10 things you need to know today: November 11, 2016

1. Trump and Obama hold cordial meeting after ugly campaign

President-elect Donald Trump met with President Obama at the White House on Thursday for their first discussion of the transition of power in January. Obama called the meeting "excellent." Trump said the two were only supposed to talk for 15 minutes or so, but they kept going for 90 minutes. Trump said he would seek Obama's "counsel" through the transition process, calling him a "very good man." During the campaign, Obama stumped for Hillary Clinton and called Trump unfit for the office, but on Thursday he told Trump his administration would "do everything we can to help you succeed, because if you succeed the country succeeds."

The Associated Press

2. Anti-Trump demonstrations continue for tense second night

Americans angry about President-elect Donald Trump's election victory demonstrated and held vigils for a second night Thursday in cities across the U.S. Portland, Oregon, police publicly declared that "not my president" rallies there had become a "riot" with "extensive criminal and dangerous behavior," but most of the demonstrations were peaceful and somber. One woman in Philadelphia said she marched to protest the "racism, hate, misogyny and fear that this man (Trump) projects and fosters in others." Trump tweeted that the demonstrations were "incited by the media," and "very unfair." He followed up with another tweet, saying: "Love the fact that the small groups of protesters last night have passion for our great country. We will all come together and be proud!"

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3. ObamaCare sign-ups surge after Trump's election

More than 100,000 people signed up for ObamaCare plans the day after Donald Trump — who has vowed to repeal and replace the health care law — was elected president. That was the most in a single day on Healthcare.gov since this year's open enrollment period started on Nov. 1, the Obama administration said Thursday. "That's an indication of the intense demand for the kinds of offerings that are available to people at Healthcare.gov," said White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest.

USA Today

4. Americans honor nation's veterans

Americans are honoring those who have served in the nation's armed forces on Friday with Veterans Day parades, ceremonies, and celebrations around the country. This year marks the first Veterans Day since the military's historic lifting of the ban on women participating in all roles, including combat. There were 18.8 million veterans — 1.6 million of them women — in the country as of 2015, according to the Census Bureau.

CNN

5. Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly says in memoir Trump was tipped off to debate question

In her new memoir, Settle for More, Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly revealed that Donald Trump was tipped off to a question before the first debate of the Republican primary last year, The New York Times reports. The paper obtained an early copy of the book, due out Nov. 15, in which Kelly writes that before the debate in August 2015, Trump called Fox News executives to say he heard Kelly's first question was to be a "very pointed question directed at him." Her first question was about Trump's derogatory remarks about women. In the book, she does not say who she believes might have been behind the leak. She also says in the book that she rebuffed sexual advances by her boss Roger Ailes, who left the company after former anchor Gretchen Carlson accused him of sexual harassment.

The New York Times

6. Aleppo aid workers run out of food to hand out

Aid workers in a besieged section of Aleppo, Syria, distributed their last food rations on Thursday, according to the United Nations. Some food is available on local markets, but prices have soared under a rebel occupation and ongoing bombing by government forces. The U.N. said new arrangements must be made to get relief supplies to the area to keep tens of thousands of people from going hungry. "I do believe we will be able to avert mass hunger this winter," U.N. humanitarian adviser Jan Egeland said in Geneva. "I don't think anybody wants a quarter of a million people to be starving in east Aleppo."

Reuters

7. Dow index rises to record high as stocks continue post-election rally

U.S. stocks rallied Thursday for a second straight day since Donald Trump's election as the next president. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped by 218 points, or 1.2 percent to close at 18,807.88. The Dow also set a new intraday high of 18,873.66. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 0.2 percent to close near a record. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite fell by 0.8 percent. Before Election Day, investors were jittery about Trump, who has promised to rock the boat by scrapping or renegotiating trade agreements, but since he upset Democrat Hillary Clinton, his growth-friendly promises of fiscal spending and reduced taxes and regulation have buoyed markets.

USA Today

8. Taliban attack kills 4 at German consulate in northern Afghanistan

Taliban insurgents attacked the German consulate in the northern Afghanistan city of Mazar-i-Sharif late Thursday, killing at least four people and wounding 90. A regional police spokesman said the attack began with a suicide car bomb at the Mazar Hotel, which German diplomats have been using as a consulate. The attackers followed up with gunfire. Next came an explosion inside the hotel. No German Consulate personnel were hurt.

Reuters The New York Times

9. Trump University lawsuit judge advises both sides to settle

The federal judge hearing a fraud lawsuit against President-elect Donald Trump and his now-defunct Trump University urged both sides to settle. U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel said that would be best "given all else that's involved." A group of former students accuse Trump's school of making false promises to get them to pay as much as $35,000 to learn Trump's real estate investing "secrets." Trump denies the allegations. The trial is scheduled to start Nov. 28, but Trump's lawyers agreed Thursday to enter settlement talks.

Reuters The New York Times

10. Songwriter Leonard Cohen dies at 82

Legendary singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen has died, according to an announcement posted on his Facebook page on Thursday. He was 82. Adam Cohen, his son and producer, said his father died peacefully at his Los Angeles home "with the knowledge that he had completed what he felt was one of his greatest records." Cohen, a Canadian poet and novelist, was inducted in 2008 into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which said he "raise the songwriting bar" for popular music. Other artists made more than 2,000 recordings of Cohen's songs over his nearly five-decade career. His best-known song, the earthy and spiritual ballad "Hallelujah" from his 1985 record Various Positions, has been performed or recorded by some 200 artists, from Bob Dylan to Justin Timberlake.

The Guardian The New York Times