Obama 'furious' at oil spill as gov't sends bill to BP

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AFP) - President Barack Obama said he was "furious" about the US oil disaster on the eve of his third visit to Louisiana as the government sent BP a 69-million-dollar bill for its efforts to curb the 45-day-old leak.

Obama said "yelling" would be pointless as aides rejected claims the president had shown insufficient emotion over the crisis, and disputed a media narrative that political trauma over America's worst environmental catastrophe would crimp his agenda.

Fresh, graphic images emerged of helpless coastal birds writhing in thick oil along Louisiana's coast -- likely to sharpen anguish after BP's repeated failures to halt the gushing oil.

"I would love to just spend a lot of my time venting and yelling at people, but that is not what I was hired to do -- my job is to solve this problem," Obama told CNN, adding he was "furious at this entire situation."

In the latest move to demonstrate engagement with the ever-growing disaster, the White House said Obama would make his third visit to oil response efforts on Gulf of Mexico coast on Friday.

At the start of the estimated five-hour visit, Obama will meet with Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen as well as state and local elected officials, the White House said in a statement.

His spokesman Robert Gibbs said earlier that the federal government was invoicing BP "for 69 million dollars of expenses incurred up to this point."

Gibbs said the bill was to reimburse American taxpayers for the government's costs so far in battling the worst oil spill in US history, with thousands of barrels of oil pouring into the Gulf every day.

In a ray of good news, BP engineers managed to slice off the rig's fractured riser pipe with a pair of giant shears and were trying to cover the jagged hole with a cap topped with a siphon and linked to a surface ship.

"We have cleared the riser from the top of the wellhead, and the team is currently working to complete the cleanup operation before we put the cap onto top of the well," under-fire BP chief executive Tony Hayward said.

"It's an important milestone," he added.

But he warned it could take 12 to 24 hours after the cap is put in place to know if it is managing to contain the worst of the spill, amid warnings that with the broken pipe cut off, the oil flow would increase initially.

"In some senses... it's just the beginning. It's been an extraordinary endeavor on the part of many, many people," Hayward said.

BP has battled unsuccessfully to cap or contain the disastrous leak since an April 20 explosion tore through the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig just off the Louisiana coast.

Hayward acknowledged earlier in an interview with the Financial Times that the British energy giant had been unprepared for the disaster and "did not have the tools you would want in your tool kit."

The US government has estimated the flow of oil before the riser was cut away at 12,000 to 19,000 barrels a day -- meaning between 22 million and almost 36 million gallons have already poured into the Gulf.

By comparison, Alaska's 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster saw an 11-million-gallon spill.

BP's operation to drill two relief wells -- seen as the only way to permanently cap the failed wellhead -- is on target to be completed in mid-August, US officials said.

The slick, floating along in a myriad of oily ribbons, is now threatening Alabama, Mississippi and Florida after contaminating more than 125 miles (200 kilometers) of Louisiana coastline.

With the slick expected to arrive within days in the Florida panhandle, Coast Guard investigators were also probing unconfirmed reports that tar balls and an oily substance had been found in the tourist-heavy Florida Keys.

Allen, who is coordinating the government's response to the spill, said nearly one million gallons of dispersants have been used to break up the oil in the Gulf.

"We're approaching the million gallon mark and it's a milestone and there are concerns about that and we will continue to work the dispersants very, very closely."

Many environmentalists have voiced concern over the unprecedented use of so much dispersant, warning its long-term effect on wildlife -- already threatened by the huge oil spill -- is unknown.

Experts also warn the majority of the oil is contained in vast underwater plumes that cannot be measured from above.

US officials have closed more than a third of Gulf of Mexico waters, extending a fishing ban to 88,502 square miles (229,219 square kilometers) -- about 37 percent of the Gulf's federal waters

McDonald's pulls Shrek glasses in U.S.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - McDonald's in the U.S. is recalling 12 million "Shrek"-themed drinking glasses because of cadmium in the painted design.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission warned consumers early Friday to immediately stop using the glasses. It was not yet clear if the recall extended to McDonald's in Canada.

The 16-ounce glasses being sold as part of a promotional campaign for the movie "Shrek Forever After," were available in four designs depicting the characters Shrek, Princess Fiona, Puss in Boots and Donkey.

The recall notice states "long-term exposure to cadmium can cause adverse health effects." Cadmium is a known carcinogen that research shows also can cause bone softening and severe kidney problems.

