"The Russian airline whose jet crashed in Egypt killing everyone on board said on Monday the crash could not have been caused by a technical fault or human error. The crash, in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on Saturday, could only have been the result of some other 'technical or physical action' which caused it to break up in the air and plummet to the ground, said Alexander Smirnov, deputy general director of the airline, Kogalymavia." The remains of more than half of the 224 victims were flown back to St. Petersburg today. Scenes of the crash show the devastation of the plane, which reportedly broke up at a high altitude. [Reuters]
Congrats to the Kansas City Royals, who won their first pennant since 1985 in a spectacular 12-inning rally. Check out the front page of the Kansas City Star. [Erick Fernandez]
And the rift between 2016 contenders and the RNC widens. [WaPo]
"From Friday to Monday, more than 6,000 federal prisoners will be released earlier than they once expected, although nearly one-third of them are foreign citizens who will be handed over for likely deportation. Over the next few years, as a result of an across-the-board adjustment of federal drug penalties by the United States Sentencing Commission, tens of thousands more inmates may benefit from reductions in their terms, and new sentences will be somewhat shorter than they were in recent decades." Obama is set to announce a plan today to help former inmates reintegrate back into society. [NYT]
Tributes have poured in for the former senator and actor, who died at 73 of lymphoma. [AP]
The two-child policy will not go into effect until it is approved by Chinese Parliament in March. And here's a look back at the devastation the one-child policy has caused in China. [Reuters]
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WHAT’S BREWING
Kenya's Stanley Biwott and Mary Keitany both finished in under two and a half hours. Pretty sure a marathon would take us two and a half days, so congrats guys. [AP]
At least 22 have fallen ill after eating at the contaminated stores in Oregon and Washington. [HuffPost]
And LeBron's rendition of "Purple Rain" as Prince isn't half bad either. [HuffPost]
"Over the last 10 years, thousands of businesses across the country -- from big corporations to storefront shops -- have used arbitration to create an alternate system of justice. There, rules tend to favor businesses, and judges and juries have been replaced by arbitrators who commonly consider the companies their clients, The Times found." [NYT]
Bradley Cooper and Sandra Bullock both had a flop. [Variety]
How he and Jessica Simpson have turned into titans of business, we're not really sure. [WaPo]
"'I thought Germany was supposed to be paradise. Everyone used to think that as soon as you got to Berlin, everything would be OK,' says Ahmed Kanaan. The 19-year-old Syrian migrant is one of nearly 1.5 million new refugees who are expected to enter Germany by the end of the year." [Vice]
WHAT'S WORKING
"A new site launched Thursday, re:Work, is dedicated to sharing what one of the world's best corporate HR teams has learned about how to get the best out of its workers." [HuffPost]
ON THE BLOG
"Lack of sleep may not just be making you cranky and unable to concentrate. It could be one of the reasons why you're struggling to take off that extra five (or 10, or 20) pounds." [HuffPost]
BEFORE YOU GO
~ Could Jar Jar Binks be a trained user of the Force?
~ Meet the guy who posts one bad photoshopped picture of Michael Cera a day.
~ Companies are sweetening the deal for workers taking Christmas Eve and other holiday shifts this year as fewer and fewer folks want to work over the holiday season.
~ The group caring for South Koreans when they die alone.
~ Inside Leah Remini's Scientology special.
~ Behind the strange noises of sand dune avalanches.
~ The one-serving desserts that take five minutes to make.
~ Tiger Woods' caddy says he felt like "his slave," which we're sure will help the golfer's rehabilitation of his image.
~ All of the babies and all of the smartphone usage.
~ What to do with that leftover Halloween candy.
~ Viola Davis' daughter's Halloween costume might have been our favorite yet.
~ And your grade school hair is coming back into fashion.
Send tips/quips/quotes/stories/photos/events/scoops to Lauren Weber at lauren.weber@huffingtonpost.com. Follow us on Twitter @LaurenWeberHP. And like what you're reading? Sign up here to get The Morning Email delivered to you.