Matthew Brown, Associated Press LAUREL, Mont. — Hundreds of barrels of crude oil spilled into Montana’s Yellowstone River after an ExxonMobil pipeline beneath the riverbed ruptured, sending a plume 25 miles downstream and forcing temporary evacuations, officials said. The break near Billings in south-central Montana fouled the riverbank and forced municipalities and irrigation districts Saturday to close intakes. The river has no dams on its way to its confluence with the Missouri River just across the Montana border in North Dakota. It was unclear how far the plume might travel. Cleanup crews deployed booms and absorbent material as the plume moved downstream at an estimated 5 to 7 mph. “The parties responsible will restore the Yellowstone River,” Mont. Gov. Brian Schweitzer said. A 600-foot-long black smear of oil coated Jim Swanson’s riverfront property just downstream from where the pipe broke. “Whosever pipeline it is better be knocking on my door soon and explaining how they’re going to clean it up,” Swanson said as globules of oil bubbled to the surface. “They say they’ve got it capped off. I’m not so sure.” ExxonMobil spokeswoman Pam Malek said the pipe leaked an estimated 750 to 1,000 barrels of oil for about a half-hour before it was shut down. Other Exxon officials had estimated up to 42,000 gallons of crude oil escaped. Duane Winslow, Yellowstone County director of disaster and emergency services, said the plume was dissipating as it moved downstream. “We’re just kind of waiting for it to move on down while Exxon is trying to figure out how to corral this monster,” Winslow said. “The timing couldn’t be worse,” said Steve Knecht, chief of operations for Montana Disaster and Emergency Services, who added that the plume was measured at 25 miles near Pompeys Pillar National Monument. “With the Yellowstone running at flood stage and all the debris, it makes it dang tough to get out there to do anything.” Brent Peters, the fire chief for the city of Laurel about 12 miles west of Billings, said the rupture in the 12-inch diameter pipe occurred late Friday about a mile south of Laurel. He said about 140 people in the Laurel area were evacuated early Saturday due to concerns about possible explosions and the overpowering fumes. He said they were allowed to return at about 4 a.m. after fumes had decreased. Winslow said hundreds of residents downstream were told to evacuate in the early morning hours as authorities knocked on doors, but it’s unclear how many did. In a statement, ExxonMobil said it was sending a team to help with cleanup, and that state and federal authorities had been alerted to the spill. The ExxonMobil Pipeline Company “deeply regrets this release,” it said. Crews were putting out absorbent material along stretches of the river in Billings and near Laurel, but there were no attempts at capturing oil farther out in the river. In some areas oil flowed underneath booms and continued downstream. The smell of oil permeated the air for miles downstream and through the city of Billings. “Nobody’s been able to lay their eyes on the pipe,” Peters said. “Right now, the Yellowstone River is at flood stage. The bank isn’t stable enough for anybody to get close.” The cause of the rupture in the pipe carrying crude oil from Belfry, Mont., to the company’s refinery in Billings wasn’t known. Peters and Malek said speculation involves high water that might have gouged out the river bed and exposed the pipe, which was possibly hit by debris. “I haven’t seen it this high for at least 15 years,” Peters said. Jeb Montgomery of ExxonMobil said the pipe was buried six feet below the riverbed. The state has received record rainfall in the last month and also has a huge snowpack in the mountains that is melting, which has resulted in widespread flooding in recent weeks. Three oil refineries are in the Billings area, and Peters said he asked all three to turn off the flow of oil in their pipelines under the river once the leak was reported. He said ExxonMobil and Cenex Harvest Refinery did so, and that Conoco Phillips said its pipe was already shut down. He said the river where the leak occurred is about 250 yards wide, and that an oil slick appeared to be about 20 feet wide. “That was the farthest my flashlight would reach,” he said. Laurel, which has about 6,500 residents, is known for a huge Fourth of July fireworks display put on by the fire department. Peters said the town can swell to as many as 50,000 people for the event. He said the fire department plans to hold the event on Monday. _____ Associated Press writer Keith Ridler in Boise, Idaho, contributed to this report.
