REUTERS AMERICA NEWS PLAN FOR THURSDAY SEPT 22
REUTERS AMERICA MORNING NEWS PLAN FOR THURSDAY SEPT 22
LATEST AND PLANNED U.S. NEWS COVERAGE (ALL TIMES ET)
Top stories as of 9:45 a.m. on Thursday.
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BREAKING
NYC mayor warns Trump: 'stop and frisk' will make things worse
WASHINGTON - New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio warned Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Thursday against embracing the "stop and frisk" police tactic that he said would worsen relations between police and community in the country. (USA-ELECTION/POLICE (PIX), moved at 9:14 a.m., 415 words)
U.S. jobless claims drop to two-month low as labor market firms
WASHINGTON - The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week to a two-month low, pointing to labor market strength that could pave the way for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by December. (USA-ECONOMY/UNEMPLOYMENT (WRAPUP 1, GRAPHIC), moved at 9 a.m., 438 words)
TOP STORIES
Charlotte, N.C. in state of emergency after 2nd night of violent protests
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Residents of Charlotte, North Carolina, woke to a state of emergency on Thursday with National Guard troops deployed on the streets after a second night of violent protests over the fatal police shooting of a black man. (USA-POLICE/ (UPDATE 3, TV, PIX), moved at 8:55 a.m., by Greg Lacour and Andy Sullivan, 732 words, will be led through the day)
Warplanes hit Aleppo in heaviest attack in months, defying U.S.
BEIRUT - Warplanes mounted the heaviest air strikes in months against rebel-held districts of the city of Aleppo overnight, as Russia and the Syrian government spurned a U.S. plea to halt flights, burying any hope for the revival of a doomed ceasefire. (MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA (WRAPUP 1, PIX), moved at 8:14 a.m., 848 words, will be led through the day) See also: U.N. resumes Syria aid delivery after attack (MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-AID (UPDATE 2, TV), moving shortly, 420 words)
Prosecutors, defenders squabble over status of accused New York bomber
NEW YORK - Prosecutors and New York's top federal public defender squabbled on Thursday over when the man charged with carrying out a series of weekend bombings around the city and its suburbs would be provided legal counsel. (USA-ATTACKS/ (PIX), moving shortly, 494 words)
Yahoo set to confirm massive data breach
-- Yahoo will confirm this week a massive data breach of its service, technology news website Recode reported on Thursday, citing several sources close to the situation. The breach exposed several hundred million user accounts, Recode reported. (YAHOO-CYBER/, moved at 7:24 a.m., 65 words)
UnitedHealth trims drug coverage including Sanofi insulin
-- UnitedHealth Group, the largest U.S. health insurer, will stop covering several brand-name drugs as of next year, reinforcing a trend of payers steering prescriptions to lower-priced options. (UNITEDHEALTH-PHARMACEUTICALS/PRICES (UPDATE 2), moved at 8:20 a.m., 343 words)
Europe's Rosetta to wave goodbye in crash-landing on comet
FRANKFURT/BERLIN - After 12 years chasing a comet across more 6 billion km of space, European scientists will end the historic Rosetta mission by crash-landing the spacecraft on the surface of the dusty, icy body at the end of the month. (SPACE-ROSETTA/ (TV, PIX), moved, 490 words)
CAMPAIGN
Trump versus Clinton: Debate will mark biggest moment of campaign
WASHINGTON - Democrat Hillary Clinton, suddenly vulnerable in the presidential race, is under pressure to deliver a strong performance against Republican Donald Trump in their first debate on Monday, a moment that could be the most consequential yet of the 2016 election. (USA-ELECTION/DEBATE (PIX), moved, by Steve Holland and Amanda Becker, 900 words) See also: USA-ELECTION/RUBIO (PIX), moved, by Richard Cowan, 720 words
