Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton shows off her updated hairstyle at the inauguration of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Hillary Clinton shows off her updated hairstyle at the inauguration of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio
[youtube sWcwlawiu9s 650]
In a Huffington Post blog, Charles Ferguson said pressure from Hillary Clinton supporters in the Democratic Party led to many sources shying away.
In August, the opposition Republican Party voted to boycott debates on CNN if the programme went ahead.
It also said it would boycott NBC, which plans a mini-series on Hillary Clinton.
The latter series, still in the early stages of production, is set to star actress Diane Lane as the former First Lady.
Hillary Clinton documentary project has been cancelled after its director Charles Ferguson said political interference had made the film impossible
Hillary Clinton, wife of President Bill Clinton, has been closely watched as a possible contender for the Democratic Party’s 2016 nomination since leaving her position as secretary of state under President Barack Obama in January.
In his blog, Charles Ferguson wrote: “When I approached people for interviews, I discovered that nobody, and I mean nobody, was interested in helping me make this film.
“Not Democrats, not Republicans – and certainly nobody who works with the Clintons, wants access to the Clintons, or dreams of a position in a Hillary Clinton administration.
“After painful reflection, I decided that I couldn’t make a film of which I would be proud. And so I’m cancelling. (Not because of any pressure from CNN – quite the contrary).
“It’s a victory for the Clintons, and for the money machines that both political parties have now become. But I don’t think that it’s a victory for the media, or for the American people.”
The Republican National Committee (RNC) had claimed both the CNN and NBC productions amounted “to little more than extended commercials promoting former Secretary Clinton” and “political ads masked as unbiased entertainment”.
CNN has not commented on the cancellation of the project.
[youtube thTjgqF2U6I]
The lavish gifts include diamond-and-ruby-encrusted jewels worth $500,000 received by Hillary Clinton from the Saudi Arabian king.
Hillary Clinton’s gifts from King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz – which included a necklace, bracelet, earrings and a ring – were by far the most expensive items among the hundreds of gifts given to U.S. officials in 2012.
The gift-giving continues a long-held tradition of international diplomacy, in which the wealthy and powerful show their appreciation for one another by exchanging artwork, jewelry, electronics and other presents.
Most of the items are required to be donated to the national archives, though a few may be kept depending on their value. The Hill newspaper first reported on the gifts.
In addition to her jewels from Saudi Arabia, Hillary Clinton also received wine from Algeria; a two-piece bronze sculpture of a red chili pepper from Singapore; a cuff bracelet, necklace and earrings from Kazakhstan; caviar and a wool carpet from Azerbaijan; Cognac from Russia; gold, sapphire and diamond jewelry worth $58,000 from Brunei; and a sword from Yemen.
Among President Obama’s gifts were: Christmas mugs, coffee, and steak knives from Brunei; a basketball autographed by Chinese President Xi Jinping; a ‘silver figure representing [an] oversized coffee bean’ from Colombia; a leather wallet and tote bag from France; a porcelain vase decorated with images of the White House and Kremlin from Russia; a chest of liquor and a Coca-Cola bottle decorated with beads from Mexico; and a 41-inch saber from Mongolia.
Hillary Clinton received $500,000 diamond-and-ruby-encrusted jewels from Saudi Arabia King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz
Gifts were also given to Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, former CIA Chief David Petraeus and Chief Justice John Roberts, among others.
Joe Biden’s gifts included a silver knife and chopsticks from Mongolia, a leather cigar box from Mexico, and a female bare-breasted bust from Liberia.
In every case, officials accepted the items because “non-acceptance would cause embarrassment to donor and US”, according to a document provided by the State Department.
President Barack Obama’s gifts included:
Hillary Clinton’s gifts included:
Joe Biden’s gifts included:
One insider recalls how Bill Clinton could wolf down six pork chops a day and was known to gobble half a strawberry cake in a single sitting.
Another story tells of an aide having to step in after he bought a dozen doughnuts during a campaign stop in New Hampshire to prevent him polishing off the lot.
Now one cunning former White House chef has revealed how he was able to fool President Clinton by secretly slipping low-fat ingredients into his favorite dishes.
Marty Mongiello was so concerned he might be contributing to the early death of a president that he began experimenting “like a mad scientist” with healthy alternatives.
He began using pureed rice mixed with milk as a substitute for cream, soy paste instead of beef stock, tofu instead of cheese and splenda instead of sugar.
In 1993, First Lady Hillary Clinton became so concerned about her husband’s penchant for junk food, that she brought in diet guru Dr. Dean Ornish to work with the White House chefs who were used to preparing calorie-laden French cuisine.
Together they created a healthy menu with dishes like stir fry vegetables with tofu, and salmon with vegetables.
Bill Clinton’s voracious appetite and love of all things lardy became the stuff of legend
Once after preparing a naughty-looking fettuccine Alfredo starter for the Clintons at Camp David, Marty Mongiello was summoned to the table by concerned Hilary Clinton.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Marty Mongiello recalls a waiter telling him: “She wants to see you out there. Dude, you’re gonna get fired.”
“She said, <<Look, there’s cream, there’s cheese – these things are illegal>>. And I just explained how I made it.”
“Her reaction was: <<Wow, I can’t believe it. We thought those were a thing of the past>>.
“She wasn’t mad or anything, she was just really concerned about her husband’s health.”
Another dish that fooled Bill Clinton was a tofu cheesecake which used egg-whites and low-calorie cream cheese.
Despite the low fat regime Bill Clinton still struggled with his weight during his two terms as president.
At his annual physical in 1999, his physician noted the president had gained 18 lbs in two years.
When Bill Clinton left office his eating habits went downhill and in 2004 he had a quadruple heart bypass and was forced to adjust his diet once again.
Then in 2010 after doctors implanted two stents to open one of the veins from that surgery Bill Clinton adopted a vegan diet and has since lost a reported 24 lbs.
Robin Williams, 62, who rose to fame as the alien Mork in the hit series, will play an eccentric advertising agency boss in the sitcom.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s Sarah Michelle Gellar will play his daughter.
The show, from Ally McBeal creator David E. Kelley, is due to air in the US in September.
Robin Williams said he hopes audiences will be drawn to his character, Simon Roberts, and will enjoy watching how he relates to his daughter.
“You have to establish a character that people buy into,” he said.
Robin Williams stars in new sitcom The Crazy Ones with Sarah Michelle Gellar
“I think people will buy into not just my character but the relationship with everybody else. He has good ideas and bad ones.”
Robin Williams, who was known for his improvisation skills in Mork & Mindy, will be given the freedom to ad lib and be spontaneous in The Crazy Ones.
“He says my words perfectly. Then he uses his,” said David E. Kelley.
“He manages inside the box, then we give him a few takes where he gets to take out of it.”
The show is one of a number of new shows added to the autumn TV line-up in the US.
A new four-hour mini-series on NBC will see Diane Lane in the role of former first lady and Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.
