Article updated: 2/26/2013 6:43 PM

Senate confirms Hagel as defense secretary

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The Senate confirmed Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense after weeks of partisan acrimony over President Barack Obama's choice to head the Pentagon in a time of budget-cutting and evolving threats from terrorism to cyber warfare.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

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A deeply divided Senate voted on Tuesday to confirm Republican Chuck Hagel to be the nation’s next defense secretary, handing President Barack Obama’s pick the top Pentagon job just days before billions of dollars in automatic, across-the-board budget cuts hit the military.