BREAKING NEWS

Obama nominates Hagel for Pentagon, Brennan for CIA

US President Barack Obama on Monday announced the nomination of Republican Chuck Hagel as his next defense secretary and counterterrorism adviser John Brennan to head the CIA, two choices likely to stoke controversy as he fills out his second-term national security team.
"Chuck represents the bipartisan tradition that we need more of in Washington," Obama in a "personnel announcement" at the White House. "Chuck learned to speak his mind even if it's not popular, even if it's not the conventional wisdom."