REUTERS AMERICA NEWS PLAN FOR FRIDAY AUGUST 12
REUTERS AMERICA MORNING NEWS PLAN FOR FRIDAY AUGUST 12
LATEST AND PLANNED U.S. NEWS COVERAGE (ALL TIMES ET)
Top stories as of 9:45 a.m. on Friday.
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OLYMPICS
Simone Manuel sees gold as boost for black community
RIO DE JANEIRO - As an African-American swimmer, Simone Manuel has carried a weight on her shoulders every time she steps onto the starting blocks. (OLYMPICS-RIO-SWIMMING-W-100MFREE/MANUEL (PIX), moved at 2:08 a.m., by Alan Baldwin, 435 words)
Phelps writes yet more history with IM win
RIO DE JANEIRO - Michael Phelps of the United States won the Olympic 200 meters individual medley on Thursday to capture the 22nd gold medal of his career and become the first swimmer to win the same event at four consecutive Games. (OLYMPICS-RIO-SWIMMING-M-200MMEDLEY/ (UPDATE 2, PIX), moved at 11:05 p.m., by Mark Trevelyan, 381 words)
Chinese swimmer Chen fails doping test - Xinhua
BEIJING - Chinese Olympic women's swimmer Chen Xinyi tested positive for a banned substance at the Rio Olympics on Aug. 7, state media said on Friday citing the country's swimming association, the latest doping scandal to mar competition at the Games. (OLYMPICS-RIO/DOPING-CHINA (UPDATE 1), moved at 2:23 a.m., 448 words)
Danekova 'shocked' at positive test
SOFIA - Bulgarian runner Silvia Danekova has denied taking performance enhancing drugs and said she was shocked at testing positive for the banned blood booster erythropoietin (EPO) a few days after her arrival in Brazil for the Rio Olympics. (OLYMPICS-RIO-ATHLETICS/DANEKOVA-REACTION (UPDATE 1), moved at 2:17 a.m., by Angel Krasimirov, 354 words)
OTHER TOP STORIES
Series of blasts hit resort towns in southern Thailand
HUA HIN - A series of blasts hit three of the most popular tourist resorts as well as towns in southern Thailand on Thursday and Friday, killing four people and wounding dozens, days after the country voted to accept a military-backed charter in a referendum. (THAILAND-SECURITY/BLAST (UPDATE 5, PIX, TV GRAPHIC), moved at 6:24 a.m., by Prapan Chankaew, 877 words)
Weak retail sales, inflation cast doubts on Fed rate hike
WASHINGTON - U.S. retail sales were unexpectedly flat in July as Americans cut back on purchases of clothing and other goods, pointing to a moderation in consumer spending that could temper expectations of an acceleration in economic growth in the third quarter. (USA-ECONOMY/ (WRAPUP 1), moved, by Lucia Mutikani, 589 words)
U.S.-backed forces say launch final assault against IS in Syria's Manbij
BEIRUT - U.S.-backed forces battling Islamic State near the Turkish border in northern Syria said on Friday they had launched a final assault to flush the remaining jihadists out of the city of Manbij. (MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-ISLAMIC STATE (UPDATE 1), moved at 7:49 a.m., 208 words)
Turkey seeks 32 fugitive diplomats in post-coup inquiry
ISTANBUL - Turkey's government is seeking extradition of 32 diplomats who fled to other countries after they were recalled by Ankara as part of investigations into last month's failed coup attempt, the foreign minister said on Friday. (TURKEY-SECURITY/ (UPDATE 2), moved at 7:31 a.m., by Humeyra Pamuk, 680 words) See also: Turkey prosecutors seek 5 years in jail for pro-Kurdish party leader -media (TURKEY-SECURITY/KURDS-INDICTMENT (UPDATE 1), moved at 5:51 a.m., 221 words)
CAMPAIGN
Republican Party, Trump campaign to meet in Florida
ORLANDO - U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's campaign team is to meet officials from the Republican National Committee on Friday in what both groups described as a routine session to discuss joint operations in Florida. (USA-ELECTION/TRUMP (UPDATE 1), moved at 8:12 a.m., by Steve Holland, 334 words)
OTHER U.S. NEWS
JetBlue says 24 injured as flight hits heavy turbulence
JetBlue Airways Corp said 22 passengers and two crew members were injured when its flight from Boston to Sacramento, California ran into heavy turbulence on Thursday. (USA-JETBLUE/TURBULENCE (UPDATE 1), moved at 8:09 a.m., 128 words)
Texas, other states to ask judge to halt Obama transgender policy
