REUTERS NEWS SCHEDULE AT 6 a.m. GMT/2 p.m. SGT

The United States said on Thursday that a U.S. Navy ship had “destroyed” an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz after the aircraft threatened the vessel, but Iran said it had no information about losing a drone.

JAPAN-FIRE/ Suspected arsonist planned Japan's worst mass killing in 18 years: media

KYOTO, Japan (Reuters) - A man suspected of torching an animation studio in western Japan shouted that he had been plagiarized and appeared to have planned the attack, media said on Friday after a blaze that killed 33 people in Japan’s worst mass killing in two decades. U.S.

USA-ABORTION/ Illinois to defy Trump administration's abortion referral 'gag rule'

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Illinois will defy enforcement of the Trump administration’s rule barring federally subsidized family planning clinics from making abortion referrals, the governor said on Thursday, vowing the state would step in to fund most of those clinics itself. USA-TRUMP-COHEN/

FBI documents point to Trump role in hush money for porn star Daniels NEW YORK (Reuters) - FBI documents unsealed on Thursday suggest that Donald Trump was actively involved in engineering a hush-money payment shortly before the 2016 election to a porn actress who said she had a sexual encounter with him, as his personal lawyer Michael Cohen, campaign team and others scrambled to head off a scandal.

BUSINESS NETFLIX-STOCKS/

Netflix sinks on subscriber losses, analysts still see growth Wall Street brokerages stuck to a positive outlook on Netflix Inc on Thursday, betting that a strong content slate for the rest of 2019 would reverse shock second-quarter losses in U.S. subscribers that sank its stock price.

MICROSOFT-RESULTS/ Microsoft shares hit record highs, powered by growing cloud sales

Microsoft Corp on Thursday beat analysts’ estimates for fourth-quarter revenue and profit, driven by continued sales increases from its cloud business and sending its shares to all-time highs. ENTERTAINMENT

FILM-CATS/ New 'Cats' movie trailer brings out the claws

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The star-laden movie version of hit stage musical “Cats” released its first trailer on Thursday, but first impressions were far from cuddly. FILM-TOP-GUN/

Tom Cruise delights fans with first look at 'Top Gun: Maverick' LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - “Top Gun” roared back on Thursday when Tom Cruise made a surprise appearance at Comic-Con to show the first trailer for the long-awaited sequel to his military action movie.

SPORTS CYCLING-FRANCE-WOMEN/

Cycling: UCI chief Lappartient to continue push for women's Tour de France The International Cycling Union (UCI) is hopeful it can convince Tour de France organizers to hold a women’s equivalent that will boost the sport, its president David Lappartient has said.

MOTOR-F1-TEAMMATES/ Can F1 team mates be real mates? Why not, say McLaren drivers

LONDON (Reuters) - Can team mates be good mates in Formula One? McLaren rookie Lando Norris and Spaniard Carlos Sainz see no reason why not — even if others have their doubts about how long that will last once the stakes are raised. UPCOMING

POLITICS / INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS USA-ELECTION/BIDEN

ANALYSIS-Trump's attacks on congresswomen could boost Biden campaign As U.S. President Donald Trump intensifies his efforts to brand four progressive congresswomen as the new face of the Democratic Party, its presidential front-runner, Joe Biden, has been quietly reminding voters in Iowa there remains a middle ground.

19 Jul 02:00 ET / 06:00 GMT SAFRICA-POLITICS/ (PIX)

South Africa's Zuma gives final day of testimony at corruption inquiry Former South African president Jacob Zuma gives his final day of testimony at a public inquiry into state graft. Zuma, ousted by the governing ANC more than a year ago, has so far ducked and dived at the inquiry. Zuma is expected to address supporters after the inquiry.

19 Jul 04:00 ET / 08:00 GMT GERMANY-MERKEL/ (PIX) (TV)

German Chancellor Merkel holds annual news conference German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has been under intensified public scrutiny since suffering from shaking bouts, holds her annual news conference with domestic and foreign policies on the agenda.

19 Jul 04:30 ET / 08:30 GMT USA-TRUMP/MUELLER

House Democrats will try to focus Mueller's testimony on conduct by Trump When former U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller appears in Congress on Wednesday, House Democrats will try to focus his testimony on clear examples of conduct by President Donald Trump that would lead to criminal charges against any other American.

19 Jul 06:00 ET / 10:00 GMT USA-ELECTION/STEYER

Big donor Steyer's presidential run could deny millions to other Democratic races Billionaire Tom Steyer, a longtime friend and key donor to liberal candidates and causes, says he decided to run for the Democratic presidential nomination next year because no other candidate was offering a "mandate for change". But by deciding to fund his long-shot bid with $100 million of his own money, some Democratic activists believe all he will end up doing is denying his money to grassroots organizations and candidates in Senate and House races that Democrats are desperate to win.

19 Jul 09:00 ET / 13:00 GMT USA-JUSTICE/.PRISONS

AG Barr expected to unveil risk assessment tool for helping prisoners U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr and other top officials are expected to make an announcement about the new risk assessment tool, required by the First Step Act, designed to help federal prisons decide which inmates should be eligible for recidivism reduction programs

19 Jul 11:00 ET / 15:00 GMT ANTITERRORISM-SUMMIT/ARGENTINA (PIX) (TV)

US Secretary Pompeo attends the hemispheric anti-terrorism summit, holds news conference U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attends the hemispheric anti-terrorism summit and holds a news conference in Buenos Aires.

19 Jul 13:00 ET / 17:00 GMT CRIME / LAW / JUSTICE

NETHERLANDS-BOSNIA/SREBRENICA (PIX) (TV) Top court to rule on Srebrenica mothers' claim against The Netherlands

The Dutch high court will rule on the case brought by relatives of the victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of some 8,000 Muslims by Bosnian Serb troops who want to hold The Netherlands accountable for the failure of Dutch U.N, peacekeepers stationed in the town to prevent the genocide. 19 Jul 06:00 ET / 10:00 GMT

SAFRICA-VIOLENCE/ (PIX) Cape Town residents react to army deployment to quell gang violence

Residents of Cape Town react to the deployment of South African soldiers to help quell gang violence. 19 Jul 06:00 ET / 10:00 GMT

BUSINESS / ECONOMICS USA-ECONOMY/NASHVILLE (PIX) (TV) (GRAPHIC)

As 'superstar' cities keep winning, worrisome U.S. divide widens In the depths of the financial crisis, when the world was shunning debt and battening down for the worst, city officials here zagged in what seemed a preposterous direction and spent $600 million on a new convention center.

19 Jul 06:00 ET / 10:00 GMT BLACKROCK-RESULTS/

Q2 2019 BlackRock Inc Earnings Release Estimated time. Expected before market open (BMO).

19 Jul 08:30 ET / 12:30 GMT USA-FED/BULLARD

St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President Bullard participates in panel at CEBRA conference Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard participates in "Technology and the Future of the Monetary and Financial System" panel and presentation before the Central Bank Research Association (CEBRA) 2019 Annual Meeting, in New York.

19 Jul 11:05 ET / 15:05 GMT JAPAN-ECONOMY/BOJ

Bank of Japan's Kuroda participates in panel at CEBRA conference Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda participates in "Central Bank Independence" panel before the Central Bank Research Association (CEBRA) 2019 Annual Meeting, in New York.

19 Jul 16:30 ET / 20:30 GMT USA-FED/ROSENGREN

Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Rosengren participates in panel at CEBRA conference Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren participates in "Central Bank Independence" panel before the Central Bank Research Association (CEBRA) 2019 Annual Meeting, in New York.

19 Jul 16:30 ET / 20:30 GMT

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