Disasters

"The Coast Guard has gathered evidence it failed to follow its own firefighting policy during the Deepwater Horizon disaster and is investigating whether the chaotic spraying of tons of salt water by private boats contributed to sinking the ill-fated oil rig, according to interviews and documents."

"Up to 4 million barrels (167 million gallons), the vast majority of the spill, remains unaccounted for in government statistics."

"Federal officials now estimate that more than 1 million gallons of oil may have spilled into the Kalamazoo River through Battle Creek, and the governor is sharply criticizing clean-up efforts as 'wholly inadequate.'"

"Crews were working Tuesday to contain and clean up more than 800,000 gallons of oil that poured into a creek and flowed into the Kalamazoo River in southern Michigan, coating birds and fish."

"Two roaring wildfires in southern California prompted at least 2,300 evacuations and a state of emergency late Tuesday."

"The largest oil spill in U.S. history has unleashed a gusher of at least 250 class-action lawsuits that could eventually encompass millions of victims in a legal battle expected to stretch on for decades."

"House and Senate Democratic leaders introduced bills on Tuesday responding to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, with provisions to overhaul the federal regulation of offshore drilling, lift liability limits on companies responsible for damaging spills and funnel more money to spill-related research and restoration projects."

"Oil giant BP PLC will reduce its contribution to U.S. coffers by roughly $10 billion due to a tax credit the company is claiming it incurred from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill."
 

"The oil  slick in the Gulf of Mexico appears to be dissolving far more rapidly than anyone expected, a piece of good news that raises tricky new questions about how fast the government should scale back its response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster."