10 things you need to know today: November 27, 2013

1. Justices agree to review another ObamaCare challenge

The Supreme Court is wading back into the battle over ObamaCare. The high court, which upheld the law's individual mandate to buy insurance last year, agreed on Tuesday to review a provision requiring private companies to offer coverage of birth control and other reproductive health benefits with no co-pay. Appeals courts have sided with employers who say some treatments, such as morning-after pills designed to prevent embryos from implanting, violate their religious beliefs. [CNN]

………………………………………………………………………………

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

2. The U.S. and Japan defy China's new airspace claims

The U.S. sent two unarmed B-52 bombers on a training mission over disputed islands in the East China Sea on Tuesday in defiance of China's newly declared airspace defense zone. Japanese airlines also ignored Beijing's claim to the airspace and flew through on Wednesday, without notifying Beijing. The provocative moves intensified a standoff between China and Japan over which country controls the area, and experts in U.S.-China relations said Beijing would be forced to respond if the flights continue. [Reuters]

………………………………………………………………………………

3. Government moves to limit non-profits' political spending

The Obama administration is proposing new rules to curb the political activities of tax-exempt non-profit groups. The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service want to spell out more clearly what constitutes political spending — such as TV ads or get-out-the-vote drives — and put limits on how much of it non-profits can do. The move threatens to drag the IRS deeper into partisan politics, as some Republicans complain it will encourage attacks on free speech by administration opponents. [New York Times]

………………………………………………………………………………

4. Storm fouls up Thanksgiving plans

The deadly and messy winter storm that is fouling up Thanksgiving travel plans on the East Coast is threatening to disrupt another holiday tradition — the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. The sloppy mix of snow, rain, and winds gusting to 36 miles per hour has already forced the cancelation of hundreds of airline flights. Parade organizers say if the nasty conditions continue through Thursday they could also force the grounding of the parade's giant flying balloons depicting Snoopy, SpongeBob, and other cartoon favorites. [Christian Science Monitor]

………………………………………………………………………………

5. Pope Francis attacks the "tyranny" of unchecked capitalism

Pope Francis, in a statement outlining his papacy's mission, called unchecked capitalism a "new tyranny" plaguing the world's poor. "We... have to say thou shalt not to an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such an economy kills," said the Pope, who has drawn admirers in and out of the church for his modest ways and defense of the poor. He called on world leaders to fight poverty and overhaul the global financial system to share the world's wealth more evenly. "Money must serve," he said, "not rule!" [Associated Press]

………………………………………………………………………………

6. CBS News star Lara Logan is put on leave

Lara Logan, a high-profile CBS News correspondent, has been placed on leave for using a discredited source in 60 Minutes' October report on the Benghazi attack. Logan told an account of the attack, which left ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans dead, by security contractor Dylan Davies, even though he had told his employer he was not at the scene. CBS didn't say whether Logan — or producer Max McClellan, who was also suspended — would be out, or whether she would still be paid. [USA Today]

………………………………………………………………………………

7. A once-distant comet zooms close to the sun

Comet ISON, which soared far out on the edge of the solar system for 4.5 billion years, will make a spectacular fly-by past the sun on Thursday. Some scientists believe the comet will burn up as it nearly grazes the sun, but they are also pretty sure that it will provide a never-before-seen glimpse of some of the building blocks that formed planets. If the comet survives, it could provide an impressive light show in the early December night sky. [New York Times]

………………………………………………………………………………

8. Microsoft executives debate how to block NSA spying

Microsoft is preparing a major push to better encrypt its internet traffic over growing suspicions that the National Security Agency might have hacked into its global communications networks. Microsoft was worried even before news reports in October that said the NSA had been intercepting traffic of Microsoft rivals, Google and Yahoo. Insiders say leading Microsoft executives are meeting this week to decide when and how to beef up their company's encryption. [Washington Post]

………………………………………………………………………………

9. Historic book sells for a record $14.2 million

One of 11 surviving copies of the first book printed in America — the Bay Psalm Book — sold for $14.2 million at a Tuesday night auction at Sotheby's in New York. It was the most ever paid for any book in an auction. The previous record was set in December 2010 when a buyer paid $11.5 million for John James Audubon's Birds of America. David Rubenstein, co-founder and co-CEO of private equity firm Carlyle Group, purchased the Bay Psalm Book and plans to loan it to libraries. [Reuters]

………………………………………………………………………………

10. Maddux and Glavine make Hall of Fame ballot

Major League Baseball has unveiled this year's Hall of Fame ballot, and it includes some revered pitchers, including four-time Cy Young Award winner Greg Maddux and two-time winner Tom Glavine. The nominees also include tainted heroes from baseball's steroid scandal, including pitcher Roger Clemens and sluggers Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Mark McGwire. About 600 sports writers will cast votes. The inductees will be announced Jan. 8. [Associated Press]