FORT WORTH - Texas and a dozen other states plan to ask a U.S. judge in Fort Worth on Friday to halt Obama administration recommendations regarding bathroom access for transgender students, arguing they are unlawful "radical changes" being foisted on the nation. (USA-LGBT/TEXAS, moved at 6 a.m., by Jon Herskovitz, 406 words)
Sandusky to take stand in his bid for new child-sex trial
BELLEFONTE - Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State coach convicted of child sexual abuse in 2012, will take the stand on Friday at a hearing in which he will proclaim his innocence and seek to show that his lawyer at his trial was incompetent. (PENNSYLVANIA-SANDUSKY/ (PIX), by David DeKok, moved at 6 a.m., 400 words)
FEATURE
U.S. aims to restore water, return fish to diverted California river
FRESNO, Calif. - California's San Joaquin River flows out of the mountains above Yosemite, clear and bubbling until it abruptly stops just north of Fresno, its water diverted to irrigate farms. Environmentalists have cheered a plan to reconnect the river this fall. But it is over budget, overdue and vehemently opposed by local farmers and some Republican lawmakers. U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, a 2016 Republican presidential hopeful, once joked about eating its protected fish with crackers. (CALIFORNIA-RIVER/ (FEATURE, TV, PIX), moved, 729 words)
WORLD
Canada security questioned after FBI tip thwarts attack
OTTAWA - Aaron Driver first came to the attention of Canadian officials in late 2014 after he voiced support for Islamic State on social media. In 2015, the Muslim convert was arrested for communicating with militants involved with attack plots in Texas and Australia. Early this year, he agreed to a court order known as a peace bond that restricted his online and cell phone use. (CANADA-SECURITY/INTELLIGENCE (UPDATE 1, PIX, TV), moved, by Andrea Hopkins, 781 words)
Philippines says taking seriously "IS threat" against Miss Universe show
MANILA - The Philippines military said on Friday it was taking seriously what it believed was a call by Islamic State (IS) militants for an attack on the Miss Universe contest being held in the country next year. (PHILIPPINES-SECURITY/UNIVERSE, moved, 341 words)
Putin gets new right hand man as veteran chief of staff steps down
MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday appointed a low-profile former diplomat his new Kremlin chief of staff, one of the most powerful jobs in Russia, saying his long-time ally, Sergei Ivanov, had asked to step down. (RUSSIA-KREMLIN/ (UPDATE 1), moved, 222 words)
Saudi Arabia says stops 3 women, 7 children from joining Syria war
DOHA - Saudi Arabia said on Friday it had prevented three Saudi women and seven children from traveling through Lebanon to join the conflict in neighboring Syria, the Saudi state news agency SPA reported. (SAUDI-SECURITY/SYRIA, moved at 5:04 a.m., 311 words)
London schoolgirl who left to join Islamic State dead -lawyer
One of three schoolgirls who left London in February 2015 to join the Islamic State militant group has died, her family lawyer told Reuters on Thursday. (MIDEAST-CRISIS/BRITAIN (UPDATE 1), moved, 168 words)
Pakistan passes controversial cyber-crime law
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has adopted a much-criticized cyber security law that grants sweeping powers to regulators to block private information they deem illegal. (PAKISTAN-INTERNET/ (PIX), moved at 4:14 a.m., 379 words)
India's Modi consults parties on Kashmir; separatists cold
NEW DELHI/SRINAGAR - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met leaders of national political parties to find a way of ending weeks of unrest in Kashmir, but some separatists said the talks would be futile if they did not include all the parties to the conflict. (INDIA-KASHMIR/ (PIX), moved at 6:40 a.m., by Tommy Wilkes and Fayaz Bukhari, 406 words)
Zambians await presidential election results
LUSAKA - Zambia's electoral commission said it would announce initial results on Friday in a close-fought election contest between President Edgar Lungu and Hakainde Hichilema, who accuses Lungu of mismanaging the economy. (ZAMBIA-ELECTION/ (UPDATE 1, PIX, TV), moved at 7:19 a.m., by Stella Mapenzauswa and Chris Mfula, 466 words)
ENTERTAINMENT AND LIFESTYLE
"Star Wars: Rogue One" trailer teases fans with Darth Vader return
"Star Wars" fans got a fresh teaser of the franchise's upcoming "Rogue One" film with a new trailer showing the return of ultimate villain Darth Vader. (FILM-STARWARS/ (TV), moved at 7:04 a.m., 146 words)
