on the bp side, i had two meetings with bp officials in houston. they asked me to come down and meet and talk about my experience. and on the administration side, the contact person for me has been tom perelli. he is the one i've been dealing with. i think i had one conversation with carole browner of the white house, but, it has been tom perelli on thedministration side. >> today, y weren't subpeonaed, you came voluntarily correct? >> to this committee? >> yes. i always come when the chairman invites me. >> you said before other venues and it seems clear that you are not accountable to any one, the administration, so, is there anyone who you do account to? >> i think i'm accountable to the people in the gulf that i am trying to help. >> what if they disagree with your decision? >> i think they would voice their feelings to the members of this committee. >> hwho could fire you? >> i guess i could be fired by the administration or bp. >> you say you are accountable to the people in the gulf, but normally accountability carries with it the possibilit

>> i don't think that's for bp to propose? >> is that protocol in economist tans and you're complying with it? >> i don't think it's in existence bah we are monitoring the health of people through the sort of things we've described and we're committing to long-term studies. i could get information when more is available. >> it determines both care and also the consequences of what's being used. now, i don't know that, there are a lot of rumors out there. a lot of information. i believe you as a man of science, we as members of congress must be data driven. so, number one, i want to be sure that people can go to where ever they need for health care. that number two, whatever your treatment is, that you're participating in work. and it seems hasn't set up a bio surveillance. and i don't mean it in a -- a set of protocals so we know the consequences of what's going on out there. it's not only the heat, but it's oil and these dispersements. and very little is known about these. the consequence, the consequence of human life. the c

right now, thanks to darrell and bp, bp has done a pretty good job of processing wage loss claims. they have not been as effective as they should be in processing business claims. lost business profits. we have to do better on that. i think it is fair to say that you do not have to refile. we will pick up where bp left off, accelerate the process of not only individual claims but business interruption and loss profit claims as well. >> my husband owns part of the crab dock but he is also a fisherman for it originally, they were compensating us for his fishing loss even though they have not gotten around to dealing with the business claims which is a common complaint. they have now stopped compensate us for his fishing losses since he owns part of a company even though they are separate. how will that be handled under your program? >> file one claimed. the claim form will say a, lost fishing or wages, b, crabs or whatever. in one claim form, you will file both claims and we will process them together. >> by on a -- the biggest soft shell crab company in the state. i do not have a so

bp is saying mr. hayward remains the chief executive officer and has the full confidence of our board and senior management. calling the reports just rumors and speculation. on the front lines today, boats that had to leave ahead of the storm are back. to continue preparing to kill the well and skim the oil. the view from above to the coast guard and local leaders, the best they've seen since all this started. it really is hard to see oil out there right now. >> there is none at the well head as far as we've been able to see. we have seen some light sheen. >> admiral paul zukom in charge of operations above water soot down with us today. >> we've seen a dramatic change, reflected even in our recovery rates. nine days ago, we skimmed 25,000 barrels a day. seven days ago, it was 50, 56, actually. >> he doesn't mean 56,000 barrels. he means only 56. the cap is holding. the static kill attempt delayed several days by the storm threat, is expected to happen the first week of august. as for the oil that rem

he says he was to help with the cleanup, in the best way is to work for bp. >> you can argue that bp is just getting ready because they know how many lawsuits are heading their way. >> absolutely. i think the real issue is transparency and the claws of confidentiality and the ability to publish date up -- theclause of confidentiality and the ability to publish data. there are two camps. once -- one wants a collaborative relationship, and the other wants independence. >> hugo chavez is severing relations with neighboring colombia. he made this announcement live on television. colombia and diplomats have been given 72 hours to leave the country. our correspondent in caracas told me more about the accusations against venezuela. >> basically, colombia said out its accusation under a special session of the american organization in washington and they said there were 30 cans of rebels on venezuelan soil. this also included several rebel leaders and 1500 different rebel operands -- operatives in venezuela. that immediately created a storm in caracas and washington when the ambassador, the v

