as cnn's shasta darlington reports, u.s. officials are expressing concern. >> reporter: undaunted by last year's massive bp disaster on the other side of the gulf of mexico, cuba plows ahead with an ambitious oil drilling plan. the island currently produces 60,000 barrels of oil a day, about half its needs in onshore wells like this one. now full scale offshore exploration is gaining momentum. in 5,600 feet of water, deeper than the bp pell, other companies have also set their sights on the rig. the iadc has held numerous talks with cuban oil company, kupet. >> they're providing seven wells over the next two to four-year period. >> estimates for the oil shore reserve range from 5 billion to 20 billion barrels of oil. foreign oil companies, none from the united states, have leased 21. in the wake of the gulf spill some in florida are worried about cuba drilling so close to home. >> ultimately if there is a spill, say, in a cuban operation, its impact would be fully felt by the entire gulf region, actually the entire eastern s

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coming up our big picture rubble joining me in the rubble or other servo joe madison and brian darlington discuss the stock market crash the recent g.o.p. hostage takers and fox so-called news defending erections but not contraception right after the break.

earlier this year, president obama partially lifted the travel ban, and as our shasta darlington reportsana for the very first time. >> reporter: sipping mojitos to the rhythm of cuban salsa at havana's historic hotel nacionale. thousands of tourists do it every year, but usually they're not americans. cuba receives more than 2 million tourists every yore. they flock to the white sand beaches and ogle at the vintage american cars. but for half a century, the vast majority of americans have been barred from traveling to the communist country. earlier this year, president barack obama eased restrictions and resumed allowing americans to visit the island for purposeful travel, called people-to-people tourism. such trips had been suspended by from president bush. the first tours organized by inside cuba have finally landed. >> swoe tao we take them throug real places in cuba meeting real people and real-life settings and they're incredibly rewarding. >> reporter: the idea is that visitors interact with ordinary cubans to help support the society. they also get a taste of forbidden fruit. >>

shasta darlington, cnn, havanna. >> if you want to check out the runners up, we will have links at facebook.com/suzannecnn. the news room continues with randi kaye. >> thank you, and have a great day. >>> two more events to go now in the president's three-day tour in the midwest. this is a live picture right now as we are waiting for the president to speak in atkinson, illinois. and then it's back to washington tonight and then off to martha's vineyard for vacation. and he is not only putting together a plan to grow jobs and the economy, but he is planning to announce it september 5th, the same week congress returns from the summer break. president obama has actively been meeting with some to create a plan. the question is how specific will it be and will it help? white house officials tell us it's a work in progress, and will include tax cuts and infrastructure ideas that could create jobs, and measures that target unemployed, and struggling economic sectors. they say the president is working on a debt reduction proposal and will present the so-called super committee, and as you know it's the