HEALTH AND SCIENCE
As Earth swelters, global warming target in danger of being missed
OSLO - The Earth is so hot this year that a limit for global warming agreed by world leaders at a climate summit in Paris just a few months ago is in danger of being breached. (CLIMATECHANGE-TEMPERATURES/ (PIX, TV, GRAPHIC), moved at 7:19 a.m., by Alister Doyle, 661 words)
BUSINESS AND MARKETS
U.S. retail sales unexpectedly flat in July
WASHINGTON - U.S. retail sales were unexpectedly flat in July as Americans cut back on purchases of clothing and other goods, pointing to a moderation in consumer spending that could temper expectations of an acceleration in economic growth in the third quarter. (US-USA-ECONOMY, moved, 348 words)
Europe's biggest software maker SAP ditches annual reviews
FRANKFURT - Germany's SAP, maker of software used to grade the performance of millions of employees worldwide, is ditching its own annual performance reviews as too expensive, time-consuming and often demotivating. (SAP-APPRAISALS/ (CORRECTED, PIX, TV), moved, 507 words)
More airline outages seen as carriers grapple with aging technology
Airlines will likely suffer more disruptions like the one that grounded about 2,000 Delta flights this week because major carriers have not invested enough to overhaul reservations systems based on technology dating to the 1960s, airline industry and technology experts told Reuters. Airlines have spent heavily to introduce new features such as automated check-in kiosks, real-time luggage tracking and slick mobile apps. But they have avoided the steep cost of rebuilding their reservations systems from the ground up, former airline executives said. (DELTA AIR-OUTAGES/IT (ANALYSIS, PIX), moved, 1,142 words)
Big Dakota pipeline to upend oil delivery in U.S.
NEW YORK/HOUSTON - It may seem odd that the opening of one pipeline crossing through four U.S. Midwest states could upend the movement of oil throughout the country, but the Dakota Access line may do just that. (USA-OIL/PIPELINE (GRAPHIC), moved at 1 a.m., by Catherine Ngai and Liz Hampton, 730 words)
J.C. Penney's quarterly loss halves, set for full-year profit
J.C. Penney Co Inc's quarterly loss more than halved as the company cut costs and benefited from higher sales of home goods and footwear as well as beauty products at Sephora outlets in its stores. (JC PENNEY-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 2), moved at 8:46 a.m., by Sruthi Ramakrishnan, 336 words)
Tiny German bank breaks taboo by charging rich clients for deposits
FRANKFURT - A small cooperative bank in the Bavarian Alps is breaking a German taboo by charging wealthy clients to deposit their money following the European CentralBank's shift to negative rates. (GERMANY-BANKS/, moved, 465 words)
SPECIAL REPORT-How British firms built a pyramid scheme in China that lost millions
SHANGHAI, China - As David Byrne ate breakfast at the Tongli Lakeview Hotel outside Shanghai one Sunday in April, an angry customer was waiting for him. Byrne, 52, is a British businessman who sells investment products. The previous day, he had introduced himself to a roomful of potential customers in the hotel as the new London head of a foreign currency trading platform whose website offered very high returns. But Tang Hongde, the man watching as Byrne lingered over his meal, wanted to talk about an earlier venture which the Briton had said he headed. That operation, called EuroFX, had also promised fat returns on foreign exchange. Chinese law enforcement authorities now say it was a pyramid scheme, which used cash from new investors to pay older ones. One Chinese official with direct knowledge of the matter says it could also have been part of a global fraud. (CHINA-INVESTMENT/EUROFX (SPECIAL REPORT, PIX, GRAPHIC), moved, 2,646 words)
Email campaign asks McDonald's to take U.S. antibiotic curbs global
LOS ANGELES - A charity looking to fight the rise of dangerous, drug-resistant bacteria on Thursday asked the public to help convince McDonald's restaurants around the world to stop serving meat and milk from animals raised with routine use of medically important antibiotics. (MCDONALDS-ANTIBIOTICS/, moved, 379 words)
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