Sen. John Kerry has been confirmed as the next secretary of state by the full U.S. Senate on a 94-3 vote.
Kerry, a Vietnam War veteran and former Democratic presidential nominee, takes over for outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. His nomination was approved unanimously by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee earlier Tuesday. Ref. CNN
An agreement has been reached that "Establishes a basis for resuming direct final status negotiations between" Palestinians and Israel, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in Amman, Jordan. Ref. CNN
John Kerry isn't an anti-Semite, Bennett says:
Addressing the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, which is holding its annual Israel Leadership Mission this week at the Inbal Hotel in Jerusalem, Bennett slammed efforts to boycott Israeli products as a new kind of anti-Semitism and called upon world Jewry to counter such campaigns. Ref. Source 9
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had a bicycle accident in France on Sunday and was taken by helicopter to a hospital in nearby Geneva, Switzerland, for examination, said State Department spokesman John Kirby. Kerry has been alert and conscious throughout, Kirby said. Ref. CNN
Secretary of State John Kerry refuted accusations Wednesday that the United States crafted the controversial UN Security Council resolution that condemned Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
"We also strongly reject the notion that somehow the United States was the driving force behind this resolution," Kerry said in a speech at the State Department. Ref. CNN.