News Wrap: House GOP mull choice for speaker

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• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  Canada's 35 million people woke today to a new political era, ushering out almost a decade of Conservative leadership. The Liberal Party won an outright majority in Parliament in Monday's election.

  The results mean that 43-year-old Justin Trudeau will be the country's new prime minister. President Obama called Trudeau today to congratulate him. We will look at how the Liberals did it after the news summary.

• GWEN IFILL:

  Here at home, the presidential field shrank by one today. Former Virginia Senator Jim Webb dropped out of the Democratic contest. Webb failed to gain traction in the polls, and now says he's not sure he will stay a Democrat.

  JIM WEBB (D), Former U.S. Senator: I fully accept that my views on many issues are not compatible with the power structure or the nominating base of the Democratic Party. That party is filled with millions of dedicated, hardworking Americans, but its hierarchy is not comfortable with many of the policies that I have laid forth, and, frankly, I'm not that comfortable with many of theirs.

• GWEN IFILL:

  Webb left the door open for a possible run as an independent.

• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  Republicans in the House of Representatives convened this evening to mull their choice for speaker. It came amid reports that Paul Ryan of Wisconsin is edging closer to running. He was the party's vice presidential nominee in 2012. A conservative faction pressured Speaker John Boehner to resign, and then drove Kevin McCarthy from the race to succeed him. The party caucus plans to meet again tomorrow night.

• GWEN IFILL:

  The United States and Russia signed an agreement today to limit the risk of incidents in the skies over Syria. Warplanes from both countries are carrying out airstrikes, and there've been reports of several close encounters.

  At the Pentagon, spokesman Peter Cook said the agreement doesn't include sharing target information, but it does lay out safety procedures.

• PETER COOK, Pentagon Press Secretary:

  These protocols include maintaining professional airmanship at all times, the use of specific communication frequencies, and the establishment of a communication line on the ground. The U.S. and Russia will form a working group to discuss any implementation issues that follow.

• GWEN IFILL:

  In Syria, Russian airstrikes overnight killed at least 45 people, including a rebel commander. A monitoring group in London says the strikes hit coastal Latakia province, the stronghold of President Bashar al-Assad. The monitors also reported three Russians were killed fighting alongside Syrian army troops. The Kremlin denied it.

• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  The top U.S. military officer is playing down chances that Iraq will ask for Russian airstrikes against Islamic State fighters. General Joseph Dunford offered that opinion today on his first trip to Iraq since becoming chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Dunford met first with the head of the Kurdish regional government in Irbil. Later, he conferred with the Iraqi defense minister in Baghdad.

• GWEN IFILL:

  U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon made a surprise visit to Jerusalem today, hoping to halt a wave of violence. He arrived as Palestinians clashed with Israeli soldiers in Ramallah in the West Bank. Elsewhere, two Palestinians were killed following separate attacks on Israelis.

  That brought this appeal from Ban:

• BAN KI-MOON, United Nations Secretary-General:

  No society should have to live in fear. No society can afford to see its youth suffer in hopelessness. If we do not act fast, the dynamics on the ground may only get worse, with serious repercussions in and beyond Israel and Palestine.

• GWEN IFILL:

  Ban is slated to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his trip.

• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  For the first time, officials in Japan have confirmed a case of cancer that may be linked to the Fukushima plant nuclear disaster. The plant was heavily damaged by an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. The patient announced today had installed covers on damaged reactors there. The man also worked at other nuclear sites, but most of his radiation exposure came at Fukushima.

• GWEN IFILL:

  And on Wall Street, weak earnings reports from IBM and others kept stocks down. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 13 points to close at 17217. The Nasdaq fell 24 points, and the S&P 500 slipped about three.