RUSH HOUR: The stories you need to know today

AMERICANS aren’t exactly famous for an extensive knowledge of geography, and once again, they’ve proven why. Just check out this embarrassing map.

TODAY:

• Gunfire has erupted in Canada’s parliament building and at the National War Memorial, leaving one soldier and one suspect dead;

• A reporter who was inside the parliament building when gunshots rang out captured amateur footage of the terrifying moment;

• The man who took down the gunman has been identified as sergeant-at-arms Kevin Vickers;

• Police in Bali have detained two of the housemaids working for Robert and Noor Ellis as suspects in Mr Ellis’ murder;

• Three people are dead, and a man has been arrested during a shooting and siege in western Victoria;

• Two Australians who went missing after an avalanche and blizzard in Nepal have been found alive;

• In less serious news, Americans have reinforced the perception that they know very little about geography.

LIVE UPDATES

9:56am

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says the government is seeking information from consular officials in Jakarta regarding two Australian pilots, who were forced to land by Indonesian jets after allegedly violating the airspace over Sulawesi.

“We have no specific details on what the Indonesian authorities intend to do,” Bishop told the Nine Network this morning. “We are getting details from the mission in Jakarta.”

Yesterday, Indonesian Brigadier General Hadi Tjahjanto said pilot Graeme Jackline and copilot Wayne McLean were being questioned by airport authorities.

“For now, they can’t fly, we’re waiting until the results of this investigation,” he said.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.

9:44am

You may have heard that Neil Patrick Harris will host the 2015 Oscars. Well, it turns out he was the producers’ fourth choice for the gig.

Craig Zadan and Neil Meron first “begged” Ellen DeGeneres to return for next year’s awards, but she was “firmly against” doing so. Chris Rock, who hosted the Oscars in 2005, was next in line, followed by Veep star Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Neil Patrick Harris: The Steve Bradbury of Oscars hosts.

9:31am

Police have responded to an apparent murder-suicide at Ben Taub General Hospital in Houston, Texas, The Chronicle reports.

Witnesses say a man shot a woman at the hospital’s pharmacy, where they both worked, then turned the gun on himself. Both people were pronounced dead a short time later. No one else was injured.

The man’s motive is still uncertain, but authorities have suggested he was trying to start a relationship with the woman.

Ben Taub Hospital.

9:21am

Two Australians who went missing after an avalanche and blizzard in Nepal last week have been found alive, the Seven Network reports.

Simon Wilde and his Sophie have finally made contact with their family.

Severe weather triggered by the tail end of Cyclone Hudhud hit trekking groups on the Annapurna circuit, as well as mountaineers trying to scale the avalanche-prone Mount Dhaulagiri, last Tuesday. The avalanche is thought to have killed 40 people.

#breaking: Sydney father & daughter, missing since last week's deadly Nepal blizzard, have been found safe and well pic.twitter.com/Po0gjTTqsr

— 7 News Sydney (@7NewsSydney) October 22, 2014

9:10am

Actor Frank Sivero is suing the creators of The Simpsons for allegedly ripping off the character he played in Goodfellas, IGN reports.

Sivero is asking for a cool $250 million. His complaint claims Simpsons producer James L. Brooks was “highly aware of who Sivero was, the fact that he created the role of Frankie Carbone, and that The Simpsons character Louie would be based on this character.”

It also claims Sivero “has suffered, and continues to suffer severe financial damages in the form of lost income the plaintiff should have received in compensation for his name and likeness being used.”

They do look alike.

9:01am

Reynolds American Inc, which manufactures Camel cigarettes, has banned the use of cigarettes, cigars and pipes in its offices, the Times Dispatch reports.

Yes, you read that right. The second biggest tobacco company in the US is banning cigarettes in its own building. Without even a hint of irony.

A cigarette company is banning cigarettes ... kind of.

8:45am

Taylor Swift’s fans will buy absolutely anything.

Overnight, something called “Track 3” was accidentally released on iTunes, with Taylor Swift the attributed artist. It was nothing more than eight seconds of white noise.

Nevertheless, the track rocketed to number one on the Canadian iTunes chart. People actually bought eight seconds of white noise. Remarkable.

