'I'm much happier now,' Crist says
(CNN) – Florida Gov. Charlie Crist told the National Review Online that he is much happier now that he has decided to skip the Republican primary as he campaigns to become the state’s next senator. In a separate interview broadcast Sunday, Crist left open the possibility that he would align himself with Democrats in the Senate, if elected in November.
Crist credited Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Connecticut, for helping him make his recent decision to skip the GOP Senate primary in Florida and, instead, run as a non-party-affiliated candidate in the midterm election.
Lieberman, who lost the Democratic primary in 2006 but went on to win re-election as a self-described independent Democrat, told Crist that his unaffiliated candidacy was “liberating,” the Florida governor said in an interview with the National Review.
“'He was right. I’m much happier now, to be perfectly candid,’” Crist said to the conservative publication.
Related: Lieberman opens up about becoming an independent
Crist, who appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday, would not rule out following in Lieberman’s footsteps and joining with Senate Democrats for organizing purposes.
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Obama vows 'relentless' response to oil spill
After touring a Louisiana coastal area, President Obama spoke about his administration's response to the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. (Photo Credit: Getty Images)
Venice, Louisiana (CNN) - President Barack Obama said Sunday his administration has mounted a "relentless response" to the oil spill unleashed by the sinking of an offshore drill rig in late April.
"We will spare no resource to clean up whatever damage is caused," Obama said after a briefing with state, local and federal officials in Louisiana.
Watch: Spill is a 'massive and potentially unprecedented environmental disaster,' Obama says
Obama met with the commandant of the Coast Guard, Adm. Thad Allen; EPA administrator Lisa Jackson; Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal; and the presidents of several parish governments after arriving, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. The president's briefing included an update on the procedures being attempted to cap the well and the economic and environmental impact of the spill, Gibbs said.
Obama to see 'justice is done' in Times Square attempt
Venice, Louisiana (CNN) - President Barack Obama promised "to see that justice is done" Sunday after a failed attempt to set off a car bomb in New York's Times Square.
Napolitano calls Arizona immigration law a 'cry of frustration'
Washington (CNN) - Arizona's controversial immigration law is a "cry of frustration" by state and local officials who need comprehensive federal immigration reform, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Sunday.
In appearances on morning talk shows, Napolitano criticized the law as a hindrance to law enforcement and said only an overall approach will work.
The law "puts everybody at risk" by diverting attention of police and sheriffs from higher-priority crimes, Napolitano told the CNN program "State of the Union."
"There was no surprise to me that experienced individuals like the Pima County sheriff, who is the longest standing sheriff in Arizona, he is in Tucson, 100 miles from the border, has said he doesn't want this new law, he doesn't need it, and he is not going to enforce it," Napolitano said.
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Obama heads to view Gulf Coast oil spill
(CNN) - President Barack Obama traveled to Louisiana on Sunday to see for himself the growing oil slick from a damaged offshore well that threatens the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Obama arrived on Air Force One at Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans, then headed off by road with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal for the two-hour drive to Venice, a staging ground for efforts to fight the growing slick.
Some of Obama's top officials said Sunday that the spill is a potential catastrophe and defended the administration's response so far against complaints it has reacted too slowly.
Appearing on CNN's "State of the Union," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Adm. Thad Allen, the commandant of the Coast Guard, warned the leaking oil from a rig explosion could continue for weeks with dire consequences.
"It potentially is catastrophic," Salazar said. "I think we have to prepare for the worst."
Updated: 2:32 p.m.
Officials warn of potential catastrophe from Gulf of Mexico oil spill
Washington (CNN) - Top federal officials said Sunday that the Gulf of Mexico oil spill is a potential catastrophe and defended the Obama administration's response so far.
Appearing on CNN's "State of the Union," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen warned the leaking oil from a rig explosion could continue for weeks with dire consequences.
"It potentially is catastrophic," Salazar said. "I think we have to prepare for the worst."
Calling the spill "massive," Salazar blamed the explosion that caused it on a failure in technology in the rig intended to prevent so-called blowouts.
"There is no doubt at all here that that what has happened is the blowout prevention mechanism at the bottom of the well ... is defective," Salazar said.
"While there have been blowouts in the past, we have never seen anything that has been quite of this magnitude."
Allen said it was impossible so far to know how much oil will eventually leak, saying: "we lost a total well head: it could be 100,000 barrels or more a day."
"This spill, at this point in my view, is indeterminate," Allen said. "That makes it asymmetrical, anomalous and one of the most complex things we've ever dealt with."
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'This is an ecological disaster,' Rubio says of oil spill
(CNN) – Republican Marco Rubio called the massive oil slick headed toward the Gulf Coast “a crisis” but the Senate hopeful refused to criticize the Obama administration’s response to the oil spill.
Watch: Rubio on the oil spill
“I want to be fair to the administration,” the former Florida House Speaker said in an interview that airs Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union.
Rubio told CNN Chief Political Correspondent Candy Crowley that it appears much of the early information provided to the federal government by BP, the company responsible for the cleanup of the oil, had been “either inaccurate or shortcoming.”
“Since that time, of course, over the last few days, we've seen the administration move aggressively and I hope aggressively enough.
“Now, they have information I don't have. They know things, perhaps, we don't know. And so during an emergency, you're always cautious not to be critical because you don't want to appear to be unfair.”
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Coast Guard admiral says size of oil spill unknown
The spill is 'indeterminate,' Coast Guard commandant Adm. Thad Allen said Sunday. (Photo Credit: CNN)
(CNN) - The Coast Guard commandant, Adm. Thad Allen, said Sunday that it was impossible so far to know how much oil will leak from a destroyed rig causing an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Watch: Allen on battling the leaking oil well
"This spill, at this point in my view, is indeterminate," Allen said on CNN's "State of the Union." "That makes it asymmetrical, anomalous and one of the most complex things we've ever dealt with."
Salazar calls oil spill 'massive' and a potential catastrophe
Washington (CNN) - Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Sunday said the Gulf of Mexico oil spill from a destroyed rig "potentially is catastrophic."
Salazar told CNN's "State of the Union" program, "I think we have to prepare for the worst."
He said later in the program that "It is indeed a massive oil spill."
Asked what happened, Salazar said there was a failure in the technology that is intended to prevent a so-called blowout.
"There is no doubt at all here that that what has happened is the blowout prevention mechanism at the bottom of the well ... is defective," Salazar said. "While there have been blowouts in the past, we have never seen anything that has been quite of this magnitude."
Watch: Salazar on the oil spill
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