Oil Spill Sends Foul Smell to New Orleans

The oil spill oozing ashore in Louisiana is making life miserable for residents of New Orleans because of the stench. Complaints are jamming city phone lines, and officials say they can only assume the odor is coming from the Gulf, reports the Times-Picayune. Andrew Sullivan, meanwhile, posts this from a reader on his Daily Dish blog: "Thought I'd write to tell you that the air is already pretty bad in New Orleans due to this oil spill. ... My wife and I just walked our dog for about 20 minutes and my nose is now burning."

The strong wind delivering that unwelcome present is also complicating cleanup efforts, notes the AP. Crews can't skim or burn the oil off the surface because of the weather, and high tides and waves could help push the oil deeper into inlets and ponds through the weekend. To make matters worse, thunderstorms are due today.