Chatter: Machete terrorist attack in London

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NEED TO KNOW

Soldier killed in terror attack in London: A British soldier was murdered and possibly decapitated in a south London street yesterday by two men, apparently British-born Muslim converts. It is the first terrorist murder on UK soil since the 7/7 bombings in 2005.

The two men carrying knives, meat cleavers and a firearm rammed their victim with a car as he left the Royal Artillery barracks in Woolwich, then began stabbing him as he lay on the ground. Police shot the two men at the scene of Wednesday's attack, and they remain under arrest in the hospital.

The BBC reports that shortly after the killing, one man — his hands covered in blood — was filmed by a passer-by, saying he carried out the attack because British soldiers killed Muslims every day. One of eyewitnesses recording the attack was a rapper named Boya Dee. Read his live tweets here.

Possible Africa connections: The police are leaking that one of the attackers is of Nigerian descent, according to Reuters, and there is speculation that at least one of them tried to travel to Somalia to join Al Shabaab.

Unlikely hero: A brave scout leader has emerged as a hero amid horror. Ingrid Loyau-Kennett got off a bus and tried to reason with the two attackers after she tried to help the man lying on the street but found he had no pulse and was already dead. The 48-year-old mother kept talking to the two bloody attackers before police came, trying to keep them calm.

WANT TO KNOW

New rules for drones: In a speech at the National Defense University today, Obama is expected to announce restrictions on the use of unmanned drones, which the US recently acknowledged killed four Americans outside Afghanistan and Iraq. Obama is also expected to announce renewed efforts to close Gitmo.

Landlocked Luxembourg: This Rhode Island-sized country's motto is "We want to stay what we are" — hardly surprising given that its citizens are among the world’s richest. The World Bank puts their output per head at $107,000, compared to just $50,000 for Americans. But that may not stay true for long. Luxembourg is accused of offering a haven for tax evaders in the heart of Europe.

STRANGE BUT TRUE

Awesome octogenarian: An 80-year-old Japanese man who has had four heart surgeries became the oldest person ever to conquer Mt. Everest. Hey, Yuichiro Miura, what have you done this morning? 

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