President Obama has put the blame on oil company and rig owner British Petroleum for the devastating explosion that killed 11 and spilled thousands of gallons of oil in the Gulf of Mexico, harming wildlife and business in the area. While visiting Louisiana this weekend, he announced, "Let me be clear: BP is responsible for this leak. BP will be paying the bill." He has instructed Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to conduct a 30-day study to determine what technological upgrades are needed on new rigs to keep similar accidents from happening, and issued a 10-day ban on recreational and commercial fishing in affected areas.
His visit came just before Mitch Landrieu was sworn in as New Orleans' 70th mayor. Obama met with Landrieu on Friday, who has already been deploying city resources to keep the spill from hitting the coast. The spill is already being considered one of the worst environmental disasters in the United States, and many are calling it "Obama's Katrina," due to the perceived lag in response time from the federal government. Locals are also calling it a second Katrina, but for different reasons. Boat captain Bob Kenney told the Daily News, "It's like a slow version of Katrina. My kids will be talking about the effect of this when they're my age."The worst-case scenario for the spill could result in a leak of 6 million barrels per day, according to government data from another Gulf well. For comparison, Exxon-Valdez spewed 11 million barrels total, which could mean the Gulf spill could dump the equivalent of 4 Exxon-Valdez spills per week.
President Obama also had a few words about the Times Square bombing while in Gulf Coast. Obama learned of the Times Square bomb scare from daily briefings, including one report from Mayor Bloomberg. He said of the bomb scare, "My national security team has been taking every step necessary to ensure that our state and local partners have the full support and cooperation of the federal government. We're going to do what's necessary to protect the American people, to determine who is behind this potentially deadly act, and to see that justice is done."
