U.S. Regulators To Inspect Oil Well Off Cuba's Coast

By Janie Amaya

Michael Bromwich, the Director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, told a Senate panel Tuesday that the U.S. intends to take a close look at Spanish oil company Repsol’s new plans to drill a well off Cuba’s coast.

“We, together with the Coast Guard at Repsol’s invitation, plan to conduct an inspection of this rig,” Bromwich said during a hearing with the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. “It’s a brand new semisubmersable rig, very advance, very modern; And we’re aware of all the characteristics the rig has and all the characteristics of the blowout preventer.”

Committee Chairmen Sen. Jeff Bingaman (R-N.M.) said he was concerned over whether the U.S. has the capabilities and resources to respond in the event of an oil spill in Cuban waters.

Bromwich responded that in the event of an oil spill, BSEE holds no authority to take immediate action, but ensured that the U.S. government is taking steps to make resources available to respond to a spill. Other precautions, Bromwich explained, include promoting drilling safety communication with Repsol by encouraging compliance with U.S. safety and environmental standards, as well as with U.S. regulatory counterparts in the Gulf region.

Clinton Travels To Tripoli

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Libya Tuesday to discuss the transition away from the Gaddafi regime and stress the importance on an ongoing partnership between the two country’s.

“The Secretary will want to talk about how they will overcome some of the challenges [the National Transitional Council are] facing,” a Senior State Department Official told reporters. “She’ll want to talk about governance, she’ll want to talk with them about their views on transitional justice and accountability, on issues related to the economic future going forward.”

The trip represents the first visit from a cabinet-level American official since  former Secretary of State Condoleesza Rice in 2008.

Obama Will Sign Free Trade Agreements Friday

President Barack Obama will sign Free Trade agreements with South Korea, Panama and Colombia Friday, according to the White House.

The agreements were passed through Congress last week in a rare example of bipartisanship.

In addition to the three FTAs, the President will renew the Trade Adjustment Assistance program, which provides American workers at risk from the agreements $575 million in benefits for fiscal years 2012 and 2013.

After signing the agreements, the President will deliver remarks from the Rose Garden.

Dem Pollster Warns Obama Not To Embrace Occupy Wall Street

Douglas Schoen, a one-time pollster for former President Bill Clinton, urged President Obama today to be careful about supporting the Occupy Wall Street movement.

In an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal, Schoen pointed to a Wall Street Journal sample poll of those protesting in Manhattan’s Zucotti Park as evidence that the White House has miscalculated the makeup of the movement.

“Senior White House adviser David Plouffe said that “the protests you’re seeing are the same conversations people are having in living rooms and kitchens all across America,” Schoen wrote. “Yet the Occupy Wall Street movement reflects values that are dangerously out of touch with the broad mass of the American people — and particularly with swing voters who are largely independent and have been trending away from the president since the debate over health-care reform.”

Click here to read more…

Trump Calls For Action Against Wall Street Demonstrators

Business mogul Donald Trump said Monday evening that the majority of those protesting in New York’s financial district are simply there for no reason.

During a telephone town hall event with GOP presidential hopeful Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Trump said “Those camping out in Wall Street – many are just having a good time at other people’s expense. Many didn’t know why they were there.”

“At some point something is going to have to be done,” he added.

The rest of the town hall focused on what Bachmann would do to fix the nation’s ailing economy and repair its healthcare system. Trump lent support to Bachmann’s calls to repeal President Obama’s healthcare reform law, as well as her ideas to help small businesses.

Earlier in the day, an aide to Trump told TRNS that his participation in the event did not constitute an endorsement of Bachmann.