REUTERS NEWS SCHEDULE AT 6 a.m.GMT/1 a.m. ET

The U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State has begun the process of withdrawing from Syria, a spokesman said on Friday, indicating the start of a U.S. pullout that has been clouded by mixed messages from Washington.

MIDEAST-CRISIS-SYRIA-ISRAEL/

Syria says Israel fired missiles toward Damascus, hit airport warehouse

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian state news agency said Israeli warplanes fired a number of missiles toward the Damascus area on Friday, triggering Syrian air defense that shot down most of them.

U.S.

USA-WEATHER/

Monster snowstorm to blanket more than half of United States

NEW YORK/TAOS, N.M. (Reuters) - A massive winter storm hit the U.S. Rockies and Plains on Friday then punched east, with snow set to assault a 1,800-mile (1,609 km) corridor through the weekend, creating transportation “havoc” in the middle of the country.

USA-IMMIGRATION-SHELTER/

Texas tent city that holds migrant teens to close

EL PASO, Texas (Reuters) - A tent city in Texas for migrant teens will close, the U.S. government said on Friday, and the children held in what had become a controversial symbol of President Donald Trump’s migration policy will be transferred to sponsors or other shelters.

BUSINESS

APPLE-QUALCOMM-MOLLENKOPF/

Apple demanded $1 billion for chance to win iPhone: Qualcomm CEO

SAN JOSE, California (Reuters) - Qualcomm sought to become the sole supplier of modem chips for Apple’s iPhone to recoup a $1-billion “incentive payment” that Apple insisted on, not to block rivals from the market, Qualcomm’s chief executive testified on Friday.

SPACEX-LAYOFFS/

SpaceX to layoff 10 percent of workforce

Elon Musk’s rocket company SpaceX will reduce its workforce by about 10 percent of the company’s more than 6,000 employees, it said on Friday.

ENTERTAINMENT

PEOPLE-RKELLY/

R. Kelly's attorney denies abuse allegations in documentary

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - An attorney for R. Kelly on Friday called a new documentary series about the R&B singer a “for-profit hit piece,” and said the latest accusations of abuse by the Grammy-winning musician were a “complete fabrication.”

PEOPLE-MICHAEL-JACKSON/

Jackson estate slams as 'pathetic' abuse claims in new documentary

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Michael Jackson’s estate on Thursday condemned on Thursday an upcoming documentary about alleged child sexual abuse by the late singer as another “outrageous and pathetic attempt” to cash in on his fame.

SPORTS

TENNIS-AUSOPEN-OSAKA/

Leaner, mature Osaka stays grounded in Melbourne

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Naomi Osaka is no longer a shy, introvert youngster and the newest Grand Slam winner in women’s tennis says she owes her maturity to last year’s U.S. Open triumph.

FOOTBALL-NFL-NOTEBOOK/

NFL notebook: Monday Night Football coming to playoffs?

If the Los Angeles Chargers beat the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts top the Kansas City Chiefs this weekend, the NFL will have a decision to make.

UPCOMING

BUSINESS / ECONOMICS

USA-SHUTDOWN/MCCONNELL

ANALYSIS-As U.S. government shutdown drags on, where is Mitch McConnell?

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who rose to power on his reputation as master of legislative wrangling, has little to say in public or private throughout partial shutdown of federal government, which began Dec. 22.

12 Jan 07:00 ET / 12:00 GMT

ARTS / CULTURE / ENTERTAINMENT

AWARDS-BRITS/NOMINATIONS (TV)

Nominations announced for BRIT music awards in London

The nominees for Britain's top musical prize, the BRIT Awards, are announced in London ahead of the Feb 20 ceremony.

12 Jan 13:00 ET / 18:00 GMT