REUTERS AMERICA NEWS PLAN FOR WEDNESDAY JULY 29

REUTERS AMERICA AFTERNOON NEWS PLAN FOR WEDNESDAY JULY 29

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

Top stories as of 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

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BREAKING

U.S. congressman Fattah of Philadelphia charged in racketeering case

WASHINGTON - Democratic U.S. congressman Chaka Fattah of Pennsylvania and four associates were charged on Wednesday with involvement in the misuse of hundreds of thousands of dollars of federal, charitable and campaign funds. (USA-CRIME/FATTAH (UPDATE 2, PIX), moved at 1:19 p.m., 492 words)

Fed sees improving economy, job market; September rate hike in view

WASHINGTON - The U.S. economy and job market continue to strengthen, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday, leaving the door open for a possible interest rate hike when central bank policymakers next meet in September. (USA-FED/ (WRAPUP 1, PIX), moved at 2 p.m., 422 words)

Afghanistan says Taliban leader dead

KABUL - Afghanistan said on Wednesday that Mullah Omar, elusive leader of the Taliban movement behind an escalating insurgency against the government in Kabul, died more than two years ago. (AFGHANISTAN-TALIBAN/ (UPDATE 4, PIX, TV), moved at 12:28 p.m., 606 words) See also: Taliban leader, who Afghanistan says is dead, a pious enigma (AFGHANISTAN-TALIBAN/OMAR, moved at 1:58 p.m., 1,192 words)

TOP STORIES

University of Cincinnati police officer charged with murder of black man

CINCINNATI - A University of Cincinnati police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black man this month has been charged with murder, the Hamilton County prosecutor said on Wednesday. (USA-POLICE/OHIO (UPDATE 3), moved at 1:53 p.m., 376 words)

New York state man charged with supporting Islamic State

WASHINGTON - U.S. authorities arrested a man in western New (KOSDAQ: 160550.KQ - news) York and charged him with supporting Islamic State by traveling to Turkey to help the militant group, the Justice Department said on Wednesday. (USA-JUSTICE/ARREST (UPDATE 2), moved at 12:13 p.m., 278 words)

Brady (NYSE: BRC - news) blasts NFL 'Deflategate' suspension, denies wrongdoing

New England Patriots football star Tom Brady denied on Wednesday he had destroyed his cell phone to avoid giving it to NFL investigators, saying the flap was "manufactured" to distract from "zero evidence" against him in the "Deflategate" scandal. (NFL-BRADY/SUSPENSION (UPDATE 3, PIX, TV), moved at 11:51 a.m., 807 words)

Israel wary as U.S. paroles ex-spy Pollard

JERUSALEM - Israel offered a cautious welcome on Wednesday to the planned U.S. release of former spy Jonathan Pollard, wary that too warm a celebration might hurt efforts to persuade the Obama administration to let him leave for Israel immediately. (ISRAEL-USA/POLLARD (PIX), moved at 7:51 a.m., 499 words)

Obamacare case to be turned against government on emissions rule

WASHINGTON - Opponents of President Barack Obama's soon-to-be-implemented policy to cut carbon emissions from power plants are planning to use an unlikely and potentially potent weapon against him: the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that saved Obamacare. (USA-COURT/ENVIRONMENT, moved at 7 a.m., 866 words)

WASHINGTON

Weak home purchase contracts hint at pause in sales activity

WASHINGTON - Contracts to buy previously owned U.S. houses unexpectedly fell in June after five straight months of increases, suggesting some cooling in home resales activity after recent hefty gains. (USA-ECONOMY/ (WRAPUP 1), moved at 11:47 a.m., 492 words)

TSA chief vows to close security gaps at U.S. airports

WASHINGTON - The new leader of the U.S. Transportation Security Administration said on Wednesday his top priority would be to close security gaps at airport checkpoints where an internal report showed 96 percent of undercover tests failed. Peter Neffenger, the agency's new administrator, told a congressional panel that front-line TSA employees would be trained by September to avoid the pitfalls that led to those failures. (USA-AIRPORTS/ (UPDATE 1), moved at 12:08 p.m., 348 words)

U.S. approves possible sale of $5.4 billion in missiles to Saudi Arabia

WASHINGTON - The U.S. State Department has approved the possible sale to Saudi Arabia of $5.4 billion in additional PAC-3 missiles built by Lockheed Martin Corp , the Pentagon said on Wednesday. (USA-SAUDI/MISSILES (UPDATE 1), moved at 11:46 a.m., 170 words)