NBC said the show, simply named Hillary, will track Hillary Clinton’s life and career from 1998 to the present.
The series will air ahead of the 2016 US presidential election.
Hillary Clinton has not said whether she will make another run for the Democratic nomination for president.
[youtube Qz-8JoUQzE0]
Chelsea Clinton attended Stanford University and went to Columbia for an M.P.H. before becoming an NBC News correspondent.
According to reports, the former First Daughter has an IQ score of 127. Not genius, but above average.
She is an advocate for women’s rights, AIDS research and global humanitarianism.
Her name was chosen based on the Joni Mitchell’s song, Chelsea Morning. At the time of her birth, father William Jefferson Clinton was serving his first term in office as the governor of Arkansas.
Chelsea’s mother, attorney Hillary Rodham Clinton, was a partner at the Rose Law Firm in Little Rock.
Despite their hectic schedules, the Clintons made their only child the center of their busy lives.
Chelsea Clinton’s father kept a small desk for his daughter in his office and had breakfast with her every morning. Hillary Clinton interrupted her schedule to talk to Chelsea when she came home from school, helped out on class field trips and frequently left loving messages at Forest Park Elementary School for Chelsea while she was away on business.
Determined to foster independence and intellectual curiosity, the Clintons often pushed Chelsea hard to succeed. The precocious girl began studying ballet at the age of 4, skipped the third grade, and learned how to invest in the stock market when she was barely 11. After reading an article in a life sciences class that discussed the detrimental effects red meat has on the body, Chelsea Clinton also became a strict vegetarian.
Living at the White House
Chelsea Clinton, who was used to being shielded from her parents’ very public jobs, experienced a huge life change in 1993, when her father was elected the 42nd President of the United States. As the pre-teen child of the new First Family, Chelsea Clinton experienced intense media scrutiny. Entering an awkward, adolescent phase of her life didn’t help matters, and the young Clinton often endured jokes about her appearance. As a result of the intense publicity, the Clintons developed an unspoken pact with the press that Chelsea was strictly off limits.
Outside of the White House, Chelsea Clinton’s parents encouraged her to live as normal a life as possible. She attended Sidwell Friends School, where she excelled in history and science, and began taking ballet courses at the Washington School of Ballet. During her teenage years, she was so active and involved – pursuing a role in the Model United Nations, practicing for theatre and ballet performances, and even attending math camp – that she reportedly earned the Secret Service code name “Energy.”
In April 1995, Chelsea Clinton made what some called a “debut” to the national media, when she joined her mother on a tour of India. The press gave her positive reviews, and made special note of her intelligence and compassion.
Chelsea Clinton IQ score is 127
College years
In 1997, Chelsea Clinton made the decision to attend Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, with the intention of studying pre-med.
Now an adult, she became a frequent topic in the press, who made headlines out of her romantic relationships with fellow student Matthew Pierce, as well as former White House intern Jeremy Kane. In addition to this pressure, her sophomore year was fraught with complications from the news of her father’s affair with White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. It was during this time that she brought the family together, both publicly and privately.
According to her mother’s memoirs, Chelsea Clinton was present during the meeting in which her father and his advisers debated how to acknowledge his affair with the nation.
When her parents were first seen together again after the news, Chelsea Clinton was there as well, symbolically clasping the hands of both parents in public.
While navigating these tricky social matters, Chelsea Clinton also managed a rigorous school schedule.
In her junior year, Chelsea Clinton changed her major from medicine to history and began work on her thesis project: the Northern Ireland peace process (for which she interviewed, among other sources, her father). After delivering her 167-page thesis, Chelsea Clinton headed to Oxford University in England to pursue a master’s degree in International Relations.
Professional career
In 2003, after graduation, Chelsea Clinton joined the consulting firm McKinsey & Company in New York City, becoming the youngest person in her class to be hired. After three years with the firm, she joined the hedge fund Avenue Capital Group.
After a year of campaigning for her mother’s 2008 presidential bid, Chelsea Clinton decided to explore new avenues in her personal and professional life. In November 2009, she announced that she and investment banker Marc Mezvinsky were engaged to be married.
Marc Mezvinsky, who was a longtime friend, fellow Stanford alum and son of two former members of Congress, proposed over the Thanksgiving holiday. The next month, Chelsea Clinton returned to school, this time studying health policy and management at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. The couple was married July 31, 2010, in Rhinebeck, New York. The 400-person ceremony at the exclusive Astor Courts facility was shrouded in secrecy for months before the wedding – the couple even shut down the airspace above Rhinebeck for the 12 hours surrounding the ceremony to avoid an influx of paparazzi.
In addition to her studies, Chelsea Clinton serves on the board of the School of American Ballet and has also served as co-chairperson for her father’s Clinton Foundation.
Scarlett Johansson, 28, has not secured the role just yet: she is apparently up against Jessica Chastain, Amanda Seyfried and Reese Witherspoon.
Rodham will focus on the early stages of Hilary Clinton’s career, when she was a lawyer in Washington.
The writer, Young il-Kim, was forced to deny reports earlier this year that the film was full of raunchy s** scenes when the script was leaked by The Daily Beast.
“<<Rodham>> is a journey of a woman who was torn between her personal desires and her professional ambition – both literally pulled her thousands of miles apart, because Bill did not want to leave Arkansas, and she did not want to leave Washington, D.C.,” Young il-Kim told Politico earlier this year.
Director James Ponstoldt, who was attached to the movie last month and casting for the prestigious role has only just begun.
James Ponstoldt describes Scarlett Johansson and the other candidates as “all wonderful actresses”, according to The Independent.
Scarlett Johansson is rumored to portray Hillary Clinton in the upcoming biopic, Rodham
He adds that they are “very fortunate that a lot of really great actors are interested in playing these roles. We’re in an enviable position”.
Scarlett Johansson was most recently seen on the big screen portraying Janet Leigh in the biographical comedy-drama, Hitchcock.
She has previously taken on a wide variety of roles, from the provocative Nola in Match Point to the demure Meg Windermere in A Good Woman.
Her competition is fierce, however, with Jessica Chastain having just received rave reviews for her performance in Zero Dark Thirty.
Amanda Seyfried was also applauded for her performance alongside Hugh Jackman in Les Miserables.
Reese Witherspoon, who has also played a diverse range of strong female roles, has recently appeared in the critically acclaimed Mud.
[youtube -PGZBMUMetc]
“Right now, I want her to rest,” Chelsea Clinton said in an interview with Parade magazine.
“Ultimately I want her to make whatever she thinks is the right decision. I always want to help her in any way I can, because I unapologetically and unabashedly am deeply biased toward my mother.”
Hillary Clinton, 65, has said she has no plans for a second presidential bid, but she hasn’t ruled it out. She stepped down as Secretary of State in February.
Hillary Clinton has said she has no plans for a second presidential bid in 2016, but she hasn’t ruled it out
Chelsea Clinton, 33, has been a loyal supporter and advocate for her mother, appearing at her side throughout her ultimately failed bid for the Democratic nomination in 2008.
