Washington: The issue of US visa fee hike, which has hurt several Indian IT firms, is expected to come up for discussion when External Affairs Minister S M Krishna meets US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton here today on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session. India has "consistently" taken up the issue of the visa fee hike with the US and the issue will figure in talks between Mr Krishna and Ms Clinton, official sources told PTI here. The US had raised visa fee in 2010 to fund its enhanced costs on securing border with Mexico under the Border Security Act. Some of the top Indian companies TCS, Infosys, Wipro and Mahindra Satyam were affected by the US action and India is expected to soon seek consultations with the US at the World Trade Organization (WTO) on the issue. The sources said that young Indian professionals working in the US have been the "cornerstone" of India-US relations and are a pillar in the improved bilateral relations that has brought t...

Reset your password Enter your email and we will send you a link to reset your password. Email Reset my password Cancel OK Resend Email You must have browser cookies enabled to view our site. It's possible that your browser cookies are turned off. Read our FAQ page to find out how to enable cookies in your browser. Account issue We're sorry, your shared access privileges have been removed by the subscriber. You can still look at a limited number of articles per month. Subscribe now Continue reading Account issue We're sorry, this account no longer has full access. You can still look at a limited number of articles per month.

Yes Conn, We Can This blog, written by Patrick Riccards, CEO of Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now, was launched to enable tough discussions about education and reform in Connecticut. It will focus on what works, what doesn't work, and what we need to do to ensure that all kids have access to a great public education. A Voice for Victims When you have been victimized, it can be an overwhelming experience. This blog is meant to provide guidance, advice and key links to help you know your rights and find resources available to help you. East Haven & Branford Notebook Jennifer Swift covers East Haven and Branford for the New Haven Register. Her blog is a way to foster conversation about the news from these two towns. Reach Jenn at 203-789-5615, jswift@nhregister.com or on Twitter @NHRSwift . Milford Matters Get an inside look at the Register's coverage of all things Milford. Reporter Rich Scinto and Metro Editor Brian McCready share and gather story ideas, insight, and...

According to the United States , a lack of coordination among the various rebel groups taking control of growing swaths of Syria is one of their principle weaknesses. To help remedy that, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday announced an additional $15 million in communications equipment to enhance cooperation among Syria s opposition players from rebel fighters to the new revolutionary councils" popping up to administer local services in liberated zones. Secretary Clinton unveiled the new aid package at a New York meeting of countries working with the Syrian opposition . And she used the meeting to call attention to the threat she said Iran poses with its deepening involvement in the Syrian civil war. RECOMMENDED: Why no safe zone in Syria, yet? Five complications Lets be very frank here, Clinton said. The [ Bashar al-Assad ] regimes most important lifeline is Iran. Adding that there is no longer any doubt that Tehran will do whatever it takes to protect its...

New York: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday unveiled a total of USD 45 million in new funding for humanitarian aid and to help the civilian opposition in Syria. Some USD 30 million will go towards aid, bumping up the total US funding for humanitarian relief to USD 130 million with a further USD 15 million for the civilian Syrian opposition, she told a meeting of the Friends of Syria. The talks were attended by nine Syrian activists, who have been working with local coordination committees in cities such as Homs. Some of them had traveled from within Syria to New York to spell out to leaders of about two dozen countries -- out of the 90 nations which make up the group -- what their needs are. Washington has, however, insisted it will not bow to calls to arm the rebels, fearing it will further complicate the situation on the ground.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged China and Japan on Thursday to let "cool heads" prevail in a festering dispute over a cluster of islands in the East China Sea that has soured ties between Asia's two largest economies. Clinton met Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on the sidelines of this week's U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York and said it was important to ratchet down tensions over the islands, known as the Diaoyu islands in China and the Senkakus in Japan , a senior State Department official said. "The secretary ... again urged that cooler heads prevail, that Japan and China engage in dialogue to calm the waters," the official told reporters. "We believe that Japan and China have the resources, have the restraint, have the ability to work on this directly and take tensions down, and that is our message to both sides," the official said. Clinton was due to meet Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro...