CAMPAIGN

Trump lands in new controversy over breast-feeding comments

WASHINGTON, July 29 (Reuters) - Republican Donald Trump on Wednesday pushed back against a lawyer he had berated when she requested a break to pump breast milk for her then-infant daughter, the latest controversial remark to emerge in his presidential campaign. (USA-ELECTION/TRUMP (UPDATE 1), moved at 12:08 p.m., 412 words)

FEATURE

In rise of U.S. vape shops, owners eye new marijuana market

NEW YORK - When Matt and Jen Osmun opened their vape shop in Bethel, Connecticut, last December, they didn't expect to get a boost from the local medical marijuana outlet. "Sales are going really well, and getting better every month," said Jen Osmun, who started the business with her husband, a former plumber, after he was injured in an accident. Since 2008, the number of U.S. vape shops has grown to about 8,500, and the sale of electronic cigarettes and supplies climbed to $3.5 billion, spurred in part by the growing market for marijuana. (USA-ECIGARETTES/SHOPS (GRAPHIC), moved at 7 a.m., 1,000 words)

OTHER U.S. NEWS (Other OTC: NWSAL - news)

Hundreds of homes threatened by wildfires in U.S. West

SAN FRANCISCO - Hundreds of homes in the U.S. West were threatened by wildfires on Wednesday, as firefighters gained ground on a glut of blazes. (USA-WILDFIRES/WEST, moved at 1:07 p.m., 375 words)

Colorado movie gunman's father: FBI asked if son was 'terrorist'

CENTENNIAL, Colo. - The father of Colorado's movie massacre gunman told his murder trial on Wednesday how he was quizzed at an airport just hours after the rampage by FBI agents who he said were interested in whether his son might be a "terrorist." (USA-SHOOTING/DENVER, moved at 12:49 p.m., 427 words)

Search for 14-year-old Florida boaters enters sixth day

ORLANDO, Fla. - The search for two 14-year-old boys from Florida who went missing while on a fishing trip in the Atlantic (Shanghai: 600558.SS - news) Ocean entered a sixth day on Wednesday, with the U.S. Coast Guard saying there was still a chance they may survive their ordeal. (USA-FLORIDA/SEARCH, moved at 11:12 a.m., 209 words)

Mass. man accused of plotting college bombing pleads not guilty

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The son of a Boston police captain arrested this month and accused of planning to bomb a college cafeteria on behalf of the Islamic State militant group pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to criminal charges. (USA-SECURITY/ISLAMIC STATE (UPDATE 2), moved at 11:46 a.m., 458 words)

Death of woman in jail cell prompts Texas House committee meeting

AUSTIN, Texas - A Texas House of Representative committee plans to meet on Thursday to look into conditions that led to the death of Sandra Bland, a black motorist whose apparent suicide in jail has raised questions about what role race played in her treatment. (USA-TEXAS/DEATH, moved at 10:34 a.m., 304 words)

Fallen tree injures 8 children outside California museum

LOS ANGELES - A pine tree that stood some seven stories tall fell onto a group of children outside a museum in Pasadena, California, on Tuesday, injuring eight of the youngsters, two of them seriously, city and museum officials said. (USA-TREE/CALIFORNIA, moved at 12:46 a.m., 297 words)

Retired professor charged with 1990 California abduction of daughter

A retired college professor from Arizona has been charged with the 1990 abduction of her daughter from the San Francisco area, prosecutors said. (USA-KIDNAPPING/CALIFORNIA, moved at 1:25 p.m., 290 words)

Court upholds conviction of ex-FBI agent tied to gangster 'Whitey' Bulger

MIAMI - A Florida appeals court on Wednesday reinstated the 2008 murder conviction of Boston mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger's longtime FBI handler for providing information the gangster used to carry out a 1982 hit. (USA-CRIME/BULGER, moved at 1:08 p.m., 398 words)

Ex-State Dept counterterrorism official pleads guilty to voyeurism

WASHINGTON - A former U.S. State Department counterterrorism official pleaded guilty on Wednesday to surreptitiously filming several women through the windows of their Washington homes, prosecutors said. (USA-CRIME/VOYEURISM, moved at 1:08 p.m., 244 words)

