Vatican revises its rules on clerical sex abuse

Vatican revises its rules on clerical sex abuse

Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi, right, and Monsignor Charles Scicluna, the Vatican's sex crimes prosecutor, talk to the media during a briefing to present a new set of norms The Vatican issued to respond to the worldwide clerical abuse scandal, cracking down on priests who rape and molest minors and the mentally disabled, at the Vatican, Thursday, July 15, 2010. The norms extend from 10 to 20 years the statute of limitations on priestly abuse and also codify for the first time that possessing or distributing child pornography is a canonical crime. But the document made no mention of the need for bishops to report abuse to police and doesn't include any "one-strike and you're out" policy as demanded by some victims' groups.

VATICAN CITY (AP) -- The Vatican revised its in-house rules to deal with clerical sex abuse cases Thursday, targeting priests who molest the mentally disabled as well as children and doubling the statute of limitations for such crimes.

Abuse victims said the rules are little more than administrative housekeeping since they made few substantive changes to current practice, and what is needed are bold new rules to punish bishops who shield pedophiles.

Women's ordination groups criticized the new rules because they included the attempted ordination of women as a "grave crime" subject to the same set of procedures and punishments meted out for sex abuse.

The rules, which cover the canonical procedures and penalties for the most serious sacramental and moral crimes, were issued as the Vatican confronts one of the worst scandals in recent history: revelations of hundreds of new cases of priests who raped and sodomized children, bishops who covered up for them, and Vatican officials who stood by passively for decades.

In 2003, the Vatican streamlined its 2001 procedures for disciplining abusive priests, allowing them to be defrocked without a lengthy canonical trial if the evidence against them was overwhelming. The rules issued Thursday codified those procedures into church law.

"That is a step forward, because the norm of law is binding and is certain," Monsignor Charles Scicluna, the Vatican's sex crimes prosecutor, told reporters. But he acknowledged that the document was just a set of rules whose application was critical.

"It does not solve all the problems," Scicluna said. "It is a very important instrument, but it is the way you use the instrument that is going to have the real effect."

While the bulk of the document codifies existing practice, some new elements were introduced: priests who possess or distribute child pornography and those who sexually abuse developmentally disabled adults will be subject to the same procedures and punishments as priests who molest minors.

The new rules extend the statute of limitations for handling of priestly abuse cases from 10 years to 20 years after the victim's 18th birthday, and the statute of limitations can be extended beyond that on a case-by-case basis. Such extensions have been routine for years but now the waivers are codified.

But the new rules make no mention of the need for bishops to report clerical sex abuse to police, provide no canonical sanctions for bishops who cover up for abusers, and do not include any "zero tolerance" policy for pedophile priests as demanded by some victims.

"The first thing the church should be doing is reporting crimes to civil authorities," said Andrew Madden, a former Dublin altar boy who filed the first public abuse lawsuit against the church in Ireland in 1995.

"That's far, far more important than deciding whether a criminal priest should be defrocked or not," he told The Associated Press in Dublin. "The church's internal rules are no more important than the rules of your local golf club."

Scicluna defended the absence of any mention of the need to report abuse to police, saying all Christians were required to obey civil laws that would already demand sex crimes be reported.

The Vatican noted that bishops were reminded of this duty in a set of informal guidelines issued earlier this year and that its Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which handles sex crime allegations, was working with bishops' conferences around the world to develop more "rigorous, coherent and effective" guidelines.

"If civil law requires you report, you must obey civil law," Scicluna said. But "it's not for canonical legislation to get itself involved with civil law."

Victims' groups and others have accused the church's internal justice system of failing to deal credibly with abuse allegations, allowing bishops to ignore complaints in order to protect the church, and keeping its canonical trials so secretive that victims believed they couldn't go to police.

Barbara Dorris, of Survivors' Network for Those Abused by Priests, said the new guidelines "can be summed up in three words: missing the boat."

"They deal with one small procedure at the very tail end of the problem: defrocking pedophile priests," she said. "Hundreds of thousands of kids, however, have been sexually violated (by) many other more damaging and reckless moves by bishops and other church staff."

Pope Benedict XVI should have taken the opportunity to threaten bishops who shield abusers and tell bishops to stop lobbying legislatures against extending the statute of limitations on abuse cases, said Anne Barrett Doyle of BishopAccountability.org, which compiles data on clerical abuse.

"Of course it's right that the viewing of child pornography be recognized as a grave crime inside the church," she said in a statement. "But practically speaking, no child will be safer because a secret church tribunal finds a priest guilty of viewing pornography."

But Bishop Blase Cupich, head of the U.S. bishops' child protection committee, said the new instruction brings a clarity to the process that will allow church leaders around the world and Vatican officials to resolve abuse claims more quickly. He said he was encouraged that lay people with expertise in church law can serve on church tribunals for accused priests.

Cupich rejected complaints that the instruction didn't go far enough. By including offenses involving child pornography and victimizing mentally impaired adults, the new document will help dioceses worldwide confront abusers, he said.

"It'll send a very clear message to the bishops around the world that this is the way it's going to be done," Cupich said. "It makes it clear and also provides more resources for the quick adjudication of these cases."

But with so few real changes, Scicluna said he didn't expect a flood of cases to come forward, as happened in 2003-04 after the abuse scandal exploded in the United States and some 80 percent of the 3,000 cases handled by the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith were opened.

The congregation was headed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger from 1981 until he was elected pope in 2005. Its procedures call for canonical trials or administrative punishments which can result in a priest being dismissed from the clerical state.

Recent efforts by civic authorities to investigate abuse allegations have again cast a spotlight on the Vatican's in-house penalties for acts that are criminally prosecutable in most of the world: Just last month, police raided the Brussels archbishop's residence and seized boxes of documents as part of an investigation into clerical sex abuse amid concerns the Belgian church was protecting pedophiles.

The rules list the attempted ordination of a woman as a "grave crime" to be handled according to the same procedures as sex abuse - despite arguments that grouping the two in the same document would imply equating them.

"The idea that women seeking to spread the message of God somehow defiles the Eucharist reveals an antiquated, backward church that still views women as unclean and unholy," said Erin Saiz Hanna, executive director of the Women's Ordination Conference, a U.S.-based organization that works to ordain women as priests, deacons and bishops.

Pope Benedict has said the question of ordaining women - often raised as an antidote to the priest shortage and to bring about more gender equality - is not up for discussion.

The Vatican in 2007 issued a decree saying the attempted ordination of women would result in automatic excommunication for the woman and the priest trying to ordain her. That is repeated in the new document, adding that the priest can also be defrocked - a permanent punishment, whereas an excommunication can be lifted if the person expresses sorrow for what he or she did.

Scicluna defended the inclusion of both sex abuse and ordination of women in the same document as a way of codifying two of the most serious canonical crimes against sacraments and morals that the congregation deals with. Also included are other sacramental crimes, including desecrating the Eucharist and - for the first time - heresy, apostasy and schism.

Clerical abuse is "an egregious violation of moral law," Scicluna said. "An attempted ordination of a woman is grave, but on another level: It is a wound, it is an attempt against the Catholic faith on the sacrament of (holy) orders. So they are grave, but on different levels."

Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, the dean of Germany's bishops conference, welcomed the new guidelines as a clear signal stressing that cases of sexual abuse of children and youths have to be thoroughly investigated and punished.

"The injustice of the past is being cleared, and the conclusions for the present and the future are being drawn," he said in a statement.

Benedict's native Germany has seen a flood of abuse allegations surface, and even his own tenure as archbishop of Munich has come under scrutiny since a pedophile priest in his archdiocese was allowed to resume pastoral work while being treated.

BP finally stops oil spewing from Gulf gusher

BP finally stops oil spewing from Gulf gusher

This image taken from video provided by BP PLC at 15:57 CDT, shows that oil has stopped flowing from the new 75-ton cap atop the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico Thursday, July 15, 2010. BP finally choked off the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday _ 85 days and up to 184 million gallons after the crisis unfolded _ then began a tense 48 hours of watching to see whether the capped-off well would hold or blow a new leak. Engineers will monitor pressure gauges and watch for signs of leaks elsewhere in the well.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The oil has stopped. For now. After 85 days and up to 184 million gallons, BP finally gained control over one of America's biggest environmental catastrophes Thursday by placing a carefully fitted cap over a runaway geyser that has been gushing crude into the Gulf of Mexico since early spring.

