by Associated Press BC-AP News Coverage Advisory Associated Press - 8 December 2014 10:23-05:00 Here's a look at how AP's general news coverage is shaping up today. Some plans are subject to change. HIGHLIGHTING: Among today's coverage highlights as we see them: -- POLICE PROTESTS-CALIFORNIA (sent; developing) -- AFGHANISTAN (sent; developing) -- ROYALS-US VISIT (sent; developing) -- REPUBLICANS-PLAN A-ANALYSIS (sent) -- MILITARY SEXUAL ASSAULTS-MALE VICTIMS (upcoming) -- CLIMATE-EXPORTING US POLLUTION (sent) -- HONDURAS-VIOLENCE-SCHOOLS (upcoming) -- MCDONALD'S-SALES (sent; developing with new angle) TALKERS/READERS: -- MCDONALD'S-SALES (sent; developing with new angle) -- KIDS-MOBILE APPS (sent) -- JAPAN-VANISHING VILLAGES (sent) -- MASSIVE LA FIRE (sent; developing) -- BEAR-ROAD DEATHS (sent) -- OBAMA-TEACHING COMPUTERS (sent; developing) -- ISRAEL-BIBLE BATTLE (sent) -- ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES-TECHNOLOGY (sent) -- FRANCE-POWER OF HEELS (upcoming) -- OBIT-BAER (upcoming) PHOTOS: POLICE PROTESTS-CALIFORNIA (sent); ROYALS-US VISIT (sent; developing); LA FIRE (sent; developing); INDIA-THE OTHER TAJ (sent) VIDEO: us_ca_police_protests (sent); massive_fire (sent; developing); ny_royals (sent; developing) 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 (all times GMT): US POLICE PROTESTS-CALIFORNIA - Protests in New York and Missouri have died down, but demonstrators in California spent much of the weekend blocking traffic and clashing with police. We look at why protesters thousands of miles away are still angry about the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown. SENT: 500 words, photos, video. ROYALS-US VISIT - While Prince William meets with Obama on Monday and discusses illegal wildlife trafficking at the World Bank, his wife, Kate, will tour a child development center with New York City's first lady, Chirlane McCray. SENT: 240 words, photos, video. UPCOMING: updating from events throughout the day, then 500 words by 1500 GMT, photos, video. OBAMA-ROYALS - President Barack Obama meets with Britain's Prince William. UPCOMING: Developing from 1545 GMT. White House Meeting, 300 words by 1800 GMT, photo. LOS ANGELES FIRE - Officials say a massive fire in downtown Los Angeles closes down portions of two major freeways. SENT: 230 words, photos, videos. UPCOMING: Developing. CHICAGO-MUMMY MUSEUM - Scientists at the Field Museum in Chicago have opened the coffin of the 4,000-year-old mummy of a 14-year-old boy who was the son of the priest. SENT: 530 words, photos, video. BEAR-ROAD DEATHS - Three dead, eight injured after vehicle hits bear on Florida road, another car crashes into scene. SENT: 370 words. EXCHANGE STUDENT SHOT - Police officers who found a German high school exchange student wounded but still alive after being shot by a Montana man are set to resume testifying Monday in the man's murder trial in Missoula. SENT: 380 words. UPCOMING: Developing. NSA SURVEILLANCE-LAWSUIT - A panel of federal appeals judges in Seattle is considering an Idaho woman's challenge to the National Security Agency's bulk collection of cellphone information. SENT: 160 words. UPCOMING: Developing from hearing beginning at 1700 GMT. WORLD AFGHANISTAN - The U.S. and NATO ceremonially end their combat mission in Afghanistan on Monday, 13 years after the Sept. 11 terror attacks sparked their invasion of the country to topple the Taliban-led government. SENT: 440 words, photos. ISRAEL-BIBLE BATTLE - Two decades after Israeli spies helped Syrian Jews whisk ancient Hebrew bibles from Damascus to Jerusalem, Israel's national library asked an Israeli court on Monday to grant it custodianship over the manuscripts — a move that could spark an ownership battle over some of the Syrian Jewish community's most important treasures. SENT: 780 words, photo. SOUTH AFRICA-YEMEN - The United States did not know about talks on the reportedly imminent release of a South African hostage who died in a U.S. raid on al-Qaida militants in Yemen, the U.S. ambassador in South Africa said Monday. SENT: 300 words, photo. YEMEN - Three bombs explode near homes of Shiite rebel leaders in Yemeni capital, Sanaa. SENT: 280 words. PHILIPPINES-TYPHOON - Typhoon Hagupit weakens into a tropical storm Monday after leaving at least 21 people dead and forcing more than a million people into shelters. SENT: 560 words, photos, video. HONDURAS-VIOLENCE-SCHOOLS - Street gangs control most schools in Tegucigalpa, where a lot of the students are gangsters, along with their parents. UPCOMING: 1,300 words by 1630 GMT, photos. SYRIA - Russia on Monday demanded an explanation for Israeli airstrikes on two areas near Damascus. SENT: 530 words, photos. INDIA-RAPE - The Indian capital on Monday banned taxi-booking service Uber after a woman was allegedly raped by one of its drivers. By Katy Daigle. SENT: 560 words, photos. NETHERLANDS-UBER - In preliminary ruling, Dutch court bans individuals without a taxi license as Uber drivers. SENT: 130 words. GERMANY-GERMAN AT HOME - A German conservative party is backpedaling from a demand that immigrants speak German even at home after its call sparked a storm of criticism and mockery. SENT: 330 