For one hour on Sunday afternoon, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Philippe Reines was behaving most undiplomatically. He had been engaged in a testy email exchange with a journalist who was asking tough but fair questions related to the State Departments handling of the attack in Libya in which the American ambassador was killed and then Reines escalated. Why do you bother to ask questions youve already decided you know the answers to? he asked. Why dont you give answers that arent bull[expletive] for a change? replied the writer, BuzzFeeds Michael Hastings. I now understand, Reines parried, why the Defense Department concluded beyond a doubt that youre an unmitigated [expletive]. Hows that for a non-bull[expletive] response? Now that weve gotten that out of our systems, have a good day. And by good day, I mean [expletive] off. Reading the full exchange when BuzzFeed published it Monday, I recognized it as vintage Philippe: savage, sardonic and over-the-top in the service of the c...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged China and Japan on Thursday to let "cool heads" prevail in a festering dispute over a cluster of islands in the East China Sea that has soured ties between Asia's two largest economies. Clinton met Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on the sidelines of this week's U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York and said it was important to ratchet down tensions over the islands, known as the Diaoyu islands in China and the Senkakus in Japan , a senior State Department official said. "The secretary ... again urged that cooler heads prevail, that Japan and China engage in dialogue to calm the waters," the official told reporters. "We believe that Japan and China have the resources, have the restraint, have the ability to work on this directly and take tensions down, and that is our message to both sides," the official said. Clinton was due to meet Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro...

Photos catch the secretary of state's doodles on the first page of her speech at the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks during the Security Council meeting convened during the 67th session of the General Assembly at the United Nations on September 26, 2012 in New York City. UPI/Monika Graff Photographers caught Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, noted lover of dancing , texting and whimsical accessorizing , doodling on her prepared remarks during a U.N. Security Council session on peace in the Middle East in New York Wednesday. While the above photos show a series of spirals, other images capture what appear to be a cluster of grapes and a star. UPI/Monika Graff License photo | Permalink With all those speeches, who can blame her? Clinton is not the first political figure to kill time and curb boredom with a little harmless doodling. As the Atlantic pointed out in 2006, plenty of American presidents -- including Bill Cl...

Listening to world leaders make speeches about peace in the Middle East must give many people a sense dj vu, especially if you are the US secretary of state. So it is perhaps not that surprising that Hillary Clinton took to doodling on her speech notes while she awaited her turn at the podium at the United Nations. It's not clear what the patterns Clinton was drawing mean, perhaps she was thinking that the talks were going round and round in circles. Clinton is not the first world leader to have her scribblings at the UN to be captured by photographers. In 2005 president George W. Bush was spotted asking secretary state Condi Rice if he could go to for a toilet break during a meeting of world leaders. Also on HuffPost:

Washington, Sep. 27 ( ANI ): Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was caught scribbling geometric doodles on her speech notes at the United Nations Security Council meeting. World leaders have come to the United Nations to discuss pressing world issues, including the situation in Syria and global security. Clinton delivered her speech on the Middle East, but her 8 1/2 x 11-inch piece of white paper was decorated with a star, a cluster of circles and a collection of swirls at the bottom. According to the Daily Mail, she also, for the first time, said that there was a link between Al-Qaeda in North Africa and the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. She also offered a strange face during an address on the AIDS crisis later in the day. But Clinton is not the only high-ranking politician seen drifting and drawing on paper in an artistic way. At a meeting in 1981, then-President Ronald Reagan was seen furiously scribbling heads, eye and torso on his notes. (ANI)

Published: Sept. 26, 2012 at 8:36 PM UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the U.N. Security Council Wednesday fledgling Middle East democracies need "champions, not fair-weather friends." Clinton said the violent protests of the past two weeks in the Arab Spring states "exposed deep rifts within new democracies and volatility that extremists were quick to instigate and exploit." Reiterating President Obama's stance before the U.N. General Assembly a day earlier, Clinton said "the United States rejects the false choice between democracy and stability." "Democracies make the strongest, most capable partners. And we know that it takes a lot of hard work and oftentimes struggle," she said. "But the fact of new, emerging democracies here in the 21st century should be a cause for great satisfaction and hope. But these emerging democracies need champions, not fair-weather friends." The United Sta...

