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The State Department has ordered ultra-libertarian group Defense Distributed to remove the files that provide instructions for building a 3D printed gun, until it has examined them for legality, says a report from BetaBeat. A red banner appeared atop the group’s website Thursday noting that the US government now controls the files. Defense Distributed, the brainchild of 25-year old University of Texas law student Cody Wilson, has made a name in the past year by pushing the limits of what a 3-D printer can create: an assault rifle. Wired listed Wilson as one of the most dangerous people in the world in 2012 and earlier this week Forbes broke that the group had successfully built a gun printed entirely (except the firing pin) on a 3D printer.

The United States has expelled two Venezuelan diplomats, a State Department official said Monday, a diplomatic tit-for-tat following the Latin American oil giant’s expulsion of two American military attaches last week.

The State Department gave a mixed review Friday to a controversial Canada-to-U.S. pipeline, neither endorsing nor rejecting the project but noting that it would not significantly alter the development of Canada's tar sands.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was presented with a gift from her staff: protective head gear -- a football helmet with the State Department logo on the side as well as a football jersey with the number 112 on it, for the number of countries the secretary visited during her four-year tenure.

The fatal attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept.

State Department officials promised on Thursday to carry out quickly the recommendations of a review board to beef up security for the foreign service and urged Congress to provide more money to protect American diplomats.

U.S. intelligence and State Department officials testified behind closed doors on Capitol Hill on Thursday about the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, that has turned into a contentious issue between Republicans and the administration of President Barack Obama.

Interviews suggest that though the State Department received many warnings about the deteriorating situation in Benghazi, none focused on the diplomatic compound that was attacked.

It was six weeks ago on Tuesday that terrorists attacked the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Now, CBS News has obtained email alerts that were put out by the State Department as the attack unfolded. Four Americans were killed in the attack, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

The State Department said Friday that it expects China to quickly provide travel documents to blind human rights activist Chen Guangcheng, easing a weeklong crisis between Beijing and Washington over the fate of the long-imprisoned lawyer.