Saw stuck cutting BP wellhead is freed
VENICE, La., June 2 (UPI) -- BP's efforts to slice off the riser pipe of its runaway Gulf of Mexico oil well ran into a snag Wednesday when the saw blade got stuck, officials said.
The British energy giant freed the cutter several hours later but there was no indication when the attempt to cut through the pipe would resume, CNN reported. Changing weather patterns raised concern more oil from the Deepwater Horizon rig disaster might be pushed toward Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, the network said.
The diamond wire saw blade that was caught in the pipe was being used in an effort to make a clean cut through the well head so a cap can be affixed to stem the flow of oil that has been spewing into the gulf since April 20 when the oil platform exploded, killing 11 oil workers. The rig sank two days later.
BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles told CNN late Tuesday the vast majority of leaking oil should be captured if the plan succeeds. Estimates of the size of the leak range from 5,000 barrels to 19,000 barrels a day. If the procedure fails, the oil flow could increase by 20 percent.
Rust-colored oil started washing ashore on the barrier islands off Alabama and Mississippi Tuesday.
The disaster is taking its toll on BP investors. The company has lost 15 percent, or $21.1 billion, of market value since the disaster began.
Even though analysts said the oil giant can afford the mounting claims and cleanup costs, uncertainty has surrounded the company, especially after U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced the Justice Department has started criminal and civil investigations, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.
BP, the world's fourth-largest company, lost $74.4 billion, or 40 percent, of its market value in six weeks. Investment firm Raymond James nearly tripled its early-May estimate of the cost to BP in 2010 and 2011 to $7.5 billion.
"Spiraling costs are getting more and more out of control. And we thought this thing was going to be stemmed far before today and we're still waiting on that," energy research analyst Alex Morris said.
The Justice Department told a federal judge it opposed a request by Transocean, the Swiss owner of the rig leased by BP, to limit its liability to $27 million under an 1851 maritime law.
Besides the possibility of federal prosecution, BP could face state prosecution, the Post said.
"If BP cut corners in destroying our gulf, somebody will pay and it won't just be money -- they will certainly be subjected to criminal laws," said Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood. "From what I've seen, a grand jury needs to review this thing."
Meanwhile, calls for punishing BP grew, the Post said.
Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune said, "BP should pay. Not just for the cleanup, but for the lives lost and the natural treasures destroyed."
U.S. orders BP to fund La. coast barriers
VENICE, La., June 2 (UPI) -- The United States Wednesday ordered BP to pay for more island barrier projects to protect Louisiana from the spreading Gulf of Mexico oil spill, officials said.
Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, who is commanding the U.S. response to the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster, issued a statement saying he has directed the British energy giant to pay for five more barriers, bringing to six the number of projects BP has been ordered to finance.
Louisiana officials had been urging Washington to approve a plan to dredge offshore sand to create berms that might offer protection to the state's marshland. Federal officials had questioned the long-term environmental impact of such projects.
"Consistent with all the work undertaken in recent weeks to assess Louisiana's barrier island proposal and gather input from local officials, environmental experts, and top scientists and engineers, I have directed BP to pay for five additional barrier island projects in addition to the one I approved last week as part of our continuing commitment to do everything possible to protect our vital coastal communities from BP's leaking oil," Allen said in a statement. "Based on a thorough expert analysis, we believe that these six total projects, which will be constructed expeditiously in the areas most at risk for long-term impact by oil, will effectively stem potential damage to these fragile shorelines."
Allen notified Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal of the decision Wednesday afternoon.
Allen said the federal government was repositioning "critical response assets across all the Gulf Coast states in preparation for potential near- and long-term oil impacts."
The Coast Guard Cutter Cypress arrived in Mobile Bay, Ala., Wednesday. Allen said oil boom materials will be deployed Thursday to protect Alabama's Katrina Pass by creating a funnel to collect oil brought in by the tide.
Helicopters will patrol the Alabama, Mississippi and Florida coast to conduct surveillance and provide information for use in positioning skimmers "to collect the most oil threatening the shore possible," Allen said.
Obama orders same-sex benefits
WASHINGTON, June 2 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama Wednesday ordered the extension of more employment benefits to same-sex domestic partners of federal workers.
In a statement released by the White House, Obama said the additional benefits include family assistance services, hardship transfers and relocation expenses.
"It also requires agencies that extend any new benefits to employees' opposite-sex spouses to make those benefits available on equal terms to employees' same-sex domestic partners to the extent permitted by law," Obama said.
Obama directed executive agencies to implement his order immediately.
Obama issued a memorandum last year instructing the Office of Personnel Management and the secretary of state to extend benefits such as long-term care insurance, expanded sick leave, medical care abroad, eligibility for employment at posts, cost-of-living adjustments abroad and medical evacuation to the domestic partners of gay and lesbian foreign service members.
"While this memorandum is an important step on the path to equality, my administration continues to be prevented by existing federal law from providing same-sex domestic partners with the full range of benefits enjoyed by heterosexual married couples," Obama continued. "That is why, today, I renew my call for swift passage of an important piece of legislation pending in both houses of Congress -- the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act."
Obama said the bill would "extend to the same-sex domestic partners of federal employees the full range of benefits currently enjoyed by federal employees' opposite-sex spouses."
At least 12 killed in U.K. shootings
WHITEHAVEN, England, June 2 (UPI) -- A taxi driver suspected in a rampage that left at least 12 people dead and 25 others wounded in West Cumbria, England, killed himself Wednesday, police said.
The Times of London reported police said three of the 25 wounded were in critical condition.
The newspaper said it was Britain's worst mass killing since the Dunblane Primary School massacre in Scotland in 1996 left 13 dead.
The gunman, identified as 52-year-old Derrick Bird, may have made his twin brother David one of his first victims, The Daily Telegraph reported. The report said Derrick Bird, a father of two, was believed to have killed his brother and an attorney during an argument about their mother's will.
Police said the massacre began about 10:35 a.m. with a double slaying and wounding of a third person at a taxi stand in Whitehaven, and continued for 3 hours until Derrick Bird's body was found in a wooded area near the shootings and two weapons were recovered.
After the initial shootings, Derrick Bird allegedly drove down the street, shooting people as he went, including a Gosforth farmer gunned down as he worked in a field, the Telegraph said.
Shootings also were reported in Seascale and Egremont, Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Hyde said.
The gunman apparently wound up in the area's Lake District before crashing and abandoning his Citroen Picasso and taking his own life.
The cabbie was reported to have told colleagues Tuesday night there would be "a rampage" Wednesday, the newspaper said. The report also said he had been turned away from a hospital after trying to get help for his mental condition.
The Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant in West Cumbria closed its gates for several hours as a precaution but since has reopened, the BBC reported.
Cumbria police Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Hyde said the shooting spree "shocked the people of Cumbria and around the country to the core."
Hyde, who wouldn't get into the motive for the shootings, said more bodies might be found, The Times said.
Derrick Bird, who lived in the village of Rowrah, was described as a quiet and personable man who looked after his elderly mother. But he had a heated argument with colleagues the night before, the newspaper said.
A friend, Peter Leder, told the Times that as he signed out for the night, Bird had said: "See you later, Peter -- although you won't see me again."
The Telegraph said Bird had a .22-caliber rifle and a shotgun.
The newspaper said there were reports indicating Bird summoned people to his car before shooting them at point-blank range. Others said they saw him shooting out the window as he drove down the road.
Prime Minister David Cameron said he would do everything possible to help communities "shattered" by the carnage.
"When lives and communities are suddenly shattered in this way, our thoughts should be with all those caught up in these tragic events, especially the families and friends of those killed or injured," Cameron said.
