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REUTERS AMERICA MORNING NEWS PLAN FOR THURSDAY DEC 18
LATEST AND PLANNED U.S. NEWS COVERAGE (ALL TIMES ET)
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BREAKING
U.S. jobless claims fall, pointing to firmer labor market
WASHINGTON - The number of Americans filing new claims forunemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, suggestingthe labor market continued to strengthen. Initial claims forstate unemployment benefits dropped by 6,000 to a seasonallyadjusted 289,000 for the week ended Dec. 13, the LaborDepartment said on Thursday. The report came a day after theFederal Reserve offered an upbeat assessment of the labor marketand the broader economy, and signaled it could start raisinginterest rates next year. (USA-ECONOMY/ (WRAPUP 1, GRAPHIC),moved at 8:51 a.m., 250 words, will be updated by 10 a.m.)
TOP STORIES
Many Americans open to better ties with Cuba - poll
WASHINGTON - Though lawmakers from both political partieslambasted President Barack Obama on Wednesday for shifting U.S.policy on Cuba, Americans by and large are open to stronger tieswith the communist-governed island, according to a Reuters/Ipsospoll. Fewer than 20 percent of Americans oppose establishingU.S. diplomatic relations with Cuba, the poll of 31,000 adultsshowed. (CUBA-USA/POLL (POLL), moved at 7 p.m., 390 words)
Obama seen having power to further weaken Cuba sanctions
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has the power to furtherweaken U.S. sanctions against the Communist-run island beyondthe normalization of relations with Havana that he announced onWednesday, sanctions experts said. (CUBA-USA/NEXTSTEPS (UPDATE2), moved at 8:15 p.m., 400 words)
Spy freed from Cuban prison hailed as secret U.S. hero
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama hailed him as one of thebest spies America has ever had in Cuba, but precious little isknown about the Cuban man freed in a prisoner swap on Wednesdayafter two decades of incarceration on the Communist island.(CUBA-USA/INTELLIGENCE (UPDATE 1), moved at 7:25 p.m., 300words)
+See also:
CUBA-USA/GROSS-FREE (PIX, TV), moved at 6:50 p.m., 400words; CUBA-USA/CLINTON, moved at 8:19 p.m., 90 words;CUBA-USA/CASTRO (UPDATE 3, PIX, TV), moved at 9:36 p.m., 400words; and CUBA-USA/LATINAMERICA, moved at 6:55 p.m., 400 words
Executions in United States at 20-year low
WASHINGTON - Amid growing concerns about how executions arecarried out in the United States, the number of prison inmatesbeing put to death fell to a 20-year low in 2014, the DeathPenalty Information Center said in a report issued on Thursday.The 35 executions this year was the lowest total since 1994.Botched executions in Ohio, Arizona and especially the executionof Clayton Lockett in Oklahoma led to increasing concerns amongthe public about how the death penalty is imposed, it said.(USA-COURT/EXECUTION, moved at midnight, by Lawrence Hurely, 350words) See also: Experts tell U.S. court that Oklahoma haddeeply flawed execution (USA-OKLAHOMA/EXECUTION (UPDATE 1),moved at 7:41 p.m., 240 words)
Putin says Russia economy will be cured but offers no remedy
MOSCOW - President Vladimir Putin assured Russians onThursday that the economy would rebound after the rouble'sdramatic slide this year but offered no remedy for a deepeningfinancial crisis. In an assured performance at a three-hour newsconference, Putin blamed the economic problems on externalfactors and said the crisis over Ukraine was caused by the West,which he accused of building a "virtual" Berlin Wall to containRussia. (RUSSIA-CRISIS/PUTIN (UPDATE 4, TV, PIX, GRAPHIC), movedat 8:53 a.m., 750 words)
+See also:
RUSSIA-CRISIS/MARKETS-RUBLE (UPDATE 2, GRAPHIC), moved at9:05 a.m., 550 words; IRAN-NUCLEAR/PUTIN, moved at 7:12 a.m., 30words; and RUSSIA-CRISIS/IKEA, moved at 9:11 a.m., 50 words
As easy targets thin, Syria air strikes by U.S. alliesplunge
WASHINGTON/DUBAI - As U.S. fighter jets pound Islamic Statetargets in Syria, Washington's coalition allies appearincreasingly absent from the air war. Although President BarackObama's administration announced the Syrian air strikes threemonths ago as a joint campaign by Washington and its Araballies, nearly 97 percent of the strikes in December have beencarried out by the United States alone, according to U.S.military data provided to Reuters.(MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-STRIKES, moved at 7 a.m., 500 words)
