Article updated: 2/12/2013 6:37 PM

Senate panel approves Hagel for Pentagon chief

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Chuck Hagel — Republican, twice-wounded Vietnam combat veteran and former Nebraska senator — cleared his first major hurdle in his bid to become the nation's defense secretary when a bitterly divided Senate Armed Services Committee approved his nomination.

Associated Press

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A bitterly divided Senate panel on Tuesday approved President Barack Obama's nomination of Chuck Hagel to be the nation's defense secretary in a rancorous session at which Republican questioned the former GOP senator's truthfulness and challenged his patriotism.