Though a temporary fix, the accomplishment was greeted with hope, high expectations - and, in many cases along the beleaguered coastline, disbelief. From one Gulf Coast resident came this: "Hallelujah." And from another: "I got to see it to believe it."

If the cap holds, if the sea floor doesn't crack and if the relief wells being prepared are completed successfully, this could be the beginning of the end for the spill. But that's a lot of ifs, and no one was declaring any sort of victory beyond the moment.

The oil stopped flowing at 3:25 p.m. EDT when the last of three valves in the 75-ton cap was slowly throttled shut. That set off a 48-hour watch period in which - much like the hours immediately after a surgery - the patient was in stable, guarded condition and being watched closely for complications.

"It's a great sight," said BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles, who immediately urged caution. The flow, he said, could resume. "It's far from the finish line. ... It's not the time to celebrate."

Nevertheless, one comforting fact stood out: For the first time since an explosion on the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon oil rig killed 11 workers April 20 and unleashed the spill 5,000 feet beneath the water's surface, no oil was flowing into the Gulf.

President Barack Obama, who has encouraged, cajoled and outright ordered BP to stop the leak, called Thursday's development "a positive sign." But Obama, whose political standing has taken a hit because of the spill and accusations of government inaction, cautioned that "we're still in the testing phase."

The worst-case scenario would be if the oil forced down into the bedrock ruptured the seafloor irreparably. Leaks deep in the well bore might also be found, which would mean that oil would continue to flow into the Gulf. And there's always the possiblity of another explosion, either from too much pressure or from a previously unknown unstable piece of piping.

The drama that unfolded quietly in the darkness of deep water Thursday was a combination of trial, error, technology and luck. It came after weeks of repeated attempts to stop the oil - everything from robotics to different capping techniques to stuffing the hole with mud and golf balls.

The week leading up to the moment where the oil stopped was a series of fitful starts and setbacks.

Robotic submarines working deep in the ocean removed a busted piece of pipe last weekend, at which point oil flowed unimpeded into the water. That was followed by installation of a connector that sits atop the spewing well bore - and by Monday the 75-ton metal cap, a stack of lines and valves latched onto the busted well.

After that, engineers spent hours creating a map of the rock under the sea floor to spot potential dangers, like gas pockets. They also shut down two ships collecting oil above the sea to get an accurate reading on the pressure in the cap.

As the oil flowed up to the cap, increasing the pressure, two valves were shut off like light switches, and the third dialed down on a dimmer switch until it too was choked off.

And just like that, the oil stopped.

It's not clear yet whether the oil will remain bottled in the cap, or whether BP will choose to use the new device to funnel the crude into four ships on the surface.

For nearly two months, the world's window into the disaster has been through a battery of BP cameras, known as the "spillcam." The constant stream of spewing oil became a fixture on cable TV news and web feeds.

That made it all the more dramatic on Thursday when, suddenly, it was no more.

On the video feed, the violently churning cloud of oil and gas coming out of a narrow tube thinned, and tapered off. Suddenly, there were a few puffs of oil, surrounded by cloudy dispersant that BP was pumping on top. Then there was nothing.

"Finally!" said Renee Brown, a school guidance counselor visiting Pensacola Beach, Fla., from London, Ky. "Honestly, I'm surprised that they haven't been able to do something sooner, though."

Alabama Gov. Bob Riley's face lit up when he heard the news. "I think a lot of prayers were answered today," he said.

The next 48 hours are critical. Engineers and scientists will be monitoring the cap around the clock, looking for pressure changes. High pressure is good, because it shows there's only a single leak. Low pressure, below 6,000 pounds per square inch or so, could mean more leaks farther down in the well.

Thad Allen, the retired Coast Guard admiral overseeing the spill for the government, said they are deciding as they go along whether to release oil into the water again. At the end of the 48-hour test it's possible oil will start to flow again - but, theoretically, in a controlled manner.

When the test is complete, more seafloor mapping will be done to detect any damage or deep-water leaks.

The saga has devastated BP, costing it billions in everything from cleanup to repair efforts to plunging stock prices. Though BP shares have edged upward, they shot higher in the last hour of trading on Wall Street after the company announced the oil had stopped. Shares rose $2.74, or 7.6 percent, to close at $38.92 - still well below the $60.48 they fetched before the rig explosion.

The Gulf Coast has been shaken economically, environmentally and psychologically by the hardships of the past three months. That feeling of being swatted around - by BP, by the government, by fate even - was evident in the wide spectrum of reactions to news of the capping.

"Hallelujah! That's wonderful news," Belinda Griffin, who owns a charter fishing lodge in Lafitte, La., said upon hearing the gusher had stopped. "Now if we can just figure out what to do with all the oil that's in the Gulf, we'll be in good shape."

The fishing industry in particular has been buffeted by fallout from the spill. Surveys of oyster grounds in Louisiana showed extensive deaths of the shellfish. Large sections of the Gulf Coast - which accounts for 60 to 70 percent of the oysters eaten in the United States - have been closed to harvesting, which helps explain why one oysterman in Louisiana refused to accept that progress was afoot.

Prove it, said Stephon LaFrance of Buras, La.

"I've been out of work since this happened, right? And I ain't never received nothing from BP since this oil spill happened," he said. "Like they say they stopped this oil leak. I think that's a lie. I got to see it to believe it."

Rosalie Lapeyrouse, who owns a grocery store and a shrimping operation in Chauvin, La. that cleans, boils and distributes the catch, was shocked.

"It what?" she said in disbelief. "It stopped?" she repeated after hearing the news.

"Oh, wow! That's good," she said, her face clouding. "I'm thinking they just stopped for a while. I don't think it's gonna last. They never could do nothing with it before."

Long after the out-of-control well is finally plugged, oil could still be washing up in marshes and on beaches as tar balls or disc-shaped patties. The sheen will dissolve over time, scientists say, and the slick will convert to another form.

There's also fear that months from now, oil could move far west to Corpus Christi, Texas, or farther east and hitch a ride on the loop current, possibly showing up as tar balls in Miami or North Carolina's Outer Banks.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is expecting to track the oil in all its formations for several months after the well is killed, said Steve Lehmann, a scientific support coordinator for the federal agency.

Once the well stops actively spewing oil, the slicks will rapidly weather and disappear, possibly within a week, and NOAA will begin to rely more heavily on low-flying aircraft to search for tar balls and patties. Those can last for years, Lehmann said.

In Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish, the worst-hit area of the coast, frequent BP and government critic Billy Nungesser, the parish president, offered a word of caution: This whole mess, he said, is far from over.

"We better not let our guard down," Nungesser said. "We better not pull back the troops because, as we know, there's a lot of oil out there, on the surface, beneath it. And I truly believe that we're going to see oil coming ashore for the next couple of years."

McCann comes up big, NL finally wins All-Star game

McCann comes up big, NL finally wins All-Star game

National League pitcher Jonathan Broxton, left, of the Los Angeles Dodgers, congratulates catcher Brian McCann, of the Atlanta Braves, after the NL won the All-Star baseball game 3-1 Tuesday, July 13, 2010, in Anaheim, Calif. McCann was named MVP.

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Brian McCann, Scott Rolen or Heath Bell might really appreciate what happened on this July night come October. Charlie Manuel, too.

An All-Star win the National League thought was long overdue. And with it, home-field advantage in the World Series.

McCann earned MVP honors with a three-run double in the seventh inning, right fielder Marlon Byrd alertly threw out David Ortiz to slow a ninth-inning rally and the NL captured its first Midsummer Classic since 1996 with a 3-1 victory Tuesday night.

"Enough was enough," St. Louis' Adam Wainwright said.

In a year of dominant pitching, young starters David Price and Ubaldo Jimenez set the tone - and got even more help from the tricky shadows. Nearly the entire field at Angel Stadium was bathed in odd patterns of sunlight for a twilight first pitch, creating more awkward swings and misses than usual in baseball's annual talent show.

Even that bouncing Rally Monkey on the big screen in a red AL jersey couldn't change things this time.