New Mexico dispatcher who hung up on caller resigns

An Albuquerque, New Mexico, emergency dispatcher has resigned after telling a 911 caller attending to a dying teenager to "deal with it" herself and then hanging up on her, a fire department spokeswoman said on Wednesday. (USA-DISPATCHER/NEWMEXICO, moved at 1:48 p.m., 390 words)

Cathay Pacific flight makes emergency landing in Alaska's Aleutians

A Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong to Los Angeles diverted to a U.S. military airport in Alaska's Aleutian Islands on Wednesday due to smoke in the aircraft, an airline spokeswoman said. (USA-FLIGHT/ALASKA (UPDATE 1), moved, 139 words)

Oregon bridge danglers hope to delay Shell (LSE: RDSB.L - news) 's Arctic drilling

Protesters rappelled off a bridge in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday hoping to delay Royal Dutch Shell (Xetra: R6C1.DE - news) 's Arctic oil exploration this summer by blocking the return of a ship to Alaska that holds emergency equipment. (USA-SHELL/ARCTIC, moved, 398 words, will be updated)

MIDDLE EAST

Israel approves new homes in settlement after demolishing two buildings

JERUSALEM - Israel gave final approval on Wednesday for plans to build 300 new homes in a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, announcing the move as it carried out a court demolition order against two vacant apartment blocks in the same enclave. (ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS/SETTLEMENT (UPDATE 1, TV, PIX), moved at 12:54 p.m., 360 words)

U.S., Turkey weigh which Syrian rebels to support in border area

WASHINGTON - The United States and Turkey have not yet agreed on which Syrian rebels they will support in a joint effort to help clear the Islamic State from an area along the Turkish border, officials say. (MIDEAST-CRISIS/USA-TURKEY (UPDATE 1), moved at 5 a.m., 775 words) See also: Turkey signs deal to open air bases to U.S.-led coalition (MIDEAST-CRISIS/TURKEY-USA, moved at 5:25 a.m., 60 words) and Turkey launches heaviest air strikes yet on PKK, stoking Kurdish ire (MIDEAST-CRISIS/TURKEY (UPDATE 1, TV, PIX, GRAPHIC), moved, 780 words)

Bahrain sees foreign link in attack, Iran denies role

DUBAI - Bahraini authorities arrest several people in connection a deadly bombing and suspect the attack was a foreign attempt to harm the Gulf state's stability, local media reports. (BAHRAIN-SECURITY/BLAST (UPDATE 1), moved, 335 words)

Gunmen in Egypt kill guard outside Niger embassy

CAIRO - Unidentified gunmen shot dead a security guard outside the embassy of Niger in Cairo, Egyptian interior ministry says. (EGYPT-VIOLENCE/, moved, 150 words)

Islamic State claims car bomb in Yemen capital, four dead

DUBAI - A car bomb exploded outside an Ismaili mosque in Yemen's war-damaged capital Sanaa on Wednesday, killing four people and wounding six, health authorities and a security source said. (YEMEN-SECURITY/BOMBING (UPDATE 2), moved at 2:09 p.m., 277 words)

WORLD

Pressed by left, Greece's Tsipras vows "thus far and no further"

ATHENS - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, struggling to contain a revolt in his left-wing Syriza party, said on Wednesday that his government would not implement reform measures beyond those agreed with lenders at a euro zone summit this month. (EUROZONE-GREECE/ (WRAPUP 2, TV, PIX, GRAPHICS), moved at 1:23 p.m., 1,046 words)

Pakistan police say kill leader of banned sectarian group

LAHORE - Pakistani police kill the leader of the sectarian militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, his two sons and 11 others in a shootout after gunmen attack a police convoy and free him as he is being moved, police say. (PAKISTAN-MILITANT/ (UPDATE 2), moved, 415 words)

Migrant dies in Channel Tunnel as British security body meets over crisis

LONDON/PARIS - A migrant dies trying to cross to Britain from France as more than 1,000 try to swarm through the Channel Tunnel. (EUROPE-MIGRANTS/CALAIS (UPDATE 1, PIX), moved, 530 words)

Zimbabwean charged over killing of Cecil the lion

HWANGE, Zimbabwe - A Zimbabwean court on Wednesday charged a professional hunter with failing to prevent an American from unlawfully killing 'Cecil', the southern African country's best-known lion, in a case that has triggered widespread revulsion at trophy hunting. (ZIMBABWE-WILDLIFE/LION (UPDATE 4, PIX, TV), moved at 1:51 p.m., 920 words)

