Here are the AP's latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All times EDT. For up-to-the minute information on AP's coverage, visit Coverage Plan at https://newsroom.ap.org .
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ONLY ON AP
The Guardian newspaper environmental journalist and author George Monbiot, front centre holding placard and wearing glasses, lays blocking a road on Whitehall at the bottom of Trafalgar Square, during a rally in London, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019. Climate protesters in London have kept up their campaign despite being ousted by a police order from their Trafalgar Square encampment on Monday. (AP PhotoMatt Dunham)
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SCHOOLS-TOXIC LEGACY _ Tens of thousands of schools may be contaminated with PCBs, toxic chemicals banned 40 years ago over concerns they could cause cancer and other illnesses. Yet the EPA and Congress have failed to determine the scope of the problem or come up with a comprehensive plan or funding to help schools assess and mitigate the potential risks. As a result, schools simply don't test for fear they will be forced to spend money they don't have, and parents are left in the dark. By Tammy Webber and Martha Irvine. SENT: 2,710 words, photos, video. With abridged.
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A Syrian girl who is newly displaced by the Turkish military operation in northeastern Syria, weeps as she sits in a bus upon her arrival at the Bardarash camp, north of Mosul, Iraq, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019. The camp used to host Iraqis displaced from Mosul during the fight against the Islamic State group and was closed two years ago. The U.N. says more around 160,000 Syrians have been displaced since the Turkish operation started last week, most of them internally in Syria. (AP PhotoHussein Malla)
TOP STORIES
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UNITED STATES-SYRIA _ President Donald Trump said that Turkey’s war in Syria against Kurdish fighters who previously fought alongside American soldiers is not a U.S. concern. “It's not our border,” he said. “We shouldn’t be losing lives over it." By Darlene Superville and Robert Burns. SENT: 800 words. UPCOMING: Developing throughout the day, 990 words by 5 p.m., photos, video. WITH: WITH: PENCE _ Vice President Mike Pence flies into a geopolitical maelstrom as he leads a U.S. delegation to Turkey to try to mitigate the fighting unleashed after President Trump withdrew U.S. forces from northern Syria. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos by 4 p.m. WITH: SYRIA _ Troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad move into the strategic town of Kobani, reclaiming more territory on the border with Turkey. SENT: 960 words, photos. DEVELOPING.
TRUMP-IMPEACHMENT _ The swift-moving House impeachment probe hears from a former top aide to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, among several career State Department officials revealing striking new details about the Trump administration’s actions toward Ukraine. House Republicans are crying foul over the way impeachment is being conducted, but GOP senators are showing some signs of unease with President Donald Trump’s actions. By Lisa Mascaro and Mary Clare Jalonick. SENT: 1050 words. UPCOMING: 900 words by 5 p.m., photos, video.
ELECTION 2020-WARREN _ Elizabeth Warren has stubbornly refused to say whether middle class taxes will rise to pay for her “Medicare for All” universal health insurance plan, insisting that lower premiums and co-pays mean overall costs will fall for all but the wealthiest Americans _ and that the distinction is one pundits care about more than voters. But ducking questions about taxes may be risky, allowing her opponents to say she’s obfuscating and likely making for more awkward TV moments By Will Weissert and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar. UPCOMING: 900 words by 5 p.m., photos.
SERIAL KILLER-HOMICIDE DETECTIVES _ Keep him talking, don’t interrupt him and, no matter what, don’t ask why he killed his victims. Those were the instructions Texas Ranger James Holland gave to the dozens of homicide detectives around the country when they got their moment with Samuel Little, hoping to solve decades-old cold cases and bring back answers to desperate families from the man the FBI identified this month as the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history. By Kelli Kennedy. UPCOMING: 770 words, photos.
GM STRIKE-AGREEMENT _ Bargainers for General Motors and the United Auto Workers reach a tentative contract deal that could end a monthlong strike that brought the company’s U.S. factories to a standstill. The deal, which the union says offers “major gains” for workers, was hammered out after months of bargaining but won’t bring an immediate end to the strike by 49,000 hourly workers. They will likely stay on the picket lines for at least two more days as two union committees vote on the deal, after which the members will have to approve it. By Tom Krisher. SENT: 1,000 words. Developing. New approach of 1,100 words, photos by 5 p.m.
