| President Obama joined the French leader and other officials in Paris on Sunday to honor those who died in the terrorist attacks. Stephen Crowley/The New York Times | Your Monday Briefing By VICTORIA SHANNON |
Good morning. |
Here's what you need to know: |
• Climate talks open. |
The long-awaited multinational talks to set global limits on carbon emissions began today in Paris, with the host, President François Hollande, saying agreement was "within reach." |
Here are some short answers to tough questions on climate change. |
President Obama visited the Bataclan music hall before the talks to honor the victims of the terrorist attacks. |
• Few answers in Colorado shooting. |
The authorities are still trying to determine what led a gunman to attack a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs on Friday, leaving a police officer and two others dead. |
Investigators say they do not know if the suspect, Robert L. Dear Jr., had any political motivations. Federal government funds for Planned Parenthood have been under attack by anti-abortion groups. |
• Baltimore trial to begin. |
The first trial of a police officer in the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man injured while in police custody, opens today with jury selection. |
Black activists see it as a test of the criminal justice system. The officer, one of six charged, pleaded not guilty to charges of manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office. |
• Jewish teenagers convicted. |
An Israeli court today convicted two Jewish youths for burning and killing a 16-year-old Palestinian in 2014. |
• Alert on Chicago campus. |
The University of Chicago canceled all classes and activities on its main campus today because of a specific anonymous threat of gun violence. |
F.B.I. counterterrorism officials warned the university that "an unknown individual" had posted a message online. |
• Pope lands in war zone. |
Pope Francis is on his first visit to a war zone, the capital of the Central African Republic, a divided and destitute country, to support efforts at peace and reconciliation. |
It is the last and most closely watched leg of his tour of Africa. |
BUSINESS |
• Cyber Monday's claim as the biggest online shopping day in the U.S. may be diluted today because many web retailers promoted their merchandise in advance. |
More people shopped online over the Thanksgiving weekend than in brick-and-mortar stores, according to a survey from the National Retail Federation. |
• The International Monetary Fund is expected to decide today whether to include China's renminbi among the major currencies that make up its benchmark currency basket. |
The renminbi would join the dollar, euro, pound and yen as the main currencies in the fund's reserve assets and would increase demand for the currency. |
• Wall Street stock futures are slightly higher. European shares are mostly up, and Asian markets closed mostly lower. |
OVER THE WEEKEND |
• The European Union agreed to a deal with Turkey to slow the flood of refugees into the 28-nation bloc. Europe will provide $3.2 billion and other inducements in return for Turkish help. |
• Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey received a crucial New Hampshire endorsement, while Ted Cruz advanced in polls in Iowa. |
• The Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant announced he would retire after this season, his 20th in the N.B.A. |
• Oklahoma, No. 3 in last week's College Football Playoff rankings, virtually assured itself of a postseason berth with a 58-23 victory over No. 11 Oklahoma State. |
• Andy Murray's third victory in three days helped Britain win the Davis Cup, the most prestigious team competition in tennis, for the first time in 79 years, beating Belgium, 3-1. |
• The No. 1 movie in North America over the long Thanksgiving weekend was "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2," with "The Good Dinosaur" second and "Creed" third. |
• Catching up on TV: Episode recaps for "The Walking Dead," "The Affair," "Homeland," "The Leftovers," "The Knick" and "Jessica Jones." |
NOTEWORTHY |
• Queen Nefertiti's tomb? |
Radar and infrared scans show that there is a 90 percent chance that a tomb is hidden behind a wall of King Tutankhamen's burial chamber, perhaps the long-sought tomb of Queen Nefertiti, an Egyptian official says. |
Such a discovery would come at a time when Egypt's tourism industry needs good news. |
• Tonight's football matchup. |
The Baltimore Ravens face the Cleveland Browns on "Monday Night Football." All of Baltimore's games this season have been decided by eight points or fewer. |
On Sunday, the Denver Broncos defeated New England, 30-24, in overtime to hand the Patriots their first loss. The Carolina Panthers are now the N.F.L.'s only unbeaten team, at 11-0. |
• Wine fit for a king. |
A groundbreaking project at Ariel University in the West Bank aims to use DNA testing to identify — and recreate — ancient wines consumed by the likes of King David and Jesus Christ. |
The first of the wines from indigenous grapes, called marawi, was released last month. |
• Megahit. |
Adele's new album, "25," sold a record-shattering 3.38 million copies in the U.S. in its first week, nearly a million more than the previous high for first-week sales — 'N Sync sold 2.4 million copies of "No Strings Attached" in 2000. |
It makes "25" the first release to sell three million copies in a week since compilation of sales data started in 1991. |
BACK STORY |
A golden Christmas oldie, "A Charlie Brown Christmas," celebrates its golden anniversary today. |
Although CBS actually first aired the show on Dec. 9, 1965, a TV special tonight on ABC, hosted by Kristen Bell, commemorates the holiday standard a little early. |
The half-hour animated show follows at 9 p.m. (ABC, which has owned the broadcast rights since 2001, will show it again on Dec. 24.) |
A poignant and ultimately uplifting story about the commercialization of Christmas, the special was heretical in its day for a number of reasons. |
The producer, Lee Mendelson, chose mostly neighborhood kids rather than young-sounding adult actors to voice the characters. Unusually, he chose a jazz trio to provide the soundtrack (which has since sold millions). |
And Charles M. Schulz, the comic strip's creator, insisted there be no laugh track, a TV standard at the time. |
Mr. Schulz also stood firm on keeping its religious message and a passage from the Bible, despite Mr. Mendelson's objections that religion should stay out of prime-time television. |
The show was an immediate hit, with more than 15 million households watching the premiere. |
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is also screening the show this month, and the U.S. Postal Service introduced a set of "A Charlie Brown's Christmas" stamps last month. |
Your Morning Briefing is published weekdays at 6 a.m. Eastern and updated on the web all morning. |
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