REUTERS AMERICA NEWS PLAN FOR THURSDAY DEC 18

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 for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, suggesting the labor market continued to strengthen. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped by 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 289,000 for the week ended Dec. 13, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The report came a day after the Federal Reserve offered an upbeat assessment of the labor market and the broader economy, and signaled it could start raising interest 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 parties lambasted President Barack Obama on Wednesday for shifting U.S. policy on Cuba, Americans by and large are open to stronger ties with the communist-governed island, according to a Reuters/Ipsos (Paris: FR0000073298 - news) poll. Fewer than 20 percent of Americans oppose establishing U.S. diplomatic relations with Cuba, the poll of 31,000 adults showed. (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 further weaken U.S. sanctions against the Communist-run island beyond the normalization of relations with Havana that he announced on Wednesday, sanctions experts said. (CUBA-USA/NEXTSTEPS (UPDATE 2), moved at 8:15 p.m., 400 words)

Spy (OTC BB: XSPY - news) freed from Cuban prison hailed as secret U.S. hero

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama hailed him as one of the best spies America has ever had in Cuba, but precious little is known about the Cuban man freed in a prisoner swap on Wednesday after two decades of incarceration on the Communist island. (CUBA-USA/INTELLIGENCE (UPDATE 1), moved at 7:25 p.m., 300 words)

+See also:

CUBA-USA/GROSS-FREE (PIX, TV), moved at 6:50 p.m., 400 words; CUBA-USA/CLINTON, moved at 8:19 p.m., 90 words; CUBA-USA/CASTRO (UPDATE 3, PIX, TV), moved at 9:36 p.m., 400 words; 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 are carried out in the United States, the number of prison inmates being put to death fell to a 20-year low in 2014, the Death Penalty 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 execution of Clayton Lockett in Oklahoma led to increasing concerns among the public about how the death penalty is imposed, it said. (USA-COURT/EXECUTION, moved at midnight, by Lawrence Hurely, 350 words) See also: Experts tell U.S. court that Oklahoma had deeply 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 on Thursday that the economy would rebound after the rouble's dramatic slide this year but offered no remedy for a deepening financial crisis. In an assured performance at a three-hour news conference, Putin blamed the economic problems on external factors and said the crisis over Ukraine was caused by the West, which he accused of building a "virtual" Berlin Wall to contain Russia. (RUSSIA-CRISIS/PUTIN (UPDATE 4, TV, PIX, GRAPHIC), moved at 8:53 a.m., 750 words)

+See also:

RUSSIA-CRISIS/MARKETS-RUBLE (UPDATE 2, GRAPHIC), moved at 9:05 a.m., 550 words; IRAN-NUCLEAR/PUTIN, moved at 7:12 a.m., 30 words; and RUSSIA-CRISIS/IKEA, moved at 9:11 a.m., 50 words

As easy targets thin, Syria air strikes by U.S. allies plunge

WASHINGTON/DUBAI - As U.S. fighter jets pound Islamic State targets in Syria, Washington's coalition allies appear increasingly absent from the air war. Although President Barack Obama's administration announced the Syrian air strikes three months ago as a joint campaign by Washington and its Arab allies, nearly 97 percent of the strikes in December have been carried 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 a strong signal that it was on track to raise interest rates sometime next year, altering a pledge to keep rates near zero for 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., 700 words)

Fed eyes audit push as key political challenge in 2015

WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve is lobbying to stem a rising threat to its independence as the "Audit the Fed" movement, once seen as usual background noise, looks set to gain momentum in 2015 when Republicans gain control of both houses of Congress. (USA-FED/POLITICS, moved at 1 a.m., 641 words)

U.S. charges three in Europe with trying to sell arms to Colombian rebels

NEW YORK - Three men were arrested in Europe this week on U.S. charges that they conspired to sell military-grade weapons for use against Americans in Colombia, federal prosecutors in New York said on Wednesday. (USA-COURTS/ARMS-COLOMBIA, moved at 7 p.m., 250 words)

Sessions yields to Enzi as U.S. Senate Budget chairman

WASHINGTON - Republican Senator Mike Enzi said on Wednesday he will take over as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee next year after the panel's current top Republican, Jeff Sessions, 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 to take years

MEXICO CITY - Joint talks among the United States, Cuba and Mexico to fix the maritime boundaries of the three countries in the Gulf of Mexico are likely to be complex and stretch beyond 2018, 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 judge Bush

DAVENPORT, Iowa - Bob Shelley neatly folds his newspaper and uses it as a coaster for his coffee mug. By no coincidence, it covers the face of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who just announced 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 York City to finish the city's first major new subway stop in 25 years, a fast-track project intended to revitalize a long-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 new environmentally-focused bonds and money managers jumping in to buy 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 buildings and 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 Air Jordans

