Oil Spill Worsens Floods

The floods overwhelming the Midwest worsened today as 42,000 gallons of crude oil accidentally released from a refinery on Sunday made its way farther downstream. A malfunction at a plant in Coffeyville, Kan., on the Oklahoma border, contaminated flood waters with a thick, pungent layer of sludge that threatens residents' health and the local economy, the AP reports.

The toxic slop spread into Oklahoma's Oologah Lake early today but was at the opposite end of the lake from the intakes that feed the water supply for nearby communities, including Tulsa. Meanwhile, the forecast remains grim for the tourism industry. The spill, and the floods in general, are keeping vacationers indoors and sapping state parks'  coffers. (More water stories.)