Dec 9 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

* After a nearly yearlong effort to sell its gun business, Cerberus Capital Management LP is close to bringing on a minority investor and lender to the weapons maker to let some of its investors sell out, a person familiar with the matter said. ()

* General Motors Co is preparing a concerted attack on its most troubled international operations that would entail big output cuts at factories in South Korea and likely an end to production in Australia, said people familiar with the auto maker's plans. ()

* Given Imaging Ltd, a maker of ingestible pills that take photos inside patients' bodies, agreed to be acquired by Covidien PLC for $860 million. ()

* When employees of the new American Airlines Group Inc ring the Nasdaq Stock Market's opening bell Monday from the carrier's Texas headquarters, many of them will be cheering because they already know what their pay and benefits will be-unlike in most airline mergers. The new American has secured temporary labor agreements that spell out how the merged airline will quickly integrate key groups of workers from the former American Airlines and US Airways. ()

* Some of the world's biggest advertising companies are predicting faster growth in ad spending in 2014 than occurred this year, although concerns about the U.S. and European economies weigh on some of their projections. ()

* Amazon.com Inc received a lot of news coverage for its sci-fi drone-delivery idea last week. But an immediate robotics effort under way in the Seattle retailer's warehouses could save the company more than $900 million a year, according to an analyst. ()

* As enrollment picks up on the HealthCare.gov website, many people with modest incomes are encountering a troubling element of the federal health law: deductibles so steep they may not be able to afford the portion of medical expenses that insurance doesn't cover. ()

* When Hertz Global Holdings Inc acquired car-rental rival Dollar Thrifty last year, the Federal Trade Commission sought to combat rising prices by forcing Hertz to sell off its Advantage Rent a Car brand, making it a new, independent competitor. But the arrangement has taken a sharp detour. ()

* A high-speed rail project linking the three Baltic states embodies the economic hopes the European Union has placed on the fast-train technology. It also exemplifies one of high-speed's biggest hurdles: national borders. ()

* Russia is undertaking a series of long-delayed and politically sensitive economic overhauls aimed at boosting efficiency as the country struggles with the longest period of economic stagnation yet in Vladimir Putin's 13-year reign, according to a top official. ()

* European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co, fresh from streamlining its Airbus unit and its own complex corporate structure, is moving down its to-do list and trimming its defense operations to fit shrunken growth prospects. Top EADS executives Monday will meet with labor representatives to unveil their restructuring plans, according to people familiar with the discussions. ()