In the case of the Shrek-themed glassware, the potential danger would be long-term exposure to low levels of cadmium, which could leach from the paint onto a child's hand, then enter the body if the child puts that unwashed hand to his or her mouth.

Cadmium can be used to create reds and yellows in paint. McDonald's USA spokesman Bill Whitman said a pigment in paint on the glasses contained cadmium.

"A very small amount of cadmium can come to the surface of the glass, and in order to be as protective as possible of children, CPSC and McDonald's worked together on this recall," said CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson. He would not specify the amounts of cadmium that leached from the paint in tests, but said the amounts were "slightly above the protective level currently being developed by the agency."

Wolfson said the glasses have "far less cadmium than the children's metal jewelry that CPSC has previously recalled."

Concerns about cadmium exposure emerged in January, when The Associated Press reported that some items of children's jewelry sold at major national chains contained up to 91 per cent of the metal. Federal regulators worry that kids could ingest cadmium by biting, sucking or even swallowing contaminated pendants and bracelets.

The consumer protection agency has issued three recalls this spring for jewelry highlighted in the AP stories, including products sold at Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer; at Claire's, a major jewelry and accessories chain in North America and Europe; and at discount and dollar stores.

Those recalls all involved children's metal jewelry — and all of that jewelry was made in China.

Manufactured by ARC International of Millville, N.J., the glasses were to be sold from May 21 into June. Roughly seven million of the glasses had been sold; another approximately five million are in stores or have not yet been shipped, said Whitman.

Associated Press reporters tried unsuccessfully to buy the glasses late Thursday at McDonald's in New York, Los Angeles and northern New Jersey but were alternately told the merchandise was sold out, no longer available or "there'll be more tomorrow."

Emails sent after business hours to two spokesmen for ARC International seeking comment were not immediately returned.

McDonald's said it was asking customers to stop using the glasses "out of an abundance of caution."

"We believe the Shrek glassware is safe for consumer use," Whitman said. "However, again to ensure that our customers receive safe products from us, we made the decision to stop selling them and voluntarily recall these products effective immediately."

Whitman said that as the CPSC develops new protocols and standards for cadmium in consumer products, "we adjust as necessary to ensure that our customers can continue to trust what they receive from McDonald's."

The moment Jupiter is hit by mysterious new object AGAIN as Nasa reveals planet's 'bruise' was caused by rogue asteroid

An amateur astronomer has spotted an object crashing into the surface of Jupiter for the first time.

Anthony Wesley, an Australian computer programmer, spotted a bright flash and alerted professional and amateur sky-gazers to the unique collision.

'When I saw the flash, I couldn't believe it,' said Mr Wesley. 'The fireball lasted about two seconds and was very bright.'

And it comes just as Nasa announced that it had solved the mystery behind a strange 'bruise' on Jupiter which had also been spotted by Mr Wesley.

Mr Wesley gained fame last year when he spotted the scar the size of the Pacific Ocean on Jupiter which is believed to have been caused by an asteroid smacking into the gas giant planet.

Scroll down to watch video of the historic collision

The bright flash of the asteroid crashing into the planet's surface is clearly visible in the top left of the image taken by Anthony Wesley

The latest hit near the equator has not left any visible mark so far, but astronomers are on the lookout.

The absence of a detectable gash and the short impact time have led scientists to believe Jupiter was likely struck by a meteor.

'We've never seen a meteor slam into Jupiter,' said Glenn Orton of Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The latest collision should give astronomers a better idea of the size of debris floating in the outer solar system.

The mystery object struck the planet on July 19 last year, leaving a dark scar the size of the Pacific Ocean.

Astronomers have used images from Nasa's Hubble Space Telescope to compare the blemish on Jupiter with similar scar caused by a 1994 comet, and believe a 1,600ft wide asteroid is responsible for the mark.

Mystery: Images from Nasa's Hubble telescope show how the dark scar discovered in July last year faded over time

Bizarrely, the most recent collision occurred exactly 15 years after more than 20 pieces from the Comet P/Shoemaker-Levy 9 (SL9) plunged into Jupiter's atmosphere.

Nasa released its analysis of the Hubble images this week, and said the impact of the asteroid would have been similar to several thousand nuclear bombs.

Astronomers believe the culprit was an asteroid about 1,600ft wide and that the 'bruise' shows for the first time the immediate aftermath of an asteroid, rather than a comet striking another planet.

