1. Obama proposes fix for canceled health-insurance policies
President Obama on Thursday promised relief to Americans whose old health-insurance policies had been canceled because they didn't meet the requirements of ObamaCare, saying that insurance companies could extend the policies for one year. The move was intended to contain political damage from the cancelations, but insurance executives said the fix would create new problems and push premiums higher. [Reuters]
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2. Whitey Bulger gets life, and then some
A federal judge on Thursday sentenced infamous Boston mobster James "Whitey" Bulger, 84, to spend the rest of his life in prison for a laundry list of crimes including extortion and grisly murders. Before handing Bulger two consecutive life sentences — plus five years — Judge Denise J. Casper told him, "The scope, the callousness, the depravity of your crimes are almost unfathomable." [New York Times, Associated Press]
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3. Yellen suggests she will stay the course at the Fed
Janet Yellen, President Obama's pick to replace Ben Bernanke as Federal Reserve chairman, told the Senate Banking Committee in a confirmation hearing Thursday that the economy is recovering from the Great Recession but still needs a boost from the Fed. The comments suggested she would stick with Bernanke's policy of keeping interest rates at historic lows. The committee is expected to vote next week to send the nomination to the full Senate. [Washington Post]
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4. Iran tries to reassure doubters by freezing nuclear work
Iran is slowing construction on the expansion of its nuclear program to prove to critics that it is serious about making a nuclear deal with the U.S. and other world powers. International inspectors say Tehran appears to have slowed construction of a reactor that would be able to produce plutonium — a demand of French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius — and frozen its uranium enrichment push. A third round of talks are scheduled in Geneva next week. [Bloomberg Businessweek]
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5. China, facing criticism, increases its aid to the Philippines
China is increasing its typhoon relief aid to the Philippines, after catching grief for being too stingy. Beijing initially said it was sending $100,000 for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan, while the U.S. pledged $20 million, Japan promised $10 million plus troops, and Australia is contributing $28 million. China upped its pledge to $1.6 million, but that's still less than Ikea, which has offered $2.6 million. [Voice of America, CBS News]
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6. Buffett puts $3.45 billion into Exxon
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway on Thursday disclosed that it had acquired a new $3.45 billion stake in Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest publicly traded oil company. The purchase amounts to just a 0.9 percent stake in Exxon, but it's a potentially valuable vote of confidence. "When Warren Buffett gives his seal of approval to any company, that is never a bad thing," said energy analyst Pavel Molchanov. [Reuters]
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7. Canada announces massive child pornography bust
Canadian police said Thursday that 348 people had been arrested — 76 of them in the U.S. — in a broad three-year investigation into child pornography. The case centered around a Toronto firm, Azov Films, that allegedly sold DVDs and streamed videos of naked children, billing them as "naturist" films. Nearly 400 children were also rescued as a result of the investigation. [BBC News]
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8. Toronto council tries to limit Rob Ford's authority
Toronto's City Council is meeting Friday to discuss curbing Mayor Rob Ford's powers after his confession to crack use. Former staffers added to his troubles this week with accusations of drunken driving and other offenses. Ford responded with a vulgar denial that he once propositioned a female staffer for oral sex. In another twist, Canada's Sun News Network is giving Ford and his brother Doug a TV show, Ford Nation. [CNN]
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9. Olympian Michael Phelps signals a comeback bid
Swimming legend Michael Phelps has taken his first step toward making a bid to compete in his fifth Olympics by reentering the U.S. drug-testing program. The 22-time Olympic medalist submitted to drug tests in the third quarter of this year, which means he could be eligible to compete in meets as early as next March, giving him plenty of time to make a comeback and qualify for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. [USA Today]
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10. Franchitti says crash injuries will end his racing career
Race-car driver Dario Franchitti announced Thursday that he was retiring due to injuries he sustained in an October 6 crash. The four-time IndyCar champion suffered a broken back and right ankle, as well as a concussion, when his car went airborne and slammed into a fence at the Houston Grand Prix. Franchitti, 40, started his career in 1997, winning three Indianapolis 500s and tying for eighth on the all-time list with 31 career wins. [USA Today]
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