U.S. appeals court to hear arguments on Virginia's voter ID law
-- A U.S. appeals court on Thursday will hear Virginia Democrats' challenge to a 2013 Republican-backed state law requiring prospective voters to show approved photo identification before casting their ballots. (VIRGINIA-VOTERS/, moved at 6 a.m., 315 words)
Fox News' Sean Hannity Will No Longer Appear in Donald Trump Promotional Videos
(VARIETY/ (ENTERTAINMENT-TV/NEWS), moved, 256 words)
WASHINGTON
U.S. watchdog slams Afghan anti-corruption body and former president
WASHINGTON - An Afghan anti-corruption body formed in 2008 has been ineffective, lacks independence and never verified the asset declaration forms of former President Hamid Karzai, the U.S. government's top watchdog on Afghanistan says in a report published on Thursday. (USA-AFGHANISTAN/CORRUPTION, moved, by Idrees Ali, 345 words)
Local Yemeni al Qaeda leader killed in U.S. drone strike
DUBAI - A senior leader of Yemen's al Qaeda branch was killed on Thursday in a raid by a U.S. drone strike in central Yemen, an official of the exiled government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi said. (YEMEN-SECURITY/ALQAEDA, moved at 8:36 a.m., 170 words)
Vietnam upholds jail terms for political bloggers
(VIETNAM-DISSIDENT/ (PIX), moved at 9:08 a.m., 300 words)
U.S. lawmakers blast Mylan CEO over 'sickening' EpiPen price hikes
(MYLAN NL-EPIPEN/CONGRESS (UPDATE 2, PIX, GRAPHICS), moved at 6 p.m., 768 words)
OTHER U.S. NEWS
Ex-Cuomo aide, eight others charged in New York corruption case
NEW YORK - U.S. prosecutors on Thursday said nine men including New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's former "right-hand man" have been charged in a wide-ranging corruption and fraud case involving state contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars and other activities. (NEW YORK-CORRUPTION/ (UPDATE 1), moving shortly, 383 words)
Sacramento mayor hit in the face with a pie
SACRAMENTO - Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson was hit in the face with a pie during a fundraiser at a charter high school on Wednesday by a man who was then arrested for felony assault, local media reported. (CALIFORNIA-PIE/ (PIX), moved at 5:49 a.m. 143 words)
California firefighter killed heading to Vandenberg Air Force Base blaze
LOS ANGELES - A firefighter driving a water-tender truck was killed on Wednesday when the vehicle overturned en route to the scene of a 5-day-old blaze that has scorched a large swath of Vandenberg Air Force Base along the Southern California coast. (CALIFORNIA-WILDFIRE/, moved at 12:32 a.m., 249 words)
Poet behind book about U.S. racism wins 2016 'genius grant'
CHICAGO - A poet whose work explores the casual racism in the United States toward African-Americans is among the 23 winners of $625,000 MacArthur Foundation "genius grants" on Thursday. (USA-GENIUSGRANTS/, moved at midnight, 368 words)
SPECIAL REPORT
Afghan boy's hope of new life in Europe ends in suicide
SVANGSTA, Sweden - Sweden has long welcomed young asylum-seekers. Last year, as Mustafa Ansari's story shows, it was overwhelmed. (EUROPE-MIGRANTS/SWEDEN (SPECIAL REPORT, PIX, GRAPHIC), moved, by Sven Nordenstam and Benjamin Lesser, 2,800 words)
UNITED NATIONS MEETINGS
Iran's Rouhani to address U.N. general Assembly on Thursday
UNITED NATIONS - President Hassan Rouhani to address the U.N. General Assembly and hold a news conference, world powers who agreed the Iran nuclear deal will also meet with Iran and EU Foreign Minister Federica Mogherni will do a stakeout after. Rouhani holds a news conference at 3 pm ET. (UN-ASSEMBLY/IRAN (PIX, TV), expect by 3 p.m., by Parisa Hafezi, 400 words) See also: E3 plus 3 meeting on implementation of the Iran nuclear deal (IRAN-NUCLEAR/, expect by 2 p.m., 400 words)
Netanyahu and Abbas to address U.N.
