john kerry joked today that he had big heels to fill as the new secretary of state. president obama's second major nominee to face a confirmation hearing was another national

whenlg i sign my tweets, i mean my name, john kerry. lol, no, i don't. jk. just confusing. >> joining me now deputy washington bureau chief for the boston globe and co-author of john kerry, biography. your man is now at the state department. so tell us just knowing what you know of john kerry, this is the job he's wanted his whole life. he told that to the troops as he was arriving at the state department. he waved his passport from when he was a 12-year-old in berlin. it really is an extraordinary coming together of the man, the moment, the job. >> it really is. i think a lot of people know about john kerry and his protest gechbs t against the vietnam war. so people think of him as an anti-war person. but the other part of john kerry is that his family home, there's a family home in france, it was taken over by the nazis. and u.s. forces and allied forces kicked the nazis out and john kerry said one of his earlier memories is going to that home and seeing only a stairway to the sky, seeing a chimney, everything else in devastation. so he has sort of two sid

john kerry's in charge today is kerry's first day on the job as secretary of state what is already waiting for him on the desk will explore the issues facing him and his do job. and you'll never guess who's running for senate in australia julian assange has had is officially in the running for a member of the wiki leaks party can he win and how would this affect his asylum case that story ahead. and from torture to cyber surveillance the u.s. is interested in any methods that will help it find the truth but can we trust the most basic methods lie detectors will question more. it's monday february fourth four pm in washington d.c. i'm going lopez and you're watching r.t. all right well today marks john kerry's first official day as the sixty eighth secretary of state and perhaps not a moment too soon topping secretary kerry's agenda is a push to restart the peace talks between the israeli and the path the israelis and palestinians and in the more immediate future he plans to address the volatile situation in egypt and also the one in northern africa his appointment comes amid dropping u.s.

we'll discuss kerry's world tour when p.j. crowley joins us next on "now." ♪ you know my heart burns for you... ♪ i'm up next, but now i'm singing the heartburn blues. hold on, prilosec isn't for fast relief. cue up alka-seltzer. it stops heartburn fast. ♪ oh what a relief it is! because every flake is double-toasted... splashed with sweet honey... and covered in rich double-roasted peanuts. mmm. [ hero ] yummy. [ male announcer ] kellogg's crunchy nut. it's super delicious! [ male announcer ] kellogg's crunchy nut. ♪ ♪ no two people have the same financial goals. pnc works with you to understand yours and help plan for your retirement. visit a branch or call now for your personal retirement review. sdmrirchlgt as the u.s. continues to -- john kerry embarked on his first overseas voyage as secretary of state. kerry's destination choice didn't come from the white house playbook. some white house officials wanted him to follow in clinton's foot steps bay making his maiden overseas trip a tour of asia, according to two people clo

kerry has been a leader on climate issues. will he be able to tip the scales a little bit in that direction and actually build on what the president said in his inaugural address about making climate a priority? >> kerry has said he wants to focus on the middle east, and that has been a deficit in terms of the israeli-palestinian track. certainly, i mean, the arab spring made it much more difficult, much more complicated, but some would argue made it more necessary. >> well, yeah. the middle east is also one of the drains that can suck all the oxygen out of the room. you know, you could get involved in it and get sucked down all these different kind of rabbit holes that exist in the middle east. syria, israel, palestine, egypt, iran, iraq which could, you know, get rough, afghanistan, which is a problem. all of those things are, i guess, threads that he could pull on that could leave him not enough time to deal with the trans-atlantic relationship, to deal with china, to deal with our neighbors like mexico where their priority

secretary of state mr kerry ran into some geography problems when referring to democratic reforms in the non existant country of cures ixtapa they fight corruption in nigeria they support the rule of law. they support democratic institutions and george kyrgyzstan is the country kerry should have said but unfortunately his speech was written with the mistake reporting from new york. r.t. . all right american foreign policy expert john reese is with me to discuss kyrgyzstan kazakhstan mispronunciation and geography mistakes aside sir it's quite interesting to know that john kerry will be visiting the top european allies first on his trip we have london britain france germany italy what is behind this focus on the traditional european allies in your view. well i think it's always been very important for the americans to keep the nato alliance together but they always want to keep it together on their own terms it's always been the case for instance that the senior commanding officer in nato is from the american armed forces and what the americans constantly want to do is to shift the bu

