Kerry ‘not blind’ to Rouhani's past
Washington (CNN) - America's top diplomat dismissed concerns Sunday that the Obama administration was not being skeptical enough while the U.S. negotiates with Iran over its continued enrichment of uranium, activity widely assumed to be supporting a nuclear weapons program.
Secretary of State John Kerry emphatically told David Gregory on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday that "we are not blind, and I don't think we're stupid" when it comes to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's past claims that he could game the Western world in brokered talks while his nation continued to pursue its nuclear ambitions.
Graham to keep holds on Obama nominees
Washington (CNN) - Sen. Lindsey Graham vowed on Sunday that he would continue to block President Barack Obama's nominations until Congress hears from Benghazi survivors.
The South Carolina lawmaker told CNN's Candy Crowley on "State of the Union" that he will place holds on any nomination put forth by the administration unless it makes available five survivors of the September 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya, who have been interviewed by State Department investigators but remain out of Congress' reach.
Schumer backs Clinton in Iowa: '2016 is Hillary's time'
Washington (CNN) – There was no presidential contender at Saturday night’s Democratic Party Jefferson Jackson dinner in Iowa, but that doesn't mean 2016 news wasn’t made.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, used his keynote address in Des Moines to urge former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to enter the race, offering his full endorsement for her candidacy, proclaiming "2016 is Hillary’s time."
Shutdown could affect embassy security, Mideast aid
(CNN) - Compared to other U.S. government agencies, the State Department has been relatively lucky.
Because many of its accounts are appropriated more than a year at a time, there is money in most to keep almost all employees at work and all offices and overseas posts open for the near future.
But it isn't business as usual.
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Need a passport? Don't worry during shutdown, State Department says
(CNN) - For Americans applying for a passport, or citizens of other countries trying to get a visa to the United States, the current government shutdown won't have any effect, the State Department says.
The State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development are "national security agencies," which means they have national security responsibilities such as representing the United States overseas and representing to Americans what the country's foreign interests are.
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Government releases Syria chemical weapons assessment
Washington (CNN) - Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday that Syrian officials made preparations for chemical weapons use for three days prior to the August 21 attack, and that rockets were launched from areas controlled by the Syrian regime and landed in areas controlled by the opposition or contested.
Kerry said the American intelligence community has "high confidence" in what he called evidence and facts that the Syrian regime used chemical weapons, adding that "the questions is what are we ... in the world going to do about it."
He spoke as the government released an assessment by the U.S. intelligence community of the alleged August 21 attack.
"We assess with high confidence that the Syrian government carried out the chemical weapons attack against opposition elements in the Damascus suburbs," the report said.
4 U.S. State employees face reassignment
Washington (CNN) - Four State Department employees who were put on administrative leave after last year's attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, will be reassigned inside the department, a senior State Department official told CNN on Tuesday.
The four were placed on leave last December by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after the September 11 attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.
FULL STORYState Department: U.S.-Russia relations a 'roller coaster' at times
(CNN) - President Barack Obama canceled a visit to Moscow next month for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, an administration official told CNN on Wednesday.
Before the announcement, Obama was on "The Tonight Show" and discussed U.S.-Russia relations, saying, "There have been times where they slip back into Cold War thinking and a Cold War mentality. And what I consistently say to them and what I say to President Putin is, that's the past."
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Issa demands more Benghazi documents from State
(CNN) - The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is again issuing subpoenas for State Department documents involving the deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi last year.
But an adviser at the State Department said the latest demand is a head-scratcher.
Programming note: Was there a political cover up surrounding the Benghazi attack that killed four Americans? Watch a CNN special investigation — The Truth About Benghazi, Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET.
Kerry again swamped by nautical controversy
(CNN) - When it comes to public relations, John Kerry can't seem to keep his head above water.
After initially denying the report, the State Department released a correction Friday morning acknowledging that the Secretary of State was indeed yachting on Wednesday, the day Egypt's first democratically elected President Mohamed Morsy was overthrown by a coup staged by the Egyptian military.
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