The Norman Transcript

Headlines

Discussion

January 30, 2013

Senate confirms Kerry nomination

By Donna Cassata Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Senate overwhelmingly confirmed President Barack Obama’s choice of five-term Sen. John Kerry to be secretary of state, with Republicans and Democrats praising him as the ideal successor to Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The vote Tuesday was 94-3. One senator — Kerry — voted present and accepted congratulations from colleagues on the Senate floor. The roll call came just hours after the Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously approved the man who has led the panel for the past four years.

No date has been set for Kerry’s swearing-in, but in a letter to Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, Kerry says his resignation is effective at 4 p.m. Friday. The State Departments plans a welcoming ceremony for Kerry on Monday.

Obama tapped Kerry, 69, the son of a diplomat, decorated Vietnam veteran and 2004 Democratic presidential candidate, to succeed Clinton, who is stepping down after four years. The Massachusetts Democrat, who had pined for the job but was passed over in 2009, has served as Obama’s unofficial envoy, smoothing fractious ties with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“Sen. Kerry will need no introduction to the world’s political and military leaders and will begin Day One fully conversant not only with the intricacies of U.S. foreign policy, but able to act on a multitude of international stages,” said Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., who will succeed Kerry as committee chairman.

Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, the panel’s top Republican, called Kerry “a realist” who will deal with unrest in Egypt, civil war in Syria, the threat of al-Qaida-linked groups in Africa and Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Kerry, a forceful proponent of climate change legislation, also will have a say in whether the United States moves ahead on the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada, a divisive issue that has roiled environmentalists.

For local news and more, subscribe to The Norman Transcript Smart Edition, or our print edition.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Headlines
  • Severe Weather Plaza Towers teacher’s aide recounts twister

    When the tornado siren sounded at Plaza Towers Elementary in Moore on Monday afternoon, Maylene Sorrels had one reaction: protect her students....

    May 22, 2013 1 Photo

  • Tornado_Search_&_Rescue_1_BV Officials vow not to quit looking until everyone is found

    The tornado that killed 24 people and injured at least 100 others in the Moore and Oklahoma City area cut a17 mile long path that started in Newcastle and ended at Lake Stanley Draper. Nine of the dead are children....

    May 22, 2013 1 Photo

  • First victim identified

    MOORE — The first victim of Moore’s tornado was identified by family as 9-year-old Janae Hornsby, a Plaza Towers Elementary student, according to a local news station....

    May 22, 2013

  • P1013515 Norman church serves storm victims

    Journey Church was humming with activity Tuesday morning as hundreds of volunteers worked to organize donated goods for the victims of Monday’s tornado in Moore....

    May 22, 2013 2 Photos

  • 20130521_mooretornado4 Joplin pays it forward to Moore following Monday twister

    MOORE — Joplin is paying it forward. The day before the two-year anniversary of an EF-5 leveling one-third of Joplin, pastors from Ignite Church responded to Moore, where an EF-5 spent 40 minutes on the ground....

    May 22, 2013 1 Photo

  • Curfew set for Moore; search process explained

    Police arrested two men on looting complaints Tuesday after homeowners saw the men and alerted authorities, said Moore Police Department spokesman Jeremy Lewis....

    May 22, 2013

  • City awarded communities incentive grant

    The city of Norman was one of 21 cities recently awarded a Healthy Communities Incentive Grant from the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust....

    May 22, 2013

  • little axe 1 Little Axe seniors celebrate graduation

    Family, friends and faculty set aside grief and concern for Sunday’s and Monday’s tornado devastation Tuesday evening and celebrated the graduation of the Little Axe High School class of 2013....

    May 22, 2013 1 Photo

  • County crews will assess property damages

    The Cleveland County assessor expects that the number of homes destroyed by Monday’s tornado will exceed the total from the May 1999 tornado that devoured much Moore....

    May 22, 2013

  • Through the field of wreckage

    Again, it was Moore. For the third time in less than 15 years, residents of this city of about 60,000 must mourn their dead, help the living and pick up the pieces of shattered lives that now lay in a field of wreckage....

    May 22, 2013