quit embarrassing yourself, kerry. like bai, the imperious rich man of khazakh folklore who was tricked into trading his warm coat for one full of holes by the beguiling aldar kose. am i right? [cheers and applause] i mean, what an idiot. [ laughter ] we'll be right back. guestmy guestonon [cheers and applause] >> stephen: welcome back, everybody. my guest tonight has curated a new exhibition at moma that includes 14 video games. i saw a very similar exhibition at chuck e. cheese. please welcome paola antonelli! [cheers and applause] thanks so much for coming on. ciao. how are you? >> i'm fine, how are you? >> stephen: good. >> i'm good. >> stephen: the latest exhibition at moma is called applied design. >> indeed. >> stephen: tell people what it showcases. >> objects from the collection of moma in the 80s to talk about applied design. design is so many things. >> stephen: what is applied design? >> the idea is that in the future design will go the way of physics. we'll have theoretical design. it will be interfaces, b

secretary of state john kerry says the u.s. has new ideas about how to change the thinking on the ground but a washington wants to see a political transition. >> all this comes a day ahead of new talks between western powers and iran over iran's nuclear program. >> the first new talks since june between iran and the p5 plus 1, referring to the five states that sit on the u.n. security council, including the united states and germany. the talks will be held in kazakhstan. what's on offer and what isn't is something that secretary of state john kerry wanted the iranians to know about the talks. >> iran, with a nuclear weapon in that region, and given all that's happened, is simply unacceptable and we've stated they will not obtain a nuclear weapon. president obama has been crystal clear about this. are. >> reporter: another highlight of the trip, tomorrow in berlin when secretary kerry has his first face-to-face with the russianing leader. >>> another big and dangerous storm for the middle of our country. yet another storm. in so

john kerry, a big change from hillary clinton.o much in policy, but in sort of direction, stature, coming from the senate more so than from the political world. he has come from a world of foreign policy. will the white house be running the show? >> the secretary of state is superbly well qualified. he spent nearly 29 years in the senate. always a member of the foreign relations committee. he has been a life-long student of foreign affairs after living with his parents in germany after the second world war. he is remarkably well connected to international leaders, and just knows these issues front wards and backwards. i think he is well prepared. you notice, andrea, that he called two sets of leaders over the weekend. many middle east leaders and also asian leaders. he is focused on those two regions. that's where he is going to be test veried early on. >> other secretaries of state have tried to engage much more verying russly, many of the, than hillary clinton did, in the northeast diploma as where i. she, of course, had the cha

so that requires a lot of thought, and senator kerry, secretary kerry, is going to have to figure out to make time to have that kind of thought process and not get overwhelmed by the problems like the ankara bombing, while they're important and he has a role, his role on those is not necessarily as fundamental as it has to be on this egypt issue. >> heather, it just goes to show ou how agile the secretary of state has to be. case in point, we have the threat of ji hassists in north africa. we have heard secretary clinton mention the threats in northern africa and mali. wrf does the secretary begin? some have suggested syria should have been at the top of the list. where does he start? >> well, as mike said, you don't have the luxury of starting in just one place. you have to start everywhere at once, and so kerry is going to be looking at turkey and thinking about syria, think about the nato patriot missiles that are now there. he's going to be thinking about what the diplomatic and assistance side is of what is going on in mali which he will know quite well because the u.s. has been

secretary of state mr kerry ran into some geography problems when referring to democratic reforms in the non existant country of cures ixtapa they fight corruption in nigeria they support the rule of law. they support democratic institutions and george kyrgyzstan is the country kerry should have said but unfortunately his speech was written with the mistake of reporting from new york. r.t. well current carries first stop will be in major european capitals like london paris and berlin american foreign policy expert john rees believes kerry's mission there is going to stretch beyond just courtesy calls on traditional nato allies. it's always been very important for the americans to keep the nato alliance together but they always want to keep it together on their own terms it's always been the case for instance that the senior commanding officer in nato is from the american armed forces and what the americans want to do is to shift the burden of military intervention onto your field cars but to keep political control over the process and i think that we've seen that a number of times re

