Here's a look at how AP's general news coverage is shaping up today. Some plans are subject to change. You can find our contact info at the bottom of this advisory.
HIGHLIGHTING:
Among today's coverage highlights as we see them at 1445 GMT:
-- BUDGET BATTLE (sent; developing)
-- HEALTH OVERHAUL (sent; developing)
-- ITALY-POLITICS (sent; developing)
-- FRANCE-RACIL PROFILING (upcoming)
-- INTERNET-INVESTMENT FEVER (upcoming)
-- GENES-MYSTERY DISEASES (upcoming)
-- JACKSONVILLE AIRPORT EVACUATION (sent; developing)
PHOTOS: Palestinians-Gaza Tunnels-Photo Essay; Cuba-Farmers Market-Photo Gallery; ITALY-POLITICS photos
VIDEO: BUDGET BATTLE coverage on multiple fronts; BRITAIN-POLICE-CYCLIST (upcoming: British Transport Police are trying to locate a cyclist who was nearly killed when she ignored barriers and started to enter a railroad crossing seconds before a train zoomed by.)
Here are details of those stories, plus others we have in the works for today and notable pieces that we sent in the past 10 hours:
SHUTDOWN
BUDGET BATTLE - The U.S. government shutdown forced President Barack Obama to cancel two stops on a long-planned trip to Asia and left federal services in limbo across the country. Lawmakers from both parties suggested the impasse could last for weeks and encompass a potentially more dangerous fight over the country's borrowing limit. SENT: 940 words, photos. UPCOMING: Developing with meetings between Republicans, and Obama meeting with business leaders.
BUDGET BATTLE-ABROAD - Top European officials are keeping a worried eye on the U.S. government shutdown, saying it could pose a risk for the continent's fledgling recovery. SENT: 240 words. UPCOMING: tbd.
US RELIABILITY ABROAD — Political chaos from legislative gridlock, the government shutdown and an increasing fear of a default on its debts have deepened global unease that Washington is distracted from world affairs and scrambling to solve its domestic crises. UPCOMING: 1,000 words, photos by 2200 GMT.
BUDGET BATTLE-PRIVATE COMPANIES - As the government's partial shutdown enters a second day, most companies across the country are doing business as usual. Yet concern is rising that a prolonged shutdown will cause some work at private companies to dry up and consumers to lose confidence in the U.S. economy. SENT: 850 words.
HEALTH CARE OVERHAUL
HEALTH OVERHAUL — With frustration mounting among consumers, the Obama administration struggles to fix glitches that turned a promising launch of the president's health care law into a disappointment for many. SENT: 1,120 words, photos, video.
ITALY-POLITICS - Premier Enrico Letta has won a confidence vote in the Italian Senate after Silvio Berlusconi delivered an about-face and announced he would support the government. SENT: 830 words, photos. UPCOMING: Developing.
FRANCE-RACIAL PROFILING - A French court rules on Wednesday on complaints by 13 people claiming they're subjected to police checks, often with humiliating patdowns, because they're black or of Arab descent. The case is billed as the first of its kind in France where long-silent minorities are finding their voice. UPCOMING: 130 words after verdict expected after 1430 GMT; followed by 700 words.
SYRIA - Deadly clashes break out on the edge of the Syrian capital and infighting between rebels rages in the north as international chemical weapons inspectors begin their work on the ground in Syria. SENT: 560 words, photos. UPCOMING: 700 words by 1900 GMT.
BAHRAIN — Rifts are deepening again in Bahrain after hints of making small progress toward reconciliation in the Arab Spring's smallest — but still diplomatically complex — showdown. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos by 1700 GMT.
EGYPT — The army-backed interim government is sprucing up Tahrir Square ahead of planned celebrations of the Egypt's military this weekend. Supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi also say they plan to march in counter rallies, which is sure to trigger violence. UPCOMING: 500 words, photos by 2000 GMT.
KENYA-MALL ATTACK - A top Kenya government official says four armed assailants can be seen on closed circuit television footage during the terrorist attack on an upscale mall in which at least 67 people were killed, an indication that there may not have been as many attackers as initially believed. SENT: 120 words. UPCOMING: Developing.
KENYA-MALL ATTACK-FACT CHECK — A chunky text piece that will show what was announced and observed as the mall drama unfolded and compare it to what is now known, and what is not. UPCOMING.
US-HAGEL-KOREA- The U.S. and South Korea agree to work together to strengthen the South's ability to deter threats from North Korea. SENT: 660 words, photos.
MYANMAR-SECTARIAN VIOLENCE - Terrified Muslim families hide in forests in western Myanmar a day after fleeing a new round of deadly sectarian violence. SENT: 880 words, photos.
GREECE-GOLDEN DAWN-PROFILES - Thumbnails of the six leading lawmakers from Greece's far-right Golden Dawn Party who were arrested after a probe into the party's alleged illegal activities. SENT: 560 words, photos.
PORTUGAL-MISSING GIRL - The father of missing British girl Madeleine McCann is at a Lisbon court where he hopes to testify in the family's libel case against a former Portuguese detective. SENT: 120 words.
VIETNAM-DISSIDENT TRIAL - A Vietnamese court sentences a U.S-trained lawyer and well-known dissident to 30 months in jail after finding him guilty on tax evasion charges, the latest salvo in a crackdown against dissidents. SENT: 620 words, photos.