Mr Wesley was using a home-made telescope in the yard of his rural home in Murrumbateman, near Canberra, when he spotted the dark scar last year.

He said that he had discovered the scar in between running inside to watch the final rounds of the British Open golf on television.

'I couldn’t believe it. I thought "That wasn’t there before" and then I realised Jupiter had actually been hit by something,' he said at the time.

The 2009 strike was equal to a few thousand nuclear bombs exploding.

Heidi Hammel of the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado, led a team that took pictures of the impact sites using the Hubble.

'This solitary event caught us by surprise, and we can only see the aftermath of the impact, but fortunately we do have the 1994 Hubble observations that captured the full range of impact phenomena, including the nature of the objects from pre-impact observations' she said.

And she said the 2009 impact showed how important work was still being performed by amateur astronomers.

'This event beautifully illustrates how amateur and professional astronomers can work together,' she said.

Nasa said the Jupiter bombardments revealed that the solar system was a 'rambunctious' place.

The gap between the 1994 and 2009 was particularly a surprise as Jupiter impacts were only expected to occur every few hundred to few thousand years.

Watch video of last night's collision taken by Wesley's fellow astronomer Christopher Go, based in the Philippines

Impact on Jupiter, June 3, 2010 from Ars Technica on Vimeo.

Justin Raimondo : This Says It All

What is US foreign policy in the Middle East all about – and for whose benefit is it being conducted? In two short paragraphs, this news story says it all:

“The U.S. confirmed that an American citizen, identified as 19-year-old Furkan Dogan, was killed by multiple gunshots during the Israeli raid on a flotilla carrying activists attempting to run a blockade of the Gaza Strip.

“State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley said the U.S. has made no decision on a response to Dogan’s death.”

Apparently official Washington is torn between issuing a mild protest, and thanking them.

“Protecting the welfare of American citizens is a fundamental responsibility of our government,” Hillary Clinton assured the media, “and one that we take very seriously” – but not seriously enough to issue an official protest. “We are in constant contact with the Israeli government attempting to obtain more information about our citizens.” Do they want to know how many holes the IDF put in Furkan Dogan’s head before they make a decision on a response?

In reality, the US already made a response in the form of Vice President Joe “Loose Cannon” Biden, who, when asked about the attack on the flotilla, said: “So what’s the big deal here?”

At the time he said it, the odds were fair that an American citizen – out of nine with the flotilla — was among the dead. Now that it’s been confirmed, I wonder if it’s dawned on our dim-witted Vice President that it is indeed a very big deal.

In a brazen act of international piracy, the Israelis boarded a ship in international waters and killed an American citizen – so what is the American government going to do about it?

The answer is: nothing, zero, nada, zilch. Israel refuses to let an international investigation look into the matter, and Biden is cool with that, as he told Charlie Rose:

“Biden: We passed a resolution in the UN saying we need a transparent and open investigation of what happened. It looks like things are…

“Rose: International investigation?

“Biden: Well, an investigation run by the Israelis, but we’re open to international participation.”

That’s certainly impartial, fair, and transparent – let the Israelis investigate themselves! No, Biden isn’t stupid: he’s smart enough to know the Israelis will never be held accountable by our government, and that any attempt to do so would be aborted before it ever became known.

The reason for this peculiar passivity is because, contra Hillary, protecting the welfare of American citizens is not considered a fundamental responsibility of our government insofar as it means protecting their welfare against the government of Israel. In any conflict between American and Israeli interests, Washington’s instinctive response is to uphold the latter and ignore the former. Under the Bush administration, such a conflict of interests was considered impossible: the very idea that there could be daylight between Washington and Tel Aviv on any given issue was considered heretical. Even under the Bushies, however, there was still some vague stirrings of American independence, especially toward the end of the second term. And they never had to face a situation like this, in which an American citizen in transit was murdered by our faithful “allies.” That kind of thing hasn’t happened since the sinking of the USS Liberty – and it may be a sign of what’s to come that a survivor of that heinous assault was traveling with the flotilla, too.