Published Wednesday, September 26, 2012, 8:29 AM Updated Wednesday, September 26, 2012, 10:16 AM US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton Photo by Google Images Secretary of State Hillary Clinton needs to step in and dissuade the British Governmentfrom pursuing the Boston College tapes any further. The attempt to bring the case to the Supreme Court by Boston College and others will almost certainly fail, as the relevant U.S./British treaty that the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals judges accepted when releasing the tape ensures the ability of countries to seek materials related to terrorism from another country. The relevance of the treaties for, say, obtaining Al Qaeda information from another country is clearly highly prized, and the treaty is written so that there is very limited discretion for overturning it. The British are seeking the tapes to see what dissident IRA supporters stated about Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams and his alleged role in what happened long ago in Northern Irelan...

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used her Monday eveningkeynote speech at a Clinton Global Initiative event to push for a new global initiative: a tax on the worlds rich. One of the issues that I have been preaching about around the world is collecting taxes in an equitable manner, especially from the elites in every country, Clinton said at the annual meeting of her husbands global public policy organization. It is a fact that around the world the elites of every country are making money, Clinton continued. There are rich people everywhere. And yet they do not contribute to the growth of their own countries. Citing the need for public schools and public hospitals,Clinton said elites do not sufficiently invest in the public sector and restrict their countriesdevelopment. And so it means, for leaders, telling powerful people things they dont want to hear, Clinton added, to laughter and applause. Although left unmentioned in Clintonsspeech, President Barack Obama has been actively ...

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stacked her first full day of diplomacy at this year's annual U.N. General Assembly meeting , also known as UNGA, by meeting with the leaders of some of the United States' most challenging allies in a region marred by recent civil unrest. Clinton had sit-down meetings with President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and Libyan President Mohamed Yousef el-Magariaf , before ending the evening Monday holding talks with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi . The secretary and her delegation met with Morsi and his delegation for nearly an hour, according to senior State Department officials. One official described the meeting as "very relaxed and warm," and said that Morsi began the meeting by affirming Egypt 's commitment to protecting U.S. diplomatic missions, and told Clinton that the Egyptian government understands it has a duty to protect embassies and it's a duty he takes seriously. The official...

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton envisions a future shaped by pragmatism, collaboration and shared values By Ishaan Tharoor | | September 24, 2012 | John Moore / Getty Images Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks to participants of the Clinton Global Initiative meeting in New York City, Sept. 24, 2012. Rising above the clamor and broadsides of the U.S. election campaign, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered a glimpse of her and the Obama Administrations vision for the future of American foreign policy. Her Monday keynote speech (dubbed Designing Diplomacy for the 21st Century) at the Clinton Global Initiatives annual meeting in New York , hosted by her husband President Bill Clinton , dwelled on how the U.S. intends to reshape its commitment to global development in the face of a rapidly changing world. We have to think fast and innovatively and be willing to change ourselves, warned Clinton. Her message was a world away from the bluster of those in the U.S. wh...

Instead, Mr Obama favours higher taxes for the nation's wealthiest. Talking in general terms at the Clinton Global Initiative, Ms Clinton insisted: "There are rich people everywhere and yet they do not contribute to the growth of their own countries. "They don't invest in public schools, in public hospitals, in other kinds of development internally," she told the aid foundation set up by her husband, former Democratic president Bill Clinton. But as countries seek to stop being aid recipients, Ms Clinton said taxes were vital to "mobilize their own domestic resources for long-term development". "And so it means for leaders telling powerful people things they don't want to hear," said Ms Clinton. "It means being transparent about budgets and revenues, and bringing corruption to light and when that happens, we shouldn't punish countries for uncovering corruption; we should reward them for doing so. "And it means putting into pla...

THE 2012 US election may be far from decided, but suddenly there is fresh speculation over the 2016 race, and whether Hillary Clinton might once again feature on the ballot paper. When Bill Clinton was asked whether his wife might run in four years if Barack Obama is re-elected in November, he hinted it was a possibility. ''I have no earthly idea what she will decide to do,'' Mr Clinton said in a CBS interview. He said his wife is tired after 20 years of public service - eight as first lady when he was president from 1993 to 2001, then eight more as a senator for the state of New York, and now as Secretary of State. Mr Clinton said she wanted to take some time off to regroup and write a book. ''I've never met anybody I thought was any better than her at this. But again, we got a lot of able people in our party who want to be president,'' he said. Asked directly i...

