The Daily Glob

"Spill Is Election Issue Far Beyond Gulf"

"MIAMI — Candidates from coast to coast — and many states in between — are redirecting their campaigns in an emotional, frantic effort to turn the oil spill to political advantage.

"Gulf Beaches Hit as Distant Hurricane Pushes Oil"

"GRAND ISLE, La. - Rough seas generated by Hurricane Alex pushed more oil from the massive spill onto Gulf coast beaches as cleanup vessels were sidelined by the far-away storm's ripple effects.

"Oil Platforms and Rigs Evacuated as Tropical Storm Alex Strengthens"

"NEW ORLEANS -- The federal agency that regulates offshore oil and gas says operators in the Gulf of Mexico are evacuating platforms and rigs in the path of Tropical Storm Alex." The Associated Press had the story June 20, 2010.

"Second Pipe May Have Crippled BP Well's Defense Mechanism"

"The gushing BP oil well is a mystery still unfolding, and late last month, a team of scientists from the Energy Department discovered a new twist: Their sophisticated imaging equipment detected not one but two drill pipes, side by side, inside the wreckage of the well's blowout preventer on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.

Mark-up and 3 Hearings on Oil Spill in Congress Wednesday

Congress is already beginning work on a legislative response to the BP Gulf oil spill. Tomorrow, Wednesday, June 30, the Senate Energy Committee will begin marking up a bill. There will also be three hearings -- which means plenty of news. The quickest way for the Glob to transmit this info is to paste in the release we got from Pew ... it's after the jump:

"BP Giving Financial Help To Stations"

"HOUSTON – Oil giant BP PLC is floating a financial lifeline to the owners, operators and suppliers of the gas stations around America that bear its name and have been struggling because of boycotts prompted by the Gulf spill.

"Rough Seas Halt Skimming Operations off Gulf Coast"

"NEW ORLEANS – BP and the Coast Guard sent oil-scooping skimming ships in the Gulf of Mexico back to shore Tuesday because nasty weather from Tropical Storm Alex churned up rough seas and powerful winds." Tom Breen and Jay Reeves areport for the Associated Press June 29, 2010.

"Judge Martin Feldman Releases Investment Report, Raising More Questions"

"U.S. District Court Judge Martin Feldman owned stock in ExxonMobil, which has two oil exploration projects in the Gulf of Mexico that have been delayed by the deepwater drilling moratorium, but sold his shares the same day he ruled on the issue. Last week Feldman overturned the deepwater drilling moratorium that the Obama administration put in place after the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion, and ignited a fire storm among critics, who realized that he had many investments in energy stocks. To quell his critics, Feldman volunteered to release a report of his 2009 stock holdings, but the report only seems to raise more questions about whether he should have recused himself."Rebecca Mowbray reports for the New Orleans Times-Picayune June 28, 2010.

"BP Discussing a Backup Strategy to Contain Oil"

BP, taking nothing for granted, is discussing a backup plan for collecting oil in case the relief wells now being drilled do not stop the spewing of oil into the Gulf. Henry Fountain reports for the New York Times June 28, 2010.

"US Plans 'Extraordinary Measures' to Rescue Turtles Along Gulf Coast"

"About 50,000 sea turtle eggs from beaches in the Florida Panhandle and Alabama will be dug up and moved to Florida's Atlantic Coast in hopes of keeping the hatchlings alive in the face of the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill." Noelle Straub reports for Greenwire June 28, 2010.