New leak: The Coast Guard said a new leak has been found at the site where a BP oil platform exploded and sank last week in the Gulf of Mexico. Rear Adm. Mary Landry says that 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons) a day is leaking from the site.
Burn plan: The Coast Guard and BP set fire to a portion of the to crude oil floating in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday in a bid to limit the impact of a widening slick.
Wildlife threat: With BP unable to stop the flow of oil from a deep-water exploration well that blew up last week, attention was turning to the Gulf's coastlines, where the spill could threaten wildlife, tourism and the livelihoods of fishermen. Federal officials said the oil could touch shore in parts of the Louisiana Delta as early as Friday evening.
Other efforts: BP says it will try to to drill a relief well to relieve pressure at the blowout site after crews operating submersible robots failed to activate a shut-off device that would halt the flow of oil on the sea bottom 5,000 feet below. But that could take months.
Article courtesy of Seattle Times news services
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