UNITED NATIONs - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Mahmoud Abbas both due to address the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday. Netanyahu speaks at 8 p.m. ((UN-ASSEMBLY/ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS (PIX, TV), expect by 6 p.m., 300 words, will be led)
Closed door meeting on Libyan crisis at U.N.
UNITED NATIONS - Organized by the United States and Italy, a high level closed-door meeting on Libya. Since the 2011 NATO-backed revolution toppled Muammar Gaddafi, Libya has descended into chaos, with rival governments and armed factions battling for control, leaving both migrant smugglers and Islamist militants space to expand. (UN-ASSEMBLY/LIBYA, expect by noon, 300 words)
In interview, Tsipras sketches out path for Greece to exit crisis
NEW YORK - Greece's prime minister sketches out a path he hopes will finally allow his country to exit its seven-year-old economic crisis, holding out the possibility of positive growth this year and a partial return to the bond markets in 2017. (GREECE-TSIPRAS/ (EXCLUSIVE, PIX), moved, 950 words)
Pakistan's Sharif says world ignores South Asia tension at its peril
UNITED NATIONS - Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif accuses nuclear-armed rival India of putting unacceptable conditions on dialog and says the world would ignore rising tension in South Asia at its peril. (UN-ASSEMBLY/PAKISTAN-INDIA (UPDATE 3), moved, 530 words)
Ghana leader tells U.N. to dance to tune of Michael Jackson's 'Heal the World'
(UN-ASSEMBLY/GHANA, moved, 386 words)
MIDDLE EAST
Iraqi army says it recaptured key town south of Mosul
TIKRIT - Iraq's military backed by air strikes from a U.S.-led coalition on Thursday gained complete control of Shirqat, a northern area seen as a stepping stone in the campaign to recapture Mosul from Islamic State. (MIDEAST-CRISIS/IRAQ-SHIRQAT (UPDATE 1), moved at 9:10 a.m., 397 words)
Turkish army says returns fire at Islamic State in Syria after rocket attack
ANKARA - Turkey's army returned fire at Islamic State targets in Syria after a rocket hit the Turkish border town of Kilis, the military said in a statement on Thursday. Six people, including five children, were wounded in the rocket attack, officials said, the first such strike since Ankara-backed rebels cleared Islamic State from Turkey's southern border this month. (MIDEAST-CRISIS/TURKEY-SYRIA-ARMY, moved at 9 a.m., 60 words) See also: Rocket attack from Syria hurts 6, including 5 children, in Turkish town (MIDEAST-CRISIS/TURKEY-SYRIA (UPDATE 1), moved at 8:39 a.m., 213 words)
Assad says Syria war will "drag on" as part of global conflict
BEIRUT - President Bashar al-Assad tells the AP in an interview that Syria's war will "drag on" as long as it is part of a global conflict funded and interfered in by other countries. (MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-ASSAD (UPDATE 1, PIX), moved at 8:20 a.m., 330 words)
Violent past revisited as Afghanistan signs accord with notorious warlord
KABUL - Afghan officials sign a peace deal with a party led by one of the country's most notorious Islamist warlords, a move that inspires both hope and fear as it dredges up tensions dating back decades. (AFGHANISTAN-HEKMATYAR/, moved, 595 words)
Turkey labor ministry sacks 785 employees since failed coup
ANKARA - Turkey's labor ministry has so far sacked nearly 800 employees over links to a U.S.-based cleric blamed by Ankara for orchestrating a failed coup in July, the minister says. (TURKEY-SECURITY/LABOR (UPDATE 1), moved, 260 words)
Bahrain court dismisses appeal against dissolution of Shi'ite opposition group
(BAHRAIN-ALWEFAQ/, moved at 8:20 a.m., 240 words)
WORLD
Brazil police arrest former minister in Petrobras probe