WASHINGTON
Fed confident on U.S. growth, opens door wider to rate hike
WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve on Wednesday offered astrong signal that it was on track to raise interest ratessometime next year, altering a pledge to keep rates near zerofor a "considerable time" in a show of confidence in the U.S.economy. (USA-FED/ (WRAPUP 6, PIX, TV), moved at 6:45 p.m., 700words)
Fed eyes audit push as key political challenge in 2015
WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve is lobbying to stem arising threat to its independence as the "Audit the Fed"movement, once seen as usual background noise, looks set to gainmomentum in 2015 when Republicans gain control of both houses ofCongress. (USA-FED/POLITICS, moved at 1 a.m., 641 words)
U.S. charges three in Europe with trying to sell arms toColombian rebels
NEW YORK - Three men were arrested in Europe this week onU.S. charges that they conspired to sell military-grade weaponsfor use against Americans in Colombia, federal prosecutors inNew York said on Wednesday. (USA-COURTS/ARMS-COLOMBIA, moved at7 p.m., 250 words)
Sessions yields to Enzi as U.S. Senate Budget chairman
WASHINGTON - Republican Senator Mike Enzi said on Wednesdayhe will take over as chairman of the Senate Budget Committeenext year after the panel's current top Republican, JeffSessions, agreed to step aside. (USA-CONGRESS/BUDGET (UPDATE 1),moved at 8:24 p.m., 220 words)
Mexico says sea boundary talks between U.S., Mexico, Cuba totake years
MEXICO CITY - Joint talks among the United States, Cuba andMexico to fix the maritime boundaries of the three countries inthe Gulf of Mexico are likely to be complex and stretch beyond2018, a senior Mexican official said on Wednesday.(CUBA-USA/MEXICO, moved at 10:34 p.m., 150 words)
FEATURES
Iowa and New Hampshire voters may listen before they judgeBush
DAVENPORT, Iowa - Bob Shelley neatly folds his newspaper anduses it as a coaster for his coffee mug. By no coincidence, itcovers the face of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who justannounced he will explore a bid for the White House in 2016.(USA-POLITICS/BUSH, moved at 1 a.m., by Mark Guarino, 704 words)
NYC subway extension may transform Manhattan neighborhood
NEW YORK - Work crews are scrambling underneath New YorkCity to finish the city's first major new subway stop in 25years, a fast-track project intended to revitalize along-neglected slice of Manhattan. (USA-NEW YORK/SUBWAY(FEATURE, PIX), moved at 7 a.m., by Barbara Goldberg, 765 words)
Green bonds sell big in 2014 as finance bids to help climate
NEW YORK - A "green" bond market has taken root this year,with municipalities and corporations issuing newenvironmentally-focused bonds and money managers jumping in tobuy them. But it's too soon to tell whether all the new activity- less than a sliver of the $91 trillion worldwide bond market -will send much new money to projects like efficient buildingsand better water systems. (BONDS-GREEN/JUNK (INSIGHT,GRAPHICS), moved at 7 a.m., 1,000 words)
OTHER U.S. NEWS
Ohio police use pepper spray on crowd lined up for AirJordans
TOLEDO - Police used pepper spray on Wednesday to dispersean unruly crowd of about 300 people lined up at a mall inToledo, Ohio for a chance to buy new Air Jordan sneakers. (USA-OHIO/SHOES (UPDATE 1), moved at 6:45 p.m., 150 words)
Lava creeps within mile of Hawaii shopping center
HONOLULU - A stream of molten lava from an erupting volcanoon Hawaii's Big Island crept to within a mile of the onlygrocery store and gas station in the village of Pahoa onWednesday as it neared a highway link with the rest of theisland. (USA-LAVA/HAWAII, moved at 11:16 p.m., 308 words)
Federal judge rebuffs NCAA concussion settlement
-- A federal judge on Wednesday rebuffed a $75-million NCAAsettlement that aimed to end a massive class-action lawsuit overhead injuries suffered by student athletes, court records show.(USA-NCAA/SETTLEMENT, moved at 12:32 a.m., 341 words)
Boston Marathon bomber suspect due in court on Thursday