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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
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NKOREA-US-NUCLEAR DIPLOMACY _ North Korean leader Kim Jong Un rides a horse to a snow-covered sacred mountain. SENT: 885 words, photos.
TARZAN ACTOR'S HOME-HOMICIDE _ California authorities say a woman was killed at the home of former "Tarzan" actor Ron Ely and sheriff's deputies fatally shot a suspect. SENT: 140 words.
SCI--INTERSTELLAR VISITOR _ The Hubble Space Telescope has captured the best pictures yet of our newest interstellar visitor. SENT: 140 words, photo.
TWITTER WORLD LEADERS _ Twitter says the accounts of world leaders are not entirely above its policies. SENT: 135 words.
OBIT-SCOTTY BOWERS _ Scotty Bowers, a self-described Hollywood "fixer" whose memoir offered sensational accounts of the sex lives of celebrities, has died. He was 96. SENT: 550 words, photos.
JIM BEAM-DISTILLERY AIRBNB _ For about $23 bucks, you can either get a bottle of Jim Beam bourbon or spend a night at the company's distillery in Kentucky. SENT: 150 words.
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WASHINGTON/POLITICS
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TRUMP-ANALYSIS _ There's a common denominator running through the impeachment inquiry and the unfolding chaos in Syria: President Donald Trump's own gut-driven style of conducting foreign policy. His insistence on pushing Ukraine to investigate a political rival prompted Democrats to launch an impeachment inquiry and his decision to pull U.S. troops out of Syria reignited fighting and pushed the White House into damage-control mode. By Deb Riechmann. UPCOMING: 800 words by 4 p.m., photos, video
BRITAIN-US DIPLOMAT’S WIFE _ President Trump says he thought the grieving parents of a British teenager who was killed in a car crash involving an American diplomat's wife wanted to meet with the woman during a White House visit. But Harry Dunn's parents say they were stunned by the surprise proposition. SENT: 475 words, photos.
SUPREME COURT-SNIPER SHOOTINGS-MALVO The Supreme Court considers whether Virginia wrongly imposed life sentences on Lee Boyd Malvo, part of the sniper team that terrorized the Washington area in 2002, for killings he had committed as a teenager. By Matthew Barakat. UPCOMING: 800 words by 5 p.m., photos.
SUPREME COURT-IMMIGRATION-STATES_ The Supreme Court hears arguments about whether states can prosecute immigrants who use someone else's Social Security number. By Mark Sherman. UPCOMING: 700 words by 2 p.m., photo.
VETERANS AFFAIRS-SHULKIN BOOK _ Eager for changes at the Department of Veterans Affairs, President Donald Trump toyed early on with issuing an executive order to close parts of the VA health system without consulting Congress, according to an upcoming book by his former VA secretary. By Hope Yen. SENT: 930 words, photo.
TRUMP-ITALY _ President Donald Trump welcomes Italian President Sergio Mattarella to the White House for talks. SENT: 130 words. UPCOMING: 200 words by 3 p.m., photos, video.
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INTERNATIONAL
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BREXIT _ The European Union and Britain were inching closer to a tentative Brexit divorce deal that leaders would seek to close at a summit meeting Thursday. Hopes were increasingly turning toward getting a broad political commitment, with the full legal details hammered out later. Negotiators were locked in EU headquarters with few details leaking out. Wild movements in the British pound underscored the uncertainty over what, if anything, might be decided. SENT: 930 words, photos. WITH: BREXIT-NIRELAND-TROUBLED TIMES _ The peace process ushered in by Northern Ireland's Good Friday accord is jeopardy, under pressure as never before as negotiators try to sort out the impasse over Brexit. SENT: 1,075 words, photos.
CANADA-LEGAL MARIJUANA-ONE YEAR _ A year after Canada became the first major nation to legalize cannabis, the weed is expensive, the selection is limited, the black market persists, and licensed stores are scarce. The kinks have led to a slowly developing market in many provinces. Sales in the first year totaled around $1 billion, a small fraction of Canada’s roughly $7 billion total cannabis market. UPCOMING: 890 words.
