By a vote of 94 to three, the Senate on Tuesday approved the nomination of Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) to be the next secretary of state, succeeding Hillary Clinton. Kerry is scheduled to formally assume the post after Clinton steps down on Friday, reported the Los Angeles Times. Clinton served during the first four years of the Obama Administration. Obama nominated Kerry, a long-time senator, for the post in December. Kerry’s nomination hearing took place last week in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the panel that he led during the 112th Congress.
The design of the launch facilities for the Air Force’s new Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile are likely to undergo major revision, posing yet another challenge for the much-delayed and over-budget program to modernize the land-based component of America’s nuclear triad, officials said.