Midday roundup: Was hatchet attack on NYPD terrorism?

Questionable motives. A Queens resident attacked four rookie New York Police Department officers with a hatchet Thursday, wounding two of them before he was fatally shot. The attacker, 32-year-old Zale Thompson, had connections to Islam, though so far they go no further than a quote of the Quran on his Facebook page. He reportedly called for a guerilla-style revolution on American soil, but the reasons why are unclear. “There’s nothing we know at this time that would indicate that [Islamic terrorism] is the case,” NYPD Commissioner William Bratton told reporters during a press conference at Jamaica Hospital in Queens. “That’s what the investigation will attempt to determine.” The attacks happened the day after a lone gunman—a recent Muslim convert—opened fire at the Canadian Parliament, adding to fears that the ISIS revolution in the Middle East is inspiring homegrown terrorists in the West.

Deadly motives. ISIS used chlorine gas against Iraqis last month in an attack outside Baghdad, Iraqi officials confirmed Friday. The group likely seized the chlorine from water purification plants in territory it controls, meaning it has the expertise to manufacture some chemical weapons. In the attacks, about 40 troops and Shiite militiamen were slightly affected by the chlorine and showed symptoms consistent with chlorine poisoning, such as difficulty breathing and coughing, officials said. The troops were treated in hospital and quickly recovered. It is not the first time ISIS is believed to have used chemical weapons. Thursday, the Obama administration laid out steps to break up the terror group’s extensive financial network. Treasury Department Under Secretary David Cohen said ISIS is raking in money from kidnapping ransoms and even online donations through social media, but its main source of money is the sale of black market oil. The United States is working with allies in the Middle East to break up those oil sales.

Stern response. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was defiant on Thursday as he told Parliament in two languages his nation will remain a strong ally in the war on terrorism. Harper said changes have to be made in the wake of Wednesday’s shooting spree in Ottawa, but he was adamant that nothing will deter his country’s counter-terrorism efforts. “Our laws and police powers need to be strengthened in the area of surveillance, detention, and arrest,” he said. Harper was quick to label the shooting terrorism. Authorities say shooter Michael Zehar-Bibeau, a recent convert to Islam, acted alone and that he had a criminal history. They won’t say whether the shooter had any links to outside terrorist organizations.

Happy days on Wall Street. U.S. stock markets are soaring after hitting major turbulence last week, thanks to numerous big players reporting high earnings for the third quarter. UPS, Microsoft, and Proctor & Gamble are the latest companies to do a happy dance over third-quarter results. Amazon is being a party-pooper, though, reporting a loss in the third quarter despite a large increase in sales. The company insists it is in “investment mode,” spending what it makes on new business ventures that will yield profit in the future. But investors would rather see it in profit mode, and the company’s falling stock price reflects their disappointment.

WORLD Radio’s Jim Henry and The Associated Press contributed to this report.