The track in question has since been removed from the store.

Taylor Swift. She’s rather popular.

8:31am

Palmer United Party senator Jacqui Lambie has rejected a Liberal MP’s invitation to visit a mosque in western Sydney.

“It’s not my moral upbringing. I’m Australian,” Lambie told Sky News last night.

“I’m certainly not going to go out there, just because it’s going to be a media blitz standing outside a mosque.”

The invitation was extended by Craig Laundy, the member for Reid.

Palmer United Party Senator Jacqui Lambie knows a thing or two about creating a media circus.

8:21am

Four former employees of a security firm called Blackwater have been found guilty in connection with the shooting of more than 30 Iraqis in Baghdad in 2007, which left 14 people dead.

A jury in the US found Nicholas Slatten guilty of first-degree murder. Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin heard were found guilty of voluntary manslaughter.

The four men were guarding a diplomatic convoy on September 16, 2007 when they opened fire.

“People who could laugh, who could love, were turned into bloodied, bullet-riddled corpses, people who were not legitimate targets ... who were no real threat to them,” federal prosecutor Anthony Asuncion said during the trial.

Nicholas Slatten.

8:07am

A woman in Chengdu, China has spent an entire week in a KFC store mourning the end of her relationship, Metro UK reports.

“I hadn’t planned on staying there long. I just wanted some chicken wings. But once I got in there and started eating I decided I needed time to think,” said Tan Shen, 26.

“I didn’t want to go back to my apartment because it was full of memories of him. So I stayed.”

Staff realised she hadn’t left the store after three days, but they let her stay. She has since left the city to move in with her parents.

Deep down, don’t we all just want to live at KFC?

7:54am

An American who was arrested and held for nearly six months in North Korea for leaving a Bible at a nightclub returned home to Ohio on Wednesday to tears of joy, and hugs from his wife and children.

A plane carrying Jeffrey Fowle, who was released with help from retired diplomat and former Ohio congressman Tony Hall, landed at an Air Force base near Dayton, where he was reunited with his family.

“We had a great reunion for an American citizen coming home,” said Air Force Colonel John Devillier. “The reaction from his children was priceless.”

Jeffrey Fowle is greeted by his son and other family members upon his arrival.

Jeffrey Fowle, right, stands reunited with his wife Tatyana Fowle at their home in Ohio.

7:45am

The British government wants an NFL team to be based in London, but that’s probably not going to happen until Americans figure out where London is.

The Atlanta Falcons are due to play the Detroit Lions in the UK later this week, and to mark the occasion, the team has produced this infographic. I’m sure you can spot the problem.

Worst graphic ever? 1) It's two planes to London. 2) That's not even London. 3) Just look at the UK. #NFL pic.twitter.com/a3mK74Szej

— Matt Jones (@mr_mdjones) October 22, 2014

7:27am

Doctors have managed to open and close the blood-brain barrier — a layer of cells protecting brain tissue — at will for the first time, New Scientist reports.

The barrier makes it difficult to treat brain disorders because it blocks the passage of drugs to the brain.

A team from medical start-up CarThera opened it using “an ultrasound brain implant and an injection of microbubbles”. In short, this breakthrough could make it easier to treat tumours, cancer and Alzheimer’s.

7:14am

In lighter news, Renée Zellweger has responded to all that chatter about her face. She doesn’t seem too upset.

“I’m glad folks think I look different! I’m living a different, happy, more fulfilling life, and I’m thrilled that perhaps it shows,” Zellweger said in a statement to PEOPLE Magazine.

“My friends say that I look peaceful. I am healthy. For a long time I wasn’t doing such a good job with that. I took on a schedule that is not realistically sustainable and didn’t allow for taking care of myself.”

If you don’t know what’s going on here, read this story from yesterday.

Renée Zellweger does look a bit different these days.

7:00am

Oscar Pistorius has spent the first night of his five-year jail sentence in a single cell in the hospital wing of Kgosi Mampuru prison in Pretoria.

He seemed confused and tired when he entered the Kgosi Mampuru facility, prison commissioner Zebilon Monama told the South African Press Association on Wednesday.