Malaysian probe into fund scandal stalls after PM sacks deputy

KUALA LUMPUR - A Malaysian parliamentary investigation into a graft scandal at a state investment fund embroiling Prime Minister Najib Razak has been put on hold as cracks in the long-ruling party appears to widen. (MALAYSIA-POLITICS/ (UPDATE 2, PIX, TV), moved, 620 words)

Fabius, visiting Tehran, invites Rouhani to France

DUBAI - On the first visit to Iran in 12 years by a French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius conveys an invitation from President Francois Hollande to Iran's President Hassan Rouhani to visit France in November. (FRANCE-IRAN/FABIUS (UPDATE 2), moved, 395 words)

London-bound BA flight lands in Montreal after bomb threat

MONTREAL - A British Airways flight from Las Vegas to London made an emergency landing in Montreal on Wednesday due to concern that a bomb threat had been made, an airport spokesman said. (BRITISHAIRWAYS-DIVERSION/ (UPDATE 1), moved at 10:34 a.m., 145 words)

Backers fear that missing in action, Trudeau losing bid to lead Canada

OTTAWA/MONTREAL - Justin Trudeau, the man who was supposed to lead Canada's Liberals out of the political wilderness, has instead sunk to third place just months from an election. (CANADA-POLITICS/TRUDEAU (PIX), moved, 700 words)

SPOTLIGHT

Ukraine struggles to control maverick battalions

KIEV - In the eyes of many Ukrainians, volunteer fighters are heroes for helping the weak regular army resist pro-Russian separatists. In the view of the government, some of the volunteers have become a problem. Bringing them under control will not be easy. (UKRAINE-CRISIS/BATTALIONS (SPECIAL REPORT, PIX, GRAPHIC), moved, 1,820 words)

HEALTH AND SCIENCE

California lawmaker battles recall by anti-vaccine activists

SACRAMENTO - Democratic State Senator Richard Pan, the California lawmaker who made it harder for parents to opt out of vaccinating their children, a stance that earned him death threats, is now launching a campaign to save his job, days after the state certified a recall effort against him. (USA-VACCINES/CALIFORNIA, moved, 400 words)

Insulin resistance might increase Alzheimer's risk

Insulin resistance may increase the risk for Alzheimer's disease by depriving the brain of sugar needed for normal cognition, a small study suggests. Diabetes itself - a disease in which the body can't properly use insulin to convert blood sugar into energy - has been linked to Alzheimer's disease, but the exact nature of the connection isn't as clear. (HEALTH-ALZHEIMERS/DIABETES, moved, 530 words)

ENTERTAINMENT AND LIFESTYLE

Venice Film Festival marks 72nd edition with star lineup

ROME - The Venice Film Festival revealed a star-studded lineup for its 72nd annual edition on Wednesday with top Hollywood names centre stage in a wide selection of U.S. and international movies. The world's oldest film festival will open with "Everest", starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Keira Knightley and based on the 1996 climbers' disaster on the world's highest mountain. (FILMFESTIVAL- VENICE/, TV, moved at 9:27 am, 350 words)

Rapper Future takes top spot on Billboard chart

Rap artist Future (Other OTC: FRNWF - news) topped the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart for the first time with the debut of his album "DS2" this week. "DS2" is the third studio album from the 31-year-old. The 13-track album sold 151,000 units in its first week, according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan, making it Future's highest earner yet. (MUSIC- CHARTS/, moved at 9:32 am, 300 words)

Huge Detroit, Bethlehem Banksy murals to be sold in Beverly Hills

LOS ANGELES - A large street mural painted on a derelict Detroit auto factory by elusive British artist Banksy is going up for auction in Beverly Hills (Other OTC: BHGI - news) and could fetch up to $400,000 for a local non-profit group, Julien's Auctions said on Wednesday. (ART-BANKSY/AUCTION (PIX), moved at 9 a.m., 396 words)

EU probes Disneyland Paris over prices for foreign tourists

BRUSSELS - European Union regulators are investigating prices charged by Disneyland Paris after complaints from foreign consumers who said they were charged far more than their French counterparts. (EU-DISNEYLANDPARIS/PRICES (CORRECTED), moved at 8:30 a.m., 289 words)

