There’s still nothing very positive to report about the effort to plug the oil leak. The diamond-saw thing didn’t work, so now they’re using giant shears. Fishermen are having a tough time, President Obama can’t even talk about the economy anymore, and James Cameron is pissed off. Here’s the latest news from the Gulf.
• After a “diamond wire cutter” became stuck yesterday on the leaking pipe, BP engineers have decided to use “giant shears” to cut the pipe, which will then be fitted with a cap. [MSNBC]
• Some people within the Justice Department felt awkward about announcing the opening of a criminal probe into the spill, seeing as how they still needed the full cooperation of BP to stop the leak. [WSJ]
• Maybe we should just nuke it, like the Russians used to do? Despite the mounting frustration over the failure of less explosive options, the federal government says it has no plans to bomb the leak. “It’s crazy,” a senior official tells the Times. For one thing, it would violate some international treaties. [NYT]
• The spill is ruining President Obama’s best-laid plans. He can’t focus on the economy like he wanted to be doing, and he might even delay his trip to Indonesia for about the twentieth time. [LAT]
• The amount of seafood being caught in the Gulf is about a quarter of its usual levels. [NYT]
• And the fishing industry isn’t the only one in danger: Tourism and the offshore-drilling business will suffer as well. [WP]
• James Cameron says his offer to help plug the leak was “graciously” turned down by BP. He also said that the “morons” trying to get the job done without him “don’t know what they’re doing.” [Daily Mail UK]
• Meanwhile, demonstrations are set to take place in over 50 cities today. [CNN]
