• They say they can have one ready in a matter of days. Days after BP successfully put a cap on the oil well that has largely prevented more leaking (the seepage was traced to another well), they hope to have a relief well ready to take some pressure off the oil well and prevent more damage. “The relief well is exactly where we want it, pointed in the right direction,”said BP vice president Kent Wells, who literally has the best last name ever for a vice president of his nature. source

• We told them there was no way we would agree to any kind of restrictions on the data we collect. It was pretty clear we wouldn’t be hearing from them again after that. We didn’t like the perception of the university representing BP in any fashion.
• University of South Alabama head of marine sciences Bob Shipp • On BP’s desire to work with the university. Work with the university? For what, you ask? Well, they wanted to offer lucrative pay – and a big contract – to the school’s marine scientists. But at a major cost. Basically, the scientists could not publish or even speak about any of their data for the next three years. Long story short: They said no. But not every scientist was willing to bend – scientists at Louisiana State University, the University of Southern Mississippi and Texas A&M reportedly said yes. Unbelievable. And right after this mess. (Thanks Charles Apple – again!) source

• We will replace the Photoshopped version currently on bp.com with the original image tonight. We’ve instructed our post-production team to refrain from doing this in the future.
• BP spokesman Scott Dean • Describing the issue with the Photoshopped image that we posted about last night (and based on tweets and traffic, drew a lot of attention this morning). Dean says that there wasn’t anything outwardly sinister in the photo deception, just an ethically weak photo editor who inserted three images in spots where the screens were blank. Which doesn’t explain, you know, the fact that the photo’s meta data has a 2001 creation date. But we’ll let that one slide, because the PR guy says it wasn’t sinister. Oh yeah, our boy Charles Apple posted an update. Check it out. source

• So the cap remains another day. Real problem or naturally-occurring? That’s the crux of the situation with any seeps from the recently-sealed oil well, which BP is putting though an integrity test. But after Thad Allen’s people talked to BP about the potential risks, their concerns were alleviated. At least for another day. “I authorized BP to continue the integrity test for another 24 hours and I restated our firm position that this test will only continue if they continue to meet their obligations to rigorously monitor for any signs that this test could worsen the overall situation,” Allen said. source

• good Over a couple of days of testing, BP has found that the well hasn’t leaked any oil since the cap was put on.
• better Rather than removing it, they’re going to leave it on for testing until they have a permanent solution. Hooray! source

• It’s held up pretty well so far, but they just want to ensure its safety. There haven’t been any leaks in the spill as of yet, but you know, they don’t want to force the issue. So it’ll continue on beyond the 48-hour timeframe they originally gave themselves. They also want to check the seafloor to see if any gas or oil is leaking, just to be on the safe side. Feel confident about this process, guys – they’re trying to base everything they’re doing on science, not on the whims of a bunch of idiots. source

• YES which is a very positive sign; hopefully it keeps up source

• For the love of God, you idiots! We landed on the moon, Obama’s birth certificate is real, the World Trade Center actually got hit by a couple of planes, the Holocaust actually happened, JFK got shot by Lee Harvey Oswald, and there is a ton of BP’s black stuff in the Gulf of Mexico right now. Can we discredit these idiots immediately, please? source

• Let’s face it, guys. We’re all really optimistic that BP’s latest ploy actually contained the oil spill for good. Heck, BP’s stock went up significantly in the immediate aftermath of the news. But as our boy Jake “Dr. Buzzkill” Tapper put it, we’re not out of the woods yet. There’s much more to deal with. But, instead of being party poopers like Tapper, who is probably upset about his pending exit from “This Week,” let’s bask in this moment for a second – no new oil is flooding the Gulf of Mexico. A quick breakdown from us:

What 85 days looks like

• 7,403,100 seconds of oil leakage

• 123kminutes of exciting oil spillage fun to deal with
• 2,056 hours of oil-spilling excitement for the the whole family
• 185M gallons of oil flooded the Gulf in the meantime; hooray!

The major players in the spill

• 40%of people polled in June disapproved of Obama’s oil spill performance
• 70% of people in the same poll thought BP sucked at their job source

• fourvisits by Obama to the Gulf Region
• 31 days since Obama last visited the Gulf
• 26 days since Tony Hayward went yachting

So, what’s next?

• oneBP will continue its testing of the method, which will last around 48 hours.
• two BP will then go back to its old system, recovering 80,000 barrels a day.
• three BP will remain busy, working on a permanent relief well solution. source

• good Our good friends at BP have put a tighter cap on the well, with the goal of stopping the oil leak altogether.
• bad Oh, there’s between 89 million and 176 million gallons of oil that have already leaked over 83 days. (Just sayin’.) source