john kerry in charge today is kerry's first day on the job as secretary of state what is already waiting for him on his desk will explore the issues facing him and his new job. from torture to cyber surveillance the united states will do a ploy any and all methods it can to discover the truth but can the government trust its most basic machines lie detectors will question more. and it's often called president obama's proud jewel of achievements during his first term health care reform but is obamacare actually the answer to us that the us healthcare crisis are four on that coming up. it's monday february fourth five pm in washington d.c. i'm meghan lopez and you're watching r t today marks john kerry's first official day as the sixty eighth secretary of state and perhaps not a moment too soon topping secretary kerry's agenda is the push to restart peace talks between israelis and palestinians and in the more immediate future he plans to address the volatile situations in egypt and also in north africa his appointment comes amid dropping u.s. approval ratings in the middle east something

i think what john kerry is doing is the right thing. he's getting his feet wet and fact finding on the ground. he is touching base with our major allies in europe, with turkey, and then iffing into the middle east. i think his assessment on the position of assad is critical is assad willing to accept some negotiations to leave the country? is assad going to depart for the alaawhite areas and have a concentrated domain there? what is likely to happen in syria is important. i'm not one that is for giving heavy arms to -- in the middle of what is effectively a civil war because i suspect those arms will crop up another day and could well kill americans, and that worries me a great deal. i have a great deal of faith in secretary kerry. he is skilled. he is effective. he's got the standing. in my view, he is the best of the united states. sfoo let me ask you about a couple of other foreign policy challenges. china during the last couple of days we've seen this report last week. very well regarded confirmed report that has actually traced chi

lock down as john kerry returned to the city he once called home. the first stop on the visit was for a chat with young berliners. discussions of a different kind with the chancellor. high on their agenda -- foreign policy and the economy, but first these comments on the relationship with the u.s. >> i record a great deal of importance to transatlantic ties. we do not just have common values. we also face common tasks. >> a number of these challenges were discussed at an earlier meeting with kerry's german counterpart. first and foremost, the plans for a new free trade deal between the u.s. and europe. >> germany is our largest trade partner in europe, and we want to see even more trade and investment that will create jobs -- jobs for -- jobs for germans, for americans, for all europeans. >> negotiations are set to begin within months, and i of the two sides managed to overcome their differences, could be completed within two years. >> for more on this visit now, we can bring in our political correspondent, who is standing by at our parliamentary st

they support democratic institutions and george kyrgyzstan is the country kerry should have said but unfortunately his speech was written with the mistake reporting from new york marina r.t. . well kerry's first stops will be major european capitals like london paris and berlin as more to digest reported but american foreign policy expert john reeves believe that kerry's mission there will stretch beyond just simple courtesy calls to traditional nato allies. it's always been very important for the americans to keep the nato alliance together but they always want to keep it together on their own terms it's always been the case for instance that senior commanding officer in nato is from the american armed forces what the americans want to do is to shift the burden of military intervention on to the european powers put the people who control over the process and i think that we've seen that a number of times recently especially since the american focus is now beginning to shift towards the pacific to deal with the rising threat of china we are going to the europeans now have to take hom

what is your impression of how john kerry did?e in his new with the policy speech. >> i thought it was an impressive first speech and it had a tough and stark message. we can't be strong overseas if we are not strong at home. in other words, a lot of power in the world. our military power and diplomatic reach depends on a sound, strong economy is at risk because of the dysfunction in washington and this possibility of sequestration and a weakening of our government and the inability to deal with the budget imbalances. i thought it was impress that he he focus on that because most people think that the economy is you will actually the biggest issue concerning foreign policy. >> for most americans, a lot of us are self-involved with what it is happening within our borders unless we have a loved one who is traveling or a part of the military and secretary kerry spoke to not living in a vacuum. take a listen. >> it's our job to connect those dots. to connect them to the american people between what we do-over there and the size of the

secretary of state mr kerry ran. some geography problems when referring to democratic reforms in the non existant country of cures ixtapa they fight corruption in nigeria they support the rule of law in burma they support democratic institutions and cures that stand in georgia kyrgyzstan is the country kerry should have said but unfortunately his speech was written with a mistake reporting from new york marina important r.t. . what kerry's first stops will be to major european capitals like london paris and berlin american foreign policy expert john we've believe that kerry's mission there will just stretch beyond courtesy calls on traditional nato allies it's always been very important for the americans to keep the nato alliance together but they always want to keep it together on their own terms it's always been the case for instance that the senior commanding officer in nato is from the american armed forces and what the americans constantly want to do is to shift the burden of military intervention on to european

