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By James Oliphant, Washington Bureau
9:40 a.m. CST, March 11, 2011
WASHINGTON -- President Obama will hold a news conference at 12:30 p.m. EST Friday (9:30 a.m. PST) in which he is expected to address the United States' response to the massive earthquake in Japan.
Plans for the news conference were made Thursday, with the primary topic to be rising fuel prices. But the earthquake and the threat of tsunami to the Pacific Rim and the Western U.S. coastline will now also be a focus.
Earlier Friday, the White House released a statement on the disaster in which the president said,
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Photos: Scenes from the earthquake
He said he had directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to prepare to assist Hawaii and the Western states and territories that could be affected by tsunami..
The Defense Department said Friday that the Japanese government had not requested U.S. assistance,
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"We are assessing the situation and positioning forces so that they are ready to respond and provide disaster relief if directed," Navy Cmdr. Leslie Hull-Ryde said.
Videos of the earthquake
Such a request would come through the U.S. State Department.
The U.S. dock landing ship Tortuga,
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Chi Blue Zebra Flat iron, with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, arrived in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia,
Chi Earth Shooting Star Iron, Friday morning, but is preparing to depart as early as Friday evening. The command ship Blue Ridge, in Singapore, is taking on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief supplies and preparing to depart Saturday morning.
Beyond the earthquake and the rising cost of gas, the news conference will also give the president the opportunity to address the violence in Libya and the unrest in the Middle East and North Africa. The president likely will be asked to address whether the U.S. and its allies should establish a no-fly zone over Libyan airspace and do more to assist the rebels fighting Moammar Khadafi's government.
Photos: Scenes from the earthquake
james.oliphant@latimes.com
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