REUTERS AMERICA NEWS PLAN FOR WEDNESDAY SEPT 14

09/14/2016 9:34

REUTERS AMERICA MORNING NEWS PLAN FOR WEDNESDAY SEPT 14

LATEST AND PLANNED U.S. NEWS COVERAGE (ALL TIMES ET)

Top stories as of 9:45 a.m. on Wednesday.

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TOP STORIES

Bayer clinches Monsanto with improved $66 billion bid

NEW YORK/FRANKFURT - German drugs and crop chemicals company Bayer has won over U.S. seeds firm Monsanto with an improved takeover offer of around $66 billion, ending months of wrangling after increasing its bid for a third time. (MONSANTO-M&A/BAYER (UPDATE 3, PIX), moved 8:08 a.m., by Greg Roumeliotis and Ludwig Burger, 655 words)

New York attorney general opens probe of Trump Foundation

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said on Tuesday he had opened an inquiry into the Donald J. Trump Foundation to ensure the Republican presidential nominee's charity was complying with state laws governing nonprofits. (USA-ELECTION/TRUMP-INVESTIGATION (UPDATE 1), moved at 9:31 p.m., 396 words)

Top diplomats from U.S., Japan, S.Korea to meet on North Korea

SEOUL/BEIJING - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will meet with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts in New York on Sunday to discuss responses to North Korea's latest nuclear test, South Korea's foreign ministry said on Wednesday. (NORTHKOREA-NUCLEAR/ (PIX, TV, GRAPHIC), moved at 1:49 a.m., by Tony Munroe and Ben Blanchard, 463 words) See also: Japanese PM to discuss N.Korea, economic ties during rare Cuba trip (JAPAN-ABE/CUBA (UPDATE 1), moved at 5:33 a.m., 399 words) and U.S. has no right to lecture China over N.Korea - People's Daily (NORTHKOREA-NUCLEAR/CHINA (GRAPHIC), moved, 425 words)

Suu Kyi to meet Obama in Washington for first time as Myanmar leader

WASHINGTON - Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi meets with President Barack Obama on Wednesday in her first visit to the United States since her party won a sweeping victory in last year's election, capping a decades-long journey from political prisoner to national leader. (USA-MYANMAR/ (PIX), moved at midnight, by Timothy Mclaughlin and Patricia Zengerle, 470 words) See also: As Suu Kyi visits U.S., Myanmar readies new foreign investment law (MYANMAR-INVESTMENT/ (PIX), moved at 7:36 a.m., 635 words)

CAMPAIGN

U.S. Democratic Party says it was hacked again, blames Russians

WASHINGTON - The head of the Democratic National Committee said on Tuesday the organization had been hacked by Russian state-sponsored agents who were trying to influence the U.S. presidential election, after a similar leak in July roiled the party. (USA-CYBER/DEMOCRATS, moved, 303 words)

WASHINGTON

U.S. Supreme Court leaves Ohio voting restrictions in place

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to reinstate for the Nov. 8 general election Ohio's "Golden Week," which had allowed voters to register and cast ballots within the same seven-day period before it was repealed by a Republican-backed law two years ago. (USA-COURT/VOTE (UPDATE 4, PIX), moved at 11:09 p.m., by Lawrence Hurley, 548 words)

OTHER U.S. NEWS

Chelsea Manning to receive gender transition surgery -lawyers

WASHINGTON - U.S. soldier Chelsea Manning, serving a 35-year prison term for passing classified files to WikiLeaks, ended her hunger strike on Tuesday after the Army said she would be allowed to receive gender transition surgery, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said. (USA-WIKILEAKS/MANNING (UPDATE 2, PIX), moved at 1:55 a.m., 404 words)

Admitted triple murderer again fights execution at Boston trial

BOSTON - A Massachusetts man who admitted stabbing three people to death in a weeklong 2001 rampage in two states returns to a Boston courtroom on Wednesday fighting for his life as federal prosecutors mount a second attempt to have him executed. (MASSACHUSETTS-MURDER/SAMPSON (PREVIEW), moved at 6 a.m., by Scott Malone, 497 words)

Colorado's civil litigation over movie theater massacre ends

DENVER - The movie theater chain that owns a Colorado cinema where 12 people were killed in a 2012 shooting spree will not pursue $700,000 in legal costs the company incurred fighting an unsuccessful lawsuit, court records showed on Tuesday. (COLORADO-SHOOTING/LAWSUIT, moved at midnight, by Keith Coffman, 384 words)