Democrats argue among themselves whether Hillary Clinton has the desire and energy to go through the grueling campaign process she knows so well.
However, many see Hillary Clinton as a prohibitive favorite whose head start would be so big that other potential candidates might starve for funds and attention.
A Washington Post-ABC News poll in January found that 67% of Americans held a favorable view of Hillary Clinton, which is her highest rating since the poll began measuring her popularity in the 1990s.
The poll has been held through Hillary Clinton time as First Lady, her eight years in the Senate representing New York and her time as Secretary of State.
“It’s hard to overstate the breadth and depth of enthusiasm for a Hillary run,” said Doug Hattaway, a former campaign aide of Hillary Clinton and now a Washington-based consultant.
Hillary Clinton built a national base of supporters in 2008, when she lost a hard-fought nomination fight to Barack Obama, and she’s widely respected after her turn heading the State Department, Doug Hattaway said.
“A lot of donors, volunteers and potential campaign workers will wait to hear what she decides before committing to other candidates,” he said, although “anyone with their eye on 2016 is already working on it.”
Mo Elleithee, a top spokesman for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 campaign, said it’s much too early to know.
“My advice to everyone is to chill out,” Mo Elleithee said.
“There’s no need for all this breathless anticipation at this point.”
In the Parade interview, Chelsea Clinton also spoke out about how her grandmother, Dorothy Rodham, encouraged her to get involved with her family’s work.
“She thought I wasn’t doing enough with the opportunity I’d been given to be Chelsea Clinton,” Chelsea Clinton said.
“I’d chosen to kind of live in the recesses, to work very hard and try to be a good person.
“I hadn’t planned on or expected to have a public dimension in my life. But I was starting to feel like I had a responsibility to at least try to make more of a difference.”
The massive fee means that Hillary Clinton will be making more from a two-hour lecture than she did in a year as Secretary of State.
The announcement that Hillary Clinton has hired a top talent agency to represent her as she begins to give paid speeches following her departure from the State Department came earlier this week, but her $200,000 asking price was only reported on Wednesday.
According to Buzzfeed, that puts Hillary Clinton in the same league as her husband former President Bill Clinton who is so in-demand that he can command the six-figure fee.
The volume of the sum is made clear when looked at in comparison to her salary for a year as Secretary of State, which was $186,000.
Hillary Clinton is now represented by the Harry Walker Agency which is known for getting famous politicians and newsmakers plum gigs on the lecture circuit.
The venture is Hillary Clinton’s first formal decision about what she is going to do now that she is no longer working, though she is widely considered to be the Democratic front runner should she decide to run for the presidency in 2016.
Her decision to attach her name to his particular New York-based agency comes as little surprise since her husband former President Bill Clinton has long been represented by the group since he left office in 2000.
The move was clearly a lucrative one, as Bill Clinton made $75.6 million from 2001 to 2010 from speaking engagements, making $10.7 million in just 2010 alone.
Bill Clinton is not the only big name with the agency, as his former Vice President Al Gore has been booking $175,000 gigs through their connections, and former New York City mayor and Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani regularly brings in $100,000 per event.
Hillary Clinton will be charging $200,000 per speech on her lecture circuit
Former vice president Dick Cheney, former Senators Olympia Snowe and Joe Lieberman, Barack Obama campaign strategist Jim Messina and former Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan are all represented by The Harry Walker Agency as well.
Hillary Clinton’s exact asking price has not been reported, but Politico asserts that she “will likely do some speeches for no fee for causes she champions, and expects to occasionally donate her fees for charitable purposes”.
While keeping mum about any future presidential plans, Hillary Clinton has said that she plans to write another book, this time about her work as Secretary of State.
Publishing house Simon & Schuster reportedly paid the former first lady an $8 million advance on her first book, Living History, which she published in December 2000.
With any and all positions that Hillary Clinton decides to take, she will have to weigh the optics of if it would look appropriate for a presidential candidate.
Another concern is shoring up a steady income, because it doesn’t come cheap to live like the Clintons and six-figure speaking fees will certainly help.
Though there were early reports that they might buy a house in the Hamptons area of Long Island, it appears now that they will hustle between their current residences in Washington, D.C. and Chappaqua, a quiet town in the suburbs of New York City.
Hillary Clinton is also expected to either work with her husband’s Clinton Foundation or start her own, though no decisions about that have been made at this point.
The only thing that Hillary Clinton has publicly confirmed is that she plans to rest after a very taxing four years of traveling to 112 different countries.
As Hillary Clinton remains coy about her political prospects, her potential competitors are being very blatant in their fundraising attempts.
On the Republican side, both New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Florida Senator Marco Rubio have raised significant sums for their campaign war chests in recent weeks.
Chris Christie attended a fundraiser in his honor at Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s California home, and Marco Rubio raised $100,000 by selling water bottles with his name on them, playing on his thirst-quenching gaffe during the State of the Union rebuttal.
The influential poll out of Quinnipiac University gives the former top American diplomat a 61% favorability rating, according to Huffington Post.
That’s a ten point on Barack Obama, who was up until recently her boss and who just won reelection to the highest office in the land for the second time.
In the telephone poll taken January 30 through February 4, Hillary Clinton also beat out fellow beltway big wigs Vice President Joseph Biden, House Speaker John Boehner, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, and new Secretary of State, John Kerry.
“Hillary Clinton ends her term as Secretary of State and the bruising inquiry into the Benghazi murders as easily the most popular actor on the American political stage today,” said Quinnipiac’s assistant polling director Peter A. Brown told the Huffington Post.
But that has by no means always been the case.
Hillary Clinton’s popularity remained at the current levels basically throughout her tenure as Secretary of State.
Hillary Clinton appears to be one of the most popular figures in Washington, even more popular then President Barack Obama himself
However, starting from Hillary Clinton’s time as a first lady maligned by many, due in part to her avid politicking for healthcare reform, she has seen her share of intense public scrutiny, both negative and positive.
The prevailing public view of Hillary Clinton’s ebbed and flowed as she weathered her husband’s high-profile infidelity, ran for and won a U.S. Senate seat, and eventually went on to narrowly lose the 2008 Democratic Presidential, primary.
Now, as Hillary Clinton enters private life with the world wondering if she’ll make 2016 presidential run, she is seeing some of her highest favorability ratings of all time.
That leaves her potential rivals, many of whom this same Quinnipiac poll currently list as less popular, wondering the very same thing.
Hillary Clinton, 65, leaves the post after four years, visits to 112 countries and nearly a million air miles.
She will be replaced by John Kerry, a Massachusetts senator, who was sworn in at a private ceremony on Friday.
The former first lady is now discussed as a possible candidate for the 2016 presidential election.
Hillary Clinton said leading the agency as the 67th US Secretary of State had been a “unique and singular, exciting and challenging” experience.
She acknowledged the attack on the US embassy in Turkey – a sobering reminder of the everyday global threats that will face her successor.
