1. U.S. economy shows healthy job growth despite government shutdown
Employers added 204,000 jobs in October, beating expectations from analysts, who had predicted a gain of around 120,000. The unemployment rate jumped from 7.2 percent to 7.3 percent, mostly due to federal employees who were forced to miss 16 days of work because of the government shutdown. [Bloomberg]
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2. Kerry: "Important gaps remain" in nuclear talks with Iran
Secretary of State John Kerry said that "important gaps remain" in negotiations over Iran's nuclear program after meeting with world leaders in Geneva on Friday. Talks have centered around easing some of Iran's economic sanctions in exchange for a freeze on the country's nuclear activities. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he "utterly rejects" any deal that doesn't involve Iran completely abandoning its nuclear program. [CBS News]
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3. Obama administration will require expanded mental health coverage
Insurance companies will be required to treat mental illnesses the same as physical illnesses, thanks to measures taken by the White House to enforce the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, signed into law in 2008 by George W. Bush. Officials say insurers were finding ways to deny payments to patients and avoid covering people with conditions like deficit hyperactivity disorder and depression. [CNN]
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4. Philippines deals with aftermath of Super Typhoon Haiyan
Super Typhoon Haiyan, which hit the central Philippines on Friday with sustained winds of 145 m.p.h., took down power lines, created landslides, and flooded streets before moving toward Vietnam early Saturday morning. So far, at least 100 have been reported dead. [Reuters, The Guardian]
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5. Benghazi story retracted by 60 Minutes
An interview on 60 Minutes with a man who claimed to have been at the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi, Libya, on the night of the Sept. 11, 2012, attack has been retracted. CBS News correspondent Lara Logan claimed that she was "misled" by supposed eyewitness Dylan Davies and that the network was "wrong to put him on air." [Washington Post]
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6. Credit agency downgrades France
Standard & Poor's cut France's credit rating to AA from AA+ due to concerns that the French government's recent efforts to get its economy back on track were insufficient. It also cited France's high unemployment, which it said was "weakening support for further significant fiscal and structural policy measures." [New York Times]
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7. Chilean officials say poet Pablo Neruda was not poisoned
Suspicions that famous Chilean poet Pablo Neruda was assassinated by the regime of dictator Augusto Pinochet in 1973 were put to rest on Friday after officials claimed that it was prostate cancer, not poison, that killed the Nobel Prize-winning writer. His body had been exhumed this spring after claims of foul play had been raised by his family. [NPR]
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8. Edward Snowden persuaded NSA workers to share passwords
NSA contractor Edward Snowden reportedly gained access to tens of thousands of classified documents by asking between 20 and 25 of his coworkers to give him their passwords, according to unnamed government sources. They were reportedly convinced that he needed them in his role as a computer systems administrator. [Reuters]
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9. Pinkberry co-founder found guilty of beating homeless man
Young Lee, the 48-year-old co-founder of popular frozen yogurt chain Pinkberry, was found guilty in a Los Angeles court of beating a homeless man with a tire iron as he was panhandling in Hollywood. The man reportedly angered Lee by flashing a tattoo of stick figures having sex while Lee was driving by in his car. He faces a maximum penalty of seven years in prison. [Los Angeles Times]
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10. Lionsgate considering Hunger Games theme park
The film studio that released The Hunger Games, which grossed $690 million last year, is considering turning its lucrative movie franchise into a theme park. Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer didn't give any details about where such a theme park would be built. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, the film's sequel, comes out in theaters on Nov. 22. [Variety]