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Ryan Dunn Tribute – We Will Miss You Ryan Dunn Tribute RIP Ryan Dunn Tribute habjat says: Ryan Dunn Remembered In Tribute Video http://on.mtv.com/lVv2Ny
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Having grown fur and claws while in Tokyo earlier in the week, Lady Gaga has transmogrified back into something much more human — and has the photo to prove it. Posting on her Amen Fashion line’s brand new Tumblr — which was launched earlier in the week — Gaga goes topless strikes and exhausted pose on a toilet. Ahem, yes. Of course, she’s not fully undressed — jorts! — but there is another curiosity about the photo: her Smurf-inspired armpit hair. But hey, why not? PHOTO:
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Is this the Droid Bionic, eager to make its US debut at long last? After a false start , it’s looking more and more like Motorola’s next superphone could be inching ever closer to that elusive “summer release,” with a new FCC filing showcasing a cellular communications device with EVDO, LTE, 700MHz radios, Bluetooth, 802.11b/g/n WiFi and an inductive charging battery cover. ‘Course, a few things are still under wraps until August 7th, so it’s fairly impossible to tell with any level of certainty what handset we’re peering at. The clues most certainly add up, however, and if you were thinking of holding out just a wee bit longer, maybe the outline above is just what you needed to find patience (and all her friends). Droid Bionic seemingly clears the FCC, may finally be headed for (US) glory originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 03 Jul 2011 09:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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MaxEmperor says: Prince William and Catherine Canada visit [UPDATED]: Prince William and Catherine Canada visit http://bit.ly/mfQbJq
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HausOfBritt says: RT @LalaForLadyGaga : Lady Gaga to Serve as a Guest Judge on 'So You Think You Can Dance …: Lady Gaga will bring her dancing know-ho… http://bit.ly/jm4ccf
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Three fishermen in Stuart, Florida were in for a huge surprise when searching for a catch off Jensen Beach this past weekend. “It was just something that we’d never seen in our lives before,” Robert Benz told WPTV. The three men found a 23-foot-long, 200-pound giant squid floating dead in the Atlantic. Giant squid are known for being an extremely elusive and mysterious creature, and WPTV claims the find was very rare for those waters. The fishermen took the massive creature to the local commercial docks to see if anyone there had ever seen one. Not surprisingly, they hadn’t While the massive creature was quite the shock, giant squids are actually known to grow much larger. Ellie Van Os, director of education and exhibits for the Florida Oceanographic Society, told TCPalm that they can grow up to 45 feet long and weigh up to a ton. WATCH (via BoingBoing):
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Quentin Tarantino can’t find parking at Machete Premiere Hacha Y Machete – DVD – 29-4-2011 -2 Stanley Franklin purchases $7 machete from Wally World Trending_World says: South San Francisco man charged in machete attack http://bit.ly/kCFlJ3
Continue reading …Rafael Nadal v Novak Djokovic – Wimbledon 2011 men’s final live | Jacob Steinberg
July 3, 2011 No Comment
• Hammer F5 or turn on our auto-refresh tool for updates • Email jacob.steinberg.casual@guardian.co.uk for a chat • Follow Jacob on Twitter if that’s your thing The toss. Djokovic calls heads. And it’s tails. An early psychological blow for Nadal, but he chooses to receive. Djokovic will serve first then. The players are led through the corridors and out on to Centre Court. Djokovic, walking a few paces ahead of Nadal, is in his regulation cap, although there’s not much sun today. Then again, my brother wears sunglasses inside. We all have our little quirks. Nadal is wearing his trademark headband. He’s jumping up and down, a nervous ball of energy. He’s got his game face on. This is going to be good. Sue Barker asks what Tim Henman’s handicap is. A useless second serve, I’d say. It’s 10 years since this marvellous game, by the way. I love John McEnroe. He exudes cool. And he was in Curb Your Enthusiasm . Anyway, turns out he’s going for Nadal in five as well. Maybe he never backed Djokovic then. Or maybe he’s changed his mind. It’s not a crime. Boris Becker is talking about the boxing farce last night. “At least David Haye went 12 rounds,” says the German. There was more diving in that travesty of a match than in the Djokovic v Tsonga tussle on Friday. Borg tips Nadal to win – in five sets. There, Borg agrees with me. Borg. Bjorn Borg is on the BBC. A man who knows a thing or two about retirement, he expects Roger Federer to quit if he doesn’t win a major next year. Ah, yes, Federer. How strange not to have him here on the final Sunday. Borg didn’t say whether the Swiss great would win another major – but I think we know. Imagine playing tennis against a brick wall that can predict what you’re going to do in three shots’ time. A brick wall that never misses. A brick wall with plenty of tricks of its own, one that can mix power and subtlety, slice and spin. A brick wall with formidable levels of self-belief. A sentient brick wall. I’m terrifying myself already, and having read this, you’re probably sitting in a corner of your room, hunched over, rocking back and forth, furiously weeping. It’s the Mitch Hedberg principle taken to the Nth degree – and this is what it is like to play against Rafael Nadal. How do you beat this? Well, you can make like Andy Bernard , but that only leads to a disciplinary hearing, anger management and a broken fist. For a set and three-and-a-half games on Friday, Nadal was outplayed by Andy Murray, who produced some of his finest tennis ever. We can all pinpoint the moment the match changed though: that missed forehand at 15-30 on Nadal’s serve. It wasn’t Gascoigne against Germany at Euro 96 territory, but it was close. Reprieved, Nadal was never going to lose. Drop your level for a millisecond, and