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KNOW IT ALL: Thursday's Top 7 Stories at NBC News

From the deadly shootings at Canada's capital Parliament to good news on the Ebola front in the U.S., see the stories we're following.
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Good morning, and happy Thursday. Here are some of the stories we’re following today:

1. Canada on guard after terrorist-linked shooting

Ottawa and its capital buildings were on lockdown after a gunman opened fire Wednesday morning, killing one soldier in an attack being linked to terrorism. The suspect, a 32-year-old convert to Islam named Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, was shot dead by the sergeant-at-arms. No motive has yet been determined in the shooting, which comes two days after another man described as an Islamic convert ran down two Canadian soldiers, killing one of them. Security was stepped up Thursday around the Canadian capital. Read more in NEWS.

2. Relief for two American Ebola patients

After weeks of bad news about various Americans contracting Ebola in West Africa or while treating patients, there’s at least some relief on the home front. NBC News freelance cameraman Ashoka Mukpo was allowed to leave the hospital Wednesday after being declared free of the virus. Meanwhile, blood tests for infected Dallas nurse Amber Vinson have come back negative for Ebola. She’ll remain at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta until she officially recovers and is deemed Ebola-free. Read more in HEALTH.

Mukpo sat down exclusively with NBC News to talk about the lessons he’s learned:

3. Man arrested for scaling White House fence

A 23-year-old Maryland man was stopped after hopping the fence Wednesday night. Video shows him kicking and punching two Secret Service dogs before he was apprehended. The incident follows other similar attempts in recent weeks, including a major breach of security on Sept. 19. That suspect, Omar Gonzalez, allegedly made it past the lawn and into the East Room of the White House before he was stopped. The breach contributed to Secret Service Director Julia Pierson losing her job. Read more in NEWS.

4. NFL commish expected to testify in Rice hearing

Commissioner Roger Goodell will tesify in Ray Rice’s appeal of his indefinite suspension for domestic violence, sources told NBC News. Rice, the former Baltimore Ravens running back, was suspended after video was leaked of him assaulting his now-wife in a casino elevator. Rice has said that he told Goodell about the incident in June, but Goodell insists Rice’s story was “ambiguous.” His appeal hearing is scheduled for Nov. 5 and 6. Read more in SPORTS.

5. Suspected Indiana serial killer charged in second death

Darren Deon Vann, the Gary, Indiana, man believed to have killed at least seven women, was charged Wednesday with murder in the death of a 35-year-old woman. The victim’s body was found late Saturday, and she had been missing since Oct. 8. Vann, 43, made his first court appearance earlier in the day, but frustrated the judge by refusing to speak or enter a plea. Read more in NEWS.

6. Partial solar eclipse to give a celestial show

The moon will be passing between the Earth and the sun on Thursday in a partial solar eclipse. People throughout North America will get in on the action, with those in the north getting the best seats. Unfortunately, New England is left out of the fun; the sun will set there just before the moon’s shadow touches down. If you plan to view the eclipse in person, remember: Don’t look directly at the sun. It may be partly obscured, but all it takes is a sliver of sun on an unprotected eye to cause eye damage or even blindness. Read more in SCIENCE.

7. Pa. man repeatedly mistaken as manhunt suspect

It’s been a tough month for one Pennsylvania man. James Tully, who walks to and from work in Monroe County, says police looking for suspected cop killer Eric Frein have stopped him once a day, asking him where he is going. It’s happened so frequently — seven times in one day — that it has become a routine, he said. The search for Frein, meanwhile, is ongoing. Read more in NEWS.

… What’s trending today?

There’s apparently nothing that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg can’t do. The 30-year-old billionaire blew everyone away at a Q&A in Beijing this week by speaking entirely in Mandarin. “My Chinese is very bad, but I’ll try to use Chinese today,” he told university students. But there was no mention about whether Facebook, which is still being blocked by Chinese authorities, would one day become available in the country.