Manuel, the NL skipper, talked to his team about the importance of home-field advantage.

"It's a big deal. I think home teams play better at home," said Manuel, whose Phillies have reached the last two World Series and won in 2008. "It feels good, it feels real good."

The AL didn't go down without some ninth-inning drama, started by Ortiz's leadoff single. But Jonathan Broxton sealed it, helped by Byrd's defense and shaky baserunning by Big Papi.

Ortiz was on first with one out when John Buck hit a blooper that Byrd scooped up and threw to second for a forceout on the slow-moving Boston DH.

"Wrong place, wrong time - and the wrong guy, too," Ortiz said. "I saw where he was playing, but I didn't know that Marlon Byrd's a guy who has great speed in the outfield. So I saw him coming in and I thought he was going to catch it. I just didn't want to get caught in a double play, so I got in between, it bounced in front of him and he made a good throw to second base."

With Alex Rodriguez standing on the steps in the AL dugout, Ian Kinsler flied out and the NL had its win. A-Rod never got in the game.

"It felt awesome for us to get the win and break the streak," Broxton said.

Washington closer Matt Capps got the win with just five pitches, striking out Home Run Derby champion Ortiz. Yankees starter Phil Hughes took the loss after allowing two hits before Matt Thornton yielded McCann's decisive double.

Until McCann cleared the bases, Robinson Cano's fifth-inning sacrifice fly stood as the lone run in a game expected to be decided by the loaded pitching staffs on each side. McCann's deep fly ball to the warning track in right gave the NL hope in the fifth. When he made good with that bases-loaded double off Thornton, Atlanta's steady catcher hit second base and pumped his right fist. The three guys who scored headed to the dugout with a renewed swagger.

McCann hopes this result might later help his Braves, who lead the NL East.

"The game counts ... it means more to me this year because we're in first place," said McCann, a five-time All-Star relatively unknown before this night.

Rolen, who singled twice and scored on McCann's hit, and his NL Central-leading Cincinnati Reds also might benefit from this win.

Cano and his fellow Yankees All-Stars wore black armbands after the death of longtime New York owner George Steinbrenner from a heart attack earlier Tuesday in Tampa, Fla., at age 80. Pictures of The Boss showed on two video screens before a pregame moment of silence, and flags hung at half-staff.

"It's a difficult time, on a great day for baseball, the All-Star game, something everyone looks to," Yankees and AL manager Joe Girardi said. "A great man in baseball passed. He's meant so much to not only this organization, but to the game of baseball, and to all of us personally."

It took the NL 14 years to break through after several close calls. The National League lost the last two 4-3, including that 15-inning affair in 2008 at Yankee Stadium. The two before that were also one-run defeats. In 2002, they tied 7-7.

Phillies chairman Bill Giles had razzed Manuel that his job was on the line if the NL didn't finally win again.

Turns out this National League lineup didn't need star Washington rookie Stephen Strasburg - though the phenom pitcher might have generated a nice buzz around the ballpark in those early innings.

Jimenez, Colorado's 15-game winner and first-time All-Star, came out of the gate with two scoreless innings. Tampa Bay's Price - who at 24 was the youngest All-Star starter since 23-year-old Dwight Gooden of the Mets in 1988 - matched that. Then came Marlins ace Josh Johnson with two more.

It took until the fifth inning for hitters to start making regular contact, the shadows all but gone aside from a couple of small patches in the outfield. With a first-pitch temperature of 85 degrees, this was a steamy summer night even by Southern California standards.

Neither offense did much to excite a relatively quiet Orange County crowd of 45,408. There were noticeable empty seats high in the third deck of right field.

Bell's all-out sprint in from the bullpen to face local Angels favorite Torii Hunter generated some of the only roars all night. Bell pitches for the NL West-leading San Diego Padres.

"McCann came up with that three-run double, and that can break your back with the pitching they have over there," Hunter said. "It bummed me out, but I was having so much fun out there, playing in my own ballpark. That's what this game is really all about - having fun."

The NL squandered its best early opportunity with runners on the corners and one out in the fifth. Justin Verlander struck out Corey Hart and got McCann on the long fly to right.

Dodgers reliever Hong-Chih Kuo put the AL in good position - men on second and third with no outs - when he stopped Joe Mauer's comebacker and sailed a routine throw to first high over the head of Adrian Gonzalez.

Evan Longoria scored the go-ahead run, which was unearned.

The NL leads the overall All-Star game series 41-38-2.

Blagojevich prosecutors done quicker than expected

Blagojevich prosecutors done quicker than expected

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich arrives at the federal building, Tuesday, July 13, 2010, in Chicago, for his corruption trial. The pace of Blagojevich's trial has taken a lot of people by surprise _ including, apparently, his own lawyers. They are expected to argue before the presiding judge as soon as Tuesday for several extra days to prepare their defense.

CHICAGO (AP) -- Prosecutors at Rod Blagojevich's corruption trial wheeled three carts crammed with documents into court each day, making it easy to believe estimates that it could take more than two months to present their case to jurors.

Instead, it took them just five weeks despite having dozens of possible witnesses and hundreds of wiretap recordings at their disposal. They were able to rest their case Tuesday in large part because they didn't call several potential key figures, including convicted political fixer Tony Rezko, whose testimony might just have easily hurt prosecutors as help them.

While prosecutors did not stop to speak to reporters as they left the courthouse, legal observers say it's not uncommon for prosecutors to err on the side of overestimating the amount of time they'll need.

"If you tell a judge, it's going to take a month to present your case and it takes two - the judge is going to be pissed off," said Michael Helfand, a Chicago attorney with no connection to the Blagojevich case.

Defense attorneys have a different explanation: Prosecutors simply didn't have sheer volume of evidence they once suggested they had.

Blagojevich attorney Sam Adam Sr. harkened back to remarks by U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald following Blagojevich's arrest two years ago that the corruption the then-governor participated in would make another Illinois politician, President Abraham Lincoln, "roll over in his grave."

"As far as I know - and we checked with the cemetery - Lincoln is still intact," he said.

But Helfand says attorneys sometimes drop witnesses based on the strength of those who took the stand earlier. So, the speed with which prosecutors in the Blagojevich case finished could indicate confidence, he said, rather than a lack of evidence.

Blagojevich, 53, has pleaded not guilty to 24 counts that include scheming to sell or trade President Barack Obama's former Senate seat and plotting to launch a racketeering operation in the governor's office.

The most notable witnesses prosecutors did not call were one-time Blagojevich fundraisers Rezko and Stuart Levine.

Levine admitted scheming to launch a $7 million kickback scheme and Rezko was convicted by a jury in the same case. In addition, Levine has admitted that for years he attended marathon drug parties.

While prosecutors portrayed both as important cogs in Blagojevich's alleged systematic bid to make money from his actions as governor, they never indicated they gave serious thought to asking either to testify.

But the two have been mentioned enough that some attorneys think Blagojevich's defense team will ask Judge James Zagel for a missing-witness instruction in which it's suggested to the jury that whatever Rezko or Levine would have said on the stand would have hurt the prosecution's case.

In his opening arguments, defense attorney Sam Adam Jr. portrayed Rezko as a sinister figure pulling strings in the shadows and hoodwinking the then-governor. He told reporters Tuesday he also has no intention of calling Rezko.

When Zagel ruled last month that he would not force prosecutors or defense attorneys to call Rezko, he said it was because Rezko is the kind of witness whose testimony might backfire.

That no-nonsense presiding judge is another reason for the quicker-than-expected pace of the trial. Zagel has kept delays to a minimum and pushed attorneys along when they seemed to become stuck on a line of questioning.

For example, when Blagojevich attorney Aaron Goldstein repeatedly asked one witness the same question during cross examination on Monday, an exasperated Zagel snapped: "You can ask one more (question) and then you can sit down."

Zagel also has generally dealt quickly with objections, with little or no explanation.

The government's case has relied heavily on wiretap recordings, with prosecutors showing Blagojevich spewed a river of profanity while lavishing money on his wardrobe and ducking his job as governor.

Jurors heard Blagojevich on several tapes sounding desperate to land a well-paying job, often turning discussions about potential senate seat candidates into questions about what he could get out of it personally.

