5 things you need to know Monday

1. 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' trailer airs, tickets go on sale 

A story from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away is only a couple months away from a theater near you. The final trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens will debut during halftime of ESPN's Monday Night Football. After the trailer ends, tickets will go on sale online to the Dec. 18 opening of The Force Awakens, as well as for a seven-movie marathon event at theaters across the country on Dec. 17. Tickets to the blockbuster-in-waiting are probably going to go faster than the Millennium Falcon on the Kessel run, so if you're planning on making the premiere, may the Force be with you.

2. Conservative PM trails liberal opponent as Canada heads to polls

Conservative Canadian leader Stephen Harper is seeking a rare fourth term Monday. Harper has served as prime minister for the past 10 years and is one of the longest-serving Western leaders. However, Harper's reign could end Monday as polls indicate that Liberal Party candidate Justin Trudeau, son of late prime minister Pierre Trudeau, has been polling slightly ahead of him. Harper has led the liberal nation with a conservative face since 2006, and a victory by Trudeau could ease Canada's tensions with the Obama administration.

3. Judge decides whether to continue trial of 5 Gitmo prisoners tied to 9/11

A military judge is expected to decide as early as Monday to restart the trial of five prisoners at Guantanamo Bay for their involvement in the Sept. 11 attack. A military judge stopped the proceedings in April 2014 when the lawyer for Ramzi Binalshibh revealed that members of his defense team had been questioned by the FBI about a potential illegal breach of security rules. A report from the FBI investigation concludes no one from the Binalshibh team will be facing criminal charges at this time, according to defense lawyers who have seen it.

4. Muslim student who got in trouble for clock visits the White House

Ahmed Mohamed, the Texas teen whose science project caused a national stir last month, will be among those attending Astronomy Night Monday at the White House. Teachers in Irving, Texas, mistook the clock that Mohamed made for a science project as a bomb and called the police. The fact that the Mohamed was singled out for his project caught national attention, and President Obama sent out a tweet inviting Mohamed to bring his clock to the White House for Astronomy night, where students, government scientists and NASA students are brought together.

5. Congress is back to tackling high-profile issues

Congress gets back from a week-long break Monday as House Republicans continue to struggle to identify the next speaker and the Benghazi committee prepares for its long-awaited showdown with Hillary Clinton. Also coming this week: The Senate is taking up a bill to punish "sanctuary cities" that protect undocumented immigrants from deportation, and the House is expected to vote on a "budget reconciliation" bill that would defund Planned Parenthood and portions of the Affordable Care Act — a bill that President Obama would certainly veto.

Listen to the audio version of this column in the audio player below:

And the essentials:

Weather: Expect rain the West and cool temperatures in the Northeast.

Stocks: U.S. stock futures were lower Monday, while global markets were mixed.

TV tonight: Wondering what to watch tonight? TV critic Robert Bianco looks at Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Life in Pieces and Minority Report.

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