Kerry: Best Not To Overhype Wikileaks Scandal, Though It Does Endanger Americans

Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) said today that it is important to not overhype the WikiLeaks story, and said the leaks have “no relation whatsoever” to the Pentagon Papers.

Kerry also said that the release of classified documents “breaks the law, undermines the job being done by our troops, and potentially puts people in harms way.” 

- Brandon Kosters

U.S Must Not Abandon Women And Minorities In Afghanistan, Says Former Ambassador

Ryan Crocker, former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq under President Bush and current dean and executive professor at Texas A & M University’s George Bush School of Government and Public Service, testified before a Senate hearing today on “Perspectives on Reconciliation Options in Afghanistan.”

He said the U.S. “can’t abandon women and minorities” in Afghanistan. “We would be held responsible,” he said.

- Brandon Kosters

BP To Sell $30 Billion In Assets

According to an article published today by the New York Times, BP has announced that it will sell $30 billion in assets by 2012 to pay for cleanup costs in the Gulf of Mexico.

The article said that while BP enjoyed a second-quarter profit of $4.4 billion last year, it has suffered a loss of $17 billion this second-quarter.

Also, the oil giant confirmed today that outgoing CEO Tony Hayward will be replaced by Bob Dudley, an American-born executive at the company…

- Brandon Kosters

WikiLeaks Release Has Top Pentagon Official Outraged

An article released by American Forces Press Service today says that Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has told the press that he is upset about the release of roughly 90,000 classified documents through WikiLeaks, saying that the leak endangers Americans.

Mullen did say, however, that the documents were written between 2004 and 2009, many of them field reports which documented events in Pakistan. 

Mullen said that he is determined to help prevent further leaks of this nature in the future.

- Brandon Kosters

Langevin Becomes Speaker For A Day, Celebrates ADA Anniversary

Congressman Jim Langevin (D-R.I.) became the first Member in a wheelchair to preside over the House of Representatives Monday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Langevin, who was paralyzed over 30 years ago, continues to set a great example for people all over the U.S. with diabilities.

“He is first because of his courage.  He is first because of his inspiration.  And he is first because when I became Speaker, he said to me: ‘Now that you are presiding, I want to preside too.’  So when that day — when we made history, having the first woman Speaker of the House, it became clear that we had to make history today in having Jim Langevin preside on this historic occasion,” said Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.