Former Blagojevich chief of staff John Harris told jurors the governor told him he had sent word to Obama in November 2008 through a labor union leader that he would name Obama family friend Valerie Jarrett to the Senate seat if the new president would name him secretary of health and human services in the Obama administration.

Blagojevich later fumed on another recording, cursing Obama and his staff for apparently rebuffing his overtures.

Blagojevich's brother, Nashville, Tenn., businessman Robert Blagojevich, has pleaded not guilty to just five counts, including taking part in the alleged Senate seat and plotting to shake down businessmen for campaign funds.

Robert Blagojevich's attorneys rarely took part in cross-examination, only a few times asking witnesses to confirm that their client wasn't sitting in on a meeting or taking part in a phone call. Their lack of participation in proceedings also allowed prosecutors to get their witnesses off the stand faster.

Gulf oil to keep flowing while cap is analyzed

Gulf oil to keep flowing while cap is analyzed

In a photo made from video provided by BP PLC, oil emerges from the damage wellhead Wednesday morning July 14, 2010 at 1:04 a.m. EDT in the Gulf of Mexico. A pivotal moment in the Gulf oil crisis hit an unexpected snag Tuesday evening when officials announced they needed more time before they could begin choking off the geyser of crude at the bottom of the sea.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The plan to start choking off oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico was suddenly halted as government officials and BP said further analysis must be done Wednesday before critical tests could proceed.

No explanation was given for the decision, and no date was set for when testing would begin on the new, tighter-fitting cap BP installed on the blown-out well Monday.

In the meantime, oil continued spewing into the Gulf.

The oil giant had been scheduled to start slowly shutting off valves Tuesday on the cap, aiming to stop the flow of oil for the first time in three months. BP was initially ahead of schedule on its latest effort to plug the leak. The cap was designed to be a temporary fix until the well is plugged underground.

A series of methodical, preliminary steps were completed before progress stalled. Engineers spent hours on a seismic survey, creating a map of the rock under the sea floor to spot potential dangers, like gas pockets. It also provides a baseline to compare with later surveys during and after the test to see if the pressure on the well is causing underground problems.

An unstable area around the wellbore could create bigger problems if the leak continued elsewhere in the well after the cap valves were shut, experts said.

"It's an incredibly big concern," said Don Van Nieuwenhuise, director of Professional Geoscience Programs at the University of Houston. "They need to get a scan of where things are, that way when they do pressure testing, they know to look out for ruptures or changes."

It was unclear whether there was something in the results of the mapping that prompted officials to delay. Earlier, BP Vice President Kent Wells said he hadn't heard what the results were, but he felt "comfortable that they were good."

National Incident Commander Thad Allen met with the federal energy secretary and the head of the U.S. Geological Survey as well as BP officials and other scientists after the mapping was done.

"As a result of these discussions, we decided that the process may benefit from additional analysis," Allen said in a statement. He didn't specify what type of analysis would be done, but said work would continue until Wednesday.

Assuming BP gets the green light to do the cap testing after the extra analysis is finished, engineers need to shut off lines already funneling some oil to ships to see how the cap handles the pressure of the crude coming up from the ground.

Finally, they would shut the openings in the 75-ton metal stack of pipes and valves gradually, one at a time, while watching pressure gauges to see if the cap would hold or if any new leaks erupted. The operation could last anywhere from six to 48 hours, once it gets started.

Scientists will be looking for high pressure readings of 8,000 to 9,000 pounds per square inch. Anything lower than 6,000 might indicate previously unidentified leaks in the well.

The oil giant was optimistic about the latest effort after other attempts failed, and White House officials earlier expressed optimism Tuesday.

But BP has said all along they were working carefully so as to not jeopardize the effort to stop the biggest offshore oil spill in U.S. history and one of the nation's worst environmental disasters.

If the cap works, it will enable BP to stop the oil from gushing into the sea, either by holding all the oil inside the well machinery like a stopper or, if the pressure is too great, channeling some though pipes to as many as four collection ships.

Earlier, Allen stressed there were no guarantees on the latest measure and urged patience from Gulf residents.

Along the Gulf Coast, where the spill has heavily damaged the region's vital tourism and fishing industries, people anxiously awaited the outcome of the painstakingly slow work.

"I don't know what's taking them so long. I just hope they take care of it," said Lanette Eder, a vacationing school nutritionist from Hoschton, Ga., who was walking on the white sand at Pensacola Beach, Fla.

"I can't say that I'm optimistic - It's been, what, 84 days now? - but I'm hopeful," said Nancy LaNasa, 56, who runs a yoga center in Pensacola.

The cap is just a stopgap measure. To end the leak for good, the well needs to be plugged at the source. BP is drilling two relief wells through the seafloor to reach the broken well, possibly by late July, and jam it permanently with heavy drilling mud and cement. After that, the Gulf Coast faces a long cleanup.

The leak began after the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling platform exploded on April 20, killing 11 workers. As of Tuesday, the 84th day of the disaster, between 90.4 and 178.6 million gallons of oil had spewed into the Gulf.

No promises as BP set to test if new cap stops oil

No promises as BP set to test if new cap stops oil

In this July 11, 2010 satellite image provided by NASA, oil from the Deepwater Horizon well is visible on the Gulf of Mexico’s surface. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image the same day. An especially bright patch appears southeast of the Mississippi Delta, near the approximate location of the oil rig.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- After securing a new, tight-fitting cap on top of the leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico, BP prepared Tuesday to begin tests to see if it will hold and stop fresh oil from polluting the waters for the first time in nearly three months.

The oil giant expects to know within 48 hours if the new cap, which was affixed Monday after almost three days of painstaking, around-the-clock work a mile below the Gulf's surface, can stanch the flow. The solution is only temporary, but it offers the best hope yet for cutting off the gush of billowing brown oil.

The cap's installation was good news to weary Gulf Coast residents who have warily waited for BP to make good on its promise to clean up the mess. Still, they warned that even if the oil is stopped, the consequences are far from over.

"I think we're going to see oil out in the Gulf of Mexico, roaming around, taking shots at us, for the next year, maybe two," Billy Nungesser, president of Louisiana's oil-stained Plaquemines Parish, said Monday. "If you told me today no more oil was coming ashore, we've still got a massive cleanup ahead."

Starting Tuesday, the cap will be tested and monitored to see if it can withstand pressure from the gushing oil and gas. The tests could last anywhere between six to 48 hours, according to National Incident Commander Thad Allen.

Kent Wells, a senior vice president at the oil giant, made no promises in a Tuesday morning news briefing about whether the cap will work.

"We need to wait and see what the test actually tells us," Wells said. "It's not simple stuff. What we don't want to do is speculate around it."

The cap will be tested by closing off three separate valves that fit together snugly, choking off the oil from entering the Gulf. BP expects no oil will be released into the ocean during the tests, but remained cautious about the success of the system.

Pipes can be hooked to the cap to funnel oil to collection ships if BP decides the cap can't take the pressure of the gusher, or if low pressure readings indicate oil is leaking from elsewhere in the well.

"The sealing cap system never before has been deployed at these depths or under these conditions, and its efficiency and ability to contain the oil and gas cannot be assured," the company said in a statement.

BP will be watching pressure readings. High pressure is good, because it would mean the leak has been contained inside the wellhead machinery. But if readings are lower than expected, that could mean there is another leak elsewhere in the well.

Even if the cap works, the blown-out well must still be plugged. A permanent fix will have to wait until one of two relief wells being drilled reaches the broken well, which will then be plugged up with drilling mud and cement. That may not happen until mid-August.

Even if the flow of oil is choked off while BP works on a permanent fix, the spill has already damaged everything from beach tourism to the fishing industry.

Tony Wood, director of the National Spill Control School at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi said the sloppiest of the oil - mousse-like brown stuff that has not yet broken down - will keep washing ashore for several months, with the volume slowly decreasing over time.

He added that hardened tar balls could keep hitting beaches and marshes each time a major storm rolls through for a year or more. Those tar balls are likely trapped for now in the surf zone, gathering behind sand bars just like sea shells.

"It will still be getting on people's feet on the beaches probably a year or two from now," Wood said.