words. EGYPT - The Canadian Embassy in Cairo has closed over security concerns, a day after the British Embassy suspended its services over safety worries. JAPAN-VANISHING VILLAGES - Even more than its fading status as an export superpower, Japan's dwindling population may be its biggest challenge. SENT: 880 words, photos. An expanded version of 1,210 words has also been sent. GUANTANAMO-PRISONER RELEASE - Six prisoners held for 12 years at Guantanamo Bay begin their new lives in Uruguay after the United States flew them to the South American country as refugees. SENT: 850 words, photos. INDIA-THE OTHER TAJ - In small-town India, a retired postman builds a monument to his wife and their love. SENT: 450 words, photos. SOUTH AFRICA-HONEYMOON KILLING - South African judge acquits Briton Shrien Dewani of murdering wife during 2010 honeymoon. SENT: 500 words, photos. FRANCE-TEEN-SYRIA - A mother whose teen traveled alone to Syria is suing the French government, alleging it should have stopped the underage boy from leaving the country. SENT: 130 words. GREECE-HUNGER STRIKER - The father of a convicted bank robber who's on hunger strike to protest his barring from university says a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has failed to end the standoff, which has triggered violent protests. SENT: 130 words. CHINA-XINJIANG - A Chinese court sentences eight people to death on charges of leading terror groups and setting off explosives in two attacks that left 46 people dead in the far western region of Xinjiang, home of the Muslim Uighur minority, state media say. SENT: 500 words, photos. KASHMIR-ELECTIONS - Prime Minister Narendra Modi defends India's decades-long military presence in the disputed Kashmir region, saying troops were there to safeguard the country's democracy against separatist rebels. SENT: 630 words, photos. SRI LANKA-ELECTION — Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his former health minister were among 19 people who submitted candidacy papers Monday to contest next month's presidential election. SENT: 370 words. CHINA-STUDENTS KILLED - Five middle school students in eastern China are killed when a wall collapses on them, raising concerns about shoddy school construction in the country. SENT: 200 words. CHINA-JAPAN-NANJING MASSACRE - A Chinese organization says it has sent a letter to Japan's prime minister calling on his government to apologize to the victims of a wartime massacre almost 80 years ago and pay compensation. SENT: 320 words. THAILAND-TOURIST DEATHS - Two migrant workers from Myanmar plead innocent to charges that they killed two British tourists on the Thai resort island of Koh Tao. SENT: 230 words. INDONESIA-US WOMAN DEAD - Indonesian police say they have completed their investigation into an American couple accused of battering the woman's mother to death and stuffing the body into a suitcase on the resort island of Bali. SENT: 310 words, photos. WASHINGTON MILITARY SEXUAL ASSAULTS-MALE VICTIMS - Sexual assaults on servicemen happen more often than people might think. But men in the hypermasculine military culture often don't feel comfortable reaching out for help or reporting a sexual assault to their superiors. UPCOMING: 900 words by 2100 GMT, photo, video. RACIAL PROFILING GUIDELINES - The Obama administration issues guidelines banning federal law enforcement from profiling on the basis of religion, national origin and other characteristics. SENT: 720 words, photo. SUPREME COURT-GULF OIL SPILL SETTLEMENT - The Supreme Court is leaving in place BP's multibillion-dollar settlement with lawyers for businesses and residents over the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. SENT: 130 words. UPCOMING: Developing. HEALTH HEALTHBEAT-DENSE BREASTS (HOLD FOR RELEASE, 2200 GMT) - Millions of women have dense breasts, meaning it may be harder for mammograms to spot cancer. What's not clear is what to do about it, and new research suggests automatically giving them an extra test isn't an easy solution. UPCOMING: HOLD FOR RELEASE, 2200 GMT, 800 words. SCIENCE SPARK OF LIFE - Scientists working in a lab have been able to simulate how life on Earth could have started. UPCOMING: 500 words by 2000 GMT, photos. CALIFORNIA DROUGHT WARMING - New NOAA research on how much, if any, of the record California drought can be connected to man-made global warming. UPCOMING: Developing from 1800 GMT. news conference. CLIMATE-EXPORTING US POLLUTION - As the Obama administration makes headway at home in the fight against global warming, it has helped stoke record exports of fossil fuels that are contributing to rising levels of pollution elsewhere. SENT: 850 words, photo. A longer version of 2,640 words is also available. NYC HUMPBACKS - Reported sightings of humpback whales, the gigantic, endangered singers of the deep, are multiplying in waters within sight of New York City's skyscrapers. UPCOMING: 700 words by 1900 GMT, photo. BUSINESS /ECONOMY MCDONALD'S-SALES - The Big Mac is becoming a victim of finicky tastes, and that puts McDonald's in theposition of needing to simplify its menu while also offering its customers more control over toppings. SENT: 350 words, photo. UPCOMING: 