Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (center) pauses during a news conference with Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., left, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., (not shown) and Sen. Patty Muray, D-Wash., right, on Capitol Hill in Washington. The federal government remains partially shut down and faces a first-ever default between October 17 and the end of the month.
A rescue worker searches the remains of a building that collapsed late Saturday, in Medellin, Colombia, on October 13. Medellin disaster preparedness chief Jaime Enrique Gomez says they're trying to rescue 11 people missing in the collapse of a high-rise building and they still hold out hope of finding all alive following the Saturday night collapse in one of the most exclusive neighborhoods of Medellin, Colombia's second-largest city.
Muslim pilgrims pray on a rocky hill called the Mountain of Mercy, near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on October 14. Joined by their faith and a desire to purify their souls, more than 2 million Muslims from nearly 200 countries gathered around a hill in Saudi Arabia on Monday marked by a small white pillar. It is here, in Mount Arafat on the Mountain of Mercy, known in Arabic as Jabal al-Rahma, that the Prophet Muhammad is believed to have delivered his last sermon to tens of thousands of followers, calling on Muslims to unite.
Ecology professor Ricardo Freitas, wearing camouflage barefoot sport shoes, sits on top of a broad-snouted caiman he captured to examine and then release back into the water channel in the affluent Recreio dos Bandeirantes suburb of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on October 14. While a few caimans wander from the canal, sometimes getting hit by cars, Freitas said he is aware of only one other person attacked by a caiman, a fisherman who was superficially bitten after he stepped on one.
A burst of fireworks go off near members of the so-called Black Bloc anarchist group during clashes with police after a march of striking teachers took place to mark National Teachers Day, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on October 15. Last week, a largely peaceful rally of teachers turned violent in Rio when small groups of masked protesters started hurling rocks and gasoline bombs and set fire to a passenger bus. Black Bloc anarchists, who earlier joined in the march with teachers, tried to incite the crowd Tuesday but were kept in check by other demonstrators.
A model showcases an outfit by Dubai-based Philippine fashion designer Michael Cinco on October 16 in Singapore during the Fide Fashion Week 2013 Asian Couture show.
President Barack Obama awards the Medal of Honor to former Army Capt. William D. Swenson of Seattle, Washington, during a ceremony in the East Room at the White House in Washington, on October 15. Swenson was being awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in a lengthy battle against Taliban insurgents in the Ganjgal valley near the Pakistan border on Sept. 8, 2009, which claimed the lives of five Americans, 10 Afghan army troops and an interpreter.