Morning Joe: Tauscher, Campbell Confirmed

Stories we're following today:

Tauscher, Campbell Confirmed - The Cable [link]

• Obama's nominee to be under secretary of state for arms control and international security, Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA), and his pick to be assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, Kurt Campbell, were confirmed tonight in a unanimous consent motion, a congressional source relays.

Is Sen. Kyl Placing A Hold On Ellen Tauscher’s State Department Nomination Because He Wants More Nukes? - Think Progress [link]

• Kyl would rather play domestic politics with the NPR and have a chance at limiting nuclear reductions before any U.S.-Russia binding agreement. Thus, it appears Kyl is using the NPR as an excuse to block U.S. negotiations with Russia, and is holding up Tauscher’s nomination as blackmail.
• Nuclear non-proliferation expert Joseph Cirincione told ThinkProgress, “Senator Kyl wants to delay any arms reductions until the Nuclear Posture Review, then work the process so the NPR makes only minor changes to the existing nuclear arsenal.”

North Koreans Condemn U.S. and Sanctions at Huge Rally - New York Times [link]

• About 100,000 North Koreans rallied and marched in the capital on Thursday, the Communist state’s official media reported.
• The crowd brimmed with anti-American slogans and speeches, denouncing the international sanctions the United Nations recently imposed on the North after its May 25 nuclear test.

Friday Fireworks

Volcano from Space - Scientific American [link]

• Astronauts on the International Space Station snapped this photo of Sarychev Volcano's eruption earlier this month...