600 words with new approach. CHINA-STOCK MARKET FRENZY — Even as a downturn in the world's second-largest economy deepens, a growing army of other small investors are riding a boom in China's volatile stock markets. SENT: 840 words, photos. NABE FORECAST - The U.S. economy, helped by a stronger job market and falling oil prices, should enjoy the fastest economic growth in a decade next year, according to a panel of top business economists. SENT: 570 words. MADOFF FRAUD-TRIAL - Imprisoned financier Bernard Madoff's former director of operations for investments is set to be sentenced on charges related to his part in the company's multi-decade, multi-billion dollar fraud. SENT: 130 words. UPCOMING: Developing. TECH OBIT-BAER - Ralph Baer, a video game pioneer who created an electronic table tennis game — the precursor to "Pong" — and led the team that developed the Magnavox Odyssey, the first home video game console, has died. He was 92. UPCOMING: 300 words by 1900 GMT. JAPAN-SONY - Sony's PlayStation store briefly inaccessible to users in latest possible cyberattack. SENT: 270 words, photo. DIGITAL LIFE-REVIEW-NICHE SMARTPHONES - There's an Android phone for everyone. Need to swim with it? Get a waterproof model. Travel a lot? Get one with longer battery life. A look at 3 standout phones. SENT: 700 words, photos. ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES-TECHNOLOGY - Evolving e-cigarette technology may make developing industry standards tougher. SENT: 500 words, photos. SPORTS IOC MEETING - The IOC approves plans for a more flexible sports program, a move that could lead to the inclusion of baseball and softball at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. SENT: 150 words, photos. UPCOMING: developing. POP CULTURE/LIFESTYLES FRANCE-POWER OF HEELS - The wise and well-heeled Marilyn Monroe once said, "Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world." Now a study in France has measured how the height of a woman's shoe heel influences men. UPCOMING: 500 words by 1700 GMT, photos. FASHION-SNEAKERS TRENDING - Walk around the men's shoe department of any upscale department store and leather footwear still dominate - but sneakers are getting a perch. UPCOMING: 490 words by noon, photos. ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT FILM-Q&A-CHRIS ROCK - Chris Rock discusses his film "Top Five," finally channeling his voice as a comedian into a film, President Barack Obama, "black fame" and why calling him a role model is racist. UPCOMING: 850 words by 1700 GMT, photos. FILM-AFI AWARDS - The American Film Institute names its top 10 films of the year, as well as its 10 top TV shows. UPCOMING: 500 words by 2200 GMT, photos. ITUNES-END OF YEAR - Apple announced its top albums, songs, apps and more from its iTunes store. SENT: 195 words, photos. JAPAN-GODZILLA - Godzilla is stomping back, and this time, it's made in Japan, like the original. SENT: 340 words, photos. KENNEDY CENTER-HONORS - Tom Hanks and Sting joined Lily Tomlin, singer Al Green and ballerina Patricia McBride in being awarded this year's Kennedy Center Honors for influencing American culture through the arts. SENT: 980 words, photos. THEATER-THE TEMPTATIONS-THE FOUR TOPS - The Temptations and The Four Tops will be renewing their rivalry on Broadway this winter for a seven-concert stand. UPCOMING Monday: 480 words by 1600 GMT, photos. MOVIES-EXODUS-CONTROVERSY - The biblical film "Exodus: Gods and Kings" has come under fire for casting white actors in the film's main roles as Egyptians. SENT: 370 words, photos. BRITAIN-BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH - Benedict Cumberbatch has been honored for helping shine an international spotlight on Britain. SENT: 120 words, photos. News Topics: General news, Sexual assault, Massacres, Embassies, Economy, Violations of environmental law, Race and ethnicity, Oil and gas industry, Rhythm and blues, Accidents and disasters, Police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, Bombings, War and unrest, Crime, Government and politics, Music, Environmental concerns, Olympic games, Supreme courts, Violent crime, International relations, Business, Environment, Environment and nature, Social issues, Social affairs, Energy industry, Industries, Entertainment, Arts and entertainment, Events, National courts, National governments, Courts, Judiciary, Sports People, Places and Companies: Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Prince William, Barack Obama, Antonis Samaras, Narendra Modi, Mahinda Rajapaksa, Bernard Madoff, Marilyn Monroe, Chris Rock, Tom Hanks, Sting, Lily Tomlin, Al Green, Benedict Cumberbatch, United Kingdom, China, India, Egypt, Netherlands, United States, Japan, Sri Lanka, Israel, Syria, Kashmir, South Africa, France, Afghanistan, Germany, California, Damascus, Indonesia, New York City, Southeast Asia, Honduras, Tegucigalpa, Middle East, Western Europe, Europe, Greater China, East Asia, Asia, South Asia, North Africa, Africa, North America, Southern Africa, Central Asia, New York, Central America, Latin America and Caribbean Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. 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