Monama said Pistorius was tense as wardens took his fingerprints and the prison chaplain met with him soon after his prison number was issued on Tuesday.

“After he saw the chaplain, our psychologist went to see him just to try to talk to him,” said Monama.

Pistorius had a medical examination before being locked in his cell in a separate wing of the prison, where he joined eight other inmates with disabilities.

Oscar Pistorius is escorted to a police vehicle to be transported to prison following his sentencing.

6:45am

Police in Bali say two of the housemaids working for Robert and Noor Ellis have been detained as suspects in Mr Ellis’ murder.

Mrs Ellis has been accused of ordering a hit on her husband. Police now allege that two of the housemaids kept the family’s dog quiet while the murder was underway and helped dump the body in a ditch.

The 60-year-old man’s throat had been slashed and his hands and feet tied up.

You can read more about the disturbing case here.

6:30am

The man who took down the gunman in Canada’s parliament building has been identified as 58-year-old sergeant-at-arms Kevin Vickers, the Canadian Press reports.

He’s a former police officer who spent 29 years with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, achieving the rank of chief superintendent. According to The Huffington Post, Vickers was once responsible for security services provided to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Andrew, and he was director of security operations for the House of Commons before becoming sergeant-at-arms.

“MPs and Hill staff owe their safety, even lives, to sergeant-at-arms Kevin Vickers who shot attacker just outside the MPs’ caucus rooms,” tweeted Craig Scott, a politician with the New Democratic party.

“I am safe and profoundly grateful to sergeant-at-arms Kevin Vickers and our security forces for selfless act of keeping us safe,” said Veterans Affairs Minister Julian Fantino.

MPs credit Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers with saving them from shooter http://t.co/WuyL9Gc4HN pic.twitter.com/MeEev6E93O

— Yahoo Canada News (@YahooCanadaNews) October 22, 2014

Kevin Vickers, head of security in parliament & 29 yr vet of RCMP. Being credited for taking down shooter #Ottawa pic.twitter.com/LpAUkIqwvi

— Affan Chowdhry (@affanchowdhry) October 22, 2014

Heroic actions by Sgt. at Arms Kevin Vickers today. He saved lives.

— Mercedes Stephenson (@CTVMercedes) October 22, 2014

Remind me to hug Kevin Vickers next time I see him.

— kady o'malley (@kady) October 22, 2014

Speak softly and carry a big stick. Kevin Vickers is a hero. pic.twitter.com/LNxBLnBAtE

— Stephen Taylor (@stephen_taylor) October 22, 2014

6:15am

Three people are dead, and a man has been arrested during a shooting and siege in western Victoria.

Police were called to a property in Wedderburn last night, where they found one person dead. A suspect held them at bay for four hours, but was eventually arrested around midnight.

A nearby property was searched, and two more bodies were recovered.

Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.

5:55am

A reporter from The Globe and Mail, who was inside the Canadian parliament building when gunshots rang out, captured amateur footage of the terrifying moment.

The video shows police advancing cautiously down a hallway, then ducking for cover. A series of loud shots can be heard.

5:50am

Gunfire has erupted in the Canadian capital, Ottawa, leaving one soldier and one suspect dead.

The soldier was standing guard at the National War Memorial when he was shot. Witnesses say he was gunned down by a man dressed all in black with a scarf over his face.

“One shooting victim succumbed to injuries. He was a member of the Canadian forces. Our thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones,” the Ottawa Police and Royal Canadian Mounted Police said. “One male suspect has also been confirmed as deceased.”

Shortly afterwards, there were shots inside the Canadian parliament. According to authorities, one gunman was killed, but police are still searching for as many as two others.

People fled Parliament by scrambling down scaffolding erected for renovations, while others took cover inside as police with rifles and body armour took up positions outside and blocked the normally bustling streets around the building. A sergeant-at-arms has been credited with taking down the gunman.

Ottawa Hospital said it received two patients, both listed in stable condition, in addition to the soldier.

Police teams enter Centre Block at Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

An Ottawa police officer runs with his weapon drawn outside the parliament.

5:40am

Good morning, and welcome to our “headlines in a hurry” news coverage. We will be bringing you the morning’s biggest stories so you can get across the news quickly.