Dispatches

Oct. 22

The halls of Canadian Parliament rang with gunfire just before 10 a.m. as Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, a 32-year-old Muslim convert, staged an attack on the House of Commons with a Winchester rifle. Moments earlier Zehaf-Bibeau had shot and killed a ceremonial guard, Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, at the nearby National War Memorial. Casualties might have been worse but for a 58-year-old sergeant-at-arms, Kevin Vickers, who dived on his back to shoot the assailant inside an alcove. Zehaf-Bibeau died of his wounds. The attack appeared rashly planned and added to a series of violent incidents committed by radicalized Muslims in the West. Authorities worry “lone wolf” attacks are being motivated by the rapid growth of the militant Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (see "Radical turn" in this issue).

Battle for Kobani

Oct. 23

With bursts of flame and smoke, coalition airstrikes blew the black flag of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria off a strategic hill overlooking Kobani, the Syrian border city ISIS militants have been trying to capture for weeks. Kurdish fighters resisting ISIS regained control of the hill, Tel Shair, on Oct. 24 after ISIS captured it twice in previous days, aptly symbolizing the tug of war over the city. A U.S.-led coalition has dropped more than 1,700 bombs on ISIS territory, killing hundreds of rebel fighters and at least 32 Syrian civilians, according to humanitarian observers. U.S. cargo planes also dropped munitions and medical supplies for the Kurds.

Mountaintop Blizzard

Oct. 14

Nepalese rescue teams searched for survivors and bodies after a sudden blizzard struck the Himalayas on Oct. 14. The blizzard caused a whiteout and triggered avalanches while hundreds of hikers trekked through. At least 43 persons died, including Nepalese guides and hikers from India, Israel, Canada, China, Slovakia, Poland, and Japan. An Israeli medical student, Yakov Megreli, survived the storm by huddling all night with a dozen fellow hikers in a rickety tea hut: “We tried not to sleep. We tried not to get hypothermia. It was a very frightening and awful situation.”

Northwest shooting

Oct. 24

Freshman Jaylen Ray Fryberg, 15, took a .40-caliber pistol to Marysville-Pilchuck High School in Marysville, Wash., and shot five classmates before dying of a self-inflicted bullet wound. Two of the classmates died, both girls. Three others were hospitalized in serious or critical condition, including two of Fryberg’s cousins. Shocked schoolmates and acquaintances said Fryberg, who came from a prominent family in the nearby Tulalip Indian Reservation, was popular and outgoing. A week before the shooting, Fryberg had been named the freshman class’ homecoming prince at his high school.

Ebola wins and losses

Oct. 24

Doctors declared Dallas nurse Nina Pham free of Ebola and released her from a Maryland hospital—a joyous conclusion to two weeks of illness after Pham became the first case of Ebola transmission in the United States. “Throughout this ordeal, I put my trust in God and my medical team,” she said. Meanwhile, fears of Ebola spreading in subways or buses prompted the governors of New Jersey, New York, and Illinois to declare mandatory three-week quarantines for healthcare workers returning from treating Ebola patients in West Africa. One such nurse, quarantined in a medical tent at a New Jersey hospital, complained of “really inhumane” conditions, touching off debate over whether quarantine rules are too stringent and might discourage medical workers from lending their help in Africa. (For more on Ebola, see "Going viral" in this issue.)

End zone milestone

Oct. 19

Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning moved the goal posts of an NFL record during a Sunday night game against the San Francisco 49ers, throwing his 509th career touchdown pass—more than any other player. Manning threw touchdown number 510 later in the game, which the Broncos won 42-17. Retired quarterback Brett Favre, the previous touchdown pass leader, tweeted: “Well deserved Peyton. Congratulations on breaking my record. #Onto600.” Manning, in his 17th season, is 38 and has no immediate plans to retire.

Protest division

Oct. 19

As a pro-democracy demonstration on the streets of Hong Kong stretched to its fifth week, participation and momentum waned for “The Umbrella Revolution,” a protest against Beijing’s control of local elections. Citing disagreements among protester subgroups, the leaders of the demonstration canceled an electronic referendum planned for Oct. 26 that aimed to poll protesters about their views on the city’s election process. Meanwhile, tensions increased with city residents upset by crowds blocking traffic, and Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying still defied calls to resign.