Fortunately, President Obama has come down to Louisiana quickly to listen to the people most impacted instead of hiding in a huddle like President Bush did listening to his political advisors. Bush dismissed the frantic calls from then Louisiana Governor Blanco for a full three days while people were dying in New Orleans.
President Obama is not tone deaf like Bush in a disaster. This President also places the full cost of the clean-up and lost income on the shoulders of BP. Let's hope this administration will strong arm the oil company to pay up and not stick the taxpayers with the bill like energy companies are prone to do here in America. For now, BP seems willing to pay for their environmental disaster of epic proportions. When the bill comes due, everyone get ready and hold your breath to witness if they actually pay it in full.
BP Didn't Plan for Major Oil Spill: (CBS) Company Suggests in Documents that Likelihood of Accident Happening was Virtually Impossible
British Petroleum downplayed the possibility of a catastrophic accident at an offshore rig that exploded, causing the worst U.S. spill in decades along the Gulf coast and endangering shoreline habitat.
In the 52-page exploration plan and environmental impact analysis, BP repeatedly suggested it was unlikely, or virtually impossible, for an accident to occur that would lead to a giant crude oil spill and serious damage to beaches, fish, mammals and fisheries.
BP's plan filed with the federal Minerals Management Service for the Deepwater Horizon well, dated February 2009, says repeatedly that it was "unlikely that an accidental surface or subsurface oil spill would occur from the proposed activities."
And while the company conceded that a spill would "cause impacts" to beaches, wildlife refuges and wilderness areas, it argued that "due to the distance to shore (48 miles) and the response capabilities that would be implemented, no significant adverse impacts are expected..."
Gulf Oil Spill, by the Numbers: (CBS) Up to 5,000 Barrels a Day Are Leaking Into Gulf as Spill Spreads to Cover 2,100 Square Miles
The estimate of crude oil being spilled into the Gulf of Mexico from the well head of the destroyed BP drilling platform Deepwater Horizon was revised upwards. Already experts are suggesting this may become the worst environmental disaster to hit the U.S. since the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska's Prince William Sound, and it may eclipse even that.
A glance at key statistics from the spill:
• Oil is being spilled at a rate up to 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons) a day.
• As of Friday morning, the spill has spread to cover 2,100 square miles.
• It could take up to three months to drill a relief well to plug the leak. At the current rate of leakage, this spill would eclipse the Exxon Valdez disaster, which dumped 11 million gallons of oil into Alaska's Prince William Sound in 1989.
• Eleven people remain unaccounted for following the April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig; 115 were evacuated, including 17 who were injured, 3 critically. 1 injured person remains in the hospital.
• Nearly 2,000 personnel are involved in the response effort with additional resources being mobilized as needed.
• 79 response vessels have been responding on site, including skimmers, tugs, barges and recovery vessels to assist in containment and cleanup efforts. In addition, six fixed-wing aircraft, 11 helicopters, 10 remotely operated vehicles, and two mobile offshore drilling units have been deployed. Two C-130 aircraft equipped with aerial spray systems were en route Friday afternoon, according to the Defense Department.
• More than 217,000 feet of boom (barrier) has been assigned to contain the spill; an additional 305,760 feet is available.
• According to BP, as of Friday 20,313 barrels (853,146 gallons) of an oil-water mix have been recovered, an increase of 90,000 gallons from Thursday.
• 139,459 gallons of dispersant have been deployed; an additional 51,000 gallons are available. 51,000 gallons more are on hand.
• Six staging areas (Biloxi, Miss.; Pensacola, Fla.; Venice, La.; Pascagoula, Miss.; Theodore, Ala.; Fourchon, La.) have been set up to protect sensitive shorelines.
• More than 400 species of wildlife, including whales and dolphins, face a dire threat from the spill, along with Louisiana's barrier islands and marshlands. In the national refuges most at risk, about 34,000 birds have been counted, including gulls, pelicans, roseate spoonbills, egrets, shore birds, terns and blue herons.
Pamela Fink Says She Was Fired After Getting a Double Mastectomy To Prevent Breast Cancer: (ABC) Fink Says Her Doctors Told Her She Had an 80 Percent Chance of Getting Breast Cancer
A Connecticut woman claims she was fired despite years of glowing reports by her employer after she told them she had tested positive for the breast cancer gene and would undergo a double mastecomy as a preventative measure.
"I was a great employee and I did really great work," said Pamela Fink, 39. "The only thing that changed from the time that I had a great review to when I didn't was my two surgeries."
