Americas

Secretary of State John Kerry says he isn’t wading into the State Department’s review of the proposed Keystone XL oil sands pipeline.

At least not yet.

“I am staying as far away from that as I can now so that when the appropriate time comes to me, I am not getting information from any place I shouldn’t be, and I am not getting engaged in the debate at a time that I shouldn’t be,” Kerry told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday.

Kerry noted the decision would ultimately come to him, but that until then the various steps of the review process aren't complete. “It is not ripe,” he said.

The Obama administration has not decided whether to recognize Nicolas Maduro as Venezuela's new president, Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday. 

Opposition candidate Enrique Capriles has asked for a complete recount, citing irregularities. Election officials have denied the request and Maduro, the acting president, is expected to be sworn in on Friday.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) has called on the administration not to recognize Maduro, a move that would be sure to worsen already strained relations with the oil power. Asked if he supported her stance, Kerry answered “I can't give you a yes or no answer on that.”

“Obviously if there are huge irregularities, we're going to have serious questions about the viability of that government,” Kerry said during a hearing on the president's 2014 budget. “But that evaluation has to be made, and I haven't made it yet.”

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) signaled that he might back off plans to hold a hearing on the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline.

Menendez had told The Hill last month that he was “sure” his committee would examine the State Department's review of the proposed project.

But on Tuesday, he told The Hill that he is “open to the possibility of it.”

Spokesman Jay Carney congratulated the "peaceful and orderly" vote but declined to recognize Hugo Chávez's successor until a recount.

On Sunday, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) blasted rapper Jay-Z for his recent trip to Cuba with his pop star wife Beyonce.

Secretary of State John Kerry will be collecting on a Twitter bet with Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird after the U.S. women's hockey team bested Canada in Tuesday's women's world hockey championship.

A new song from the hip-hop artist addresses the controversy over his visit to Havana with wife Beyoncé. 

The State Department thanked Cuba on Wednesday for sending back two American children who had been kidnapped by their parents after they lost custody.

The couple are accused of abducting their two sons, aged two and four, from their grandmother's care and sailing to Cuba. The family of four was discovered in a Havana marina on Tuesday and have been extradited back to Florida.

“We do appreciate the Cuban authorities' extensive cooperation to resolve this situation quickly,” State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said. “Thanks to a joint effort by the Department of State, FBI, U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. citizen children are safely back at their home.”

In a letter obtained by The Hill, an official wrote that educational trips to Cuba are allowed under "people-to-people" licenses.

Beyonce and Jay-Z are getting more bipartisan grief for celebrating their wedding anniversary in Cuba.

The top Republican and Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs panel on the Western Hemisphere sent the superstar couple a scathing letter on Tuesday accusing them of bolstering communist "propaganda."

“Regardless of your intentions, your visit will clearly be used by the Castro regime as a propaganda tool,” the lawmakers wrote. “We are deeply disappointed with your decision to holiday on the island and thereby seeming to condone this oppression.”

The letter goes on to rhetorically ask the couple if they're aware of a list of ongoing human-rights violations on the island. It was signed by Chairman Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.), ranking member Albio Sires (D-N.J.) and subcommittee member Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.).