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GWEN IFILL: In other news, three neuroscientists will share this year’s Nobel Prize for Medicine for work that could lead to advances in diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease. British-American John O’Keefe and two Norwegians, Edvard and May-Britt Moser, discovered a kind of inner GPS system that helps humans orient themselves.
Edvard Moser spoke today in Germany, where he was traveling.
EDVARD MOSER, Nobel Prize, Medicine: We are just trying to figure out how the brain works. And that is extremely important on a more long-term prospective, because if you find the basic principles that control how the brain operates, we will be able to, in the long term, to treat every kind, all kinds of neurological and psychiatric diseases.
GWEN IFILL: The three Nobel laureates will share the prize of about $1.1 million.
In Syria, Islamic State forces pressed even closer to a key Kurdish town near the Turkish border. Fighting raged around Kobani all through the weekend, with the militants blasting away with artillery and mortars. Today, plumes of smoke rose from shell hits, and black Islamic State flags appeared on hilltops and buildings on the eastern side of the town. Kurdish forces said they still hold the city’s center.
The protests that gridlocked downtown Hong Kong appeared to wane today, and the city returned to work. Pro-democracy demonstrators numbered only a few hundred. And they’d pulled back barricades blocking the main business district.
In a televised statement today, Hong Kong’s leader urged the remaining protesters to go home.
LEUNG Chun-Ying, Chief Executive, Hong Kong (through interpreter): There are lots of teenagers and students with passion who love Hong Kong who are taking part in various gatherings. However, some of them are aggressive and use violence. The police will firmly take enforcement action against those who use violence.
GWEN IFILL: Talks have begun between the government and activists, but some protest leaders are vowing to stand their ground until demands for fully free elections are met.
A presidential run-off campaign kicked off today in Brazil, where Latin America’s largest economy has been stagnating. Leftist incumbent Dilma Rousseff is seeking a second term. She won 42 percent in Sunday’s first round. Challenger Aecio Neves is a pro-business candidate who surged late in the campaign and won 34 percent.
Struggling tech giant Hewlett-Packard confirmed today it plans to split into two companies. H.P. will separate its computer and printer businesses into one, while the other focuses on technology services, including data storage and software. Like other P.C. makers, H.P. has labored to keep pace as customers shift to smartphones and tablets and away from desk and laptops.
Wall Street started the week on a down note, amid uncertainty about interest rates. The Dow Jones industrial average lost more than 17 points to close below 16,992; the Nasdaq fell more than 20 points to close at 4,454; and the S&P 500 shed three to finish at 1,964.
And a death of note in the entertainment world. Dancer, actor and choreographer Geoffrey Holder passed away Sunday in New York. At 6’6”, he cut a striking figure on stage and screen. In 1975, he won Tony Awards for directing and designing the costumes for “The Wiz,” an all-black update of “The Wizard of Oz.” He also played a James Bond villain in “Live and Let Die.” Along the way, a TV commercial gave him an even higher profile.
GEOFFREY HOLDER, Dancer/Choreographer/Actor: For an equal refreshment, the un is the one, 7-Up, the uncola. Ahh.
GWEN IFILL: Geoffrey Holder was 84 years old.
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