10 things you need to know today: November 29, 2013

Black Friday shoppers carry discounted items from a Florida Best Buy that opened at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

(Image credit: (Spencer Platt/Getty Images))

last updated 8 January 2015

1. ObamaCare website faces crucial new deadline

The Obama administration's technology team is scrambling to complete a workaround for the ObamaCare website ahead of the self-imposed Saturday deadline to fix it. The focus is on a new mechanism called EZ App to let people enroll without calculating the precise subsidy they could receive to help cover their health insurance premiums, eliminating a major complaint since the site's disastrous Oct. 1 launch. Administration officials say 80 percent of users will find the site faster, but some will still encounter delays. [Washington Post]

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China said Thursday that it had sent fighter jets to patrol its newly declared air defense zone over a disputed part of the East China Sea, raising the stakes in a dispute with Japan over control of a remote island chain. China's show of force came after Japan and South Korea defied Beijing's new claim on the area by flying surveillance aircraft through the area. The U.S. also sent military aircraft into the area this week and condemned China for demanding to be notified before any aircraft enter the zone. [Washington Post]

American retailers officially launched the holiday shopping season with deep discounts in Black Friday sales, hoping to lure in shoppers still hurting as the economy limps through a slow recovery. Brawls broke out at several stores. A dozen major chains, including Target, Walmart, and Toys R Us, got a jump on the competition by offering savings on Thanksgiving Day. Last year Thanksgiving sales reduced the Black Friday haul by $810 million, but it was still the biggest shopping day of the year with $11.2 billion in sales. [Associated Press, New York Daily News]

Afghan President Hamid Karzai harshly criticized the U.S. for two alleged drone strikes that reportedly killed civilians, including a 2-year-old, in southern Afghanistan. Karzai suggested that he would not sign a long-term security agreement with Washington as long as the attacks continue. Tribal leaders last week overwhelmingly approved the pact, which would let the U.S. leave behind thousands of troops to train and support Afghan forces after NATO withdraws at the end of next year. [New York Times]

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Friday ruled out holding early elections following six days of protests calling for her to step down. Yingluck called for negotiations on Thursday after surviving a no-confidence vote, but protest leaders rejected her plea. At least 1,000 demonstrators forced their way into the country's military headquarters on Friday to call for the army to back them, then left peacefully. Yingluck has vowed not to use force to quiet the protests. [BBC News]

The International Atomic Energy Agency announced Thursday that Iran had invited its inspectors to visit a heavy-water production facility that is part of a site where Tehran is building a new reactor. The invitation marked the first concrete step by Iran to honor its obligations under a landmark deal with world powers to curb its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the international sanctions hobbling its economy. The reactor, if completed, would produce plutonium that could fuel a nuclear bomb. [New York Times]

SpaceX called off the launch of its Falcon 9 rocket just before it was supposed to lift off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Thursday. The problem was a "slower than expected thrust ramp," SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said. It was the second time the launch had been delayed in three days. The private aerospace company has a contract with NASA to fly supplies to the International Space Station, but this mission will put a telecommunications satellite into orbit. SpaceX will inspect the rocket and try again in a few days. [CNN]

Prices in Japan rose by the most in 15 years, in what government officials said Friday was a sign Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's aggressive effort to stimulate the economy and stamp out deflation was working. Prices, not including energy and fresh food, increased by 0.3 percent in October, a little better than economists expected. The Bank of Japan's easy money policy has weakened the yen by 15 percent against the dollar, pushing up prices for imports. Next Abe wants companies to hike wages to sustain growth. [Bloomberg]

Scientists say a part of Comet ISON might have survived a near crash with the sun. The comet passed through the solar corona on Thursday. Karl Battams, a comet scientist for the Naval Research Laboratory, says the comet appears to have re-emerged and started to brighten, although its too early to be sure about its fate. "It's throwing off dust and (probably) gas," Battams says, "but we don't know how long it can sustain that." [CNN]

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.

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