State Department

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US Gov. Gets Serious About Tainted Alcohol in Mexico

Investigation revealed over 120 incidents of tourists blacking out, getting hurt, and worse

(Newser) - Following a months-long investigation by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and criticism from both Republican and Democrat lawmakers, the US State Department is stepping up on reports of American tourists being injured and worse after drinking possibly tainted alcohol in Mexico. Since launching its investigation in July, the Journal Sentinel has...

Trump on State Dept. Vacancies: 'I'm the Only One That Matters'

President also talked North Korea, Tillerson, and Putin during interview with Laura Ingraham

(Newser) - President Trump sat down with Laura Ingraham Thursday night, and when the Fox News host pressed him on why there are still so many vacancies for top posts in the State Department, he seemed nonplussed. "Let me tell you, the one that matters is me," Trump said, per...

Convicted Pedophiles to Be Identified on New US Passports

New document will identify them as sex offenders

(Newser) - America's registered child sex offenders will now have to use passports identifying them for their past crimes when traveling overseas. The State Department said Wednesday it would begin revoking passports of registered child sex offenders and will require them to apply for a new one that carries a "...

Envoy Scott Brown Is Warned After Remarks to Guests

Ambassador to New Zealand says he'll be more 'culturally aware' in future

(Newser) - The US ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa is blaming the "blood sport" of politics for the kerfuffle he's in over comments he made while visiting the latter islands. Per the New York Times , witnesses told local media that former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown acted "obnoxiously" at...

Officials: US Wants Cuba's DC Embassy Staff Cut 60%

Move will match reduction at Havana embassy

(Newser) - US officials say the Trump administration is preparing to ask Cuba to reduce the staff at its embassy in Washington by 60%, the AP reports. The move follows last week's US decision to reduce American personnel at the embassy in Havana by a similar amount. That move was in...

Tillerson Is Letting $79M Collect Dust

The Global Engagement Center could get the money, but hasn't

(Newser) - It garnered a small two-paragraph mention in a hefty Foreign Policy piece on Monday: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has $79 million at his disposal for fighting ISIS propaganda—he just has to sign two memos to get it. And he hasn't. Politico reports the funding all relates to...

Families Say Others Have Died at Mexican Resorts

'Tainted' booze eyed after deaths, blackouts

(Newser) - The US State Department is warning travelers to Mexico about "tainted or substandard alcohol" after reports of people blacking out and waking with injuries—or sometimes not waking at all. Since its investigation into Abbey Conner's death in January, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has uncovered more than three...

US: Iran 'in Default of the Spirit' of Nuclear Deal

But Trump administration still gives wary recertification of Iran's compliance

(Newser) - The US, five other countries, and the EU reached a deal with Iran two years ago this month to make sure the latter's "nuclear program will be exclusively peaceful," and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson recertified on Monday that Iran was complying with the agreement, as is...

Under Tightened Visa Rules, an Aunt Isn't a 'Close Relative'

Move affects refugees, citizens of 6 countries

(Newser) - The Trump administration has set new criteria for visa applicants from six mainly Muslim nations and all refugees that require a "close" family or business tie to the United States. The move, which takes effect at 8pm Thursday, came after the Supreme Court partially restored an executive order from...

State Dept. Blog Promoting Trump's Club Makes Waves

Blog post appears to be promoting Mar-a-Lago

(Newser) - A State Department blog post is making waves—because it appears to be promoting Mar-a-Lago, the private Florida club President Trump owns. The post was published April 4, but gained attention Monday after people realized it had been shared on the US Embassy in London's website, and started making...

One Word Keeps Dogging Rex Tillerson: Absence
One Word Keeps Dogging
Rex Tillerson: Absence
the rundown
Mar 6, 2017 8:46 AM CST

One Word Keeps Dogging Rex Tillerson: Absence

The secretary of State has kept an extremely low profile thus far

(Newser) - A word that has been dogging Secretary of State Rex Tillerson: absence. Absence from the spotlight, from a high-profile human rights event Friday, and from the press, though that's set to change, somewhat, as of Monday. A rep for the State department attempted to answer the question of where,...

1K State Department Officials Sign Dissent Memo

Spicer says they should 'get with the program' or go

(Newser) - President Trump's refugee and visa ban "runs counter to American values" and "will hurt America economically," according to a dissent memo signed by an unprecedented number of State Department officials. More than 1,000 officials, including American diplomats all over the world, had signed the cable...

State Department Hit by Mass Exodus of Senior Officials

The Trump administration wanted to 'clean house,' says one source

(Newser) - On Wednesday, four top-level management officials resigned from the State Department, the Washington Post reports. A former State Department chief of staff calls it the "single biggest simultaneous departure of institutional memory that anyone can remember." According to CNN , the four officials are taking 150 total years of...

Senate Committee Narrowly Backs Tillerson as SecState

Vote is 11-10 along party lines

(Newser) - Rex Tillerson's bid to be secretary of state narrowly won approval Monday from the Republican-led Foreign Relations Committee, a move that all but assures Senate confirmation of President Donald Trump's choice to be the nation's top diplomat, the AP reports. Members of the committee voted along party...

Trump Team Wants Info on Gender-Equality Programs

The programs are a part of Hillary Clinton's legacy

(Newser) - Donald Trump's transition team has requested information from the State Department regarding "gender-related staffing, programming, and funding," the Washington Post reports. Both the Post and the New York Times got their hands on a copy of the memo. The request specifies programs that “promote gender equality,...

Trump Team Is Feuding Over Mitt Romney

Some question if he's loyal enough to be secretary of state

(Newser) - The debate over who should be Donald Trump's secretary of state has moved from behind closed doors to … Twitter. Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway took to Twitter on Thursday to discuss Mitt Romney, a candidate for the post, suggesting a vocal critic of Trump shouldn't be favored over...

ICC: Probe Into American War Crimes May Be Coming

Court says US troops tortured detainees

(Newser) - The International Criminal Court is talking about investigating Americans for alleged war crimes in Afghanistan, a move that the State Department considers both unwarranted and inappropriate. The department says that not only is the US not a member of the ICC, it has its own justice system capable of dealing...

US Did Pressure Ecuador About Assange: Report

But the State Dept. denies it

(Newser) - Ecuador may be claiming its decision to cut Julian Assange's internet was all its own , but that's not the story some US officials are telling. Intelligence sources tell NBC News that the US government quietly communicated to Ecuador that Assange is tied up with Russian hacking—officials say...

Clinton Aide Allegedly Offered FBI a Deal to Declassify Email

Allegation raised in new release of FBI documents

(Newser) - The latest release of FBI documents on the investigation of Hillary Clinton's emails has revealed what Donald Trump calls "felony corruption." According to the documents, FBI employees told investigators that State Department official Patrick Kennedy had pressured them to change their finding that one of the emails...

State Department Reopens Clinton Email Probe

She and her former aides could face 'administrative sanctions'

(Newser) - The State Department is reopening an internal investigation of possible mishandling of classified information by Hillary Clinton and top aides, the AP reports. Spokesperson John Kirby says the email probe is restarting now that the Justice Department isn't pursuing a criminal prosecution. The State Department suspended its review in...

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