CHINA-HORNET ATTACKS - Authorities say the death toll from hornet attacks in central China has reached 41 people. SENT: 160 words.
NIGERIA-BASKETBALL DREAMS - Abiodun Ayetimiyi was meant to follow his father and pursue medicine in Nigeria. But the 16-year-old's natural speed and athleticism now have him pursuing basketball stardom, a dream that is becoming more achievable in a country that has had little space for any sport other than soccer. SENT: 1,100 words, phots.
WASHINGTON AND POLITICS
OBAMA-BIG BUSINESS - Having failed to persuade their traditional Republican allies in Congress to avert a government shutdown, business leaders fear bigger problems ahead, and they're taking sides with a Democratic president whose health care and regulatory agenda they have vigorously opposed. SENT: 870 words. UPCOMING: Will be updated after meeting starts at 1605 GMT, photos.
UNITED STATES-IRAN - A war-weary Congress generally backs Obama's outreach to Iran, but with tougher U.S. economic measures against Tehran on the way, the president's diplomatic task could get harder if he doesn't make quick progress. SENT: 1,090 words, photo.
US
JACKSONVILLE AIRPORT EVACUATION - Authorities have a suspect in custody after finding two suspicious packages — including one they described as destructive — at the Jacksonville International Airport. SENT: 430 words, photos, video. Developing.
TODDLER SLAPPED — When a toddler started crying in the airplane seat next to him, authorities say Joe Rickey Hundley used a racial slur and then slapped the child. His trial is to start Thursday. UPCOMING: 500 words by 2000 GMT.
HEALTH
GENES-MYSTERY DISEASES (HOLD FOR RELEASE, 2100 GMT) - A new study suggests decoding a patient's genes can find the cause of mystery diseases. Scientists found gene flaws for one quarter of such cases, mostly kids with neurological problems that had stumped doctors for years. UPCOMING: HOLD FOR RELEASE AT 2100 GMT, 600 words.
TWIN BIRTHS-CESAREANS (HOLD FOR RELEASE, 5 p.m.) - Expecting twins? You probably don't need to schedule a cesarean section. Most moms can safely give birth without surgery, a big study finds.UPCOMING: HOLD FOR RELEASE AT 2100 GMT; 350 words by 2100 GMT.
DIGITAL LIFE-TECH TEST-AMAZON KINDLE FIRE HDX - Amazon's new Kindle Fire HDX tablet resembles Google's Nexus 7 in many ways. The similarities end when you turn them on. SENT: 1,250 words, photo.
LIFESTYLES
PETS LUCKY DOG - Brandon McMillan has trained as many as 10,000 dogs for television, movies, commercials, videos and people. Then he started saving dogs from animal shelters, training them and finding homes for them. When Litton Entertainment needed a dog trainer who would rescue, train and place 22 dogs in 22 weeks for a show called "Lucky Dog" for CBS, they didn't have to look far. SENT: 600 words, photo.
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
TV-EXIT STRATEGIES - Now that the dust (and ricin) have settled from Sunday's "Breaking Bad," one of the best TV finales ever, it's worth considering what makes a series farewell memorable. Or bad, like "Dexter" from the week before. Then, some series have no finale at all: In 2010, "Law & Order" concluded after 450 episodes missing a proper goodbye. By Television Writer Frazier Moore. SENT: 820 words, photo.
FRANCE-LOUIS VUITTON — French luxury conglomerate LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton says Marc Jacobs is stepping down as creative director of its flagship brand Louis Vuitton. SENT: 540 words, photos.
THEATER-ERIC BOGOSIAN — Eric Bogosian has been looking back on his old angry work lately and laughing. The former monologist who used to write about substance abuse and dangerous sex has been sifting through two decades of work for an upcoming book. SENT: 800 words, photos.
CHICAGO-PICASSO MODEL — Christie's puts up for auction Picasso's original 41-inch model for the iconic 50-foot steel sculpture at the Chicago Civic Center. Asking price for just the model: $25 million. UPCOMING: 300 words, photo by 1830 GMT.
PHOTOGRAPHY
PALESTINIANS-GAZA TUNNELS-PHOTO ESSAY - Gaza's tunnel smugglers along the border with Egypt are mostly idle these days. Some rest on cots in the dank underground pathways, stretching out for a smoke. Since the summer, Egypt's military has tried to destroy or seal off most of the tunnels, a consequence of the heightened tensions between Cairo and the Hamas government. SENT: photos, 440 words.
CUBA-FARMERS MARKET-PHOTO GALLERY - Trucks crammed with produce travel hundreds of miles from every corner of Cuba each weekday to form long lines at the 114th Street Market - a teeming open-air bazaar on Havana's outskirts that has become a key hub for getting farm products to people in the capital. SENT: photos, 280 words.
News Topics: General news, National budgets, Government budgets, Legislature, Political and civil unrest, Government and politics, War and unrest, Diplomacy, Access to health care, Health care reform, Government finance, Government business and finance, Business, National governments, International relations, Health issues, Health, Political issues, Health care policy, Government policyPeople, Places and Companies: Barack Obama, Silvio Berlusconi, Mohamed Morsi, Madeleine McCann, Louis Vuitton, Eric Bogosian, Egypt, United States, Cuba, France, Italy, Cairo, Syria, Kenya, Middle East, Gaza Strip, North Africa, Africa, North America, Caribbean, Latin America and Caribbean, Western Europe, Europe, East Africa, Palestinian territories
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