PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES NEW DRILLING REGULATIONS; CHIEF REGULATOR RESIGNS

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PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES NEW DRILLING REGULATIONS; CHIEF REGULATOR RESIGNS Today President Obama is announcing new drilling regulations hours after Elizabeth Birnbaum resigned under pressure as head of the Minerals Management Service (MMS), the lead agency overseeing U.S. oil and gas drilling. The MMS has come under fire for lax inspections of the Deepwater Horizon rig prior to its April 20 explosion and an Inspector General's report that identified inappropriate behavior and industry relationships by agency officials. Early reports indicate moderate success in the "top kill" effort to stem the Gulf oil leak, now classified by government estimates as the wort spill in U.S. history. Federal officials, BP and Transocean executives are testifying at a House Natural Resources Committee hearingexamining how the spill will affect America's offshore oil and gas policy.

Pres. Obama: Now on C-SPAN3      Hearing on c-span.org     Hearing: Morning Session     Sen. Landrieu on WJ     LIVE Spill Cam     IG Report on MMS     AP: Gulf oil spill surpasses Exxon Valdez