More Live Coverage From The Gulf

Hi everyone. Once again, the 360 kids are coming at us from the Gulf. Man, at this point they should just rent an apartment down there. I smell a sitcom! Anyway. When last we met our heroes, the oil had stopped leaking. Thankfully, that continues to be where we are. Now BP is talking about doing a "static kill" operation. Okey-dokey. I think it's time for the bullet points:

• It is the top of the broadcast, so that means it's time for Anderson Cooper's nightly berating of BP over their lack of transparency. You keep 'em honest, Silver Fox!

• Nice use of the Bob Dudley clip from three weeks ago. I always gotta give a shout out when 360 goes Daily Show-esque on us.
  

• Anderson: "After so many days, after more than 90 days, it is clear that BP views us and you as a nuisance, as an inconvenience, small people who have to be dealt with, but who should be content being kept in the dark." Pssst. We didn't need 90 days for that to be clear. Hell, we didn't even need a friggin oil spill for that to be clear.

• Chad Myers vigorously drew us pictures on the Magic Wall, which was kinda amusing to watch whether you care about mechanical-y things or not. Also, it's good for a chuckle if you have a dirty mind. (I know you're out there!)
  

• We also heard from geologist Don Van Nieuwenhuise. Scientists represent! (First block of the show is below.)
  

• Then we were joined by Congressman Ed Markey to talk about how much oil actually leaked, and the fact that BP doesn't give a damn whether or not they keep the public informed. Also, the whole "seepage" thing is freaking me out. Oh, BP says it's okay? Obviously it's all good then. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me 1327 times...

• Annoyed by the ever-present train crossing bell? Guess what? Train! I'm calling it: in the epic train noise vs. 360 match-up, I believe the train has emerged victorious.
  

• Our anchor's not one to let a little (okay big) distraction get in the way of his news duties, so he proceeds to inform us about financial claims in the Gulf and the man--Kenneth Feinberg--who will take over the job next month.

• This sets us up for some discussion with Billy Nungesser and Douglas Brinkley, during which our anchor hacks up a lung. Yikes! That sounds bad. Get the man a cough drop (and perhaps a Z-pak) stat! At the end of the segment he assures us that he didn't get it in the Gulf; probably Haiti. Anderson really does not want you to cancel those hotel reservations, people.

• Joe Johns gave us a little info about the testimony of Transocean's chief engineer for the Deepwater Horizon, Stephen Bertone, as well as the news that two BP officials who were on the rig will invoke their Fifth Amendment rights.
  

• Jeffrey Toobin then joined us to discuss the latter. Kinda ironic listening to them talk about proving people are sick, all the while our anchor can't even make it through the segment without coughing.

• Randi Kaye had a good report about BP recruiting scientists. And why not, right? They already have their own journalists. It's BP's world and apparently we just live in it.

• Finally, Anderson interviewed Scott Russell, Mark Mead and Bradley Shivers, three fishermen who were among the first responders after the Deepwater Horizon explosion. Even 17 miles from the rig, they still felt the sonic boom. Truly a harrowing story. Good on Mead for seeking help. The interview is in the video below after Randi's piece.

• I thought the show was okay, with the strongest piece being the fishermen interview. Speaking strictly as a viewer and not a news snob/critic, my interest waned during the first half of the broadcast. My first instinct is that they need to break up the coverage more, but that might just be me. Anyway. As for Anderson, what a trooper. I felt pretty terrible for him tonight. That cough sounded nasty even with him clearly trying to cover his mic. See, this is why I never want to be on live TV, like, ever. I would cough, or not be able to stop sneezing, or my nose would spontaneously bleed--it wouldn't be pretty.

• This bullet point contains an antibiotic for our anchor. And a lollipop. But only if he's good.
  

BP Is Teh Suck

Hi everyone. Okay, yes, I'm kinda at a loss for titles at this point. Tonight we have fun with slang from the interwebs. About yesterday, I was feeling crappy. I did still make an attempt to blog for you fine folks, but my headache was like, "Stop right there. I will set your brain on fire." And really, who can argue with that? I'm back now though, and everything is fine. Well, except for that whole devastating oil catastrophe. To the bullet points!:

• Speaking of things on fire, can someone out there please attack Anderson Cooper with some sunscreen? At first I was a little amused at him rocking the lobster look (I just totally made myself think of the B-52s. Ha!). Then I remembered his skin cancer history and got a little ticked. Don't the newsers know we worry?!