“I am very proud of the work we have done together,” she told her staff.
“Of course, we live in very complex and dangerous times, as we saw again just today at our embassy in Ankara, where we were attacked.”
But she said she was “more optimistic” now than when she took up her post in 2009.
“I am so grateful that we’ve had a chance to contribute in each of our ways to making our country and our world stronger, safer, fairer and better,” she told staff.
Hillary Clinton held a farewell address to state department staff on her last day as America’s top diplomat
Earlier in the day, Hillary Clinton officially tendered her resignation to President Barack Obama, her former bitter rival in the 2008 race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
In her letter, she said she was more convinced than ever of America’s strength as a global leader and its potential to be a force for good.
Hillary Clinton has been coy about a possible White House run in four years’ time. She has said she has no specific plans for the future, but that she “absolutely” still plans to make a difference on issues she cares about.
“I am going to be secretary of state until the very last minute when I walk out the door,” she told the Associated Press on Thursday.
“And then I am going to take the weekend off and then I may start thinking about all the various offers and requests and ideas that have come my way.”
Hillary Clinton’s time in office will also be remembered for the attack last September on a consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed a US ambassador and three other Americans. She has apologized for that security failure.
[youtube zfEQHVWEeLs]
The interview was something of a staged photo opportunity, as no news was actually broken except for the fact that the President considers Hillary Clinton “a strong friend” and she described their relationship as “very warm, close”.
More than anything, their relaxed attitudes, clear friendship, and grinning smiles show that time has healed the markedly harsh wounds that they endured 5 years ago when they faced off in the Democratic primary leading up to the 2008 election.
The fact that Hillary Clinton was initially hesitant to take the post as Secretary of State- so much so that she avoided his phone calls and he did the same when she was ringing him back to turn down the offer- has already been widely reported, but now the pair explained how they worked to improve their bond.
“What did evolve was a friendship, as opposed to just a professional relationship,” Barack Obama told 60 Minutes’ Steve Kroft.
“Friendships involve a sense of trust and being in the foxhole together. And that emerged during the course of months when we were making some very tough decisions.”
Hillary Clinton agreed, saying that their frosty rivalry began to thaw after she conceded and started stumping for him during the general election.
“He is pretty persuasive, I’ll tell you that much,” she said, smiling.
“If the roles had been revered and I had ended up winning I would have desperately wanted him to be in my cabinet.”
President Barack Obama and outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a rare joint interview for CBS’ 60 Minutes
The prospect of Hillary Clinton forming her own cabinet is certainly not a joke, as she is widely seen as one of, if not the, leading contender for her party’s nomination when Barack Obama leaves office after his second term.
The issue of 2016 is a tricky one for the President; however, as recent activity has led to increased chatter about his Vice President Joe Biden potentially seeking the top spot during the next goes around.
Though such a head-to-head would put Barack Obama in a tough spot- as he would effectively be forced to choose between his two-term Vice President and his extremely popular former Secretary of State, he tried to brush off the issue with incredulous concern.
“You guys in the press are incorrigible; I was literally inaugurated four days ago, and you’re talking about elections four years from now,” he said.
When Steve Kroft made a reference to whether or not viewers could “read the tea leaves” from the interview in terms of predicting the next election, Hillary Clinton jokingly looked around the room, saying: “We don’t have any tea, we’ve got some water here the best I can tell.”
In terms of her positioning, the happy duo appeared to be pegging Hillary Clinton as one-in-the-same as the sitting President, boasting about how they share an almost telepathic connection.
“I think there’s a sense of understanding sometimes it doesn’t even take words,” Hillary Clinton said.
“It made for tough debates because we could never figure out what we differed on,” Barack Obama said of their attempts to differentiate themselves from one another during the primary.
“Well the main thing is I just wanted to have a chance to publicly say thank you because I think Hillary will go down as one of the finest Secretaries of State we’ve had, It has been a great collaboration over the last four years,” Barack Obama said when he started out the interview.
“I’m going to miss her, wish she was sticking around, but she has logged in so many miles I can’t begrudge her wanting to take it easy for a little bit, but I want the country to appreciate what an extraordinary role she’s played during the course of my administration and a lot of the successes we’ve had internationally have been because of her hard work.”
[youtube 0hJXHFDfJB0]
It is thought Hillary Clinton, 65, was wearing a Fresnel prism on her spectacles – a stick-on panel often used to treat double vision.
The faint vertical lines are visible on the left lens of Hillary Clinton’s glasses in photographs taken during her testimony about the terrorist attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11, 2012, in which four Americans were killed.
Eye experts told the New York Daily News it is likely Hillary Clinton has had an adhesive Fresnel prism placed on her glasses.
“If she’s wearing a Fresnel prism, then she has double vision without it,” said Dr. Mark Fromer, medical director at Fromer Eye Centers.
He said the adhesive panel, which also aids muscle weakness, “helps bring images into focus”.
Hillary Clinton’s spokesperson confirmed she was wearing glasses as a result of the fall and concussion she experienced last month, but did not elaborate further.
The Secretary of State returned to work earlier this month following a month long absence, after initially falling ill with a stomach virus.
While at home recuperating from the bug, which forced her to cancel a planned visit to North Africa and the Middle East, Hillary Clinton suffered concussion after fainting and falling.
Doctors later discovered a blood clot between her skull and her brain during a follow-up exam on December 30, and she was admitted to New York-Presbyterian for treatment with blood thinners.
Hillary Clinton attended back-to-back hearings on the Benghazi attack before the Senate and the House on Wednesday.
It appears that Hillary Clinton was wearing a Fresnel prism on her spectacles during Benghazi attack hearing indicating she may still be experiencing the after-effects following the blood clot
Fresnel prisms are wafer-thin, transparent sheets of adhesive plastic.
One side is fixed to the lens of the wearer’s glasses, while the other has special grooves that alter the way light enters the eye.
The prisms, the strength of which can be adjusted depending on the patient’s needs, are often used to treat double vision.
The stick-on panels may be worn for several months. If they prove particularly successful, patients can have glasses made with built-in prisms.
Double vision can occur in one or both eyes. It can be caused by an irregularly shaped cornea or abnormalities of the cornea, dry eye, or abnormalities of the lens or retina.
[youtube TC0AKNQBV80]
“I think that ultimately with your leaving, you accept the culpability for the worst tragedy since 9/11, and I really mean that,” Rand Paul said at the hearing.
“Had I been president at the time and I found that you did not read the cables from Benghazi, you did not read the cables from Ambassador Stevens, I would have relieved you of your post.
“It’s not satisfactory to me.”
In a response that some critics saw as a way to deflect blame onto her inferiors, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said: “I am the Secretary of State. And the Accountability Review Board made very clear that the level of responsibility for the failures that they outlined was set at the Assistant Secretary level and below.”
Hillary Clinton faced back-to-back hearings on Wednesday, the first in the Senate and an afternoon session in the House which remains underway.
