5 things you need to know Monday

Editors

USA TODAY

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge arrive at The Carlyle Hotel on Sunday in New York City.

1. Prince William comes to Washington

Prince William will check out the White House when he pays a call on President Obama and Vice President Biden on Monday in a last-minute addition to a visit to the USA for the Duke of Cambridge and his pregnant wife, Duchess Kate of Cambridge. The royal couple began their three-day trip with their arrival in New York on Sunday evening. The White House and the palace announced Friday that Obama will receive Will during his half-day trip to Washington, where he will attend a conference at the World Bank to discuss wildlife conservation.

2. Sentencing starts for 5 ex-Madoff workers

Five former employees of Ponzi scheme mastermind Bernard Madoff face the possibility of life behind bars at federal court sentencings scheduled to start on Monday. Daniel Bonventre, 67, Madoff's former operations manager; Annette Bongiorno, 66, the disgraced financier's longtime assistant; JoAnn Crupi, 53, who oversaw the investment firm's main bank account; and Jerome O'Hara, 51, and George Perez, 48, former Madoff computer programmers, were found guilty on all charges in a 31-count indictment.

Financier Bernard Madoff leaves Manhattan Federal court on March 10, 2009 in New York City.

3. The 34th anniversary of John Lennon's death

34 years ago, Mark David Chapman fired five shots outside the Dakota apartment house where John Lennon lived on Manhattan's Upper West Side, striking the ex-Beatle four times. After pleading guilty to second-degree murder, Chapman was sentenced in 1981 to 20 years to life in prison, and in August Chapman was denied parole for the eighth time. "I am sorry for being such an idiot ," Chapman told the parole board. Lennon would have turned 74 in October.

4. France, U.S. to sign $60M Holocaust reparations bill

The United States will sign an agreement with France Monday in Washington to establish a $60 million fund to distribute reparations to thousands of Holocaust survivors and family members in the U.S. and elsewhere. The compensation is for those deported by France's state rail company SNCF during the Nazi occupation. SNCF transported about 76,000 French Jews to Nazi concentration camps, though experts disagree on its degree of guilt.

French President Francois Hollande walking back from a train car symbolizing the Drancy camp, during the inauguration of the new Shoah memorial in Drancy, a Paris suburb, France.

5. U.S., NATO ceremonially end Afghan combat mission

The U.S. and NATO ceremonially ended their combat mission in Afghanistan on Monday, 13 years after the Sept. 11 terror attacks sparked their invasion of the country to topple the Taliban-led government. NATO's International Security Assistance Force Joint Command, which was in charge of combat operations, lowered its flag earlier, formally ending its deployment.

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel arrives at the Gamberi forward operating base in the eastern Afghan Laghman province on Dec. 7.

And, the essentials:

Weather: A possible wintry mix of rain, snow and freezing rain is forecast to move along the northern Plains, Upper Midwest and the East Coast.

Stocks: U.S. stock futures fell Monday.

TV Tonight: Wondering what to watch tonight? TV critic Robert Bianco looks at The Great Christmas Light Fight, Mike & Molly and The Red Tent on Lifetime.

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Contributing: The Associated Press

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