The state of Utah filed a lawsuit Friday against the federal government over an Obama administration plan to make millions of acres of undeveloped land in the West eligible for federal wilderness protection. Full story
A top U.S. official said on Thursday they were concerned about Cuba opening its offshore waters to oil drilling, while Mexico, which has a boundary dispute with the island nation, said the three countries should try to work out differences. Full story
The U.S. Department of the Interior will propose new rules to strengthen offshore oil drilling safety, the top offshore regulator said on Tuesday. Full story
Rachel Maddow notes that as awareness of the inadequacies of the safety improvements in deepwater drilling is growing, the Department of the Interior has decided to stop issuing press releases when they grant drilling permits.
The U.S. offshore drilling regulator is weighing options for expanding oversight of rig contractors after last year's massive BP Plc oil spill exposed a possible regulatory gap, Interior official Michael Bromwich said on Tuesday. Full story
Transocean Ltd acknowledged that its description of 2010 as its "best year in safety" despite a blowout that sank one of its rigs, killing 11 workers and causing a huge oil spill, might be insensitive. Full story
In a TRMS Investigates exclusive, Rachel Maddow shows that the Department of the Interior is issuing deepwater drilling permits despite a report finding that blow-out preventer design is flawed and despite drilling companies submitting emergency response plans that pre-date the Deepwater Horizon spi
Who doesn’t love a good fish joke? In this edition of the News You Can’t Use, msnbc’s Willie Geist examines the president’s State of the Union laughs.
A new report on the government agency charged with oversight of offshore oil drilling says workers watched porn while on the job and in at least one case an inspector admitted to using crystal meth. NBC's Pete Williams reports.
A view of the Otero Mesa, a large desert grassland in New Mexico is seen in this undated photo released by the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance. The Interior Department has eased Clinton-era oil and gas drilling restrictions in Otero Mesa in a decision that has angered enviornmentalists. (AP Photo/New
**FILE**In this Nov. 7, 2007 file photo, a polar bear mother and her two cubs walk along the shore of Hudson Bay in Manitoba near Churchill, Canada. The U.S. Interior Department declared the polar bear a threatened species Wednesday, May 14, 2008, saying it must be protected because of the decline
Transocean subsea supervisor Mark Hay testifies during the Deepwater Horizon joint investigation hearings by the U.S. Coast Guard and the Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Management Regulation and Enforcement Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2010 in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, Pool)
Harry Thierens, BP executive vice president for drilling and completions, is sworn in during the Deepwater Horizon joint investigation hearings by the U.S. Coast Guard and the Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Management Regulation and Enforcement Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2010 in Houston. (AP Photo/