• For those keeping score at home, the new estimate is 20,000 to 40,000 barrels of oil flowing into the Gulf every day. Spoiler Alert! A new(er) estimate is forthcoming and all signs point to more oiliness.
  

• BP says they have "fully supported" the effort to measure the flow rate of the oil and they have "made no estimate of the flow rate [themselves]." But our anchor is like, "oh hells no!" He's got some questions about that: "Does fully supported mean not releasing underwater video of the leak for weeks, until the government lawmakers forced them to?" Or how about: "Does fully supported mean not allowing scientists working for the government to actually directly measure the gusher of oil?" And: "Does fully supported mean withholding high-resolution H.D. video from at least one of those scientists and Congress and the public until a few days ago?" I believe the words you're looking for are "oh, snap."

• But Anderson Cooper was not done. Oh no he was not. Next came a montage of all the times BP actually had estimated the flow rate. After it was over, our anchor was like, oh FYI, after BP released their first statement that made them look like douches, then they re-released it with the last sentence (denying they estimated flow rates) totally gone. "So, in addition to putting out one statement that pretty much airbrushes history, they then put out a second statement which airbrushed the first statement." Ha! Awesome. The 360 kids rocked that segment.

• BP continues to freeze out the Silver Fox when it comes to interview requests (I can't imagine why!). Why are you so afraid of Anderson Cooper, Tony? So hey Internets, do you want to see the oil douches get their asses grilled by our anchor? Of course you do! Show your support by joining the Facebook group Make BP Appear on AC360 (143 members and counting!).

• Below is video of Anderson's talk with Ira Leifer, member of the government's flow rate team:

• The 'ragin cajun' was, well, ragin. I loved the introduction: "We taped this a few hours ago, during daytime." I'm glad he explained. I would have been so frightened. Why is there suddenly sunshine?!!
  

• Anderson then got into the issue of transparency and how BP is, uh, totally not. Our anchor has been prevented by federal wildlife officials from filming oily birds and CNN's Jim Acosta was blocked by the National Guard. You can see more on this in the first segment of the below video.
  

• Yesterday CNN obtained a letter from BP COO Doug Suttles that stated "BP has not and will not prevent anyone working in the cleanup operation from sharing his or her own experiences or opinions with the media." Our anchor rightly calls this "patently false." But, in the interest of seeing if a new leaf had been turned, Tom Foreman went out to see if any workers would talk to him. Any guesses on what happened? Yeah...the segment was actually pretty creepy. You can view it in the second half of the video below. A corporation should not have this kind of power. Period.

• Below is the interview with Senator Bill Nelson on BP's lack of transparency:

• Randi Kaye covered the joint investigation from ProPublica and The Washington Post on BP's horrible safety record. I guess it was only a matter of time.

• Gary Tuchman had our headlines again tonight. We're going to pretend like it's yesterday because I had something to say then and I don't for this broadcast. Anyway! You may have heard about how Carly Fiorina trashed talked Senator Barbara Boxer's hair in an open mic mishap. First of all, really? Her hair? Not juicy enough Fiorina! I mean, this is the woman who brought us demon sheep. I'm really disappointed she didn't say something more batshit insane. Back to Gary though, he says this: "That's my reoccurring nightmare, Anderson, that I'll say something nasty about someone and forget that I have that mic open on my lapel." Oh, that's adorable. Because no one is buying that Gary says nasty things. Our anchor: "You never said anything nasty about anyone, Gary. I know that." See?

• Okay, we're back to Thursday, in case you were wondering. Below is Anderson's interview with family members of the men who died on the Deepwater Horizon rig: Jason Anderson's wife Shelley Anderson, Jason's father Billy Anderson, Roy Kemp's wife Courtney Kemp, Gordon Jones' father Keith Jones, Dewey Revette's wife Sherri Revette, and Adam Weise's mother Arlene Weise. It's astounding that BP has had no contact with them. Then again, given their history, it's really not.

• That'll do it. The show continues to rock. But after that last video, this bullet point is sad. It contains prayers for the families of those lost men.
  

Live From Louisiana With A Trashcan, Calliope Music, And More Oil (Now In HD!)

Hi everyone. Well, let's not waste any time. To the bullet points!