Fink has filed complaints at the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities as well as the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging that she was fired from the Stamford, Conn., company MXenergy because of her genetic testing results.
She is claiming that by doing so, her employer, MXenergy, a natural gas and electricity provider, violated the Genetic Information Nondiscriminaton Act as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act.
GM Under Fire for 'Misleading' Bailout Ad: (ABC) GM CEO Boasts TARP Repayment in TV Commercial; Republicans Say Boast Borders on Fraud
Angry congressional Republicans escalated their attack on General Motors' claim to have repaid U.S. taxpayers for the car maker's bailout, calling it a "lie to the American people."
At issue is whether GM is correct in trumpeting what it says in a national ad and an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal that it has repaid -- with interest and ahead of schedule -- the $4.7 billion in bailout funds that it owed to the government.
The money for the loan repayment came from other bailout funds housed in an escrow account belonging to GM. To critics, that smacks of deception...
The government's remaining stake in GM consists of $2.1 billion in preferred stock and a 60.8 percent stake in the automaker, according to the Treasury Department...
Banks Taking Too Long to Approve Distressed Home Sales, Brokers Say: (ABC) Short Sales in California, Arizona Take Months; May Slow Recovery
Debbie is one of California's many homeowners who have found they can no longer afford the house of their dreams. Although she stopped paying her mortgage last year, she has found a way to avoid foreclosure: a "short sell" of the house for less than she owes on it.
But even though she has found a qualified buyer, she can't get the bank to approve the sale.
"Why are they sitting on this so long?" says Debbie, who bought her two-bedroom cabin in Modesto two years ago for $250,000. She can no longer afford the mortgage after she lost her job as a financial officer, even as the house has lost half its value in the economic downturn.
"At least we got a buyer," she says...
When Airlines Get Nasty, Travelers Get Crafty: (ABC) The Airlines' Financial Funk Has Forced Flyers to Travel Smarter
By any measure, it's been an awful couple of years. While the recession—two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth, according to economists' definition—may be behind us, its painful effects will linger for years to come.
Perhaps no group has suffered more than the airlines. No group, that is, except their customers.
To an uncommon degree, the fortunes of travelers rise and fall with the fortunes of the airlines that serve them. And the fortunes of the airlines have been dismal indeed.
As a group, five of the nine largest U.S. airlines posted 2009 losses totaling almost $4 billion. American, which lost $1.5 billion in 2009 and $2.1 billion the year before, warned in its latest annual report that "it will be very difficult for the Company to continue to fund its obligations on an ongoing basis and to return to profitability if the overall industry revenue environment does not improve substantially..."
Ariz. Gov Signs Bill Revising New Immigration Law: (ABC) Arizona governor signs bill with revisions to new law targeting illegal immigration
Gov. Jan Brewer on Friday signed a follow-on bill approved by Arizona legislators that make revisions to the state's sweeping law against illegal immigration — changes she says should quell concerns that the measure will lead to racial profiling.
The law requires local and state law enforcement to question people about their immigration status if there's reason to suspect they're in the country illegally, and makes it a state crime to be in the United States illegally.
The follow-on bill signed by Brewer makes a number of changes that she said should lay to rest concerns of opponents.
"These new statements make it crystal clear and undeniable that racial profiling is illegal, and will not be tolerated in Arizona," she said in a statement.
The changes include one strengthening restrictions against using race or ethnicity as the basis for questioning by police and inserts those same restrictions in other parts of the law.
Another change states that immigration-status questions would follow a law enforcement officer's stopping, detaining or arresting a person while enforcing another law. The earlier law had referred to a "contact" with police.
Another change specifies that possible violations of local civil ordinances can trigger questioning on immigration status...
Treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder With a Jab to the Neck: (ABC) New Research Suggests Numbed Nerves Could Cure Anxiety and Flashbacks in Veterans
A quick jab to the neck may be all it takes for immediate relief of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), according to new research from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
Some doctors, however, caution that more research is necessary before the procedure is deemed safe enough for widespread use.
In a study published Friday in the journal Pain Practice, Stellate Ganglion Block (SGB), a ten-minute procedure that applies local anesthetic to a bundle of nerves in the neck, proved an effective remedy for this anxiety disorder, potentially offering an alternative to the pharmaceuticals traditionally used to treat the flashbacks, anger, anxiety, and sleep disturbances caused by PTSD...
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