In the case of the USS Liberty, the whole thing was covered up in a shameful act of official suppression: against the testimony of the sailors on that ship, 34 of whom were killed, the US government ruled that the savage Israeli assault was a tragic “accident.” Yet US government officials knew the truth. As then secretary of state Dean Rusk later put it:

“I was never satisfied with the Israeli explanation. Their sustained attack to disable and sink Liberty precluded an assault by accident or some trigger-happy local commander. Through diplomatic channels we refused to accept their explanations. I didn’t believe them then, and I don’t believe them to this day. The attack was outrageous.”

So is this attack outrageous, but if the US government can whitewash the Israeli murder of 34 American sailors, it can overlook the murder of a single American in nearly identical circumstances.

Of course, this is not 1967: the news of an American’s death at the hands of the IDF is being transmitted around the world, even as I write this, and all the details are coming out: the pitilessness of the Israelis, young Furkan’s idealism, and the horrific circumstances of his death.

What is being transmitted, above all, is the braying arrogance of the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his media shills, as they deride the dead as “terrorists looking for trouble.” Bizarrely, the Vice President of the United States is joining right in, declaring that Israel had a “right” to board the ships and detain the passengers because it has a “right” to ensure its own “security” – yet the ships were inspected by the Turkish government in Cyprus before they left, and found to contain only items such as building material and children’s toys. The Israelis, as part of their serio-comic propaganda offensive, are triumphantly showing off a cache of “weapons” found on the ship – which looks like nothing more than a collection of old kitchen knives and a couple of metal poles.

An American is killed as heavily armed soldiers of a foreign nation board a ship in international waters, firing live ammunition at the passengers as they rappel onto the deck. Among those passengers: a former US ambassador, a former US colonel and Pentagon official, several members of the European parliament, a member of the Israeli Knesset, and members of parliament from several Arab countries.

Imagine if Iran had done this. Washington would have reverberated with the sound of thunder emanating from the White House, and the attack fleet would already be steaming toward the Gulf, taking up position. That the culprit was Israel, however, puts a whole different face on the matter, at least as far as our government is concerned: they’re content to let the Israelis “investigate,” and let the matter drop.

For years, some of us have been saying that the government of Israel and its partisans in this country exercise a decisive – and unhealthy – influence on the making and execution of US foreign policy. We’ve been accused of everything from anti-Semitism to pushing “conspiracy theories,” and yet the Mediterranean Massacre – and our government’s non-response – underscores that, if anything, we’ve been underestimating the extent to which the US takes its orders directly from Tel Aviv.

The Israel Lobby controls official Washington: Congress is, as Pat Buchanan trenchantly observed, “Israeli-occupied territory.” Yet one would think that, in spite of these circumstances, the wanton murder of an American on the high seas by Israeli commandos would provoke an angry response from Washington. Unfortunately, one would be wrong.

Instead, what we have is the grotesque spectacle of our Vice President commending the Israelis, and the US and Israel scrambling to come up with a “joint response.” What more proof do we need that the US government is the political equivalent of occupied Palestine, where truth and justice are under blockade?

For years, they’ve been spying on us, collaborating with our enemies, stealing our secrets, manipulating our politicians, and now they’ve gone so far as to murder one of our citizens on neutral ground – and still our government cannot manage even a peep of protest. A more disgusting display of cowardice would be hard to imagine.

We attacked Iraq in large part due to the influence of the Lobby, and we are gearing up for an armed conflict with Iran in response to the same sort of pressure: will we now countenance the execution of one of our own citizens in order to appease Tel Aviv?

This was no “accident.” The Israeli government knew precisely what it was doing, it knew there were Americans on those ships, and chose to go in guns blazing: it was the equivalent of spitting in Uncle Sam’s face.

After all, how dare those Americans try to freeze the building of settlements in what is “Greater Israel”? How dare Obama tell us what we can and cannot do?! We’ll show them! Let’s kill a few. Don’t worry – they won’t retaliate. We own them: and they know it.

In view of the Obama administration’s shameful crawling, one can hardly disagree. Which raises a question: how many American lives are to be sacrificed on the altar of the “special relationship”? It’s a question to which one doesn’t really want to know the answer.

Erdogan: Israel in danger of losing its “best friend” in the Region NATO HQ Seething

As funerals were held in Turkey on Thursday for 7 Turks and 1 US citizen, a new wave of anger swept over Turkey at Israel. The popular emotions have potential implications for Turkey and NATO in the Middle East, and therefore for the United States and the Obama administration.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara on Thursday that Israel must review its policies lest it lose its best friend in the region, i.e. Turkey.