Storm Julia moves slowly north through Florida, Georgia

Tropical Storm Julia dumped heavy rains as it moved slowly north along the coastline of northeastern Florida and southeastern Georgia early on Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center said. (STORM-JULIA/NHC (UPDATE 2), moved at 6:48 a.m., 202 words)

Climate change 'significant and direct' threat to U.S. military -reports

WASHINGTON - The effects of climate change endanger U.S. military operations and could increase the danger of international conflict, according to three new documents endorsed by retired top U.S. military officers and former national security officials. (USA-CLIMATECHANGE/, moved at midnight, by Idrees Ali, 383 words)

Spat over which U.S. airlines fly govt workers intensifies

WASHINGTON - A spat among airlines over which deserved the contract to fly U.S. government workers on certain routes intensified on Tuesday, with the chief executive of JetBlue Airways Corp calling rivals hypocritical for protesting its award. (AIRLINES-SUMMIT/JETBLUE, moved at 11:11 p.m., by Jeffrey Dastin, 370 words)

California to end breeding of captive killer whales

SACRAMENTO - California will no longer allow the breeding of captive killer whales such as those used in SeaWorld's famous "Shamu" shows under a measure signed on Tuesday by Democratic Governor Jerry Brown. (USA-SEAWORLD/ORCAS, moved at 9:27 p.m., 358 words)

MIDDLE EAST

Aid for Syria waits on Turkish border as warring sides bicker

CILVEGOZU - Two convoys of aid which crossed the Turkish border destined for Syria's Aleppo were waiting in no-man's land on Wednesday, as disagreements between warring sides and fears about security delayed deliveries on the third day of a ceasefire. (MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-AID (UPDATE 2, PIX, TV), moving shortly, by Osman Orsal and John Davison, 758 words) See also: Kerry defends Syria deal with Russia, says Obama backs plan (MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-KERRY, moved at 5 a.m., 554 words) and Syrian opposition politician not confident truce will last (MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-OPPOSITION (UPDATE 1), moved, 253 words)

For illegal pilgrims in Mecca, God's blessings transcend secular law

MINA - Fear of getting caught is not enough to deter Abu Ahmed and up to 200,000 other illegal pilgrims from attending this year's haj in Mecca, despite a clampdown by the Saudi authorities aimed at preventing deadly overcrowding. (SAUDI-HAJ/ILLEGALS (PIX, TV), moved at 7:02 a.m., by Dahlia Nehme, 419 words)

WORLD

N.Korea ramps up uranium enrichment, enough for six nuclear bombs a year-experts

SEOUL - North Korea will have enough material for about 20 nuclear bombs by the end of this year, with ramped-up uranium enrichment facilities and an existing stockpile of plutonium, according to new assessments by weapons experts. (NORTHKOREA-NUCLEAR/FUEL (PIX, GRAPHIC), moved, 707 words)

Post-Brexit EU needs joint military HQ, Juncker says

STRASBOURG - The European Union's chief executive called on Wednesday for a joint command headquarters for EU military missions and greater defense cooperation, reviving long-running efforts to reduce reliance on the United States. (EU-JUNCKER/DEFENCE, moved at 6 a.m., by Alastair Macdonald, 482 words) See also: EU restates positions on Brexit talks, market access(BRITAIN-EU/VERHOFSTADT (UPDATE 1), moved, 413 words) and Franco-German duo to lead Commission's Brexit negotiations (BRITAIN-EU/NEGOTIATORS, moved, 350 words)

Pope says murdered French priest a martyr, on road to sainthood

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis said on Wednesday the French priest knifed to death at his altar by Islamist militants in July was a martyr, and indicated that Father Jacques Hamel was already on the road to sainthood. (EUROPE-ATTACKS/POPE-FRANCE (CORRECTED, UPDATE 1, PIX, TV), moved at 6:53 a.m., by Philip Pullella, 384 words)

Chinese villagers describe police beatings in "wild crackdown" on protest

WUKAN - Residents of a Chinese village once seen as a cradle of grassroots democracy were in shock on Wednesday after a "wild crackdown" by police in clashes with protesters which they said led to about 70 people being detained. (CHINA-WUKAN/PROTESTS (UPDATE 4, PIX, GRAPHICS, TV), moved at 7:30 a.m., by James Pomfret, 632 words)