secretary kerry is going to see the prime minister.eetings with the forch secretary front and center i though kerry's mind could be the meetings he is going to have the syrian opposition groups coming up in rome. >> thanks for having me on the show again. such a pleasure to see you. i think there's lots for them to talk about. first of all, we're very pleased that he is beginning this first tour in london, and that feels to us kind of right. i would say that, wouldn't i? i think it is important. there's an awful lot of things for them to talk about. of course, william hayward was in washington yesterday to say good-bye to hillary clinton, and he saw a certain amount of john kerry then and other senior members of the foreign and security policy team here in d.c., so this is not first contact. john kerry has been in london not very long ago, but i think front and center on the agenda are bound to be what are we going to do about sear yashgs and there's going to be discussion about the middle east peace process. my guess is they will talk

kerry follows hillary clinton as secretary of state.lly stepped down from the post earlier today. her colleagues at the state department gave her warm send-off in washington. clinton also submitted her official letter of resignation to president obama. during a private farewell meeting at the white house. and the secret service is going to need a new boss. according to an agency spokesman, mark sullivan is retiring as director. sullivan has been with the secret service for 30 years, and spent nearly the last seven years in his current post. the secret service came under fire last year, when some agents were involved in a prostitution scandal in south america. at the time, president obama said, he had confidence in sullivan's leadership. former new york city mayor ed koch. has died. koch was elected mayor in 1977 and served three terms. he was also a former congressman. and appeared as a judge on the t-v show "the people's court." koch was moved to intensive care just yesterday. he was 88 years old. it's day four of a terrifying hostage

kerry is a big advocate and junkie herself, so it has been great. tavis: does playing the president of the united states in any way enhance your value or stature in this town? >> we will find out. i do not know how to answer the question, but i will say it is a great framework for a character, because you have instantaneous power. it gives you, watching the show and seeing how she is writing the character, seeing the president you get a lot of use. -- juice. there is charisma. it allows you to exercise power, so it makes it a sexy character by definition, and the way that comes off the screen is fun to watch. tavis: this is the kind of question people think you have to ask. i am curious, given the roots your family has in this business, to ask this question. shonda rhimes is a black woman. if there were any doubt they have the capacity to run and lead hit shows, they have put that nonsense to rest, and given the success scandal has. as a white male, who you think about the issue of diversity? >> i think about it constantly. i think about it was a pr

still continues to threaten war with iran and it's unclear whether john kerry's what john kerry's wall will be as a secretary of state in supporting or stopping the war he likes to present himself as this. war politician but he's the same politician who voted to authorize the rack invasion was no evidence that iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction so john kerry has a mixed record and certainly big challenges ahead live from washington go to john thanks very much different. well coming up a little later in the program dissolving the mystery the artistic director of moscow's world famous bolshoi ballet heads to germany for specialist treatment after saying he knows who's behind a violent acid attack on two weeks ago that just ahead on r.t. . there are twelve cities in the united states in which half of the people with hiv aids lives within a year of a diagnosis of. over sixty two percent of. us with this is a problem that frankly is substantially preventable it was like the big elephant in the room and nobody wanted to talk about they were really good public health campaigns if peop

foreign policy and american foreign policy affairs kerry is launching a diplomatic. talks with the russians and with their european allies confirming in before just before the meeting in rome that they want to support talks in syria while at the same time. and use from different reporters in different in a couple of u.s. . newspapers confirming that united states had been supporting the intrusions and the bells. for giving them what and supporting them in military sense and in financial sense and this is a mixed message we don't know exactly what their this mixed message will be continuing in this. in order to. you nor altered the russian the russian request from all parties in syria to sit at the negotiating table while the russian foreign minister has confirmed that with his talk with kerry it was positive and they might be supporting such initiative both talks only on the land with supportive of. giving us another message so doctor what do you think is going to happen of this meetings the rebels say they're going to go now to see what's on offer they're going to c