Washington, Sept. 24 ( ANI ): Former US President Bill Clinton has not ruled out that his wife Hillary Clinton may run for the president post in future. The 64-year-old US Secretary of State was defeated for the Democratic nomination by Barack Obama in 2008, and has since repeatedly said she would not again seek to be America's first female president. But Clinton in an interview with CBS News hinted that it was possible his wife might run in four years' time. "I have no earthly idea what she will decide to do," ABC News quoted Clinton, as saying. According to the report, he said his wife was tired after all her hectic years of public service, eight as First Lady when he was President from 1993 to 2001, then eight more as a senator representing the state of New York and now as Secretary of State . "She wants to take some time off, kind of regroup, write a book," Clinton said, adding: "I think we ought to give her a chance to organize her life and dec...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - If Secretary of State Hilary Clinton harbors ambitions to run for president, she is keeping them under tight wraps. "I have no earthly idea what she'll decide to do," her husband, former President Bill Clinton , said on CBS television's "Face the Nation" on Sunday. Although Hilary Clinton went down to defeat to President Barack Obama in a close primary contest in 2008, she has stayed in the public eye as the president's top diplomat. In that role, Clinton , who had been a U.S. Senator from New York, has built a reputation as a capable stateswoman and a loyal lieutenant to the president. She is frequently rated as the most popular member of Obama's cabinet. Clinton has said will step down from her current job whether the president wins re-election or not. "She wants to take some time off, kind of regroup. Write a book," her husband said. However, she is likely to remain an influential voice and questions about her ...

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has reminded governments of their 'solemn duty' to protect diplomatic missions, amid a wave of anti-American unrest in the Muslim world. 'As I have said before and as is embodied in the Vienna Convention and other international agreements, all governments have the duty, the solemn duty, to defend diplomatic missions, Clinton said. 'They must be safe and protected places,' she said before talks with Tunisia's foreign minister, Rafik Pedestaled. Tens of thousands took to the streets after Friday prayers in the Middle East and Asia to vent their anger over a US-made film ridiculing the Prophet Mohammed and the publication in France of cartoons lampooning him. US and French diplomatic missions were bracing for the unrest, after the US outpost in Benghazi was attacked by militants last week in an hours-long siege in which the US ambassador to Libya and three other Americans were killed. Tunisia had banned all demonstrations amid ...

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has announced she is setting up an official review of security at a US mission in Libya following a militant attack that killed four Americans. 'I will advise Congress ... I am launching an accountability review board that will be chaired by ambassador Thomas Pickering,' Clinton told reporters on Thursday, ahead of a classified briefing to lawmakers about the attack. Clinton was heading up to the US Capitol to address first the House of Representatives and then the Senate about the September 11 attack in which heavily armed militants laid siege to the US consulate in Benghazi as protests raged over an anti-Islamic film. US ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens was killed in the four-hour attack, along with three other Americans on a diplomatic mission to Benghazi. Clinton said her briefing to lawmakers would cover the US 'security posture, before and during the events and the steps we have taken since to do everything we can with host gover...

The third annual Social Good Summit kicked off Saturday in New York with a surprise address from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton . [More from Mashable : Join the Conversation With Ambassador Susan Rice at the Social Good Summit ] "Leaders around the world are coming together around at the United Nations seeking solutions for some of the toughest challenges we might face," Clinton said. "At the same time a revolution in social media is helping people everywhere take part in a global conversation about how we can work together to advance the common good." Clinton encouraged the connected generation to get involved helping to build a better future. [More from Mashable: Google, Wikipedia, Twitter, Microsoft Join Social Good Summit ] "We need your help," she said. "Please use this unprecedented opportunity to become involved. Share your ideas. Mobilize your friends. Take action online and off." Even if you couldn't make it to New York, you c...

In case you were wondering why Roberta's Pizza was mysteriously closed for most of yesterday, here's your answer: Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton were eating pizza in Bushwick last night! Certainly this pizza date was not as history-shaking as some of Bill's previous pizza dates. We've contacted Roberta's for more information; one employee told us that everything was being kept hush-hush about the private event, but we've at least gotten confirmation that now-vegan Bill Clinton and family were there. You can check out some tweets about it below. We'll update once we get more details.