But on Monday, the region absorbed a rare piece of good news in the placement of the 150,000-pound cap on top of the gushing leak responsible for so much misery.

Around 6:30 p.m. CDT, live video streams trained on the wellhead showed the cap being slowly lowered into place. BP officials said the device was attached around 7 p.m.

"I'm very hopeful that this cap works and we wake up in the morning and they're catching all the oil. I would be the happiest person around here," said Mitch Jurisich, a third generation oysterman from Empire, La., who has been out of work for weeks.

Residents skeptical BP can deliver on its promise to control the spill greeted the news cautiously.

"There's no telling what those crazy suckers are going to do now," Ronnie Kenniar said when he heard the cap was placed on the well. The 49-year-old fishermen is now working for BP in the Vessel of Opportunity program, a BP-run operation employing boat owners for odd jobs.

James Pelas, 41, a shrimper who took a break from working on his boat at a marina in Venice, La., said he didn't think the crisis would be over for a long time.

"I ain't excited about it until it's closed off completely," he said. "Oil's scattered all over the place."

Meanwhile, the Obama administration issued a revised moratorium on deepwater offshore drilling Monday to replace the one that was struck down by the courts as heavy-handed. The new ban, in effect until Nov. 30, does not appear to deviate much from the original moratorium, as it still targets deep-water drilling operators while defining them in a different way.

As of Monday, the 83rd day of the disaster, between 89 million and 176 million gallons of oil had poured into the Gulf, according to government estimates. The spill started April 20 when the Deepwater Horizon rig, leased by BP from Transocean Ltd, exploded and burned, killing 11 workers. It sank two days later.

Yankees owner George Steinbrenner dies at 80

Yankees owner George Steinbrenner dies at 80

FILE - This Feb. 27, 1999, file photo shows New York Yankees principal owner George Steinbrenner talking to reporters in the dugout at Legends Field in Tampa, Fla. A person close to George Steinbrenner says the Yankees owner died Tuesday morning, July 13, 2010 .

NEW YORK (AP) -- George Steinbrenner, who rebuilt the New York Yankees into a sports empire with a mix of bluster and big bucks that polarized fans all across America, died Tuesday. He had just celebrated his 80th birthday July 4.

Steinbrenner had a heart attack, was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, Fla., and died at about 6:30 a.m, a person close to the owner told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had not disclosed those details.

His death was the second in three days to rock the Yankees. Bob Sheppard, the team's revered public address announcer from 1951-07, died Sunday at 99.

For more than 30 years, Steinbrenner lived up to his billing as "the Boss," a nickname he earned and clearly enjoyed as he ruled with an iron fist. While he lived in Tampa he was a staple on the front pages of New York newspapers.

"He was an incredible and charitable man," his family said in a statement. "He was a visionary and a giant in the world of sports. He took a great but struggling franchise and turned it into a champion again."

Steinbrenner's mansion, on a leafy street in an older neighborhood of south Tampa, was quiet Tuesday morning. Private security guards milled around on the empty circular driveway inside the iron gates. A police officer took up a position outside the gates to turn away reporters and keep traffic moving along the narrow street. News vehicles lined the other side of the street.

Steinbrenner was known for feuds, clashing with Yankees great Yogi Berra and hiring manager Billy Martin five times while repeatedly fighting with him. But as his health declined, Steinbrenner let sons Hal and Hank run more of the family business.

Steinbrenner was in fragile health for years, resulting in fewer public appearances and pronouncements. Yet dressed in his trademark navy blue blazer and white turtleneck, he was the model of success: The Yankees won seven World Series championships, 11 American League pennants and 16 AL East titles after his reign began in 1973.

"Few people have had a bigger impact on New York over the past four decades than George Steinbrenner," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement. "George had a deep love for New York, and his steely determination to succeed combined with his deep respect and appreciation for talent and hard work made him a quintessential New Yorker."

He appeared at the new Yankee Stadium just four times: for the 2009 opener, the first two games of last year's World Series and this year's homer opener, when captain Derek Jeter and manager Joe Girardi went to his suite and personally delivered his seventh World Series ring.

"He was very emotional," said Hal Steinbrenner, his father's successor as managing general partner.

Till the end, Steinbrenner demanded championships. He barbed Joe Torre during the 2007 AL playoffs, then let the popular manager leave after another loss in the opening round. The team responded last year by winning another title.

Steinbrenner had fainted at a memorial service for NFL star Otto Graham in 2003, appeared weak in 2006 at the groundbreaking for the new Yankee Stadium and later became ill while watching his granddaughter in a college play.

In recent times, Steinbrenner let sons Hal and Hank run more of the family business. Still, the former Big Ten football coach took umbrage when others questioned his fitness.

"No, I did not have a stroke. I am not ill. I work out daily," Steinbrenner said in 2006. "I'd like to see people who are saying that to come down here and do the workout that I do."

When Steinbrenner headed a group that bought the team on Jan. 3, 1973, he promised absentee ownership. But it didn't turn out that way.

Steinbrenner not only clashed with Berra for more than a decade but paid to dig up dirt on Dave Winfield, deriding the future Hall of Famer as "Mr. May" in 1985 after poor performances. Berra's wife, Carmen, said Tuesday her husband was at a golf event in Pennsylvania and was expected to comment later in the day.

While he liked to appear stern, Steinbrenner could poke fun at himself. He hosted "Saturday Night Live," clowned with Martin in a commercial and chuckled at his impersonation on "Seinfeld."

He gave millions to charity, often with one stipulation, that no one be told who made the donation.

The Yankees paid off for him, too, with their value increasing more than 100-fold from the $8.7 million net price his group paid in January 1973. He freely spent his money, shelling out huge amounts for Jeter, Reggie Jackson, Alex Rodriguez, Torre and others in hopes of yet another title.

"Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing," Steinbrenner was fond of saying. "Breathing first, winning next."

All along, he envisioned himself as a true Yankee Doodle Dandy. It was fitting: George Michael Steinbrenner III was born on the Fourth of July, in 1930.

Added up, he joined the likes of Al Davis, Charlie O. Finley, Bill Veeck, George Halas, Jack Kent Cooke and Jerry Jones as the most recognized team owners in history.

Steinbrenner's sporting interests extended beyond baseball.

He was an assistant football coach at Northwestern and Purdue in the 1950s and was part of the group that bought the Cleveland Pipers of the American Basketball League in the 1960s.

He was a vice president of the U.S. Olympic Committee from 1989-96 and entered six horses in the Kentucky Derby, failing to win with Steve's Friend (1977), Eternal Prince (1985), Diligence (1996), Concerto (1997), Blue Burner (2002) and the 2005 favorite, Bellamy Road.

To many, though, the Yankees and Steinbrenner were synonymous.

His fans applauded his win-at-all-costs style. His detractors blamed him for spiraling salaries and wrecking baseball's competitive balance.

Steinbrenner never managed a game, as Ted Turner once did when he owned the Atlanta Braves, but he controlled everything else. When he thought the club's parking lot was too crowded, Steinbrenner stood on the pavement - albeit behind a van, out of sight - and had a guard personally check every driver's credential.

Steinbrenner made no apologies for bombast and behavior, even when it cost him dearly.

He served two long suspensions: He was banned for 2 1/2 years for paying self-described gambler Howie Spira to dig up negative information about Winfield, and for 15 months following a guilty plea in federal court for conspiring to make illegal campaign contributions during the Watergate era.

"I haven't always done a good job, and I haven't always been successful," Steinbrenner said in 2005. "But I know that I have tried."

Steinbrenner negotiated a landmark $486 million, 12-year cable television contract with the Madison Square Garden Network in 1988 and launched the Yankees' own YES Network for the 2002 season.

All that cash, the Yankees later became the first team with a $200 million payroll, provoked anger and envy among other owners. After the 1982 season, Baltimore owner Edward Bennett Williams said Steinbrenner hoarded outfielders "like nuclear weapons."

When Steinbrenner bought the Yankees, he insisted he was too busy with his family's shipbuilding business to take an active role in running the club. As his partners soon found out, that wasn't quite the case.

"There is nothing quite so limited as being a limited partner of George Steinbrenner's," one of them, John McMullen, said later.