TOLEDO - Police used pepper spray on Wednesday to disperse an unruly crowd of about 300 people lined up at a mall in Toledo, 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 volcano on Hawaii's Big Island crept to within a mile of the only grocery store and gas station in the village of Pahoa on Wednesday as it neared a highway link with the rest of the island. (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 NCAA settlement that aimed to end a massive class-action lawsuit over head 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 Tsarnaev is due in court on Thursday, his first appearance in public in more than a year, as his lawyers prepare for the January start of 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 $10 million

LOS ANGELES - Federal agents and police in Los Angeles have recovered nine paintings worth millions of dollars that were stolen from the home of an elderly couple six years ago, including works by Marc Chagall and Diego Rivera, and FBI spokeswoman said on Wednesday. (USA-ART/HEIST, moved at 1:08 a.m., 322 words)

Three killed, several injured in crash outside California church

-- Three people were killed and at least nine others injured when a driver ploughed into a group of pedestrians leaving a holiday church service in a southern California city of Redondo Beach 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 court hearings

MILWAUKEE - Two Wisconsin girls will be in court on Thursday for hearings to determine if they are fit to stand trial on charges that they lured a classmate into the woods and repeatedly stabbed her to please Slenderman, a fictional Internet character. Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier were both 12 when they were charged as adults with first-degree attempted homicide in the attack on their friend the morning after a sleepover 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 exchange student

MISSOULA - A jury on Wednesday found a Montana homeowner guilty of deliberate homicide in the shooting death of a German high school exchange student who entered his garage in a case that tested the state's version of a "castle doctrine" self-defense law. (USA-MONTANA/EXCHANGESTUDENT (UPDATE 2), moved at 7 p.m., 300 words)

Company, former officers indicted in water-fouling West Virginia spill

-- Federal prosecutors have indicted Freedom Industries Inc and six former company officials on 13 criminal charges stemming from a January chemical spill that fouled drinking water for about 300,000 West Virginians. (USA-ENVIRONMENT/FREEDOM, moved, 300 words)

Texas plumber harassed after company truck seen in Syrian war photo

(USA-TEXAS/TRUCK, moved at 7:53 p.m., 140 words)

Execution drug providers to be anonymous under new Ohio measure

(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 (Swiss: SONC.SW - news) , movie theaters for canceling 'The Interview'

LOS ANGELES - Hollywood filmmakers and actors voiced outrage on Wednesday after Sony Pictures pulled the release of North Korea parody "The Interview," following threats from hackers who waged 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 New Regency (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 of sexual abuse when he was a teenager but later dropped his lawsuit has been charged with securities and wire fraud for running a fraudulent investment scheme, officials said on Wednesday. A grand jury in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Tuesday indicted Michael Francis Egan III, 32, who is a former resident of 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's 25 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 Live Plus 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 Macau this weekend for his first official visit in five years, the message from Beijing is clear: the world's biggest gambling center cannot remain a one-industry town. Xi's pervasive anti-graft campaign contributed to a disastrous year for major casino companies, which have lost a combined $58 billion in market 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 Juncker appointed Germany's Edmund Stoiber as special adviser on better regulation on Thursday, to help the EU executive fight over-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 to certain stem cell patents in the European Union by ruling that an organism incapable of developing into a human being is not a human embryo and may be patented. Thursday's judgment by the European Court of Justice was made following a case brought in Britain by U.S. company International Stem Cell Corp on whether it could patent processes covering use of human egg cells. (HEALTH-STEMCELLS (NasdaqCM: STEM - news) /EUROPE (UPDATE 2), moved at 8:17 a.m., 300 words)

Glaxo shingles vaccine hits goal in major study

LONDON - An experimental vaccine against shingles from GlaxoSmithKline (Other OTC: GLAXF - news) met its goal in a late-stage study, in a boost for the company's vaccine unit, which is expanding part of its overall healthcare business. The vaccine, known as HZ/su, reduced the risk of shingles by 97.2 percent in adults aged 50 years and older compared to placebo in the Phase III clinical trial involving more than 16,000 individuals, the drugmaker said on Thursday. (GSK-SHINGLES/, moved at 7:42 a.m., 100 words)

EBOLA

China approves experimental Ebola vaccine for clinical trials

SHANGHAI - China has approved a domestically developed experimental Ebola vaccine for clinical trials, the official Xinhua news agency said on Thursday, citing the People's Liberation 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 the country of an experimental drug that could have been used to treat him. (HEALTH-EBOLA/LEONE, moved at 7:38 a.m., 150 words)