The first hearing was rife with emotional moments, whether it be her sparring matches with Republicans or the moment where she got choked up while talking about the four Americans who lost their lives in the September 11 attack.
Hillary Clinton said the incident is not just about “policy, it’s personal”.
“I put my arms around the mothers and fathers, the sisters and brothers, the sons and daughters and the wives left alone to raise their children,” she said, her voice shaking.
“I stood next to President Obama as the Marines carried those flag-draped caskets off the plane at Andrews.”
Hillary Clinton appeared more composed during the hearing in the House of Representatives, which is underway now.
“As I have said many times since September 11, I take responsibility,” Hillary Clinton told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“Nobody is more committed to getting this right. I am determined to leave the State Department and our country safer, stronger and more secure.”
Hillary Clinton insisted on Wednesday that the department is moving swiftly and aggressively to strengthen security at U.S. missions worldwide after the deadly September 11 raid on the consulate in Libya.
In probably her last appearance on Capitol Hill as America’s top diplomat, Hillary Clinton once again took full responsibility for the department’s missteps leading up to assault at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
Hillary Clinton alternated between being feisty and emotional in her responses.
Though each of the members of the Senate committee were congratulatory at the beginning of their remarks regarding her wide-reaching travels during her time as Secretary of State, three Republicans were her toughest critics.
The first was Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson, a Tea Party favorite, who took issue with the fact that Hillary Clinton and her team did not immediately interview the other evacuees who were able to leave Libya safely.
“We had four dead Americans! Whether it was attack preplanned by terrorists or it because of a guy out for a walk one night who decided they’d go kill Americans- what difference at this point does it make?!” Hillary Clinton responded.
Hillary Clinton chokes up, bangs fist on table during Benghazi testimony
After the heated exchange, Congressman Ron Johnson said that her emotional answer was just a way to avoid answering the question.
“It was theatrics. Again, she didn’t want to answer questions so she makes a big show of it,’ he told reporters afterwards.
“I’m not trying to be obnoxious here, I’m just trying to get the answers I believe the American people deserve to hear. It’s been four months.”
The next confrontation came from Senator John McCain. The senator and Hillary Clinton has worked together for years and have a generally friendly relationship, which was initially clear.
“It’s wonderful to see you in good health and as combative as ever,” John McCain said.
From there, things took a less convivial tone as John McCain grilled her about the fact that UN Ambassador Susan Rice made several appearances on the Sunday morning talk shows following the attack on behalf of the administration, where she claimed the attack was started by a protest that got out of hand.
Susan Rice was a hot-topic throughout the nearly three-hour hearing, and Hillary Clinton stood by her fellow diplomat.
“People have accused Ambassador Rice and the administration of misleading Americans… nothing could be further from the truth,” Hillary Clinton said during her testimony.
Susan Rice and the rest of the administration were “speaking off of what had been determined as the most acceptable talking points”.
Hillary Clinton went on to say that it was in American’s nature to give answers before they are confirmed fact, and that may have caused problems in this case.
“We get out there, here’s what we think happened, it’s subject to change,” she said of the claims made by Susan Rice.
John McCain has been one of the biggest critics of President Barack Obama and Susan Rice, effectively blocking her nomination to replace Hillary Clinton by saying that their moves in the days following the attack were not sufficient.
“We did not conclude, finally, that there were no protests at all until days after the attack,” Hillary Clinton said, explaining the long timeline.
“Even today, the motivation, the actions before they got onto the compound, is still not nailed down.”
Still she maintains that the motivation should not be the main focus of the investigation and subsequent American actions regarding the issue.
Hillary Clinton said that the reason for the attacks is “less important today… than to find them and to bring them to justice”.
Arguably the most abrasive interrogation came from Senator Rand Paul, who said that she should have been fired after she admitted that she did not read every diplomatic cable that comes through the State Department.
Rand Paul is widely considered to be a likely future presidential nominee for the Republican Party, so it may not be the last time that he squares off with Hillary Clinton.
“As I have said many times since September 11, I take responsibility,” Hillary Clinton told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at various points.
“Nobody is more committed to getting this right. I am determined to leave the State Department and our country safer, stronger and more secure.”
Though Hillary Clinton received no such demotion, an official U.S. inquiry concluded that the State Department was completely unprepared to deal with the attack, citing “leadership and management” deficiencies, poor coordination and unclear lines of authority in Washington.
Four lower-level U.S. officials were placed on administrative leave following the release of the inquiry, which did not find Hillary Clinton personally at fault.
This was Hillary Clinton’s second-to-last appearance on Capitol Hill as the nation’s top diplomat, as she will return on Thursday to attend the hearing of Senator John Kerry, who is expected to replace her as the Secretary of State.
While tarnishing Hillary Clinton’s tenure at the State Department, the controversy over the Benghazi attack also cost Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, her chance to succeed Clinton as secretary of state.
Republicans in Congress harshly criticized Susan Rice for her comments days after the attack in which she said the incident appeared to be the result of a spontaneous demonstration rather than a planned assault.
Susan Rice, who has said her comments were based on talking points from the U.S. intelligence community, eventually withdrew her name from consideration for the top U.S. diplomatic job.
“We were misled that there were supposedly protests and then something sprang out of that, an assault sprang out of that,” Senator Ron Johnson said, referring to Susan Rice’s appearance on Sunday television talk shows.
Hillary Clinton said the department is implementing the 29 recommendations of an independent review board that harshly criticized the department as well as going above and beyond the proposals, with a special focus on high-threat posts.
“Make no mistake about it, we have got to have a better strategy,” she said.
She also defended the State Department’s immediate response to the attacks, saying it was “timely and exceptional” and “saved American lives”.
But she noted that the U.S. is facing “increasingly complex threats”.
“We should never forget that our security professionals get it right more than 99 per cent of the time,” she said.
Hillary Clinton added that there is a “sliding scale” of about 20 U.S. missions globally that are at risk.
[youtube TC0AKNQBV80]
“I take responsibility,” the Secretary of State told the foreign relations committee of the Senate, referring to security failures that led to the attack.
She had been due to testify late last year but fell ill.
Christopher Stevens, the US ambassador to Libya, and three other officials were killed in the attack on September 11, 2012.
The ambassador died of smoke inhalation when he was trapped in the burning consulate building, after armed men had stormed the compound.
The assault triggered a major political row over who knew what and when. As a result, an independent panel – the Accountability Review Board – was charged with investigating the incident.
Hillary Clinton told the Senate committee she never saw the paperwork asking for more security at the consulate in Benghazi.
“The specific security requests pertaining to Benghazi… were handled by the security professionals in the department. I didn’t see those requests, they didn’t come to me, I didn’t approve them, I didn’t deny them,” Hillary Clinton said.
In her opening remarks, Hillary Clinton pointed to the rise of Islamist militancy across North Africa and said: “Benghazi did not happen in a vacuum.”