BOSTON - Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaevis due in court on Thursday, his first appearance in public inmore than a year, as his lawyers prepare for the January startof his trial on charges of carrying out the deadly 2013 attack.(USA-EXPLOSIONS/BOSTON (PIX), moved, 400 words, by Scott Malone,updates from hearing)
FBI, Los Angeles police recover 9 stolen paintings worth $10million
LOS ANGELES - Federal agents and police in Los Angeles haverecovered nine paintings worth millions of dollars that werestolen from the home of an elderly couple six years ago,including works by Marc Chagall and Diego Rivera, and FBIspokeswoman said on Wednesday. (USA-ART/HEIST, moved at 1:08a.m., 322 words)
Three killed, several injured in crash outside Californiachurch
-- Three people were killed and at least nine others injuredwhen a driver ploughed into a group of pedestrians leaving aholiday church service in a southern California city of RedondoBeach on Wednesday night, police said. (USA-CALIFORNIA/CRASH(UPDATE 1), moved at 4:30 a.m., 219 words)
Two Wisconsin girls in Slenderman case to appear in courthearings
MILWAUKEE - Two Wisconsin girls will be in court on Thursdayfor hearings to determine if they are fit to stand trial oncharges that they lured a classmate into the woods andrepeatedly stabbed her to please Slenderman, a fictionalInternet character. Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier were both 12when they were charged as adults with first-degree attemptedhomicide in the attack on their friend the morning after asleepover in May in Waukesha, a suburb west of Milwaukee.(USA-CRIME/WISCONSIN, moved at 7 a.m., 250 words)
Montana homeowner found guilty in slaying of German exchangestudent
MISSOULA - A jury on Wednesday found a Montana homeownerguilty of deliberate homicide in the shooting death of a Germanhigh school exchange student who entered his garage in a casethat tested the state's version of a "castle doctrine"self-defense law. (USA-MONTANA/EXCHANGESTUDENT (UPDATE 2), movedat 7 p.m., 300 words)
Company, former officers indicted in water-fouling WestVirginia spill
-- Federal prosecutors have indicted Freedom Industries Incand six former company officials on 13 criminal charges stemmingfrom a January chemical spill that fouled drinking water forabout 300,000 West Virginians. (USA-ENVIRONMENT/FREEDOM, moved,300 words)
Texas plumber harassed after company truck seen in Syrianwar photo
(USA-TEXAS/TRUCK, moved at 7:53 p.m., 140 words)
Execution drug providers to be anonymous under new Ohiomeasure
(USA-EXECUTION/OHIO, moved at 6:55 p.m., 300 words)
New York awards three licenses for upstate casinos
(USA-GAMBLING/NEW YORK, moved at 7:15 p.m., 150 words)
ENTERTAINMENT
Hollywood slams Sony, movie theaters for canceling 'TheInterview'
LOS ANGELES - Hollywood filmmakers and actors voiced outrageon Wednesday after Sony Pictures pulled the release of NorthKorea parody "The Interview," following threats from hackers whowaged a massive cyber attack on the movie studio.(SONY-CYBERSECURITY/HOLLYWOOD, moved at 11:51 p.m., 394 words)See also: Steve Carell's North Korea-Set Project Dropped by NewRegency (VARIETY (ENTERTAINMENT-FILM/NEWS), moved, 90 words)
Former accuser of Hollywood director charged with wire fraud
-- A man who had accused "X-Men" director Bryan Singer ofsexual abuse when he was a teenager but later dropped hislawsuit has been charged with securities and wire fraud forrunning a fraudulent investment scheme, officials said onWednesday. A grand jury in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Tuesdayindicted Michael Francis Egan III, 32, who is a former residentof that community, for operating the scheme from 2007 to 2012.(USA-WIREFRAUD/NORTH CAROLINA, moved at 7:35 p.m., 150 words)
'Big Lebowski,' 'Willy Wonka' Among National Film Registry's25 Selections
(VARIETY (ENTERTAINMENT-FILM/AWARDS), moved, 2,547 words)
TV Review: Amazon's 'Mozart in the Jungle'
(VARIETY (ENTERTAINMENT-DIGITAL/REVIEWS), moved, 502 words)
Film Review: 'Into the Woods'
(VARIETY (ENTERTAINMENT-FILM/REVIEWS), moved, 1,319 words)
HBO to Stop Issuing Overnight TV Ratings in Favor of LivePlus 7
(VARIETY (ENTERTAINMENT-TV/NEWS), moved, 220 words)
LIFESTYLE
Xi's visit to Macau deals cold deck to VIP gamblers