He added, “We have made an effort to keep our friendship. But the Israeli government couldn’t maintain it and made a historic mistake. And it did not do so only against Turkey but against the people of 32 countries. There were no weapons on the ships, just humanitarian aid …”

Turkish President Abdullah Gul said that “Turkey will never forgive this kind of attack in international waters …”

Turkey has recalled its ambassador from Tel Aviv, and canceled, for now, a joint research project on energy issues. It is even planning legal action against Israel in Turkish courts. But Israeli arms sales to Turkey are are still on track, and despite a temporary fall in Israeli tourism, Turkey does $2.6 billion in trade with Israel annually, about on percent of its total.

ITN has a video report on the funerals and the anger:

Former UK ambassador Craig Murray, who was forced out of the Foreign Ministry when he blew the whistle on torture in Uzbekistan, reports the extreme unease felt in the halls of NATO in Brussels over the Israeli assault on a vessel from a NATO member nation. The blithely pro-Israeli attitude of Americans at NATO HQ only added to the tensions already obtaining between the US and its NATO allies over Afghanistan policy. The Obama administration has put enormous pressure on its NATO allies to increase their troop strength in Afghanistan, which many deeply resent.

Turkey is a country of about 73 million and is therefore more populous than France or the UK. It is the 18th most populous country in the world, after Germany, Ethiopia, Egypt and Iran. It has been ranked by some analysts as the tenth most powerful country in the world with regard to conventional military strength, just ahead of Israel itself. It is a NATO member and therefore a formal ally of the United States, which is bound to defend Turkey from attack, and it has preferential access to sophisticated US weaponry.

Economically, Turkey ranks 17 in the world for nominal gross domestic product. Turkey was not hurt as badly by the economic downturn in 2008-2009 as some others, and it is on track to grow over 6 % this year on exports. It may be this year’s fastest growing economy. It has been growing at a rapid clip during the past decade, and has attracted billions in foreign investment.

Turkey’s Justice and Development Party is tinged with Muslim ideas, in contrast to the old officer corps elite of militant secularists. As Turkey has democratized, the Muslim and populist commitments of the people who live in towns and the smaller cities have become more salient. The JDP (AK Partisi) has also helped authorize a freer and more public role for Muslim fundamentalist NGOs such as IHH, the charity that helped sponsor the Gaza aid flotilla.

BP's Top Two Officials On Rig Are No-Shows At Crucial Hearing

This story has been updated

Some of the most-anticipated witnesses at key oil spill hearings -- including BP's top official on the Deepwater Horizon who was involved in an argument with other rig workers over a crucial procedure just hours before the explosion -- have been no-shows.

Donald Vidrine, BP's "company man," overruled the rig's chief mechanic and driller and pushed to speed up the process by remove the drilling mud faster to save BP money on the day of the tragic explosion, according to testimony from rig owner Transocean's Doug Brown on Wednesday.

"Well, this is how it's gonna be," Vidrine allegedly said when confronted by the other workers, according to Brown's testimony, reports the Houston Chronicle.

Vidrine did not testify as scheduled on Wednesday, citing an unspecified medical condition. The other top BP official on the rig, Robert Kaluza, also declined to testify, invoking his 5th Amendment right not to incriminate himself. And a third witness, James Mansfield, Transocean's assistant marine engineer on the Deepwater Horizon, also called in sick, the Coast Guard said.

The decision by Kaluza "for the first time raises the specter of criminal liability in the April 20 explosion that killed 11 and continues even five weeks later to spew hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico each day," reports McClatchy Newspapers.

At a hearing in Kenner, Lousiana today, Transocean's Jimmy Harrell testified that the day before the explosion, at a morning meeting, he expressed his concern to Kaluza that a new drilling plan did not include a negative test to measure pressure.

When that test was eventually performed, it was supervised by Kaluza, who later told Coast Guard investigators that his experience was largely in land drilling and that he was on the rig to "learn about deep water" drilling, the Wall Street Journal reported in a comprehensive account of that fateful day.

Kaluza's lawyers told the WSJ: "Bob did no wrong on the Deepwater Horizon, and we will make ... sure that this comes out at the appropriate time."

