BP - To Pay Largest Environmental Settlement

"After a long legal fight, BP agrees to largest environmental settlement in U.S. history" PBS NewsHour 7/2/2015

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SUMMARY:  In the nation’s worst oil disaster, 134 million gallons of crude gushed into the Gulf of Mexico, coating beaches and barrier islands, killing thousands of animals and decimating fisheries.  Now nearly five years later, oil giant British Petroleum is facing a record settlement of $18.7 billion.  Judy Woodruff discusses the deal with Rep. Garret Graves, R-La.

JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour):  It was the nation’s worst oil disaster and came to be known as the BP (British Petroleum) spill.  After a long and bitter fight that played out in the courts, a record settlement was finally announced today.

The oil gushed from BP’s Macondo well for 87 days.  Now, almost five years since the well was sealed, the company aims to settle with the federal government and five states, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.

Alabama Governor Robert Bentley:

GOV. ROBERT BENTLEY (R), Alabama:  With the agreement reached today and the compensation BP will pay for their responsibility, we are taking a significant step forward in our state and in especially the Gulf Coast areas to move forward with the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  In all, 134 million gallons of crude fouled the Gulf’s waters, and coated beaches and barrier islands, killing thousands of animals, and decimating local fisheries.

The projected deal totals $18.7 billion; $5.5 billion would go toward restoration efforts, as part of a federal Clean Water Act penalty.  Another $7 billion would cover natural resource damages.  And nearly $6 billion goes to economic and other claims by the five states and 400 local government entities.

In a statement today, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch called it the largest environmental settlement in U.S. history.  For BP, the settlement will effectively add about $10 billion to the $44 billion it already set aside for cleanup costs and penalties.

The oil giant had revenues of $15 billion last year, and will spread the settlement costs over the next 15 to 18 years.  In a statement today, BP’s CEO, Bob Dudley said:  “This agreement will resolve the largest liabilities remaining from the tragic accident and enable BP to focus on safely delivering the energy the world needs.”

The agreement is still subject to final approval by a federal judge.

HISTORY - South's Confederate Past

"How should the South see its Confederate past?" PBS NewsHour 6/23/2015

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SUMMARY:  As more politicians and governments call for the removal of the Confederate flag from public life, and retailers like Amazon and Walmart bar the sale of flag memorabilia, Judy Woodruff talks to Jack Hunter of Rare.us, author Isabel Wilkerson and Russell Moore of the Southern Baptist Convention about Southern legacy and confronting difficult history.

JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour):  The wave of reactions to the Confederate Flag today reached into state capitols across the south.  The governors of Virginia and North Carolina both called for taking the flag off special-order license plates.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said a statue of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy, should be taken out of that state’s capitol rotunda.  And, in Mississippi, the speaker of the statehouse called for the removal of the Confederate emblem from the state flag.

We use this moment to take a look at the South of today with Russell Moore, who is the president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Liberty Commission.  Jack Hunter is a radio host and blogger in South Carolina who has used the identity the Southern Avenger.  And from Atlanta is Isabel Wilkerson. She’s the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “The Warmth of Other Suns,” about Southern black migration.

And we welcome all three of you to the program.

Russell Moore, let me start with you.

What role does the Confederate Flag play in the identity of the South today, do you believe?

RUSSELL MOORE, Southern Baptist Convention:  Well, I think Confederate Battle Flag is a symbol that causes a great deal of division and reminds us of a really hurtful legacy and past.

So, I think people see it in different ways.  And I think what some people see in the Confederate Flag is a sense of Southern assertion that the South matters.  So, for instance I was at a conference one time where the speaker, every time that he would reference saying something ignorant, would do it in a Southern accent.

I think there are some Southerners, black and white, who feel as though the rest of the country looks down on the South as uneducated and backward.  And for some people, that was a symbol of defiance against that.

But it’s really clear that the way the Confederate Battle Flag has been used, not only initially in terms of the Confederate States of America, but in our more recent history in terms of terrorist acts against African-Americans, that this is a symbol that causes unnecessary division.

AMERICA - Paralyzing Winter Storm Hits South

"Rare Arctic blast paralyzes southern communities ill-equipped for snow and ice" (Part-1) PBS Newshour 1/29/2014

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SUMMARY:  A winter storm that brought freezing temperatures and dumped a few inches of snow had a major impact on some southern states.  In Atlanta, thousands of people were stranded trying to get home, including one woman who gave birth on an interstate and hundreds of children who spent the night on school buses.  Jeffrey Brown reports.

"Georgia Gov. anticipates clear roads as state thaws from winter storm" (Part-2) PBS Newshour 1/29/2014

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SUMMARY:  Emergency responders continued to help clear drivers stranded after a heavy snow storm hit areas of Georgia on Tuesday.  Gov. Nathan Deal assured Jeffrey Brown that roads are close to being clear and all of the students who were stranded at their schools are now with their families.