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Bob Mondello remembers a Columbus Day 50 years ago made special by what seemed to him a visit to a real-life Camelot — and an unexpected encounter with John F. Kennedy.

In early July, a train carrying American crude oil derailed and exploded in the heart of a small Canadian village. The deadly accident in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, and its aftermath have triggered a wave of lawsuits and a sweeping review of rail safety standards in the U.S. and Canada.

Nuclear negotiators from six world powers and Iran head to Geneva for talks surrounded by more optimism than has been seen in years. Positive rhetoric from the new administration of President Hasan Rouhani has raised hopes that diplomacy may once again be ascendant instead of sanctions and threats of military action. Analysts say the trick will be getting the slow-moving negotiating process to respond before these expectations fade. Much will depend on the West's, and especially Washington's, willingness to consider leaving low-level uranium enrichment in Iran's hands, and on whether Congress can be persuaded to hold off on more punitive sanctions that could derail the diplomatic effort.

The International Herald Tribune was once instrumental in keeping American expatriates up to date on their homeland. On Tuesday, the newspaper will bear the name The International New York Times.

JPMorgan Chase says it will cover Social Security and Welfare payments for its customers if the government goes into default or the shutdown continues. The bank would almost certainly get its money back once Congress comes to an agreement.

Homebuilders are finding there's a post-recession demand for bigger houses, and it's partly thanks to boomerang kids who can't find jobs and aging parents who can't afford to live alone anymore.

Banks use credit scores and similar metrics to assess creditworthiness. A company called Kabbage that lends working capital to small businesses does some of that but also relies on unconventional measures, using real-time data from things like UPS shipments, eBay, Facebook and Twitter.

Police in Moscow have been rounding up hundreds of migrant workers after an ethnic riot in the southern part of the city. Thousands of ethnic Slavic men rioted after an ethnic Slav was murdered — allegedly by a migrant from the North Caucasus region. Migrants from southern Russia and the Central Asian republics are routinely blamed for crimes in the Russian capital.

The House tried twice to craft a proposal to end the shutdown and extend the debt ceiling, but both failed to find traction within the GOP. Now, the Senate has restarted talks of its own. The bottom line, however, is that with just hours to go before the U.S. tops its borrowing authority, there's no solid plan on the table.

Over the weekend, people in Lewisburg, Pa., gathered for a weather forecast from caterpillars. Woolly bear caterpillars are black, with a brown stripe down the middle. Folklore says the larger the stripe, the milder the winter.