Tension: The US government yesterday urged its passenger airlines to notify China before passing through its newly claimed airspace over the East China Sea. The State Department said this does not indicate US acceptance of China’s demands, but does acknowledge the Chinese might pull the trigger on an unannounced flight. The Japanese government, to the contrary, asked its airlines not to comply with the Chinese. Japan and China both claim ownership of a chain of islands in the area.

World: At least eight people are dead after a police helicopter crashed into a busy pub in Glasgow, Scotland. Thirty-two people were taken to hospitals. About 100 people were in the bar at the moment of impact and authorities say the death toll is likely to rise.

• North Korea has accused an 85-year-old American veteran of war crimes committed during the Korean War. The Korean state news agency released a picture of Merrill Newman reading an apology for his actions as an infantry officer. Newman is a retired technology executive and world traveler who wanted to re-visit the country where he fought. He was pulled off an airplane Oct. 26 as he was preparing to leave the country. The hand written statement is in fractured English. One sentence says, “I have been guilty of a long list of indelible crimes against DPRK government.”

High Blood Pressure: Computer programmers are crunching to meet today’s deadline for a mostly functional Healthcare.gov website. Programmers hope the site will handle 50,000 users at once, but as late as Wednesday it bogged down with 30,000 healthcare shoppers. Nevertheless, the Obama administration says it  is prepared to declare success tomorrow.

Merry Christmas: One shopper had to be pepper-sprayed to break up a fight over a television at a New Jersey Wal-Mart, and one man was stabbed at a California mall. A suspected shoplifter was shot as his car dragged a police officer trying to stop him.  Those are just a few incidents of Black Friday madness. A side note: in the spirit of the holidays, gun sales are  also becoming a Black Friday tradition. Some big box stores put guns on special and the national background check system gets flooded with calls.

National: A Washington Post poll says Americans are more worried than ever about losing their jobs. A record 32% worry “a lot” in a struggling economy. More than half the people afraid of losing their jobs make $35,000 or less, according to the poll.

Survivor: Scientists now say the comet ISON, which they first thought was obliterated in its close pass behind the sun, has survived. The comet of ice and dust emerged diminished, but is still flying.

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