Washington, Sept 22: The US supports Pakistans sovereignty, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, reminding Islamabad that all sovereign nations carry certain obligations like preventing threats to neighbours and the international community. We support Pakistans sovereignty, but we are clear that all sovereign nations carry certain obligations: to protect the human rights of their citizens, to control their territory, to prevent threats to their neighbours and the international community, Clinton told reporters in a joint press availability with her Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar. Clintons statement came as Khar during her current Washington trip called for an end to the drone strikes alleging that they violate Pakistans sovereignty. The US has ruled out stopping its highly successful drone programme which targets terrorists operating inside the Pakistan tribal areas. One thing that does come in the way of us being able to inspire confidence in Pakistanis is the use of unil...

U.S. officials say the Obama administration is planning to remove an Iranian militant group once allied with former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from the U.S. terrorism list. A court had given Secretary of State Hillary Clinton until October 1 to decide the fate of Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, also known as the People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran or MEK. But unnamed sources said Tuesday she has already decided to take the group off the terrorism list. The move will end years of high-profile campaigning from the group but is expected to anger the Iranian government. Iran and Iraq's current Shi'ite-led government consider the People's Mujahedeen a terrorist organization. Under Saddam Hussein, Iraq gave the MEK shelter after the Iranian revolution in 1979, and some group members were accused of helping Saddam crush a Shi'ite revolt about 20 years ago. Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.

September 21, 2012 - 15:07 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a statement congratulating Armenia on independence day. On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I am delighted to send best wishes to the people of Armenia as you celebrate your independence day this September 21. This is a special occasion to honor the achievements of Armenians and those of Armenian descent. In the United States, Armenian-Americans have enriched the fabric of our society, further strengthening the longstanding bonds of friendship between our two countries. I had the opportunity to once again experience the warm hospitality of the Armenian people when I visited Yerevan this past June. As I said then, America is committed to helping Armenia strengthen its democratic institutions, deepen its economic reforms, and foster a future of peace and prosperity. As you celebrate 21 years of independence, know that the United States stands with Armenia as a p...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday she was forming a panel to investigate the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other U.S. officials. The panel, whose creation is generally required by law when someone is killed or seriously injured at a U.S. mission abroad, will be chaired by Thomas Pickering, a retired diplomat who served as U.S. ambassador to Russia, India, Israel, Nigeria, El Salvador, Jordan and at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. Such panels, made up of four people chosen by the secretary of state and one by the U.S. intelligence community, are charged with writing a report on whether security systems and procedures were adequate and may make recommendations for improvements. Clinton is scheduled to give a classified briefing to members of the Senate and House of Representatives on Thursday to discuss the assault on the U.S. consulate, which took place last week, on ...

September 20, 2012 5:46 AM Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will brief members of Congress behind closed doors about the attack in Libya that killed the American ambassador and three of his aides. CBS News' Margaret Brennan reports.

Today Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi received the Congressional Gold Medal , which she was awarded in 2008 while under house arrest, and during the ceremony Hillary Clinton dropped an interesting tidbit. During a visit to the country last year, the speaker of the lower house of parliament asked her to help them "learn how to be a democratic congress." "He went on to tell me that they were trying to teach themselves by watching old segments of The West Wing ," Clinton recalled . "I said, 'I think we can do better than that, Mr. Speaker.'" Who's to say they wouldn't be better off with a democracy where everyone speaks in Sorkinese and most problems are tied up in 42 minutes?

Burmese opposition leader and Democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi met with U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton on Tuesday in Washington, D.C. The meeting marked Suu Kyi's first trip to the U.S. since being released from house arrest, where she had been kept almost continuously since 1989. Suu Kyi will be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for her human rights work. She also won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. The meeting began live-streaming on the home page of the State Department at 12:30 p.m. Clinton and Suu Kyi will discuss the democratic transition in Myanmar, or Burma, the State Department said in a release. The visit is the first stop on Suu Kyi's 17-day visit all over the U.S. Follow us To report problems or to leave feedback about this article, e-mail: To contact the editor, e-mail:

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Tuesday welcomed Aung San Suu Kyi on her first visit to the United States since the Myanmar democracy icon was released from years of house arrest. There is "so much excitement and enthusiasm about the fact that you can actually come," Clinton told Suu Kyi as they met in the State Department. Suu Kyi, dressed in a red jacket with three small pink flowers pinned to her hair, was smiling and relaxed as the women chatted in Clinton's outer office. They discussed Suu Kyi's upcoming visit to Fort Wayne, Indiana, home to a large number of people from Myanmar, also know as Burma. Clinton said the people of Fort Wayne were "eagerly awaiting" her arrival next week. Clinton said she would like to hear more from Suu Kyi about Fort Wayne and "how people ended up there, and are living there." During her long years of house confinement in Mynamar, Suu Kyi said she had always heard "about Fort Wayne on...

"For her to come here and collect the Congressional Gold Medal and celebrate with the activists who have stood by her for so many years is momentous," said Suzanne Nossel, executive director of Amnesty International USA, which will host Suu Kyi on Thursday. The rights group hopes at Suu Kyi visit will help energise a new generation of activists. But the administration is being careful to balance its plaudits for Suu Kyi with praise and recognition for the former general who has made the reforms possible President Thein Sein. He arrives in the US next week to attend the UN General Assembly's annual gathering of world leaders in New York. Any announcement on easing the import ban is likely to take place at that time. In a sign of that diplomatic balancing act, a key aide to Thein Sein, minister of the president's office Aung Min, who has been at the forefront of ceasefire negotiations with Burma's ethnic insurgents, will have high-level meetings at the State Depart...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will lobby lawmakers this week on the need to keep billions of dollars in aid flowing to Egypt and other countries caught up in a spasm of violent anti-American protests across the Muslim world. The State Department said Clinton intended to meet with Congress later this week to discuss the protests, which saw U.S. diplomatic missions attacked and the U.S. ambassador to Libya killed amid fury over a film produced in the United States that many saw as an insult to Islam. Republican lawmakers are calling for an investigation into the attacks amid suspicions in Republican circles that the Democratic administration is trying to tamp down inquiries about the events as the November 6 presidential election looms. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, had hoped to hold a public hearing on Egypt this week. She reluctantly called it off after the Obama administration refused to send any witnesses ...

Edward L. "Ted" Widmer, the director of the John Carter Brown Library, a rare books library at Brown University, is stepping down from his post, in part to take a job as senior adviser to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, the university announced last week. He'll also serve as an assistant to new Brown University President Christina Paxson, focused on special projects. Working with a Clinton is nothing new for Widmer, who holds a doctorate from Harvard University and is also an award-winning author of "Young America: The Flowering of Democracy in New York City," among other works. He served as special assistant to President Bill Clinton on national security affairs, writing foreign policy speeches. He later served as a senior adviser to the president for special projects, according to a biography on Brown's website.

Before the thick, black smoke in Libya had cleared, there was dizzying confusion in Washington. US President Barack Obama and State Secretary Hillary Clinton return to their seats after speaking during the transfer of remains ceremony marking the return to the US of the remains of the four Americans killed in an attack this week in Benghazi, Libya, at the Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on September 14, 2012. (Jewel Samad, AFP / Getty Images) Throughout the night of Sept. 11, according to a senior State Department official, employees had monitored the fast-moving events in Benghazi from their Operations Center. First there was a report of injured embassy personnel. Then American security personnel on the ground in Benghazi discovered the body of Sean Smith, a ten-year foreign-service officer who had been detailed to Libya from his post in the Hague. Smith had been in the Benghazi consulate with Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens , but the two men had become separated in the smoke an...

Obama and Clinton yesterday. (Molly Riley-Pool/Getty Images) Yesterday, the bodies of the four Americans killed in the attack on a temporary U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, Sean Smith, Tyrone S. Woods, and GlenA. Doherty, arrived at Joint Base Andrews, where President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were on hand to memorialize them. In an emotional statement, Clinton remembered Stevens, who she knew personally, and went on to say that, " We will wipe away our tears, stiffen our spines and face the future undaunted." The people of Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Tunisia did not trade! the tyranny of a dictator for the tyranny of a mob, she said. Reasonable people and responsible leaders in these countries need to do everything they can to restore security and hold accountable those behind these violent acts. Of those killed, Obama said, "They knew the danger, and they accepted it. They didnt simply embrace the American ideal; ...