SAO PAULO - Brazilian police arrested former Finance Minister Guido Mantega on Thursday, according to a source close to him, as a sweeping corruption investigation closed in on the inner circle of the leftist Workers Party that ruled the country for 13 years. (BRAZIL-CORRUPTION/ (UPDATE 2, PIX), moving shortly, 365 words)
Serbia arrests 16 for trafficking migrants to Western Europe
BELGRADE - Serbia has arrested 16 people suspected of trafficking refugees from the Middle East, Asia and Africa, as part of increased efforts to stem the flow of illegal migrants trying to reach Western Europe, the interior ministry said on Thursday. (EUROPE-MIGRANTS/SERBIA, moved at 8:13 a.m., 364 words)
U.N. human rights chief raps Congo after at least 50 killed in protests
GENEVA - The U.N. human rights chief accused Congolese authorities on Thursday of taking an "extremely confrontational position" towards anti-government protesters and urged them to seek dialog with the opposition. (CONGO-UN/ (UPDATE 1), moved at 8 a.m., 293 words)
China jails prominent rights lawyer for 12 years
BEIJING - A Chinese court sentences a prominent civil rights lawyer to 12 years in prison on fraud charges, his lawyer says, a punishment rights advocates call retaliation for his defense of high-profile clients who had challenged the government. (CHINA-RIGHTS/SENTENCING, moved, 450 words)
South African police clash with students at tuition fee protest
JOHANNESBURG - South African police fired tear gas in clashes with students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal on Thursday and arsonists torched a building at another campus overnight as protests over tuition costs spread. (SAFRICA-PROTESTS/ (UPDATE 1, PIX), moved at 8:40 a.m., 411 words)
Nigeria says would welcome U.N. help in negotiating schoolgirls' release
ABUJA - Nigeria's president says he will be open to U.N. bodies coming in to act as intermediaries in any talks with Boko Haram Islamist militants on the release of about 200 kidnapped schoolgirls. (NIGERIA-SECURITY/ (UPDATE 1), moved, 390 words)
Planned Serb referendum vote reawakens fears of strife in Bosnia
(BOSNIA-SERBS/REFERENDUM (PIX), moved, 547 words)
Venezuela election board sinks push for Maduro referendum in 2016
(VENEZUELA-POLITICS/ (UPDATE 1), moved, 420 words)
FEATURE
Italian officials support each other in lonely stand against mafia
POLISTENA, Italy - Benedetto Zoccola wore a wiretap to put a mob boss in jail. To pay him back, the mafia planted a small bomb on the window sill of his office last year. (ITALY-MAFIA/THREATS (WIDER IMAGE, PIX), moved, by Steve Scherer and Tony Gentile, 495 words)
HEALTH AND SCIENCE
Climate change could cross key threshold in a decade - scientists
OXFORD, England - The planet could pass a key target on world temperature rise in about a decade, prompting accelerating loss of glaciers, steep declines in water availability, worsening land conflicts and deepening poverty, scientists said this week. (CLIMATECHANGE-IMPACTS/CONFERENCE, moved at 8:52 a.m., 719 words)
Obesity, violence hamper U.S. progress on UN health goals
LONDON - The United States performs poorly in U.N. rankings on progress towards global health goals due to its high levels of violence, alcohol abuse and childhood obesity, a study has found. (HEALTH-SUSTAINABLE/GOALS, moved, 360 words)
Smoking leaves chemical traces on DNA
-- Tobacco smoke leaves its mark on DNA by changing a chemical code on the DNA molecule that can sometimes change gene activity, according to a new study. (HEALTH-SMOKING/DNA, moved, 500 words)
Yes, Virginia, there is a weight gain over Christmas
-- A new study has confirmed what your waistband has told you all along - you gain weight during the holidays. (HEALTH-HOLIDAYS/WEIGHT, moved, 500 words)
Vasectomies not linked to increased prostate cancer risk
(HEALTH-VASECTOMY/PROSTATE-CANCER, moved, 600 words)
ENTERTAINMENT AND LIFESTYLE