Hillary Clinton is giving evidence to Congress over the deadly attack on the US consulate in Benghazi
The secretary of state’s appearance comes less than a week after a siege by Islamist militants at a gas facility in Algeria in which three Americans died.
“Instability in Mali has created an expanding safe haven for terrorists who look to extend their influence and plot further attacks of the kind we saw just last week in Algeria,” Hillary Clinton also said.
Responding to questions, she said: “We have to recognize this is a global movement – we can kill leaders but until we help establish strong democratic institutions… we’re going to be faced with this level of instability.”
Democrats hold the majority in the Senate, where Hillary Clinton is surrounded by former colleagues and the tone is likely to be respectful.
Hillary Clinton’s voice shook with emotion as she described the moment she and President Barack Obama welcomed home the caskets of those killed in the Benghazi attacks, saying this was “personal”.
In the House, however, Hillary Clinton is expected to face much more heat.
The panel review did not blame her directly for any of the failures, but members of Congress will still want to know why she was not personally aware of requests for more security in a high-risk posting like Libya.
On Tuesday, Republican Senator John McCain said he wanted to press Hillary Clinton on where she was on the night of the attack, and what warnings there had been about deteriorating security.
“It’s been a cover-up from the beginning,” he told reporters.
Hillary Clinton is also facing questions about how the administration of President Barack Obama handled the fallout.
Three State Department employees have been fired over the Benghazi attack, and recommendations the panel made in December are already being implemented.
Hillary Clinton, who is stepping down from her post in two weeks, has spent a month recuperating from a series of ailments in December.
She was treated in hospital for a blood clot near her brain, weeks after fainting and suffering a concussion in the subsequent fall.
Barack Obama appointed Hillary Clinton at the start of his first term in 2009. She is considered a strong candidate for the Democratic nomination for president should she run in 2016.
Outrage in Congress over the Benghazi incident and its aftermath has already led US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, to withdraw from the race to succeed Hillary Clinton.
Last November, Susan Rice admitted releasing incorrect information after the Benghazi attack. She said there had been no attempt to mislead the public, but Republicans were unconvinced.
Barack Obama has since nominated Democratic Senator John Kerry – who is expected to be swiftly confirmed – as Hillary Clinton’s replacement.
Hillary Clinton is due to testify for 90 minutes before the committees.
[youtube 05gLqyEgv-o]
Her medical team said she was making good progress, and were confident she would make a full recovery, said the state department.
It added in a statement that she was “eager to get back to the office”.
Hillary Clinton was earlier seen leaving New York-Presbyterian Hospital with her husband and daughter.
The state department said at the time she had not been discharged, but was merely travelling to another hospital building on the campus for further tests.
Hillary Clinton, 65, is due to stand down before President Barack Obama formally begins his second term in January.
Appointed secretary of state at the start of Barack Obama’s first term, in January 2009, her health has been under intense scrutiny because she is considered a strong candidate for the Democratic nomination for president should she decide to run in 2016.
The former first lady was taken to hospital on Sunday when the clot was discovered. She had suffered a concussion earlier in the month after falling in her home.
She had fainted after becoming dehydrated while battling a stomach ailment, aides have said.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been discharged from hospital after treatment on a blood clot between her skull and brain
Hillary Clinton is being treated with blood thinners to dissolve the clot.
During her stay in hospital she worked from her bed, speaking with staff and reviewing paperwork, US state department officials said.
Renowned for her grueling travel schedule, Hillary Clinton’s most recent foreign trip in December was to Dublin.
“She’s been quite active on the phone with all of us,” spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.
The secretary of state is due to give evidence before a Congressional committee later this month in connection with the attack in September on the US consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi.
The US ambassador to Libya and three American officials were killed in the incident.
[youtube 0JS39phE9vU]
Doctors said Hillary Clinton will make a full recovery and will be released from hospital once a blood-thinning dosage has been set.
Hillary Clinton, 65, was admitted to a New York hospital on Sunday, having suffered a concussion earlier in the month when she fainted and fell over.
She is due to stand down before President Barack Obama begins his second term.
Doctors said an MRI scan on Sunday had revealed the formation of a “right transverse sinus venous thrombosis” – a clot in the vein behind Hillary Clinton’s right ear in the space between the brain and the skull.
“It did not result in a stroke, or neurological damage,” said Dr. Lisa Bardack and Dr. Gigi El-Bayoumi, who were treating Hillary Clinton at New York’s Presbyterian hospital.
The secretary of state was said to be in good spirits and “engaging with her doctors, her family, and her staff,” added the doctors in a statement.
Doctors discovered the clot during a routine follow-up MRI scan on Sunday, said her spokesman, Philippe Reines, adding that she was being treated with anti-coagulants.
At the time of her faint, Hillary Clinton was reported to have had a stomach virus and to have passed out after becoming dehydrated.
Hillary Clinton is making excellent progress after a blood clot was found between her brain and skull
Hillary Clinton is due to give evidence before a Congressional committee in January in connection with the attack in September on the US consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi.
The US ambassador to Libya and three American officials were killed in the incident.
Hillary Clinton was appointed secretary of state at the start of Barack Obama’s first term, in January 2009.
Her most recent foreign trip was to Dublin earlier in December: she is renowned for keeping a gruelling travel schedule.
She is the most travelled secretary of state in history, having visited 112 countries while in the job, the Associated Press says.
Earlier this month, President Barack Obama nominated Senator John Kerry – the Massachusetts Democrat who heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee – to replace Hillary Clinton as secretary of state.
Hillary Clinton has repeatedly said she only intended to serve one term in the post.
[youtube 52JtqXbq_0E]
Hillary Clinton suffered a concussion earlier this month after fainting and falling down.
At the time, she was reported to have had a stomach virus and to have passed out after becoming dehydrated.
Hillary Clinton is due to stand down as secretary of state before US President Barack Obama officially begins his second term in January.
Doctors discovered the clot during a follow-up examination on Sunday, her spokesman Philippe Reines said.
“She is being treated with anti-coagulants and is at New York-Presbyterian Hospital so that they can monitor the medication over the next 48 hours,” he said.
“They will determine if any further action is required.”
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been hospitalized in New York with a blood clot
Hillary Clinton is due to give evidence before a Congressional committee in January in connection with the attack in September on the US consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi.
The US ambassador to Libya and three American officials were killed in the incident.
Hillary Clinton was appointed secretary of state at the start of Barack Obama’s first term, in January 2009.
Her most recent foreign trip was to Dublin earlier this month.
Hillary Clinton, 65, is known for her gruelling travel schedule.
She is the most travelled secretary of state in history, having visited 112 countries while in the job, the Associated Press says.
Earlier this month, President barack Obama nominated Senator John Kerry – the Massachusetts Democrat who heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee – to replace Hillary Clinton as secretary of state.
Hillary Clinton has repeatedly said that she only intended to serve one term in the post.
[youtube c9Ba7aVgfk4]
Chelsea Clinton, now 32, is being tipped to follow in the footsteps of both her mother and former-president father and play an increasingly prominent role in public life.