Ecuador sets October date for Assange questioning

STOCKHOLM - Ecuador has set an October 17 date for the questioning of Julian Assange in a Swedish rape investigation, a move that could end a four year long deadlock ever since the WikiLeaks founder took refuge in Ecuador's London embassy.(ECUADOR-SWEDEN/ASSANGE (UPDATE 1), moved at 7:55 a.m., 347 words)

Schools shut, flights canceled as Super Typhoon Meranti hits Taiwan

TAIPEI - More than half a million homes lost power across Taiwan on Wednesday and five people were injured as Super Typhoon Meranti, which is believed to be the world's strongest storm this year, hit the island. (ASIA-STORM/TAIWAN (UPDATE 2, PIX, TV, GRAPHIC), moved at 4:24 a.m., by Faith Hung, 385 words)

Israeli statesman Peres, 93, "critical but stable" after stroke

JERUSALEM - Former Israeli President Shimon Peres remains in a "critical but stable" condition in hospital following a massive stroke, his son-in-law and personal physician Rafi Valdan said on Wednesday, though the family is optimistic he will recover. (ISRAEL-PERES/ (PIX, TV), moved, 475 words)

HEALTH AND SCIENCE

China to launch second space lab module, another manned mission

BEIJING - China will launch its second experimental space laboratory late on Thursday and another manned space mission next month, the government said, part of a broader plan to have a permanent manned space station in service around 2022. (CHINA-SPACE/ (UPDATE 1), moved at 9 a.m., 370 words)

ENTERTAINMENT AND LIFESTYLE

Emmys so colorful as TV shows movies the faces of America

Six months after #Oscarssowhite upset the biggest movie awards in the world, television's Emmy line-up is telling a different, far more colorful, story. (AWARDS-EMMYS/DIVERSITY (PIX,TV), moved at 8 a.m., by Jill Serjeant, 615 words)

Actor Banderas opens photo exhibition in Moscow

MOSCOW - Hollywood actor Antonio Banderas brings his photography work to Russia with his "Women in Gold" exhibition that opens in Moscow on Wednesday. (PEOPLE-BANDERAS/EXHIBITION (TV, PIX), moved at 7:27 a.m., 93 words)

BUSINESS AND MARKETS

U.S. import prices post first drop in six months

WASHINGTON - U.S. import prices fell for the first time in six months in August on declining petroleum and food costs, pointing to a tame inflation environment that could encourage the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates steady next week. (USA-ECONOMY/ (WRAPUP 1), moved at 8:53 a.m., by Lucia Mutikani, 416 words)

Ford Motor says 2017 performance to drop from 2016 levels

DETROIT - Ford Motor Co's 2017 financial performance will decline from this year as it increases spending on "emerging opportunities" like self-driving cars and other costs, the No. 2 U.S.-based automaker said on Wednesday. (FORD-INVESTORS/ (UPDATE 2), moved at 9:02 a.m., by Bernie Woodall, 435 words) See also: Ford charts cautious path toward self-driving, shared vehicles (FORD MOTOR-MOBILITY/ (PIX, FACTBOX), moved at 7 a.m., by Paul Lienert, 660 words)

Pirate booty? Startups see new ad market in illegal downloaders

A small number of U.S.-based startups are harvesting data about the hundreds of millions people who illegally stream movies, TV shows and music in a bid to create a new advertising market. Whether major brands are willing to pay for the opportunity to market to consumers who steal content -- an industry taboo to date -- will determine the fate of this cottage industry. (USA-ADVERTISING/PIRACY (GRAPHIC), moved, 1,185 words)

Uber debuts self-driving vehicles in landmark Pittsburgh trial

PITTSBURGH - When Pittsburgh wakes up on Wednesday morning, some residents will have the choice of going about their day in an Uber that drives itself. (UBER-AUTONOMOUS/ (PIX, TV), moved at 6 a.m., by Heather Somerville, 872 words)

Three ships chartered to troubled Hanjin sold, more on the block

SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE - Three ships chartered to Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd have been sold and two more vessels are up for sale, ship brokers said on Wednesday, kicking off an asset sale sparked by the failure of the world's seventh largest container shipper. (HANJIN SHIPPING-DEBT/ (UPDATE 2, PIX, TV, GRAPHIC), moved at 5:42 a.m., by Brenda Goh and Keith Wallis, 732 words) *****************

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09/14/2016 9:34