Get off my lawn! Pokemon Go tests global property laws
LONDON - Within one week in July the Sydney suburb of Rhodes was transformed from a quiet neighborhood to what resident Joyce Wong described as a "place of carnage" with hundreds of people wandering around like "zombies." (LANDRIGHTS-POKEMONGO/, moved at 6:46 a.m., 816 words)
French actress Cotillard denies role in Jolie, Pitt split
LOS ANGELES - French actress Marion Cotillard on Wednesday denied any involvement in the sudden split between Hollywood power couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, wishing that the two will "find peace," and confirming her pregnancy with her long-time partner. (PEOPLE-JOLIE/PITT-COTILLARD (PIX, TV), moved at 9:34 p.m., 290 words)
Jesse & Joy, Djavan and Fonseca lead Latin Grammy nominations
LOS ANGELES - From singers to engineers, an array of musical talent received Latin Grammy nominations on Wednesday, with artists Djavan, Fonseca, Jesse & Joy, producer Julio Reyes Copello and engineer Ricardo Lopez Lalinde leading the way with four nods each. (AWARDS-LATINGRAMMYS/NOMINATIONS (PIX, TV), moved, 275 words)
The grace of Beccaria's nymphs at Milan's second day of fashion
MILAN - Airy, ethereal and delicate designs filled the catwalk in Luisa Beccaria's show on Thursday as models took the role of water nymphs on the second day of Milan's fashion week. (FASHION-MILAN/BECCARIA (TV), moved at 8:50 a.m., 209 words)
'This is not a pipe': Magritte's 'Treachery of Images' beguiles Paris
-- A Paris exhibition of Belgian artist Rene Magritte's works hopes to explore the surrealist painter's interest in philosophy and how he translated it into his art. (FRANCE-ART/MAGRITTE (PIX, TV), moved, 377 words)
Elvis Presley Biopic Being Shot at Graceland From Weinstein TV
(VARIETY/ (ENTERTAINMENT-TV/NEWS), moved, 494 words)
Film Review: 'Colossal'
(VARIETY/ (ENTERTAINMENT-FILM/REVIEWS), moved, 816 words)
CONSUMER TECH
South Korea orders battery safety measures for Samsung Note 7
SEOUL - South Korea orders Samsung Electronics Co Ltd to take additional measures to ensure that batteries used in Galaxy Note 7 handsets are safe, as the firm prepares to resume sales of the smart phone in South Korea. (SAMSUNG ELEC-SMARTPHONES/SOUTHKOREA (UPDATE 1), moved, 305 words)
BUSINESS AND MARKETS
Three former Tesco executives to plead not guilty to fraud charges
LONDON - Three former senior executives of Britain's biggest retailer Tesco will plead not guilty to fraud and false accounting charges, their lawyers said as the men appeared in court for the first time since being charged earlier this month. (BRITAIN-TESCO/FRAUD (UPDATE 1, PIX), moving shortly, 440 words)
Danish transport giant Maersk to spin off energy operations
COPENHAGEN - Rocked by low freight and oil prices, Denmark shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk will split into separate transport and energy divisions. (MAERSK-RESTRUCTURING/ (UPDATE 1), moved, 310 words)
EU reviews ex-commissioner Kroes' offshore directorship
BRUSSELS - The European Commission said on Thursday it was looking into whether to take action against former EU commissioner Neelie Kroes for failing to declare a directorship of an offshore firm in the Bahamas. (EU-ETHICS/KROES (UPDATE 1), moved at 8:55 a.m., 600 words)
Ericsson plans to stop manufacturing in Sweden, cutting 3,000 jobs
(SWEDEN-ERICSSON/ (UPDATE 1), moved, 235 words)
BREXIT
Lloyd's of London says ready for EU move when Article 50 triggered by Brexit
LONDON - The Lloyd's of London insurance market will be ready to move some of its business to the European Union as soon as Britain starts divorce proceedings from the bloc, its chairman says, the first indication that its plans are well advanced. (BRITAIN-EU/LLOYDS OF LONDON, moved, 175 words)
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