HONG KONG - As Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Macauthis weekend for his first official visit in five years, themessage from Beijing is clear: the world's biggest gamblingcenter cannot remain a one-industry town. Xi's pervasiveanti-graft campaign contributed to a disastrous year for majorcasino companies, which have lost a combined $58 billion inmarket value over the past six months as VIPs stayed away.(MACAU-CHINA/XI (UPDATE 1, PIX, GRAPHICS), moved at 7:14 a.m.,500 words)
EU appoints Germany's Stoiber as red tape adviser
BRUSSELS - European Commission President Jean-Claude Junckerappointed Germany's Edmund Stoiber as special adviser on betterregulation on Thursday, to help the EU executive fightover-regulation and red tape. (EU-REDTAPE/, moved at 7:10 a.m.,120 words)
SCIENCE AND HEALTH
EU's top court opens door to some stem cell patents
BRUSSELS/LONDON - Europe's top court has opened the door tocertain stem cell patents in the European Union by ruling thatan organism incapable of developing into a human being is not ahuman embryo and may be patented. Thursday's judgment by theEuropean Court of Justice was made following a case brought inBritain by U.S. company International Stem Cell Corp on whetherit could patent processes covering use of human egg cells.(HEALTH-STEMCELLS/EUROPE (UPDATE 2), moved at 8:17 a.m., 300words)
Glaxo shingles vaccine hits goal in major study
LONDON - An experimental vaccine against shingles fromGlaxoSmithKline met its goal in a late-stage study, in aboost for the company's vaccine unit, which is expanding part ofits overall healthcare business. The vaccine, known as HZ/su,reduced the risk of shingles by 97.2 percent in adults aged 50years and older compared to placebo in the Phase III clinicaltrial involving more than 16,000 individuals, the drugmaker saidon Thursday. (GSK-SHINGLES/, moved at 7:42 a.m., 100 words)
EBOLA
China approves experimental Ebola vaccine for clinicaltrials
SHANGHAI - China has approved a domestically developedexperimental Ebola vaccine for clinical trials, the officialXinhua news agency said on Thursday, citing the People'sLiberation Army logistics unit. (US-HEALTH-EBOLA-CHINA, moved,250 words)
Sierra Leone's leading doctor dies of Ebola
FREETOWN - Victor Willoughby, Sierra Leone's leading doctor,died of Ebola on Thursday, hours after the arrival in thecountry of an experimental drug that could have been used totreat him. (HEALTH-EBOLA/LEONE, moved at 7:38 a.m., 150 words)
WORLD
Pakistan court grants bail to man accused of mastermindingMumbai attack
ISLAMABAD - A Pakistani court granted bail on Thursday to aman accused of masterminding a deadly 2008 rampage through theIndian city of Mumbai, lawyers said. The decision to grant bailto Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi drew uick condemnation from India andis likely to hinder attempts to patch up relations between thenuclear-armed neighbours. (PAKISTAN-INDIA/ATTACKS (UPDATE 1),moved at 8:13 a.m., 300 words)
Suspected Boko Haram gunmen kidnap over 100 women, childrenin Nigeria
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria - Suspected Boko Haram gunmen kidnappedmore than 100 women and children and killed 35 people during aSunday raid on the remote northeast Nigerian village ofGumskiri, a security source and resident said on Thursday.(NIGERIA-VIOLENCE/ (UPDATE 1), moved at 7:51 a.m., 140 words)
Cameroon army kills 116 Boko Haram militants - ministry
YAOUNDE - Cameroon's army killed 116 Boko Haram militants onWednesday when they attacked a base in the Far North region ofthe country, according to a defense ministry spokesman.(CAMEROON-BOKO HARAM/ (UPDATE 1), moved at 8:33 a.m., 140 words)
U.N. defers Iraq's $4.6 billion Gulf War reparations toKuwait
GENEVA - The United Nations Gulf War compensation fundagreed on Thursday to defer Iraq's requirement to deposit fivepercent of its oil revenues for a year due to its budgetarydifficulties, a senior U.N. official said.(MIDEAST-CRISIS/IRAQ-UN (UPDATE 1), moved at 7:24 a.m., 300words)
China investigates policeman over wrongful execution of teen
BEIJING - Chinese authorities are investigating a seniorpoliceman in the Inner Mongolia region for his role in thewrongful execution in 1996 of a teenager, who was exoneratedthis week for the rape and murder of a woman, state media saidon Thursday. (CHINA-CRIME/ (CORRECTED), moved at 7:50 a.m., 140words)