At the hearing, more details emerged about that fateful day, including the claim that driller started having trouble with pressure from the well about 20 minutes before the fatal explosion -- but no one attempted to shut off the well. And the rig's master testified that visiting BP officials were playing a video simulation game minutes before the gas burst out of well and exploded, reports the New Orleans Times-Picayune:

When he got to the bridge, he said found visiting executives from BP there. The rig's master, Curt Kuchta, testified the V.I.P.s were "basically playing a video game," a simulator of rig controls, and Kuchta said he was giving the visitors a tour. The other top officer on the rig, Offshore Installation Manager Jimmy Harrell, testified that he was in the shower.

Breaking: Coast Guard confirms oil sheen in Florida Keys; Officials lay protective boom

Coast Guard pollution investigators from Sector Key West are currently responding to reports of an oily substance and tar balls near Duck Key, Fla., Long Key, Fla., and Grassy Key, Fla. …

Coast Guard Sector Key West received multiple notifications from the National Response Center Tuesday of an oily substance and tar balls approximately four nautical miles south of Long Key, Fla.

A Coast Guard HU-25 Guardian aircraft from Coast Guard Air Station Miami conducted an aerial search and confirmed the presence of sheening in the vicinity of Duck Key, Fla., and deployed a self-locating data marker bouy (SLDMB) to determine the set and drift of the substance. Coast Guard Station Marathon launched a smallboat crew to collect samples of the substance and monitor the situation.

Analysis of the SLDMB on Wednesday morning indicated a potential for the sheen to land on Grassy Key Wednesday evening.

The Coast Guard is coordinating with the Dolphin Research Center on Grassy Key and Hawk’s Cay Resort in Duck Key to develop and deploy protective booming strategies as a protective measure to protect the dolphins at the Dolphin Research Center and those at the Florida Keys Dolphin Interaction feature at Hawk’s Key Resort.

Shoreline assessment teams from the Coast Guard and contracted shoreline cleanup crews were deployed to the shorelines of Long Key, Grassy Key, and Duck Key to confirm the presence of tar balls. The team recovered tar balls and identified one oiled vessel in a canal in Duck Key. No tar balls were found in Grassy Key or Long Key. Shoreline assessment teams continue to monitor the shorelines for more possible tar balls. If detected, contracted crews will conduct cleanup operations. …

The Coast Guard, working with NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuaries, Department of the Interior, and Monroe County Department of Emergency Management, has responded to 37 reports of tar balls in the Florida Keys and has sent representative samples of tar balls found in each location to the Marine Safety Laboratory for testing. None of those samples have been connected with the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill.

Capt. Pat DeQuattro, commanding officer of Sector Key West, has authorized the use of the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to commence cleanups of any pollution.

http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=133432&catid=19

Key West Keynoter:

U.S. Coast Guard pollution investigators from Sector Key West were responding Thursday to reports of an “oily substance and tar balls” near Duck Key, Long Key and Grassy Key, according to the Deepwater Horizon Incident Joint Information Center, the federal government’s official clearinghouse for oil-spill information. …

A crew from Station Marathon “recovered tar balls and identified one oiled vessel in a canal on Duck Key.” That crew is collecting samples of the sheen.

A Coast Guard HU-25 Guardian aircraft from Air Station Miami conducted an aerial search and confirmed the “presence of sheening in the vicinity of Duck Key and deployed a self-locating data marker bouy (SLDMB) to determine the set and drift of the substance.”

http://www.keysnet.com/2010/06/03/225550/oily-substance-tar-balls-found.html

Palm Beach Post:

Numerous reports of oil and tar balls in the southern Florida Keys and a confirmed siting of sheen by the U.S. Coast Guard prompted officials at the Dolphin Research Center in Grassy Key and Hawk’s Cay Resort in Duck Key to lay protective booming around their caged dolphin habitat. …

The Coast Guard station in Key West received reports of an oily substance and tar balls approximately four nautical miles south of Long Key. A Coast Guard HU-25 Guardian aircraft from Coast Guard Air Station Miami conducted an aerial search and confirmed the presence of sheening in the vicinity of Duck Key. A buoy deployed to track the spill indicated the sheen could land on Grassy Key at any time.

About 600 feet of boom was deployed at the Dolphin Research Center this morning, said Mary Stella, the marketing director at the center in Grassy Key, about 59 miles north of Key West. Hawk’s Cay Resort, at mile marker 61 in Duck Key, did not return a phone call about their dolphins.

“No tar balls or sheen have been spotted on the Gulf side where we are,” Stella said. “This is strictly an extra precaution.