Overall, he changed managers nearly two dozen times and got rid of more than a dozen general managers. When a Yankees' public relations man went home to Ohio for the Christmas holiday, then returned in a hurry for a news conference to announce David Cone's re-signing, Steinbrenner fired him.

After Steinbrenner fired Berra as manager 16 games into the 1985 season, the Hall of Famer vowed he wouldn't go to back to Yankee Stadium for a game until Steinbrenner apologized 14 years later.

On one pressure-filled night in 1982, reliever Goose Gossage let loose and called Steinbrenner "the fat man." And in 1978, Martin said of Jackson and Steinbrenner: "The two of them deserve each other - one's a born liar, the other's convicted."

There was no denying the results, however.

When Steinbrenner bought the Yankees, they had gone eight seasons without finishing in first place, their longest drought since Babe Ruth & Co. won the team's first pennant in 1921.

Under Steinbrenner, the Yankees reached the World Series on 10 occasions and won three straight championships from 1998-2000. Those titles started a run in which the Yankees won the AL East crown every season through 2006.

"We've disagreed on more things than we agreed upon, but it never affected our personal relationship," commissioner Bud Selig said in 2005. "George has been a very charismatic, controversial owner. But look, he did what he set out to do - he restored the New York Yankees franchise."

Former AL president Gene Budig sometimes was on the wrong end of Steinbrenner's barbs. After he left office, Budig maintained a friendship with him and even advocated Steinbrenner getting into the Hall of Fame.

Steinbrenner liked to quote military figures and saw games as an extension of war. No surprise that in the tunnel leading from the Yankees' clubhouse to the field, he had a sign posted with a saying from Gen. Douglas MacArthur: "There is no substitute for victory."

Steinbrenner also had a soft side.

He sometimes read about high school athletes who had been injured and sent them money to go to college. He paid for the medical school expenses of Ron Karnaugh after the swimmer's father died during the opening ceremony at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

Steinbrenner kept older friends from his football days on the payroll, had a way of rehiring those he had once fired and liked to give second chances to people who had fallen from favor, such as Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden.

"I'm really 95 percent Mr. Rogers," Steinbrenner said as he approached his 75th birthday, "and only 5 percent Oscar the Grouch."

Steinbrenner's beneficence extended beyond sports.

He pledged $1 million to a Florida orchestra in 1995 and mandated that $265,000 go to a pops series.

"I like Tchaikovsky as much as the next guy," he said, "but in this area I think people would rather hear pops concerts, and good ones."

While Steinbrenner grew up in the Cleveland area as a Yankees fan, his first passion was football. He fondly recalled watching the Browns on cold winter days and many believe the NFL's must-win-today mentality shaped how he approached all sports.

Steinbrenner was raised in a strict, no-nonsense household headed by his father, Henry.

The youngest of three children, Steinbrenner attended Culver Military Academy in Ohio. At Williams College, he was a track man and specialized in hurdles.

After that, he enlisted in the Air Force. Steinbrenner always was partial to the military and at Yankee Stadium, men and women in uniform were admitted free.

Following his discharge, he enrolled at Ohio State, pursuing a master's degree in physical education. It was his intention to go into coaching, but after working at a high school in Columbus and at Purdue and Northwestern, he turned to the business world.

Steinbrenner married Elizabeth Zieg in 1956 and they had four children.

In 1963, Steinbrenner purchased Kinsman Transit Co., a fleet of lake ore carriers, from his family and built a thriving company. Four years later, Steinbrenner and associates took over American Shipbuilding and revitalized the company, helping annual revenues triple.

It was in Cleveland that Steinbrenner met veteran baseball executive Gabe Paul and became involved with the group that bought the Yankees. With 13 partners, Steinbrenner purchased the team from CBS Inc.

He clearly liked the status it gave him.

"When you're a shipbuilder, nobody pays any attention to you," he said. "But when you own the New York Yankees ... they do, and I love it."

Steinbrenner quickly worked to reshape the team he loved as a boy. With that, the Bronx Zoo days began.

It was while he was under suspension that the Yankees ushered in baseball's new free-agent era by signing Catfish Hunter to a $3.75 million contract. Even though he was officially barred from participating in the daily operation of the team, no one believed that Steinbrenner was not involved in that deal.

Hunter was the first player to cash in on baseball's new economic structure and no owner plunged into the marketplace more than Steinbrenner. He saw it as an opportunity to assemble quality players and was one of the biggest buyers.

For the first five years of the free agency, Steinbrenner signed 10 players at an approximate cost of $38 million. Steinbrenner's $18.2 million, 10-year deal with Winfield was the richest free agent contract in history.

During those days, Yankee Stadium underwent a $100 million facelift and reopened in 1976. That year, the Yankees won the AL pennant, but got swept in the World Series by Cincinnati's Big Red Machine.

The Yankees surged back to win the World Series championship in 1977 and 1978, and won AL pennants in 1980 and 1981.

While the Yankees' roster continually changed, so did the team's front office. Managers were hired and fired at a dizzying pace, with Martin often in the middle.

The one constant, for most of Steinbrenner's time, was winning.

Steinbrenner once was asked his formula for success. He said: "Work as hard as you ask others to. Strive for what you believe is right, no matter the odds. Learn that mistakes can be the best teacher."

Steinbrenner is survived by his wife, Joan, four children and 12 grandchildren.

BP robots slowly lowering oil cap toward Gulf leak

BP robots slowly lowering oil cap toward Gulf leak

In this image taken from video provided by BP PLC, a remotely operated vehicle, right, works on the fractured wellhead at the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Monday, July 12, 2010. Underwater robots steadily assembled heavy metal pieces Monday as BP prepared to install a tighter cap over its busted well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, offering hopeful signs that it could soon bring the gusher under control. The oil giant said it was ahead of its schedule to get the new, better cap in place. Once the cap is in place and working properly, officials hoped it would capture all of the oil spewing out of the well and that it can all be funneled to containment ships at the surface.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Undersea robots maneuvered a mile beneath the Gulf on Monday to delicately lower a new, tighter-fitting cap over BP's busted well, a fix the oil giant hopes can finally stop the leak after nearly three months.

The new cap, a 150,000-pound metal stack, was about 300 feet from where it's supposed to be installed on top of the leaking well, BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles said in a Monday morning news briefing.

A swarm of remote-controlled robots moved around heavy equipment near the seafloor on live video provided online by BP PLC. It was not clear how close the cap was to the well, but Suttles said the operation was complex and could take longer than they expect.

Oil could still be seen flowing freely from the top of the well where the cap will be attached.

The BP executive was careful to keep expectations grounded, stressing that once the cap is in place, it will take days to know whether it can withstand the pressure of the erupting oil and feed it through pipes to surface ships. The cap and vessels together make up BP's plan to stop oil from spewing into the Gulf for the first time since April 20.

"Until we have the cap on, securely fitted in place, and know it's operating per the design, we have to recognize this is a complex operation," Suttles said.

It is the nation's worst offshore oil spill. The well has spewed between 89.3 million and 176.4 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, according to federal estimates. The Exxon Valdez spilled about 11 million gallons.

Gulf residents were wary after weeks of failed efforts to stop the spill and downcast about the damage already done to the biologically rich Gulf and the coast's two leading industries, fishing and tourism.

Matthew Peterson, a crabber in Yscloskey, La., hasn't put out his traps since oil began washing ashore.

"The oil is still out there, and it's going to be there for, what, maybe 10 years?" he said. "Until it's cleaned up, nothing's going to get back to normal."

BP has tried and failed to counter the gusher with a giant concrete box over the well, mud and shredded rubber pumped into it and a pipe to siphon the crude.

"At this point, there have been so many ups and downs, disappointments, that everybody down here is like, 'We'll believe it when we see it,'" said Keith Kennedy, a charter boat captain in Venice, La.

First lady Michelle Obama was expected in Panama City, Fla., on Monday to meet with local community leaders and tourism officials. The Panhandle city recently opened a new international airport to draw additional tourists to the area but the oil spill has kept many away - even though pollution on local beaches has been minor so far.

BP's new cap is designed to snap into place atop the well, held by a connecting piece that was installed overnight on top of the well pipe, said Eric Smith, associate director of the Tulane Energy Institute.

