La. Rep. Cries During Oil Spill Testimony

Many in Gulf Coast got rich in unsupervised spending frenzy: Pro Publica

(NEWSER) - A Pro Publica investigation introduces a new word in the Gulf Coast lexicon: spillionaire. As in, the nickname given to someone—usually someone politically connected—who raked in a lot of money from BP's unregulated $16 billion cleanup fund for localities. It puts a particular focus on St. Bernard Parish in New Orleans—along with its vocal president, Craig Taffaro—with tidbits like these:

• A subcontractor there charged BP $15,400 a month to rent a generator, about 10 times higher than usual.
• A company partly owned by the sheriff charged BP more than $1 million a month for land that had been renting closer to the $1,700-a-month range.

Meanwhile, Obama administration issues new drilling safety rules

(NEWSER) - Researchers have detected a 40-fold increase in potentially cancer-causing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons off the coast of Louisiana’s Grande Isle. The study is especially scary because it only measured PAHs that could seep through a biological membrane, the Huffington Post explains. “This is a measure of what would enter into an organism,” says one professor, “and that means they can essentially be uptaken by organisms throughout the food chain.” More»

Residents fear it's related to oil spill, experts not sure

(NEWSER) - Near Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish, there lies what looks like a gravel road. It's not: It's a waterway clogged with hundreds of thousands of dead fish, crabs, stingrays, and eel—so many that it appears solid. A dead whale was also found in the area, WWL-TV reports. "Fish kills" are fairly common along the Gulf Coast, Yahoo! News reports, often caused by sudden oxygen depletion. This one, however, is different: Usually, only one species of marine life is involved. More»

One person injured; no oil leaks seen

(AP) - An offshore oil platform exploded in the Gulf of Mexico about 100 miles off the Louisiana coast today, but this one appears headed toward a better ending than BP's explosion. All 13 people aboard have been rescued—though one is reportedly injured. Earlier reports that the platform was inactive have proved to be inaccurate, but workers may have been able to shut down active wells after the explosion. More»

Gross photos too slick for some

(NEWSER) - Is an arresting Vogue Italia cover and fashion spread evidence of environmental sensitivity or a heartless ploy to boost magazine sales with horrific images of a disaster? Depends on whom you ask. The spread, shot in Los Angeles by renowned photographer Steven Meisel, features be-feathered model Kristen McMenamy and her seaweed-like hair apparently suffering amid oil-slicked rocks evocative of the BP Gulf oil spill. "I think they are making light of the oil spill. Everyone isn't going to the beaches and people have lost their jobs here because of the oil," snapped one Florida beach-goer. More»