Amid Frosty Relations, Kerry Drops In on Egypt

US Secretary of State John Kerry is in Egypt today on an unannounced visit that is the highest-level American trip to the country since the military booted Mohamed Morsi in July, prompting the US to yank hundreds of millions in military aid. Denying that the suspension of aid was punitive, Kerry urged Egyptians to continue their "march to democracy," and underscored the two nations' friendship. Perhaps easier said than believed: US-Egypt relations have been frosty at best since Morsi's ouster, notes the AP, and the deposed president goes on trial tomorrow on charges of inciting murder. Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy, for his part, said that the two nations "are all pursuing a resumption of normal relations." (More John Kerry stories.)