Once the cap is firmly in place, the company will begin "shutting in" the well by closing perforated pipe at the top. The company will be looking to see if the pressure rises inside the cap. If it does, that means there are no other leaks, and the cap is stopping oil from leaking into the Gulf.

But lower pressure readings may indicate leaking elsewhere in the well. In that case, Suttles said, the company will work to collect the leak with surface vessels and by dropping yet another cap on top of the stack.

The testing should last about 48 hours, Suttles said.

Even if the tests show the cap is successfully holding in the oil, it will not be the final fix for the blown well. That will have to wait until one of two relief wells reaches the leaking well from underground and can inject heavy drilling mud and cement to form a permanent plug.

BP expects one relief well will do the job, but it's drilling a second as a backup. Officials have offered varying estimates for when that work will be done, but mid-August is the most common timeframe.

Work on the new cap has been moving briskly, with the old, leaky cap coming off the well on Saturday. One snag in the operation has been a delay in the startup of a vessel called the Helix Producer, which is supposed to connect to the well by a link below the cap, ultimately collecting roughly 1 million gallons of oil a day.

The ship was supposed to begin collection Sunday, but two minor technical glitches prevented that, Suttles said. He expects the ship to begin Monday, reaching full capacity within two days or so.

R/C Racing & Skateboarding To Cool Youth Violence With Phil Poles In Malcolm X Park & Fairmount Park by Van Stone vspfoundation@yahoo.com

R/C Racing & Skateboarding To Cool Youth Violence With Phil Poles In Malcolm X Park & Fairmount Park by Van Stone vspfoundation@yahoo.com





PHILADELPHIA — The kids had exciting expressions when looking at the cars on wheels. They had radio-controlled (or "r/c") cars running on the streets and in the dirt of the Malcolm X Park located at 52nd and Pine Street in West Philadelphia.



The models were race cars powered by small but powerful electric motors and rechargeable nickel-cadmium, nickel metal hydride, or lithium polymer cells. And the drivers were kids enrolled in an education program for kids as young as 5 and as old as 19. Racing models is a way to keep youth out of trouble and cool during 2010 hot summer days.




The Street Radio Control Model Racing of Van Stone Productions (VSP) Foundation, Inc. is a program that is serving youth. And Phil Poles is the lead instructor in novice and pro model racing.



VSP is dedicated to the representation of children, youth and parents involved in all types of energy awareness education using radio control cars, skateboards, recycling, computers, magazines, books, newspapers, comics, and community service clubs including: Hobby-class R/C Auto Driving. Gas and Electric Powered Radio Control Race Car and Track Driving. Building a Nitro and Electric Radio Control Model. Earth, Wind, Water, Sun, Gas, and Electric Skateboarding. R/C Auto Safety/Skateboarding Safety. Police Safety. Fire Safety. Computer Technology and Fast Radio Control Model Photography. The community park is a great place for VSP to run a r/c cars short course raceway.

Most of the r/c driving and skateboarding takes place near a safe road and/or park in Fairmount Park West and Southwest Philadelphia too.

Phil Poles, a native Philadelphian experienced with active hobby vehicles is assisting youth in the r/c car racing challenge for a trophy and the bragging rights for having won the short radio control car race in Philly community parks.

Mr. Phil, as the kids call him, is exceptional in remote control vehicles that are usually one of two types: control of a vehicle by radio transmission or by a wire connecting between the transmitter and car. Mr. Phil will help the youth to compete in hobby grade models showcased in technology and demonstrates the promise of safer energy in other uses.

Mr. Phil will help students talk of using gas and electric to assist cars, perhaps providing energy to save their environment while a car is racing in the street.

VSP Foundation Street Radio Control Model Racing is schooling of radio controlled nitro and electric powered race vehicles that may be cars, monster trucks, or buggies.





Youth who have the opportunity to join VSP R/C Racing can even become more excited about the program because it involves skateboarding in areas where there's plenty of skating to go around.

Youth will also learn about brushed or brushless electric motors and the connections between r/c dynamics and skateboarding. Most fuel-powered models use glow plug engines, small internal combustion engines fueled by a special mixture of nitromethane, methanol, and oil (in most cases a blend of castor oil and synthetic oil). These are referred to as "nitro" cars. Recently, exceptionally large models have been introduced that are powered by small gasoline engines, similar to string trimmer motors, which use a mix of oil and gasoline. Electric cars are generally considered easier for the novice to work with compared to fuel-driven models, but can be equally as complex at the higher budget and skill levels.

And the VSP r/c experience will assist youth to understand the challenge of building a race car that runs as fast as highway speeds of 18 miles of hour to 100 miles an hour.

For more information about The Street Radio Control Model Racing of VSP in Philly call Mr. Phil at (610) 931-8810 or e-mail phillygeek74@yahoo.com.

Boondocks At Phila. Front Page News

Boondocks At Phila. Front Page News

Spain beats Netherlands 1-0 for World Cup

Spain beats Netherlands 1-0 for World Cup

Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas, back to camera, hugs Sergio Busquets after the World Cup final soccer match between the Netherlands and Spain at Soccer City in Johannesburg, South Africa, Sunday, July 11, 2010. Spain won 1-0.

JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- Spain rules the soccer world, winning the World Cup at long, long last.

It came after an exhausting 1-0 victory in extra time over the Netherlands on Sunday. Two years after winning the European title, the stylish Spaniards did even better.

This was a physical test of attrition that sometimes turned dirty - a finals-record 13 yellow cards were handed out and the Dutch finished with 10 men. In the end, it was Andres Iniesta breaking free in the penalty area, taking a pass from Cesc Fabregas and putting a right-footed shot from 8 yards just past the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg.

"When I struck it, it just had to go in," Iniesta said.

For the Dutch and their legions of orange-clad fans wearing everything from jerseys to jumpsuits to clown gear to pajamas, it was yet another disappointment.

Even with their first World Cup title tantalizingly within reach, they failed in the final for the third time. This one might have been the most bitter because, unlike 1974 and 1978, the Netherlands was unbeaten not only in this tournament, but in qualifying for the first World Cup staged in South Africa.

Soccer City was soaked in Oranje, from the seats painted in that hue throughout the stadium to pretty much everyone seated in them. Unlike when they lost to hosts West Germany and Argentina in previous finals, the Dutch were something of a home team this time.

The Spaniards, though, were the winners.

"We have all done an incredible job," Iniesta said. "I don't think we even realize what we have done."

They had pockets of supporters, too, to be sure, dressed in red and scattered around the stadium. They might have been the minority, but when the final whistle blew, they were tooting their vuvuzelas loudest in tribute to their champions.

The goal in the 116th minute came off a turnover by the Dutch defense that Fabregas controlled just outside the penalty area. Iniesta stayed on the right and sneaked in to grab the pass and put his shot to the far post. Stekelenburg barely brushed it with his fingertips as it soared into the net.

Iniesta tore off his jersey after the goal and raced to the corner where he was mobbed by his teammates. Several Dutch players wiped away tears as they received their medals as runners-up - yet again. They won every qualifying match and all six previous games in South Africa before the bitter ending.

The Netherlands now has more victories in World Cup games without a title than any nation: 19. Spain held that dubious record with 24.

Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk took off his silver medal as soon as left the podium, with a look of disgust on his face.

The Spaniards saluted their fans with arms raised high, then lifted their coach, Vicente del Bosque, in the air in celebration.

"This is immeasurable for Spain," Del Bosque said.

Goalkeeper Iker Casillas, the captain, accepted the trophy from FIFA president Sepp Blatter, kissed it and raised it for all to see while cameras flashed and confetti flew throughout the still-full stadium.

Soon, the entire team and staff gathered at midfield for a group photo. The players bounced up and down to the World Cup theme song, then took a victory lap as the trophy was passed to each member of the squad.

"It's the most beautiful that there is. It's spectacular," Iniesta said, referring to the gold ball.

Aside from a European title in 1988, the Dutch have been classic underachievers on the pitch. Results never matched the talent. These were no Dutch masters.

Yet the Spaniards haven't been much better. Other than Euro championships in 1964 and 2008, they rarely have contended in major tournaments. At least the Netherlands made those two World Cup finals and also got to the semifinals in 1998.

