News Wrap: Al-Shabaab kills dozens in Kenya

GWEN IFILL:

President Obama may be ready to announce his nominee for secretary of defense later this week. It was widely reported today that Ashton Carter will be the choice, after he's thoroughly vetted. He served as deputy defense secretary from October 2011 to December 2013.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest wouldn't confirm the reports, but he spoke highly of Carter.

JOSH EARNEST, White House Press Secretary:

He's somebody that certainly deserves and has demonstrated strong bipartisan support for his previous service in government. He is somebody that does have a detailed understanding of the way that the Department of Defense works. So, I think it's for all these reasons that it's been widely reported that Mr. Carter has been on the short list.

GWEN IFILL:

Chuck Hagel resigned as defense secretary last week, highlighting ongoing tensions between the Pentagon and the White House.

There's word today a woman who's married to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is being held in Lebanon. Authorities in Beirut say the woman and a boy who may be Baghdadi's son were detained near a border crossing with Syria. The officials suggested they may be swapped for more than 20 Lebanese soldiers and police held by Islamic State militants.

In Kenya, Al-Shabab militants have carried out a new mass killing of non-Muslims. This time, the victims were 36 workers at a quarry. Police loaded the bodies onto trucks after the massacre near the border with Somalia. Al-Shabab said the attack was in retaliation for the presence of Kenyan troops inside Somalia. But Kenya's president insisted the troops will not be withdrawn.

PRESIDENT UHURU KENYATTA, Kenya:

We will not flinch or relent in the war against terrorism in our country and our region. We shall continue to inflict painful casualties on these terrorists until we secure our country and region. Our stability and prosperity depends on a secure neighborhood.

GWEN IFILL:

The president also fired the interior minister and accepted the resignation of his national police chief.

Canada today warned its citizens to leave Afghanistan immediately for their own safety. In the last few weeks, Afghan insurgents have increasingly targeted foreigners, killing four since last Friday. The Canadian statement said the threat is extremely high.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, Prime Minister, Israel (through interpreter):

Israel's governing coalition crumbled today, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired two cabinet ministers and called for early elections. Longstanding tensions came to a head over a bill defining Israel as the Jewish state. The two centrist ministers charged it would discriminate against Israeli Arabs. In a televised address, Netanyahu rejected their criticism. In one word, that is called putsch. And that makes it impossible to run a government. That makes it impossible to lead a country. Therefore, also due to the necessity to ensure a stable and proper conduct of government, I decided to push forward legislation to dissolve the Knesset and go to election as soon as possible.

GWEN IFILL:

The early elections put the Israeli government in political limbo amid growing violence between Israelis and Palestinians.

Three founders of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement called today for protesters to retreat. The leaders also said they're turning themselves in. The protests demanding free elections in 2017 have paralyzed the city center for two months, and triggered violent clashes with police.

Back in this country, about 100 buildings in downtown Detroit lost power for much of the day, after a major cable failure. The lights went out around 10:30 in the morning, forcing public schools to dismiss students at midday. The bankrupt city's mayor, Mike Duggan, said the power grid run by the Public Lighting Department, or PLD, has not been modernized in decades.

MAYOR MIKE DUGGAN, Detroit:

Today is another reminder of how much work we still have to do to rebuild this city. And a bankruptcy order doesn't solve the decades of neglect in our infrastructure and that's what we saw today in the PLD system.

GWEN IFILL:

Power was fully restored by late this afternoon.

Thirty-five U.S. hospitals have been officially designated Ebola treatment centers, should the need arise. The Department of Health and Human Services released the list today. Most of the hospitals are in major cities, and have the best-trained staff and essential equipment. The announcement came as President Obama visited the National Institutes of Health to highlight progress toward an Ebola vaccine.

A federal report card out today finds U.S. hospitals are making fewer serious mistakes. Errors dropped 17 percent between 2010 and 2013. As a result, 50,000 fewer patients died and $12 billion in health care costs was saved.

In economic news, Chicago's City Council voted to increase the city's minimum wage nearly $5 to $13 an hour by 2019. It affects about 400,000 workers. And automakers reported surging sales in November. Chrysler led the way with a gain of 20 percent.

The upbeat news on auto sales and on construction helped Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average gained more than 102 points to close at 17879. The Nasdaq rose 28 points to close at 4755. And the S&P 500 added 13 to finish at 2066.