HONG KONG-PROTESTS _ Assailants with hammers attacked a protest organizer and lawmakers shouting abuse forced Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam to abandon a speech in the legislature, in two dramas that highlighted the chaos gripping the semi-autonomous Chinese territory after more than four months of anti-government unrest. SENT: 830 words, photos.
SPAIN CATALONIA _ Spain's government says it will do whatever it takes to stamp out violence in Catalonia, where clashes between regional independence supporters and police have injured more than 200 people in two days. SENT: 885 words, photos.
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NATIONAL
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POLICE SHOOTING IN HOME-TEXAS _ Community leaders are calling for a far-reaching plan overseen by a federal judge to radically reform the Fort Worth, Texas, police department to address the kinds of abuses they say contributed to a white officer’s fatal shooting of a black woman in her home over the weekend. But any such bid could be difficult to achieve given the animosity the Trump administration has shown toward court-monitored reform plans, known as consent decrees. UPCOMING: 650 words, photo by 5 p.m.
MORMON CHURCH-CONVERSION THERAPY _ The Church of Jesus of Christ of Latter-day Saints is opposing a proposed ban on conversion therapy in Utah, just months after it said it wouldn't stand in the way of a similar rule under consideration. The church said in a statement posted Tuesday night that the regulatory rule prohibiting Utah psychologists from engaging in LBGTQ conversion therapy with minors would fail to safeguard "religious beliefs" and doesn't account for "important realities of gender identity in the development of children." SENT: 150 words, developing.
CHICAGO SCHOOLS-STRIKE _ Chicago's mayor announced that the city's public schools will be shut down on Thursday, ahead of an expected teachers' strike. Mayor Lori Lightfoot said during a news conference that the district's 25,000 teachers represented by the Chicago Teachers Union would almost certainly walk out on Thursday based on union leaders' reaction to bargaining talks this week. SENT: 425 words, photos. WITH: CHICAGO SCHOOLS-NON-PAY ISSUES-Q&A _ Chicago teachers' contract talks about more than money. SENT: 875 words, photos.
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BUSINESS/ TECH
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FACIAL RECOGNITION-HUAWEI _ A video surveillance system with facial recognition by Huawei is being rolled out across hundreds of cities around the world, particularly in poorer countries with weak track records of human rights or data protection over which the Chinese government has increased its influence through large business deals. With the U.S. claiming that Chinese state authorities can get backdoor access to Huawei data, the aggressive rollout is raising concerns about the privacy of millions of people in countries with little power to stand up to China. SENT: 1,250 words, photos, graphic.
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HEALTH & SCIENCE
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STORMQUAKES _ Scientists have discovered a mash-up of two feared disasters — hurricanes and earthquakes. They're calling them "stormquakes." By Seth Borenstein. SENT 380 words, photo.
SCHOOL LUNCH-TRUMP _ Nearly a million students could lose their automatic eligibility for free school lunches under a Trump administration proposal that's expected to reduce the number of people who get food stamps. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released an analysis finding as many as 982,000 children could be affected by the change. About half of those children would remain eligible for free meals, but their families would have to apply to qualify. Most of the rest would have to pay a reduced price of 40 cents for school lunch. Around 40,000 would need to pay full price. By Candice Choi. SENT: 575 words, photo.
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ENTERTAINMENT
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TV-PATSY AND LORETTA _ Writer-director Callie Khouri is drawn to stories about female friendships and country music, and her latest television film "Patsy and Loretta" combines those passions into the true story of a friendship between two of country music's most powerful voices. The biopic about Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn, which airs Oct. 19 on Lifetime, centers on their friendship, which has often been underexplored in country music history, at a time when the two pioneering women's careers overlapped in the early '60s. SENT: 680 words, photos.
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SPORTS
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ANGELS-MADDON _ Joe Maddon is back under the halo. Maddon agreed to a three-year deal to become the Los Angeles Angels’ manager, reuniting the World Series-winning former manager of the Chicago Cubs with the organization where he spent the first three decades of his baseball career. SENT: 700 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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At the Nerve Center, Richard A. Somma can be reached at 800-845-8450 (ext. 1600). For photos, Courtney Dittmar (ext. 1900). For graphics and interactives, Phil Holm (ext. 7636). Expanded AP content can be obtained from http://newsroom.ap.org . For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport(at)ap.org or call 877-836-9477.