secretary of state john kerry has signaled washington's readiness to support the syrian rebels ahead of thursday's so-called friends of syria meeting in rome live now to dr ali mohamad editor in chief of the syria tribune online magazine thank you for being with us john kerry says this time will be different he's pledging more support to syrian rebels how much aid. the real question should be home which he has listened to what more can the u.s. and its allies give to the rebels they are giving them a home you mean every country and they are giving them free passes to live from neighboring countries they're giving them even though the u.s. but look at approx he's already you know proxies they are giving them. all kinds of explosives and i'm willing to go to that mission what more can you offer. why don't you try to answer that for us what do you think kerry means by more support than what i think mr kerry is trying to prepare the coalition for the next step which should be they all now if he thinks that by giving them more even more political ignition and promising their support will

still continues to threaten war with iran and it's unclear whether john kerry's what john kerry's wall will be as secretary of state supporting or stopping the war he likes to present himself as this. war politician but he's the same politician who voted to authorize the use back invasion was no evidence at hand that iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction so john kerry has a mixed record and certainly big challenges ahead a lot from washington go to john thanks very much indeed. well coming up a little later in the program dissolving the mystery the artistic director of moscow's world famous bolshoi ballet heads to germany for specialist treatment after saying he knows who's behind the violent acid attack on two weeks ago that just ahead on r.t. . there are twelve cities in the united states in which half of the people with hiv aids lives within a year. to two percent of. those with aids this is a problem that frankly is substantially preventable it was like the big elephant in the room and nobody wanted to talk about there were really good public health campaigns people really foc

and america on his visit to london john kerry has been testing the ground for u.s. foreign policy on the first leg of his tour of kerry has chosen to meet with traditional american allies in europe such as the leaders of britain germany and france before heading on to the middle east well let's talk now to jeremy corbyn he is a british labor party politician and a member of parliament sir thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us here it looks like john kerry's visit hasn't been too taxing so far i do want to play you a short soundbite of how he described ties between the u.s. and the u k. there is a reason why we call this special relationship or as. prime minister cameron wrote really a partnership of the heart what do you think this alliance is based on a partnership of the heart when i think historically it's based on u.s. support for britain in the first world war in very large loans. more than anything a military alliance made through nato and the substantial us bases in britain the idea that some kind of special relationship when it comes to trad

john kerry has embarked on his first overseas tour as the new secretary of state. a whirlwind trip. he'll hit nine countries in ten days in europe, the middle east and already he's been confronted with his first big test in office. our chief foreign affairs correspondent, andrea mitchell, is traveling with the secretary. she's with us from our london bureau tonight. andrea, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. secretary kerry's maiden voyage almost went off course because of a problem no one has been able to solve. syria. from breakfast, at number 10 with the prime minister. >> quite a long tour. >> well, it's the beginning. thank you. thank you for being the first leg of it. >> a traditional breakfast. to set you on your way. >> reporter: to dinner in berlin. the new secretary of state's first day on the road was dominated by a war thousands of miles away. sunday, syrian rebels shot down a government helicopter. but the assad regime still outguns the rebels. raining scuds on to civilians in aleppo on friday. with russia arming assad, rebel leaders threatened to boycott a

ask will another new face in american politics make a difference in syria secretary of state john kerry says washington ready to aid the syrian rebels as anti assad fighters wait for arms support from the west to back it because of another bit more closely just a bit later next though. at least looking for a way out of its election limbo after that hung parliament put europe on tenterhooks and raised fears of fresh financial turmoil again world stock markets mostly rose though on wednesday offsetting the jitters they initially suffered no parties won a parliamentary majority there the center left group secured a narrow victory in the lower house but failed to win the senate former prime minister silvio berlusconi's center right long time second biggest in the upper chamber now the results show italian voters strongly rejected the austerity policies of mario monti's government if the rival parties can't find a where they're deadlocked they will have to be another election investment advisor patrick young told us a tally the uncertainty could prove fatal though for the eurozone. but your

kerry's trip goes to nine countries.france, egypt, saudi arabia, the united arab emirates and qatar. he needs european support in the ongoing dispute over iran's nuclear ambitions. and for any next steps to help the syrian opposition. already, the opposition coalition, angry over not getting the military arms they want, is refusing to attend a meeting in rome where they were scheduled to talk with secretary kerry. one wild card on this trip, egypt. anti-government protests continue, as its economy struggles. but the state department says, don't expect kerry to chart any new policy on this trip. >> he's characterizing this first trip more broadly, as a listening tour. >> reporter: john kerry follows in the footsteps of hillary clinton, who had sky-high popularity around the world. >> nobody's the rock star hillary clinton is. >> reporter: but kerry, who is a boy, lived in berlin, brings his own credentials. as chairman of the foreign senate relations committee, he got to know many world leaders. he served as barack obama'