Jamaican author makes Man Booker long list with Bob Marley novel

LONDON - The long list of 13 titles for the 2015 Man Booker Prize for fiction written in English, published on Wednesday, features the first Jamaican author in contention for the $78,000 prize. Marlon James is nominated for his third novel, "A Brief History of Seven Killings," the story of the attempted assassination of reggae singer Bob Marley. (ARTS-BOOKER/, moved at 7 a.m., 317 words)

CONSUMER TECH

A fresh Start: Microsoft (NasdaqGS: MSFT - news) 's Windows 10 wins plaudits

Microsoft Corp's launch of its first new operating system in almost three years, designed to work across laptops, desktop and smartphones, won mostly positive reviews for its user-friendly and feature-packed interface. (MICROSOFT-LAUNCH/WINDOWS 10 (UPDATE 2), moved at 11:40 a.m., 370 words)

Russians hackers used Twitter (Xetra: A1W6XZ - news) , photos to reach U.S. computers - report

SAN FRANCISCO - Russian government-backed hackers who penetrated high-profile U.S. government and defense industry computers this year used a method combining Twitter with data hidden in seemingly benign photographs, according to experts studying the campaign. (RUSSIAN-HACKERS/BACKDOOR, moved at 8 a.m., 380 words)

Being frank not enough, Twitter needs to broaden portfolio

Twitter Inc interim CEO Jack Dorsey's criticism of the company's efforts to woo new users may just be the first step to address its long-standing problems. (TWITTER-RESULTS/STOCKS (UPDATE 1), moved at 2:06 p.m., 460 words)

Facebook (NasdaqGS: FB - news) reports results after the bell

Facebook reports results after the bell. Investors have piled into its stock options to make bullish bets, as robust mobile pricing and strength in video ads are expected to help the company post strong results. Investors will keep a close watch on costs and whether the company can keep up growth in monthly active users. (FACEBOOK-RESULTS, expect after 4 p.m., 400 words)

BUSINESS AND MARKETS

China stocks bounce back as intervention restores stability

SHANGHAI/HONG KONG - Chinese shares bounce back more than 3 percent, as Beijing's latest efforts to prop up values restores a measure of stability to its unruly stock market. (CHINA-MARKETS/ (WRAPUP 2, PIX, GRAPHICS), moved, 550 words)

U.S. judge dismisses 'pyramid scheme' lawsuit vs Herbalife (NYSE: HLF - news) , CEO

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit accusing Herbalife Ltd and its chief executive officer of misrepresenting the weight-loss and nutritional products maker's sales practices as legitimate when the company was "at its core" a pyramid scheme. (HERBALIFE-LAWSUIT/, moved at 11:30 a.m., 364 words)

India's Spice Jet in talks with Boeing (NYSE: BA - news) , Airbus for $11 billion jet deal

NEW DELHI - Indian budget airline Spice Jet Ltd is in talks with Boeing Co and Airbus Group (Swiss: AIR.SW - news) to acquire about 100 new narrow-body jets, its chief financial officer says, in a deal that would be worth about $11 billion at list prices. (SPICEJET (BSE: SPICEJET6.BO - news) -ORDERS/ (UPDATE 1), moved, 400 words)

Belgium's Solvay (Brussels: SOLB.BR - news) to buy U.S. peer Cytec for $5.5 billion

BRUSSELS - Belgian chemical group Solvay has agreed to buy U.S. peer Cytec for $5.5 billion, giving it a bigger presence in the lightweight materials business where demand from the aerospace industry is booming. (CYTEC-M&A/SOLVAY (UPDATE 2), moved, 415 words)

Lone Star to buy property firm Quintain for $1.1 billion

LONDON - Quintain Estates and Development (LSE: QED.L - news) will be bought by U.S. private equity firm Lone Star, the London property group says, after receiving a bid valuing the firm at around $1.1 billion. (QUINTAIN EST DEV-M&A/LONESTAR, moved, 155 words)

Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) to speed up cost-cuts and asset sales

LONDON - Barclays' new chairman sought to stamp his mark on the bank on Wednesday by accelerating the sale of assets and cost cutting after the group produced a 12 percent increase in second-quarter profits. (BARCLAYS-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 3), moved, 825 words)

Nissan profit jumps 58 pct on strong U.S. sales, weak yen

YOKOHAMA - Japan's Nissan Motor Co says first-quarter operating profit soared 58 percent, beating forecasts, lifted by strong vehicle sales in the United States and China as well as a weak yen, boosting the value of earnings overseas. (NISSAN-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 1, PIX), moved, 285 words)

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