A summary of events Tuesday, June 29, Day 70 of the Gulf of
Mexico oil spill that began with the April 20 explosion and fire on
the drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, owned by Transocean Ltd. and
leased by BP PLC, which is in charge of cleanup and containment.
The blast killed 11 workers. Since then, oil has been pouring into
the Gulf from a blown-out undersea well.
NASTY WEATHER
BP and the Coast Guard sent oil-scooping skimming ships in the
Gulf of Mexico back to shore because nasty weather is churning up
rough seas and powerful winds. Although Tropical Storm Alex was
projected to stay well away from the spill zone before possibly
making landfall as a hurricane near the U.S.-Mexico border, its
outer edges were causing problems out in the Gulf. Waves were as
high as 12 feet Tuesday in some parts of the Gulf.
AT THE PUMP
BP says it will give cash and other help to the the owners,
operators and suppliers of the gas stations around America that
bear its name. They say they have been struggling because of
boycotts prompted by the oil spill. John Kleine of the BP Amoco
Marketers Association says outlets will get cash based on volume,
with the rates being higher for outlets in the Gulf than for those
elsewhere in the country. They also will see reductions in credit
card fees and get help with national advertising.
FACEBOOK
BP PLC says it had nothing to do with Facebook's decision to
briefly take down a page set up by users that advocates boycotting
the oil giant over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
BP spokesman Toby Odone told The Associated Press on Tuesday
that BP did not complain to Facebook about the "Boycott BP" page
that had been set up using the popular social networking site.
An attorney for the advocacy group Public Citizen said in a
statement that the page, which boasts nearly 23,000 monthly active
users, was shut down late Monday and restored early Tuesday.
Facebook says its automated systems disabled the profile of the
page's administrator, which removed all the content that had been
created. Facebook reinstated the content after determining the
profile was mistakenly removed.
DRILLING BAN
A federal appeals court in New Orleans will hear the
government's appeal of a ruling overturning the deepwater drilling
ban in the Gulf of Mexico on July 8. The six-month moratorium was
ordered in late May by the Barack Obama's administration after the
Deepwater Horizon disaster. A group of offshore petroleum service
companies sued, saying the moratorium would inflict long-term
economic damage. A federal judge agreed with the companies and
barred the government from enforcing the ban.
SEAFOOD
Vice President Joe Biden says the federal government has reached
an agreement with Gulf Coast states to set safety levels for
seafood coming out of the Gulf of Mexico. The National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration and U.S. Food and Drug Administration
say the effort is designed to reopen closed fishing areas as soon
as possible. Biden says "we want one single standard so you all
don't have to worry about where you fish, if you can fish and if
the waters are open."
MISSISSIPPI
Gov. Haley Barbour says containment and cleanup efforts in the
state will now be controlled from a Coast Guard office in Biloxi.
The efforts had been directed by an office in Mobile, Ala. The
governor says the change will make cleanup more efficient, as
communication problems have hampered work. Before, any information
first had to go through Mobile. Then it was sent to Biloxi, and
Barbour says that extra step cost precious time. The move is
especially crucial as rough weather starts pushing more oil toward
Mississippi.

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