Second-ranked Spain started this World Cup in the worst way, losing to Switzerland. But Spain won every game after that, including a 1-0 victory over powerful Germany that was far more one-sided than the score indicated. No other nation has won the World Cup after losing its opener.

Yet the most dangerous player Sunday was Netherlands forward Arjen Robben. He had a rare breakaway in the 62nd minute after a brilliant through pass from Wesley Sneijder. He had the ball on his preferred left foot, but a charging Casillas barely got his right leg on the shot to deflect it wide of the gaping net.

Then it was Stekelenburg's turn, holding his ground after a misplay in front of the net gave the ever-potent Villa an open shot.

As play opened up, the crowd of 84,490 got quieter in nervous anticipation of the goal that would win the World Cup.

Robben again looked as though he might get it with a burst of speed past the defense, but Casillas sprinted from his net and smothered the ball before Robben could take a shot.

A second straight World Cup final headed into extra time, with the goalkeepers unbeatable. Stekelenburg, relatively inexperienced on the international level, made a spectacular left leg save when Fabregas broke free early in overtime.

Before the game, former South African president Nelson Mandela received a huge ovation when he was driven onto the field on a golf cart. A smiling Mandela waved to the fans as the vuvuzelas buzzed throughout Soccer City.

Van Stone Productions R/C Racing & Skateboarding With Phil Poles In Fairmount Park West/Southwest Philly by James Sullivan sullivancoach@yahoo.com

Van Stone Productions R/C Racing & Skateboarding With Phil Poles In Fairmount Park West/Southwest Philly by James Sullivan sullivancoach@yahoo.com

Above: "HPI E-Savage,Tamiya Wild Willy 2,Kyosho
Mini-Z Monster, and Team Losi Micro-T" style Radio-controlled
(or R/C) cars used in the VSP Radio Control Model Racing &
Skateboarding Program. VSP West/southwest Philly students
drivers get control of each vehicle by radio transmission and a
wire connecting between the transmitter and car.

PHILADELPHIA — The kids had the same exciting expression when looking at the cars on wheels. They were radio-controlled (or r/c) cars running on the streets of West and Southwest Philadelphia .

The models were race cars powered by small but powerful electric motors and rechargeable nickel-cadmium, nickel metal metal hydride, or lithium polymer cells. And the drivers were kids enrolled in an education program for kids as young as 6 to as old as 19.

The Street Radio Control Model Racing of Van Stone Productions (VSP) Foundation, Inc. is the program that is serving youth.

VSP is dedicated to the representation of children, youth and parents involved in all types of energy awareness education using radio control cars, skateboards, recycling, computers, magazines, books, newspapers, comics, and community service clubs including: Hobby-class R/C Auto Driving. Gas and Electric Powered Radio Control Race Car and Track Driving. Building a Nitro and Electric Radio Control Model. Earth, Wind, Water, Sun, Gas, and Electric Skateboarding. R/C Auto

Safety/Skateboarding Safety. Police Safety. Fire Safety. Auto Accidents. Computer Technology and Fast Radio Control Models Photography.

Most of the r/c driving and skateboarding takes place near a safe road and/or park in Fairmount Park West and Southwest Philadelphia .

Philadelphian Van Stone, well known for writing sci-fi and hobby activity has teamed up with Phil Poles, also a native Philadelphian to assist youth in the r/c car racing challenge for a trophy and the bragging rights to having won the short radio control car race in Philly.

Mr. Phil, as the kids call him is exceptional in remote control vehicles that are usually of one of two types: control of a vehicle by radio transmission or by a wire connecting between the transmitter and car. Mr. Phil will help the youth to compete in hobby grades models showcased in technology and demonstrate the promise of safer energy in other uses.

Mr. Phil will help students talk of using gas and electric to assist cars, perhaps providing energy to save their environment while a car is racing in the street.

VSP Foundation Street Radio Control Model Racing is schooling of radio controlled nitro and electric powered race vehicles that may be cars, monster trucks, and buggies.

Youth who have the opportunity to join VSP R/C Racing can even become more excited about the program because it involves skateboarding in areas where there's plenty of skating to go around.

Youth will also learn about brushed or brushless electric motors and the connections between r/c dynamics and skateboarding. Most fuel-powered models use glow plug engines, small internal combustion engines fueled by a special mixture of nitromethane, methanol, and oil (in most cases a blend of castor oil and synthetic oil). These are referred to as "nitro" cars. Recently, exceptionally large models have been introduced that are powered by small gasoline engines, similar to string trimmer motors, which use a mix of oil and gasoline. Electric cars are generally considered easier for the novice to work with compared to fuel-driven models, but can be equally as complex at the higher budget and skill levels.

And the VSP r/c experience with assist youth to understand the challenge of building a race car that runs as fast as highway speeds of 18 miles of hour to 100 miles an hour.

For more information about The Street Radio Control Model Racing of VSP in Philly call (610) 931-8810 or e-mail vspfoundation@yahoo.com.

Independent Party, Great Ideas From Local Leaders For Teens In West Philly by Van Stone vspfoundation@yahoo.com (610) 931-8810

Independent Party, Great Ideas From Local Leaders For Teens In West Philly by Van Stone vspfoundation@yahoo.com (610) 931-8810




Above: Logo of Independent American Party
Philadelphia County Committee.

The State of Pennsylvania National Independent American Party (IAP) represented in West Philly, has started an IAP community service table and website for registered Independent Philadelphia supporters. The group using its IAP service table and membership website is growing quickly into a neighborhood action committee where teens age 15 to 19 can learn and update their information about constitutional rights. Adults can learn about defending the U.S. constitution and when American’s constitutional rights have been violated also. The National Independent American party, an indirect creation of the Utah Independent American Party is one of several third parties in the U.S., formally created May 27, 1998. The IAP offers education about civics and youth intervention programs in urban, suburban, and rural communities.

The IAP is welcoming registered Independents from the city of Philly to join them. The party is for developing reforms that even the two major political parties in Philadelphia, Pa can agree with. A reform that the IAP pursues helps to ensure that rights of all Americans regardless of political affiliation, especially teenagers, are maintained.

The IAP plan in West Philadelphia is to have the local officials representing these city neighborhoods invest new interest in the young people they serve. The Independent Party has recognized that Philadelphia has suffered terrible consequences from ignoring the constitutional rights of children who are teens. IAP Leadership and representation at community service tables and on the net will change all that.

Khalid Moffitt, who is the Independent Philadelphia’s second city committee President, is laying the groundwork that will lead to the eventual change of the way teens are viewed as being way too young to vote in the United States. And he and other Independents in West Philly are starting a movement to change the legal age to be a voter registrant from age 18 to age 15.

Moffitt is working on setting up community tables about teen voting education and change at the West Philadelphia church Our First Temple of Faith Mt. Deborah Pentecostal Church 4045 Haverford Avenue and other congregations in West Philly.

The State of PA Independent American Party's freshest leadership is targeting West Philly to begin a grassroots movement about what the first Philadelphia IAP city committee president, who is now the committee president of Philadelphia county, calls “ U.S. teen suffrage.”

“U.S. teen suffragists should develop in Philadelphia so that leaders representing city neighborhoods will understand the significant need for the 15-year-old’s right to vote.” And that’s my personal view on it because the right to vote today should include the economic and political aim at extending suffrage to women and the teenager, on an equal basis to those for men and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax or marital status.

One of the reasons for the sudden rise of the Independent Party in West Philadelphia is because some teens there are beginning to talk about the fact that only some teenagers have the right to vote but not all. The local IAP leadership has questioned if this is a matter of violating certain teen’s constitutional rights if they wish to be clearly independent from other teens that seem to be not ready for willful participation in civics.

The local leadership level of the IAP here in Philly is supporting the IAP PA state leadership level since the party seeks to be sure about teen’s right to vote eliminating all forms of discrimination against teenagers and women in the state of PA. If you are a teen or parent and you wish to learn more information about the Independent Party, West Philly's quest to lower the age teens have the right to vote, or IAP help visit the website at www.usiap.org or www.fpnnews.us. You can dial the IAP local number (215) 921-3484.