Evening Buzz: Attempt to Cap Oil Leak
Maureen Miller
AC360° Writer
We're staying on the air live until 2 am ET to bring you the developments in the latest effort to cap the Gulf oil spill. Right now, BP is trying to lower a dome on top of the damaged well. Anderson and our team of other reporters have the breaking news from Louisiana tonight. The big question: Will it work?
Anderson and Gary Tuchman got an up close look at the wildlife suffering due to the spill. The images are hard to watch. There are birds and other animals covered in oil. It's a serious problem that won't go away anytime soon, no matter if the oil leak is capped tonight.
A lot of you are wondering what you can do to help the animals. A team of bird rescue specialists from International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRRC) has been deployed along the Gulf Coast. That's one way to get involved.
It's a busy night here in the newsroom and along the Gulf. We're working to bring you all the developments. Stay with us for our special coverage.
Attempt to Cap Oil Spill Underway: Join the Live Chat
Right now, underwater robots are trying to attach the cap to the damaged well 5,000 feet below the surface of the Gulf. We'll have the breaking news developments tonight on 360°
Want more details on what we're covering? Read EVENING BUZZ
Scroll down to join the live chat during the program. It's your chance to share your thoughts on tonight's headlines. Keep in mind, you have a better chance of having your comment get past our moderators if you follow our rules.
Here are some of them:
1) Keep it short (we don't have time to read a "book")
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Mom Missing After Weekend Getaway
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Police in Illinois are seeking help in finding a mother of three who vanished after a weekend getaway with a long-time friend.
Bennedetta “Beth” Bentley, 41, has not been seen or heard from since May 23, police said.
“We are concerned that she’s been gone for so long without contact,” Woodstock Police Chief Robert W. Lowen told CNN. “Disturbing matters, to say the least.”
In a phone interview, Scott Bentley said he’s always been in constant contact with his wife. “She has never not come back,” he told CNN. “She has never not called me. This is very unusual,” he added.
According to investigators, Bentley left her house on Thursday, May 20 to spend the weekend with a girlfriend in southern Illinois. Her friend was expected to drive her back home on May 24, police said.
Photo Gallery: Behind the scenes at the Gulf oil spill
CNN's Anderson Cooper, Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Gary Tuchman are reporting live from the Gulf oil spill. Here are some behind the scenes pictures from the devastation.
Obama says he's furious about oil spill but loves 'best job on Earth'
CNN Wire Staff
Program Note: President Obama goes one-on-one with Larry King on Thursday night to talk about the oil spill, economic turmoil and war. Watch"Larry King Live," at 9 p.m. ET.
President Barack Obama told CNN's Larry King on Thursday that he is furious about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, but his job is to fix things instead of just yelling at people.
In a White House interview for the 25th anniversary of "Larry King Live" on CNN, Obama called the oil spill an unprecedented crisis for the country but added it could have been worse.
Despite the challenges posed by the oil spill, global threats involving North Korea and Iran and political battles with Congress, Obama called being president "the best job on Earth."
Opinion: We are all Gulf victims now
Carl Safina
Special to CNN
In some ways, a catastrophe of this magnitude could not have happened in a worse place. Or at a worse time of year.
We're hearing a lot about the economic dislocation of thousands of Gulf fishers and their families - and rightly so. But the oil disaster is a much larger calamity than the Gulf itself. It's not just a regional disaster. It has hemispheric implications.
The Gulf is a large region, but its natural importance is even more outsized, disproportionate to its area. The Gulf is the hourglass pinch-point for millions of migrating creatures that funnel into, breed in, migrate through and then fan out of it to populate an enormous area of the continents and coasts. Anything that affects living things inside the Gulf affects living things far outside it.
Suspect in Peru woman's slaying arrested in Chile, police say
CNN Wire Staff
Joran van der Sloot, the suspect in a young woman's slaying this week in Peru and previously considered a suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway, was captured Thursday in Chile, authorities said.
Van der Sloot is the main suspect in this week's slaying of 21-year-old Stephany Flores Ramirez, who was found Wednesday in a Lima, Peru, hotel room registered to van der Sloot. Chilean police told CNN that paperwork showed he entered Chile on Wednesday.
Peruvian Interior Minister Octavio Salazar Miranda said Thursday that Peru has made arrangements with Interpol to extradite van der Sloot, who is Dutch.
Tonight: Text 360°
AC360°
BP made some progress today cutting a damaged pipe that was leaking oil. Now it will try, once again, to cap the well. U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen called today's developments a "significant step forward," but the situation remained volatile.
CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Gary Tuchman have been reporting on the ground, following every turn of the Gulf oil spill. Do you have questions for them? Let us know!
Send us a text message with your question. Text AC360 (or 22360), and you might hear it on air!
Beat 360° 6/3/10
Ready for today's Beat 360°? Everyday we post a picture you provide the caption and our staff will join in too. Tune in tonight at 10pm to see if you are our favorite! Here is the 'Beat 360°' pic:
Vice President Joe Biden (Center) and Dr. Jill Biden attend Sesame Workshop's 8th Annual Benefit Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images)
Have fun with it. We're looking forward to your captions! Make sure to include your name, city, state (or country) so we can post your comment.
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Polls: Obama at 48 percent approval at 500 day mark
Paul Steinhauser
CNN Deputy Political Director
As President Barack Obama marks 500 days in the White House, a new average of the most recent national polls indicates that less than half of the public approves of the job he's doing in office.
According to a CNN Poll of Polls, 48 percent of Americans approve of the job Obama's doing, with 45 percent saying they disapprove of the president's performance. This stands in sharp contrast to Obama's popularity after his first 100 days in office, which was at 63 percent in a CNN Poll of Polls compiled for that occassion.
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