Gorin, vice president of the Russian Travel Agencies Association, as saying the number of Russian tourists brought home from Egypt is likely to reach 23,000 by mid-day.
Their returns come after last week's announcement that Russia was suspending new passenger flights to Egypt because of security concerns in the aftermath of the Oct. 31 plane crash. Dozens of airliners have been bringing Russian tourists back home, carrying only cabin baggage, while Russian cargo planes are hauling back the rest of their luggage.
Obama, Netanyahu try to heal fractured relationship, beginning with White House meeting Monday
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will seek to mend their fractured relationship when they meet at the White House Monday, the first time they have talked face to face in more than a year.
Tensions over the U.S.-backed nuclear deal with Iran continue to strain ties between the longtime allies. But there's also little hope of progress on other matters, with U.S. officials downplaying the chance of a breakthrough in ongoing security talks and ruling out the prospect of a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians before Obama leaves office in 14 months.
"The president has reached that conclusion that right now — baring a major shift — that the parties are not going to be in a position to negotiate a final status agreement," White House Middle East adviser Rob Malley said ahead of Netanyahu's arrival in Washington.
Monday's meeting will also be clouded by the controversy following Netanyahu's appointment of a new spokesman who has spoken derisively about Obama. Ran Baratz, a conservative commentator, has suggested in Facebook posts that Obama is anti-Semitic and Secretary of State John Kerry cannot be taken seriously.
Even with the low expectations, the fact that Obama and Netanyahu are meeting at all is seen as an important step. While the two leaders have long had a chilly relationship, tensions boiled over earlier this year amid Obama's pursuit of the Iranian nuclear deal.
Analysis: Polarized politics meant little suspense in the end on Obama's Keystone decision
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's decision to block the Keystone XL oil pipeline has exposed an endlessly polarized Washington, and likely hardened its divides.
Obama is now being praised to the skies by environmentalists and most Democrats, and denounced in apocalyptic terms by Republicans and the business community. And although environmental issues once produced bipartisan agreement in Congress, consensus on action to increase energy production or deal with climate change looks farther away than ever.
"This became a tribal issue of bizarre proportion," said Jason Grumet, president of the Bipartisan Policy Center.
Grumet said voters support Keystone and infrastructure projects, as well as action on climate change. "And unfortunately rather than recognizing the opportunity to do both, we now have a country that's essentially doing neither," he said.
Seven years in the making, Obama's decision to reject the Keystone pipeline to carry crude oil from Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast was not a foregone conclusion, at least not initially. From one perspective the pipeline is merely an infrastructure project, unlikely to cause major lasting impacts on jobs or the environment, according to government analyses. In 2010, then-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said her department was inclined to sign off on it.
University of Missouri sees renewed calls for president's ouster after football team weighs in
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Long-simmering protests at the University of Missouri over matters of race and discrimination got a boost over the weekend when at least 30 black football players announced they will not participate in team activities until the university system's president is removed.
For months, black student groups have complained of racial slurs and other slights on the overwhelmingly white, 35,000-student flagship campus of the four-college system. Frustrations flared during a homecoming parade Oct. 10 when black protesters blocked system President Tim Wolfe's car and he would not get out and talk to them. They were removed by police.
On Saturday night, black members of the football team joined the outcry. By Sunday, a campus sit-in had grown in size, graduate student groups planned walk outs, politicians began to weigh in, and a special meeting of the university system's governing body was set for Monday morning in Columbia.
Wolfe hasn't indicated he has any intention of stepping down, but agreed in a statement Sunday that "change is needed" and said the university is working to draw up a plan by April to promote diversity and tolerance.
The athletes did not say explicitly whether they would boycott the team's three remaining games this season. The Tigers' next game is Saturday against Brigham Young University at Arrowhead Stadium, the home of the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs, and canceling it could cost the school more than $1 million.
Carson wants to move on from questions about biography but Tuesday's GOP debate looms
WASHINGTON (AP) — GOP presidential hopeful Ben Carson says it's time to move on from questions about the accuracy of his life story. But Tuesday's GOP debate makes that unlikely.
The retired neurosurgeon said Sunday that questions about discrepancies in his autobiography are distractions from "much more important" matters facing the country and that he'd discuss any "real" scandal uncovered about his past. He strongly disputed any dishonesty or wrongdoing.
"Every single day, every other day or every week, you know, they're going to come out with, 'Well, you said this when you were 13,' " Carson said on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday.
"The whole point is to distract the populace, to distract me," he added. "If you've got a real scandal, if you've got something that's really important, let's talk about that."
Moving on, at least in the short term, is unlikely. The accuracy of Carson's autobiography has dominated his campaign in the past few days, and more questions are likely during the GOP presidential debate on Tuesday. The scrutiny reflects Carson's transformation from political outsider to the top of the polls in the unsettled nomination fight, second only to billionaire developer Donald Trump. And in early-voting Iowa, some polls show Carson leading.
Lufthansa says cabin crew strike at 3 German airports affects 113,000 passengers
BERLIN (AP) — Lufthansa says some 113,000 passengers will be affected by 929 domestic and international flight cancellations due to all-day walkouts at three German airports staged by a union representing cabin crew.
The UFO union has called on all members to walk out Monday from 4.30 a.m. to 11 p.m. (0330 GMT to 2200 GMT) in Frankfurt and Duesseldorf and until midnight (2300 GMT) in Munich.
UFO embarked Friday on walkouts expected to continue for a week, rotating around different airports, though it took a break Sunday.
The union wants to secure transition payments for its 19,000 members if they retire early as part of its contract dispute with Lufthansa, which is trying to cut costs.
The strikes don't affect Lufthansa subsidiaries such as Eurowings, Germanwings, Swiss and Austrian Airlines.
Murray's return to Dallas ends with Eagles' 33-27 OT win for Cowboys' 6th straight loss
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — DeMarco Murray shared a hug with Dallas owner Jerry Jones before the Philadelphia running back's first game on his old home field, and with coach Jason Garrett afterward.
In between, Sam Bradford threw a winning 41-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Matthews in overtime. So the normally stoic Murray had to admit it was a special night.
Murray put the Eagles in position with a 20-yard run on the first possession of the extra period, and Matthews' score sent the Cowboys to their longest losing streak in 26 years with a 33-27 Philadelphia victory Sunday night.
"It was electrifying," said Murray, who broke Emmitt Smith's Dallas franchise record with an NFL-best 1,845 yards rushing last season and is starting to churn out yardage after a slow start this year. "They're like family to me. I wish those guys nothing but the best.
"This one's special. A lot of emotion."
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