EU bans investment in Crimea, targets oil sector, cruises
BRUSSELS - The European Union banned investment in Crimea onThursday, halting European help for Russian Black Sea oil andgas exploration and outlawing European cruise ships from callingat Crimean ports. (UKRAINE-CRISIS/EU (UPDATE 1), moved at 7:34a.m., 240 words) See also: Russian sailors leave French port,Mistral deal still uncertain (UKRAINE-CRISIS/MISTRAL (UPDATE 1,PIX, TV), moved at 8:06 a.m., 240 words)
Swedish Christian Democrats urge tougher migrant policy tocounter far-right
(SWEDEN-POLITICS/IMMIGRATION, moved at 7:13 a.m., 250 words)
Angry lawmakers disrupt vote on Kenyan security law
(KENYA-SECURITY/ (UPDATE 2), moved at 8:28 a.m., 300 words)
BUSINESS AND MARKETS
Oil up 2 percent to $62, energy firms slash investments
LONDON - Brent crude rose 2 percent to near $62 a barrel onThursday, extending a rebound from five-year lows this week asoil's six-month price rout forced more energy firms to cutinvestments in new production. (MARKETS-OIL/ (UPDATE 5,GRAPHIC), moved at 9:13 a.m., 400 words, will be updated throughthe day)
Alcatel-Lucent shares jump 8 pct on Nokia merger report
LONDON/HELSINKI - Two of Europe's top three remainingtelecommunications equipment companies, Nokia Networks andAlcatel-Lucent, have revived talks on a possible merger,Germany's Manager Magazin reported on Thursday, citing companysources. (ALCATEL-LUCENT-M&A/NOKIA (UPDATE 1), moved at 8:38a.m., 300 words)
ConAgra Foods quarterly sales miss estimates
-- ConAgra Foods reported quarterly sales that missedestimates due to weak demand for branded foods and said recoveryin its under-performing private-label business would take longerthan expected. (CONAGRA FOODS-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 1), moved at 9:13a.m., 250 words)
Kraft Foods appoints John Cahill CEO
-- Kraft Foods Group appointed Chairman John Cahill as chiefexecutive to succeed Tony Vernon, who will retire on Dec. 27.Cahill, who joined Kraft in 2012, will continue in his role aschairman. (KRAFTOODS-CEO/, moved at 9:04 a.m., 40 words, will beled)
Dunkin' Brands cuts 2015 forecast on slowing coffee sales
-- Dunkin' Brands Group cut its 2015 forecast for same-storesales growth in the United States and operating income growth,citing slowing sales of packaged coffee in its restaurants.(DUNKINBRANDS-FORECAST/ (UPDATE 1), moved at 8:53 a.m., 150words)
Accenture raises full-year revenue forecast after strongquarter
-- Consulting and outsourcing company Accenture Plc raisedits revenue forecast for fiscal 2015 after contract wins helpedthe company post better-than-expected first-quarter earnings andrevenue. (ACCENTURE-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 1), moved at 8:50 a.m., 240words)
Glaxo shareholders approve asset swap deal with Novartis
LONDON - Shareholders in British drug maker GlaxoSmithKlinehave approved a planned deal with Switzerland's Novartis whichwill see the two pharmaceutical groups trade more than $20billion of assets. (GSK-M&A/NOVARTIS, moved at 8:19 a.m., 70words, will be led)
U.S. shippers cite wide gap in labor talks with West Coastdockworkers
LOS ANGELES - Negotiators for shipping lines and terminaloperators at 29 U.S. West Coast ports remain far from a dealwith union dockworkers after seven months of contract talks, thecompanies said on Wednesday, again blaming the union forwaterfront cargo slowdowns. The Pacific Maritime Associationstatement came a day before companies were to resumeface-to-face bargaining with the International Longshore andWarehouse Union, representing 20,000 West Coast dockworkers.(USA-PORTS/WESTCOAST (PIX), moved at 9:27 p.m., 300 words)
Saudi's Naimi: OPEC cannot cut alone but others would not
DUBAI - Saudi Arabia's powerful oil minister said onThursday that OPEC could not cut output without the support ofother big producers and attempts to get them on board had notworked. (SAUDI-OIL/NAIMI (UPDATE 2), moved at 8:52 a.m., 300words)
Oil drop sends major central banks in different directions
(ECONOMY-CENBANKS/OIL, moved at 7:25 a.m., 500 words)
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