kerry's first steps will be in major european capitals including london paris and berlin u.s. foreign policy expert john reasonings kerry's mission there will go beyond courtesy calls on traditional nato allies. it's always been very important for the americans to keep the nato alliance together but they always want to keep it together on their own terms it's always been the case for instance the senior commanding officer in nato is from the american armed forces what the americans constantly want to do is to shift the burden of all military intervention on to the european powers but to keep political control over the process and i think that the we've seen a number of times recently especially since the american focus is now beginning to shift towards the pacific to deal with the rising threat of china we are going to the europeans now call him a greater share in respect of policing the arab world and north africa what we're seeing here is an attempt to convince the nato allies that they should pay more but have no more influence afghan president hamid karzai has ordered us s

than you have pointed us secretary of state john kerry is in london on his first official foreign tool is the start of a ten day nine country trip which will take in europe and the middle east let's now talk to aussies and farmer who is in london for us right now on ok andrew nice to see it so is it fair to say that his trip to london won't be too taxing. well maybe not or maybe because john kerry's aides have described this as a listening tour effectively mr kerry wants to gauge opinion on a number of issues but particularly firstly the syrian conflict and secondly the growing threat of his islamic extremism mr kerry said on the eve of this trip that he wanted to face the challenges of extremists who were trying to in his words hijack the arab spring revolutions and as part of that today he does want to encourage our european countries and britain to continue with their foreign aid policies because he believes that in itself is a good way of trying to influence the hearts and minds of people who do live in the middle east and also north africa but it could be an argument or struggle t

>> well, again, i think that is what secretary kerry has initiated with this move. i mean, he is trying to get to know these people much better. there are a lot of different groups there, and some of those groups you do not want to be giving weapons to or ammunition to. i think the idea is to try to work with them, get a sense of how they see the eventual outcome and provide them with some of the equipment they may need. now, i can assure you, though, in the context of this nonlethal assistance we are very much taking inventory of what might be necessary in the lethal context, but i think this is a logical first step, and i think secretary kerry is putting pace on the ball here, and i think he is looking ahead. i any we need to be very xwernd what the affect is in western iraq and other -- and lebanon as well, and, again, we need to see what the final sort of political outcome is going to look like. are we going to hard wire into a constitution, the notion that the sunnis run the country and that the all owi tes have a position as head of parliament. are we going to

america's new secretary of state john kerry is checking the box a with key allies in europe on his first tour abroad and we'll look at what his mission with partners there could be all about. the. syrian rebels release a video which they say shows a government helicopter being shot down with a missile that the regime says it's ready to talk to all sides of the opposition even doe's who are armed and fighting. and afghan drugs amid a russian vegetables drug control officer sees almost two hundred kilos of heroin hidden in sacks with radishes at a market near moscow. good evening we've got news and analysis live from our moscow headquarters of course you're watching r t with me lucy catherine of well on to our top story voting has ended in italy where a disillusioned public has been choosing its parliament early results show the center left coalition is leading with the main surprise of the selection the party led by a former comedian who's also doing well now for more on the outcome let's turn to our tease arena who is live for us in rome arena great to see you vote counting is underway h

also coming up america's new top diplomat john kerry sets off on a marathon foreign tour its first us secretary of state after the break we're going to look exactly where he's heading and why. you are. so. stream quality and enjoy your favorite. if you're away from your television just doesn't matter now with your mobile device you can watch your t.v. any time and you were. welcome back lucy catherine of here. or well egypt's new president mohamed morsi has brought forward parliamentary elections to april twenty second this as the opposition leader is calling for a boycott of the vote accusing him of retreating from his promise for reform meanwhile there's further turmoil in egypt where the government is struggling to contain street violence the unrest has been shaking the nation for weeks now and authorities tell true reports the protests have often been accompanied by claims of a widespread police abuse and torture. in his hometown of tanta nobel al-kindi points out where local youth have renamed a street after his son mohammed a twenty eight year old activist allegedly tortured to