• We are now at day 50 of perhaps the largest environment disaster of our time. Day 50, and only now BP is like, "hey, you know that video of the oil coming out? Would you possibly like to see that in high definition?" Kidding! BP would never ask us if we want to see anything (congresscritters got it for us). But the fact that we've gone almost 50 days without said video is sadly totally true.

• Christopher Jones (testifying on Capitol Hill), brother of rig explosion victim Gordon Jones, on BP CEO Tony Hayward's comments: "...he publicly stated he wants his life back. Well, Mr. Hayward, I want my brother's life back. And I know the families of the other 10 men want their lives back. We will never get Gordon's life back, and his wife will live a life without a husband and her two children a life without a father." No commentary needed.

• Anderson Cooper to Ira Leifer (of the government's flow rate panel) regarding BP's apparent reluctance to make images available: "Does that make any sense to you? This is a company which has said they want to be transparent. And you guys are tasked by the U.S. government to try to figure out the flow rate. Why would they be throwing up obstacles in your way? Why would they not be giving you the best video as soon as possible?" Okay fellas, what about 'they are evil liars' do you not understand? BP is out to save BP. Period. But that doesn't mean they're good at that either. Incompetents with poor intentions. Yay for us, huh?

• The interview with Congressman Ed Markey was good, but...that music! The 360 kids do not have the best track record (or luck) with background noises on this field trip (train crossing dinging, anyone?). I have to say, calliope music sets a rather surreal tone for an interview about a massive disaster. It sounded like they were standing in the middle of a carnival. At this rate, I can't imagine what background noise we'll have tomorrow. (The Markey interview is the first portion of the below video.)

• Markey: "I assumed that, by this late date, that BP would finally decide that honesty was the best policy." Well, there's your first mistake. They are never going to decide that.

• Paging The Daily Show. I was wondering when someone was going to show up with a hilariously ridiculous prop. Enter: Tom Foreman with a trashcan. I don't know, maybe it actually helped people understand. But I was too busy laughing to really take it all in. (The trashcan segment can be found in the last half of the below video.)

• Anderson Cooper, did you attempt to flick us off tonight? Okay, no, he did not. But I am amused when the TV peeps get caught on camera doing their little frantic hand gestures that we're not supposed to see. (And if you're wondering, sadly no, no intense snapping.)

• Plumes are scary.

• Oil researcher Dr. Jeffrey Short on NOAA: "I think they have made all the right calls. They have done all the right things. I'm disappointed in how they have been -- their ability to communicate the results of what they're doing with the public has been so limited. But part of that, at least, is due to the fact that they're just overwhelmed with putting studies in the field, and they're getting massive information back. And they have been undergoing budget cuts for the last eight years in the people who do this stuff. So, their staff to deal with it has eroded substantially (emphasis mine). Why?

• Anderson's piece on rescuing wildlife was rather infuriating. Federal wildlife officials won't let them film because they're afraid it will upset the birds? Please. There's probably both bureaucracy and over-caution at play here, but it still smells like a CYA operation. Though I loath Katrina comparisons, during that disaster, the government began blocking the media from filming the bodies. CNN sued for the right, and won. If this continues, they should sue again. And that's no joke.
  

• So hey, it turns out there was an election tonight. No, really! What a difference a news cycle makes! Last time, you would have thought we were electing the president. CNN had their pundit-palooza going on in the Election Center and everything. Tonight they were like, "oh yeah, that." Personally, I like this way much better. It really goes to show you just how absolutely meaningless all their political analysis is, doesn't it? I mean, when you heard the results, were you really thinking to yourself, "if only I had first heard 10 minutes of Paul Begala's thoughts on this"?
  

• Gary Tuchman had our headlines tonight. Mixing it up! When he popped up on screen, one of my chat buddies had this to say: "Ohhhh Gary. I think I have a crush on him. Is that OK?" Don't worry, the rest of us assured her that not only was it okay, it was very much encouraged, and perhaps even required. I mean, really, who doesn't love Gary?

• Oil rig survivor Doug Brown explaining how BP cut corners to save money at the expense of safety:

• Anderson's interview with Steve Gordon, attorney of the five oil rig survivors who talked to 360:
  

• The broadcast flew by tonight. I usually keep track of the time when watching, but our anchor's sign off caught me off guard. I guess that'll happen when they cover what's important, and cover it well.

• This bullet point contains the iPhone 4. Perhaps it'd be more realistic if I said it contained a unicorn?