Hillary Clinton will step down from the helm at the State Department early in the New Year to be replaced by Senator John Kerry – and will take a long break before her rumored run for the White House.
Now experts quoted in Politico.com are saying Chelsea Clinton is ready to take her place as the “young Clinton” to pave the way for Hillary’s Democratic presidential bid.
As a young girl growing up in the White House, Chelsea Clinton was the subject of massive public fascination, although her parents are credited with succeeding in protecting her from much of the media frenzy.
And it seems she has not been put off a political career – Chelsea Clinton joined the board of the Clinton Foundation a few years ago and in July, accompanied her father to Africa on a foundation mission.
In 2011, Chelsea Clinton made what was effectively her first step major in politics on her own, volunteering in campaign to pass New York’s gay marriage law.
It is rumored that she managed to convince her father to change his views on the issue.
Chelsea Clinton is set to become the new face of the Clinton family political dynasty
Chelsea Clinton is now involved in both the Clinton Global Initiative and the Clinton Health Access Initiative and was also seen interviewing her mother at a Clinton Global Initiative event last year.
Former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, a staunch Hillary Clinton backer in her 2008 primary campaign, believes Chelsea could soon be securing the Clinton political legacy for many years to come.
Ted Strickland told Politico.com: “I think she could be a powerhouse.
“She has just, in my judgment, grown up into a person of considerable skill and competence.
“I don’t know if she has a personal goal in elected politics or not, or exactly what her life goals may be, but she certainly has a lot of rich personal experience as a result of [her upbringing].”
While a Chelsea Clinton candidacy still appears a long way off – she was still only a teenager when her mother first ran for the Senate in New York in 2000 – she has gradually become a confident public speaker.
Brian Ellner, an activist who organized the New York marriage campaign told Politico: “Chelsea Clinton speaks for her generation of young Americans who support marriage equality by wide margins, no matter what race or gender or even party.
“She has enormous credibility on the issue dating back to her work on the New York campaign.”
In a recent interview with Vogue Magazine, Chelsea Clinton gave a rare insight into what it was like growing up in the White House.
She revealed: “I was very aware of why we were there and that I was living among history.
“One of the things that my parents did a good job of was talking with me about their work.
“So at the end of the day, over dinner, I would tell them what I learned in biology class and my mother would tell me about advocating for women’s health around the world, and my dad would talk about the budget fight or what was happening in advance of a trip he was planning to Russia.
“I knew that we were having a different type of conversation than most of my friends, but there were normal rhythms that we started in Arkansas that very much carried through.”
Hillary Clinton will step down from the helm at the State Department early in the New Year. She will be replaced by Senator John Kerry.
It is rumored Hillary Clinton is planning for a second run at the presidency, although this is something she has continued to deny.
John Kerry would replace Hillary Clinton at the head of the state department, the media quoted senior administration officials as saying.
John Kerry ran as Democratic presidential candidate in 2004 and is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
His nomination comes after the US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, withdrew from consideration last week.
President Barack Obama is to nominate John Kerry to be his next secretary of state
Republicans had fiercely criticized her role in the aftermath of the deadly attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, in September.
They had threatened to block her nomination despite the president’s strong defence of her actions.
John Kerry, 69, would be Barack Obama’s first cabinet nomination since he won a second term last month.
Analysts say John Kerry is unlikely to face opposition from Republicans.
The State Department said an ill Hillary Clinton is now recovering at home after the incident, according to the AP.
CBS News’ Margaret Brennen reports Hillary Clinton was dehydrated from a stomach bug.
The US Department of State has released the following statement: “While suffering from a stomach virus, Secretary Clinton became dehydrated and fainted, sustaining a concussion. She has been recovering at home and will continue to be monitored regularly by her doctors. At their recommendation, she will continue to work from home next week, staying in regular contact with Department and other officials. She is looking forward to being back in the office soon.”
An aide, Philippe Reines, says Hillary Clinton will work from home next week, where she will be monitored by doctors.
Congressional aides do not expect her to testify as scheduled at congressional hearings on Thursday into the September 11 attack against a U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador.
“Secretary Clinton’s team contacted Senator [John] Kerry this morning to inform them of the Secretary’s concussion,” Jodi Seth, a John Kerry spokesperson, said Saturday.
“Senator Kerry was relieved to hear that the Secretary is on the mend, but he insisted that given her condition, she could not and should not appear on Thursday as previously planned, and that the nation’s best interests are served by the report and hearings proceeding as scheduled with senior officials appearing in her place.”
The aides spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to publicly discuss Hillary Clinton’s status.
Hillary Clinton pulled out of a weeklong trip to North Africa and the Middle East because of a stomach virus this week.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton fainted and had a concussion
Only days before, Hillary Clinton had said she was in excellent health during an interview with Barbara Walters.
At 67, detractors have claimed Hillary Clinton’s advancing age and health make her too old to realistically serve as a two-term president were she elected in 2016.
“I am, thankfully, knock on wood, not only healthy, but have incredible stamina and energy,” Hillary Clinton told Barbara Walters.
Hillary Clinton has a history of fainting, having a brief spell in 2005 during an appearance before a women’s group in Buffalo.
In that case, she recovered quickly and immediately resumed all scheduled appearances.
[youtube MHutVjxz4AI]
In a letter to President Barack Obama, Susan Rice said her confirmation process would be “disruptive and costly”, NBC News said.
Susan Rice has been at the centre of Republican criticism over the Obama administration response to a deadly attack on a US consulate in Libya.
Hillary Clinton has said she will not serve a second term at the state department.
In a letter to President Barack Obama, Susan Rice said that she was “highly honored” to be considered for the post of secretary of state and was “fully confident that I could serve our country ably and effectively in that role”.
But she added: “I am now convinced that the confirmation process would be lengthy, disruptive and costly – to you and to our most pressing national and international priorities.”
“That trade-off is simply not worth it to our country,” Susan Rice wrote.
UN Ambassador Susan Rice has withdrawn her name for consideration to succeed Hillary Clinton as US secretary of state
Barack Obama said in a statement: “I deeply regret the unfair and misleading attacks on Susan Rice in recent weeks.”
He added that her decision to withdraw from consideration reflected strength of character and an ability to rise above politics.
Days after the September 11th assault on the US consulate, Susan Rice, 48, said in a series of TV interviews that it seemed to have developed out of protests over an anti-Islamic film.
But later intelligence reports suggested the attack was carried out by al-Qaeda affiliates.
Her comments triggered a major political row over who knew what and when.
The attack left four Americans dead, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.
UN Ambassador Susan Rice said there had been no attempt to mislead the public, but Republicans were unconvinced.
After meeting Susan Rice on Tuesday, senators said they were troubled.
The envoy said her initial line that the Benghazi attack appeared to have sprung from a protest had been wrong.
The September 11 assault on the US consulate triggered a major political row over who knew what and when.