you’ve got more chance of finding your way out of the Bermuda Triangle than locating a route back against him. Which is precisely what happened to Murray. It’s debatable whether Murray actually did anything wrong. Plenty of his shots were hard, accurate and in the corner; it’s just that they kept on coming back over the net, and when that happens, it can drive a player to the edge of insanity. Watch Nadal when he loses a point. The camera pans to him and he’s livid with himself, frowning, grunting and thoroughly resolved to bludgeon a path to the next 20. How intimidating is that? Perhaps not so much for Novak Djokovic. There was a time when this match would have been a foregone conclusion – in fact, probably only a year ago. For a while, it seemed like Djokovic, if not wasting his talent, was certainly not making the most of it. Too often, he would crumble on court, always ready to find a reason to lose. That Djokovic is history. He’s already the world No1, and a 43-match unbeaten run was only ended by a superhuman effort from Roger Federer in the French Open semi-final. His backhand is glorious, his forehand has improved immeasurably and his movement rivals Nadal’s. He’s won the Australian Open and he’s won his last last four matches against Nadal (although he still has an 11-6 losing record overall). But he’s never beaten Nadal in a grand slam match, and even though he was outstanding when the pair met in the US Open final last year, he was defeated. If this match is half as good as that one, we could be in for a treat. And it still might not be enough for Djokovic. Over five sets against Nadal, it’s not enough to be excellent; you have to be perfect. My prediction A stick to beat me with once Djokovic wins 6-0, 6-0, 6-0 : Now then, I don’t like disagreeing with John McEnroe – not that he’ll be bothered – but I fancy Nadal to edge it in four sets (or, if we’re being greedy, five). Although it’s surely not going to be straight sets, I can’t go against Nadal. This is Djokovic’s first Wimbledon final though. It could spur him on. If Nadal wins, The Leftorium will be the place to be tonight. Following on from Petra Kvitova’s win yesterday, it could be a famous weekend for lefties. The action starts at: 2pm. The action ends at: An unspecified time. Wimbledon 2011 Rafael Nadal Novak Djokovic Wimbledon Tennis Jacob Steinberg guardian.co.uk
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Andrew Lansley to welcome key Dilnot recommendation of a cap on total amount any person has to pay for care in their old age The government is ready to accept the key recommendation of a report on support for elderly people and cap the total amount individuals are expected to pay for personal care in their old age, the health secretary indicated on Sunday. But Andrew Lansley made clear that no decision had been made on the level of the cap beyond which the state would pick up the care bill. The health secretary said he expected to give a “very positive” response to the report of the Dilnot commission on the future funding of care and support when it is presented on Monday. Economist Andrew Dilnot’s central recommendation is expected to be an overall cap of between £30,000 and £50,000 on the total amount any individual has to pay for care – at an estimated cost to the exchequer of £2bn or more a year. He believes this would save thousands of pensioners from having to sell their homes to pay for residential care, and would enable insurers to offer cover for the potential cost of personal care. Experts suggest companies could offer insurance to cover care costs of up to £50,000 for a one-off premium of around £17,000. Dilnot’s commission is also expected to recommend a more generous threshold for means-tested assistance from the state, which currently goes only to those with assets worth less than £23,250. Charities have issued a call for all-party talks to ensure that reform is not kicked into the long grass, and David Cameron and Labour leader Ed Miliband have both said they are ready to take part in discussions of this kind. Miliband on Saturday wrote to Cameron and his deputy, Nick Clegg, offering to put aside Labour’s proposals for a levy on the estates of the deceased to pay for care – derided as a “death tax” by Tories – in order to seek cross-party consensus. In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph , Miliband said he had written to the Conservative and Liberal Democrat leaders to offer talks “in good faith”, with no preconditions. The Labour leader wrote: “In return, I hope you both will show the same kind of leadership of your parties as well. The last thing Britain needs is for Andrew Dilnot’s proposals to be put into the long grass. We three party leaders are of similar age and the same generation. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity which our generation must address.” Lansley said that he would also like to see charities and representatives of elderly people and their carers contribute to the debate on the Dilnot recommendations. The health secretary – who said he had not yet read the report – told BBC1′s Andrew Marr Show: “I think we are going to give a very positive response. We are going to treat it as the basis for engagement.” But he added: “Andrew Dilnot’s commission makes clear that there is a range of issues within their own report that need to be resolved and on which it is fair for people to be able to express their view: where a cap should be set; how it is to be paid for; issues with the threshold for the means test; how the means test should be applied to people in the future, so they contribute to the cost of their care. And of course if people are in residential homes, they raise the question of the extent to which they should pay for their accommodation costs – as it were, their ‘hotel’ costs in residential homes.” Lansley made clear that keeping the status quo was not an option. “We will not be able to give people the quality of care and support and the sense of security that they need in the future unless we have change,” he said. Social care Long-term care Older people Health Health policy Public services policy guardian.co.uk
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