WORLD

Pakistan court grants bail to man accused of masterminding Mumbai attack

ISLAMABAD - A Pakistani court granted bail on Thursday to a man accused of masterminding a deadly 2008 rampage through the Indian city of Mumbai, lawyers said. The decision to grant bail to Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi drew uick condemnation from India and is likely to hinder attempts to patch up relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours. (PAKISTAN-INDIA/ATTACKS (UPDATE 1), moved at 8:13 a.m., 300 words)

Suspected Boko Haram gunmen kidnap over 100 women, children in Nigeria

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria - Suspected Boko Haram gunmen kidnapped more than 100 women and children and killed 35 people during a Sunday raid on the remote northeast Nigerian village of Gumskiri, 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 on Wednesday when they attacked a base in the Far North region of the 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 to Kuwait

GENEVA - The United Nations Gulf War compensation fund agreed on Thursday to defer Iraq's requirement to deposit five percent of its oil revenues for a year due to its budgetary difficulties, a senior U.N. official said. (MIDEAST-CRISIS/IRAQ-UN (UPDATE 1), moved at 7:24 a.m., 300 words)

China investigates policeman over wrongful execution of teen

BEIJING - Chinese authorities are investigating a senior policeman in the Inner Mongolia region for his role in the wrongful execution in 1996 of a teenager, who was exonerated this week for the rape and murder of a woman, state media said on Thursday. (CHINA-CRIME/ (CORRECTED), moved at 7:50 a.m., 140 words)

EU bans investment in Crimea, targets oil sector, cruises

BRUSSELS - The European Union banned investment in Crimea on Thursday, halting European help for Russian Black Sea oil and gas exploration and outlawing European cruise ships from calling at Crimean ports. (UKRAINE-CRISIS/EU (UPDATE 1), moved at 7:34 a.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 to counter 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 on Thursday, extending a rebound from five-year lows this week as oil's six-month price rout forced more energy firms to cut investments in new production. (MARKETS-OIL/ (UPDATE 5, GRAPHIC), moved at 9:13 a.m., 400 words, will be updated through the day)

Alcatel (Paris: FR0000130007 - news) -Lucent shares jump 8 pct on Nokia merger report

LONDON/HELSINKI - Two of Europe's top three remaining telecommunications equipment companies, Nokia Networks and Alcatel-Lucent, have revived talks on a possible merger, Germany's Manager Magazin reported on Thursday, citing company sources. (ALCATEL-LUCENT-M&A/NOKIA (UPDATE 1), moved at 8:38 a.m., 300 words)

ConAgra Foods (NYSE: CAG - news) quarterly sales miss estimates

-- ConAgra Foods reported quarterly sales that missed estimates due to weak demand for branded foods and said recovery in its under-performing private-label business would take longer than expected. (CONAGRA FOODS-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 1), moved at 9:13 a.m., 250 words)

Kraft Foods (Sao Paolo: KFGI34.SA - news) appoints John Cahill CEO

-- Kraft Foods Group appointed Chairman John Cahill as chief executive to succeed Tony Vernon, who will retire on Dec. 27. Cahill, who joined Kraft in 2012, will continue in his role as chairman. (KRAFTOODS-CEO/, moved at 9:04 a.m., 40 words, will be led)

Dunkin' Brands cuts 2015 forecast on slowing coffee sales

-- Dunkin' Brands Group cut its 2015 forecast for same-store sales 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., 150 words)

Accenture (NYSE: ACN - news) raises full-year revenue forecast after strong quarter

-- Consulting and outsourcing company Accenture Plc raised its revenue forecast for fiscal 2015 after contract wins helped the company post better-than-expected first-quarter earnings and revenue. (ACCENTURE-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 1), moved at 8:50 a.m., 240 words)

Glaxo shareholders approve asset swap deal with Novartis (Xetra: 904278 - news)

LONDON - Shareholders in British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline (Swiss: GSK.SW - news) have approved a planned deal with Switzerland's Novartis which will see the two pharmaceutical groups trade more than $20 billion of assets. (GSK-M&A/NOVARTIS, moved at 8:19 a.m., 70 words, will be led)

U.S. shippers cite wide gap in labor talks with West Coast dockworkers

LOS ANGELES - Negotiators for shipping lines and terminal operators at 29 U.S. West Coast ports remain far from a deal with union dockworkers after seven months of contract talks, the companies said on Wednesday, again blaming the union for waterfront cargo slowdowns. The Pacific Maritime Association statement came a day before companies were to resume face-to-face bargaining with the International Longshore and Warehouse 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 on Thursday that OPEC could not cut output without the support of other big producers and attempts to get them on board had not worked. (SAUDI-OIL/NAIMI (UPDATE 2), moved at 8:52 a.m., 300 words)

Oil drop sends major central banks in different directions

(ECONOMY-CENBANKS/OIL, moved at 7:25 a.m., 500 words)

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