Days afterwards, Susan Rice, 48, said in a series of TV interviews that it seemed to have developed out of protests over an anti-Islamic film.
Later intelligence reports suggested it was possibly tied to al-Qaeda affiliates.
On Tuesday, Senators John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Kelly Ayotte met privately with Ms Rice and acting CIA Director Michael Morell to discuss the attack.
Susan Rice has admitted releasing incorrect information after September’s attack on the American consulate in Libya
After the meeting on Capitol Hill, Susan Rice said: “The talking points provided by the intelligence community, and the initial assessment upon which they were based, were incorrect in a key respect: there was no protest or demonstration in Benghazi.
“While we certainly wish that we had had perfect information just days after the terrorist attack, as is often the case the intelligence assessment has evolved.”
But the Republicans said questions remained unanswered.
Senator John McCain said: “We are significantly troubled by many of the answers that we got and some that we didn’t get concerning evidence that was leading up to the attack.”
Senator Lindsey Graham said that he was “more disturbed now than I was before”, adding that he would “absolutely” attempt to block any nomination of Ms Rice for secretary of state.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said on Tuesday there were “no unanswered questions” about Susan Rice’s response to the Benghazi incident, accusing Republicans of being obsessed with it.
Republicans are demanding a joint committee investigate the attack, which left four Americans dead, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.
Current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is not expected to continue in the role for a second four-year term. The Obama administration would need the support of the Senate for any nomination to the post.
After winning re-election, President Barack Obama vigorously defended Susan Rice, calling Republican criticism of her “outrageous”.
[youtube 2as3EYaqFT4]
Under the deal, Israel has agreed to end all hostilities and targeted killings, while Hamas will stop attacks against Israel and along the border.
At least 157 people have died since the flare-up of violence began last week.
Both sides continued to fire on each other as the 21:00 ceasefire deadline approached, but no incidents have been reported since.
Earlier, a bomb exploded on a bus in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, leaving three people needing surgery.
Wednesday also saw at least 13 people die in Gaza.
Israel has agreed to “stop all hostilities on the Gaza Strip, land, sea and air including incursions and targeting of individuals”, the ceasefire deal says.
“All Palestinian factions shall stop all hostilities from the Gaza Strip against Israel, including rocket attacks, and attacks along the border,” it stipulates.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Kamel Amr announced the ceasefire at a news conference in Cairo with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who joined negotiations on Wednesday.
A statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had agreed to a US suggestion “to give a chance to Egypt’s proposal for a ceasefire and so give an opportunity to stabilize the situation and calm it before there will be need to apply greater force”.
For the truce to hold, Hillary Clinton said, “the rocket attacks [from Gaza] must end and a broader calm must return”.
“Now we have to focus on reaching a durable outcome that promotes regional stability and advances the security, dignity and legitimate aspirations of Palestinians and Israelis alike,” she added.
US President Barack Obama praised the Israeli leader for accepting the deal and said he would seek additional funding for the Iron Dome missile defence system, which destroyed dozens of rockets from Gaza in mid-air during the past week.
Barack Obama also thanked Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi for his efforts.
Ties between Hamas and Egypt have strengthened since Mohammed Mursi was elected earlier this year. Hamas was formed as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, to which Mohammed Mursi belongs.
Also on Wednesday, Palestinian militants fired more rockets at Israel, while Israel renewed its naval artillery bombardment of Gaza.
Israel launched its current offensive a week ago with the killing of Hamas military leader Ahmed Jabari.
The Israeli government says his assassination, and the subsequent offensive, were aimed at ending rocket fire from Gaza.
More than 150 Palestinians and five Israelis have since been killed.
Israeli officials described Wednesday’s bus explosion as a “terrorist attack”. Hamas praised it but has not said it was behind the blast.
[youtube 1Tw8Tnr1VMs]
[youtube JpiOIiOzBsA]
After the incident, near a military headquarters, huge blasts were heard in Gaza – an apparent Israeli strike on the football stadium.
Eleven people were killed in Gaza on Wednesday, the health ministry said.
Efforts to broker a truce between the Hamas movement and Israel continue.
After eight days of exchanges of fire between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is now in Cairo for talks with the Egyptian president.
Earlier, Hillary Clinton and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon held talks in the West Bank with the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Militants in Gaza have been firing more rockets at Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesman Ofir Gendelman said on his Twitter account that the explosion was caused by a bomb and that it was a “terrorist attack”.
Of the 21 injured, three were suffering from moderate to light injuries – including shrapnel wounds and burns – and were undergoing surgery, a spokesman for the Ichilov medical centre in Tel Aviv said.
Six had already been released and the rest were suffering from anxiety, he said.
The bus was reportedly passing the military headquarters in the city at the time of the blast.
Police believe a bomb was planted on the bus and they are still searching for a suspect.
At least 21 people have been injured in an explosion on a bus in Tel Aviv, in what one Israeli official described as a terrorist attack
Hamas, the Islamist movement which has governed Gaza since 2007, has praised the attack but has not said it was behind the blast.
Celebratory gunfire reportedly rang out in Gaza when local radio relayed news of the attack.
A series of massive explosions in Gaza, in an apparent Israeli strike on the sports stadium have been reported. Reports from Gaza say the stadium has in the past been used a site to launch rockets.
According to Israel’s ministry of foreign affairs, the last bomb attack in Tel Aviv was in April 2006, when a suicide bombing on a restaurant killed 11.
The bus blast comes on the eighth day of the current flare-up in violence between Israel and militants in Gaza.
Some 147 Palestinians and five Israelis have been killed.
Other sites hit in Gaza included a banker’s villa, tunnels to Egypt used by smugglers and a media office, said to be linked to Hamas, that was situated two floors above the Agence France-Presse office in Gaza City.
The IDF said 62 rockets fired by militants from Gaza had hit Israel so far on Wednesday, while another 20 were intercepted by its Iron Dome missile defence system.
The latest violence will further complicate ceasefire discussions taking place in the region.
The two international mediators are both expected to hold talks with Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi in Cairo.
In the West Bank, Ban Ki-moon expressed “profound concern” at the civilian casualties in Gaza and also called on militants to end immediately their “indiscriminate attacks on Israeli population centres”.
Hillary Clinton held talks with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem before heading to Cairo.
Officials from Hamas had suggested on Tuesday that a truce would come into effect at midnight, but Israel later said it had not agreed to a text.
Israel’s demands include no hostile fire of any kind from Gaza and international efforts to prevent Hamas from re-arming, while Hamas is demanding an end to the blockade on Gaza and targeted killings by Israel.
Israel launched its current offensive a week ago with the killing of Hamas military leader Ahmed Jabari. The Israeli government says his assassination, and the subsequent offensive, is designed to end rocket fire from Gaza.
Israel has troops massed along the Gaza border but says it is holding off on a possible ground invasion as talks continue.
Ceasefire demands
Israel
Hamas
[youtube NHWSHHlkkVw]
Prev