Good morning, this is Eleanor Ainge Roy bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Friday 6 October. Top stories Republicans have indicated they could be open to passing the first successful US gun control legislation in years, following the deadly Las Vegas shooting this week. The party, which controls Congress, is not ruling out a ban on bump stock devices such as those used by the shooter. As the Democrats push for a full ban on the accessories that turn guns into rapid-fire weapons, the speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, signalled the Republicans could be willing to consider restrictions, saying it was something the government needed "to look into". Ryan, a frequent hunter, said of bump stock devices: "I didn't even know what they were until this week." In a stunning about-turn, the powerful pro-gun lobby group the National Rifle Association also called for "additional regulations" on bump stocks in its first public comments since the massacre that claimed 58 lives and injured more than 500. The NRA blamed the Obama administration for easing access to bump stocks, which are selling out as gun enthusiasts react to reports they may be outlawed. The Republican party has thwarted legislative gun control reform over the past decade, even as the horrors of Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook and Orlando piled up. Australia is set to become the world's largest gas exporter over the next two years, even as the domestic supply becomes so tight that Malcolm Turnbull has had to twist the arms of the big gas companies to prevent shortfalls. Figures out today show the value of gas exports will surge by nearly 60% by 2019, from $22.3bn to $35.4bn. The surge in gas production will predominantly come from Australia's western and northern gas markets, when three large projects under construction come online. Potentially carcinogenic firefighting chemicals discovered in a Victorian wetland may have been spread across the state by commercial fishing practices. The Victorian Environment Protection Authority has warned people not to eat fish or eels caught in the Heart Morass wetlands near Sale, but the seafood industry says most produce caught there commercially is restocked elsewhere. The scare is the latest episode in the developing scandal of toxic chemicals known as PFAS that were used for nearly half a century at airports and military bases across Australia. The British author Kazuo Ishiguro has won the Nobel prize in literature. Ishiguro, who won the Man Booker prize for The Remains of the Day, was praised by the Swedish Academy for his "novels of great emotional force", which it said had "uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world". Beating Margaret Atwood and Haruki Murakami, Ishiguro was the surprise choice, but his blue-chip literary credentials return the award to more familiar territory after last year's controversial selection of the singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Ishiguro said he was amazed by the unexpected news: "I just hope that my receiving this huge honour will, even in a small way, encourage the forces for goodwill and peace at this time." Scientists have confirmed that insects found near Lord Howe Island are a genetic match for the island's stick insects, which were believed to have been wiped out 100 years ago. The insects were abundant on Lord Howe until rats arrived on ships in 1918 and caused their supposed extinction. In 2001 scientists found very similar insects on a remnant volcano 23km off the main island and now advances in DNA technology have proved that they are the critically endangered Dryococelus australis, which could be used to repopulate Lord Howe. "When we think about stories we hear about extinction events, more often than not the history is for things to get worse," said Sasha Mikheyev, the lead author of the study. "Very rarely there's a chance to go and fix something." Sport The Socceroos have drawn with Syria 1-1 in a controversial match played in Malacca. The Socceroos held a solitary one-goal lead for 45 minutes after Robbie Kruse's strike in the first half but a disputed penalty, tucked home by Omar Al Soma with five minutes left, gave the Syrians a lifeline going into the return leg in Sydney. After the Wallabies' two recent draws against the Springboks, is it time to introduce extra time in Test matches? Bret Harris says there is "nothing worse than walking off the field feeling nothing or leaving the grandstand without a cheer or even a tear". Thinking time | 
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Dashenka Giraldo and her cousin Elisabeth Apcar light candles at a makeshift memorial on the North end of Las Vegas Boulevard just a few miles from where the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival was held. Photograph: Otto/ZUMA Wire/REX/Shutterstock 
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