bp never contacted them again. at a spoke with another scientist from the university of louisiana who is willing to sign on with bp. his reason, he says bp has the right to have the most excellent scientists there are. there is this criticism about would he be doing it for the money, which is about to her $50 per hour. he basically says i am not doing it for the money because i would get the same for a government consulting. -- the money is about $250 per hour. >> some could argue bp is preparing its little face in the face it -- its legal case in the face of impending lawsuits. >> absolutely, but the issue is transparency and the ability to release published data freely. >>> the british national party leader nick griffin has been denied entry to buckingham palace garden party. he was due to attend the event thursday afternoon. palace officials said he had abused his political invitation for overt political purposes. >> all dressed up, know where to go. nick griffin, now an elected member of the european parliament

and a new position with bp's joint venture in russia. but chairman karl henrik bonnberg said it's not a golden parachute. >> he's accumulated his pension over almost 30 years like any other employee. >> and hayward accumulated heavy criticism with statements like these. >> i want my life back. >> the environmental impact has been very, very modest. >> last month, he was recalled to london headquarters and replaced in the gulf by american bob dudley who now takes over as ceo. >> i think we can do a lot better here. >> dudley is originally from mississippi sand the first non-briton to become chief executive at bp. he spoke alongside hayward and feinberg this morning. the spill has been a wake-up call for the entire industry. >> well, there's no question we're going to learn a lot from the accident in the gulf coast. it will be about equipment, people, different companies. and as a result of that, we're going to learn a lot. both bp and the industry. >> dudley faces the challenge of repairing the battered oil giant's image, especially in th

neither is bp. why is it that this gulf coast claims facility is superior to what was in place prior to the agreement? the second question is the one i would like for you to answer and go the perception. >> i would like to think that that with the experience i would bring and the confidence they have in selecting me to do this based on my prior work in processing mass disaster claims, bp is an oil company. i would like to think that we will be able, much more efficiently and effectively to process claims in a way in a way that will engender the support of the people i am trying to help. all the talk in the world won't replace payments. and a sense that people have and businesses have that there are checks being paid to eligible claims. i am hoping that the president's confidence in me and the administration's confidence and bp's confidence in me will result in the people i the gulf having confidence in me so that the program is working and that it's credible. >> and the second question, not to preju

bp has been in the news and on the minds of the american people. bp is an enormous company.lion in sales and operated 16 refineries, five here in the united states. more importantly, they employ over 80,000 people, and they are responsible for the workplace safety of 80,000 employees. that's the same number of people that live in bloomington, minnesota. that's a big reason we care so much about the safety procedures is bp. just as much as any other employer in the oil and gas industry, when mistakes are made, lives are lost, and bp has established a very disappointing track workers. 26 workers have died under its watch in the past five years alone. >> one reason why americans are so outraged by deepwater horizon is because we lived through the reality of a horrible bp explosion at a texas city refinery and bp said it was the worst tragedy in its theory and this is a quote. it would do everything possible to make sure nothing like it happens again. >> now it's clear that bp didn't do everything that it could. in the aftermath of the texas city accident, the chemical safety an

>> bp, twice. two meetings with bp. and then rather suddenly, within all of two weeks some that the administration through the justice department -- the justice has been fabulous year. the have been great trying to set this up. those are the people i have dealt with. i have not dealt with anybody at the white house. it has been tom, justice, and bp in houston. >> can you describe your role earlier when you're working for senator kennedy? you are now head of the kennedy library. >> that is my day job. >> your day job. in that role, you're doing what with the kennedy library? it is the 50th anniversary president kennedy's inauguration coming up. >> that is right. the jfk library foundation, i am the chairman of the board of the foundation. the library is a national found -- library funded by the taxpayer. but i chair probably got 16 members of the board and we are designed to perpetuate the legacy of president kennedy, and the 50th anniversary is coming up. there varies projects under way. this will be a great event, than

bp's managing director, bob dudley, a 54-year-old mississippi native, became bp's public face in the gulf. >> i'm frustrated and saddened. >> is there anything else you need to warn us about? >> reporter: in an interview with brian williams last month bp's new point man tried to change the tone. >> this is terrible and the company's going to put its full might behind providing every resource it can to stop it, clean it up and restore the gulf. >> reporter: restoring the gulf and building political support to continue drilling there is critical to bp's future. some analysts say dudley who spent 20 years at amoco is right for the job. >> he's a very affable person and he's a very level-headed person and he's tough when it is needed. i think he will need all the toughness in the world to get bp back in shape. >> reporter: tomorrow we will get a lot more information when bp reports first half earnings including we will find out the exit package for mr. hayward which is fbeing talked about tonight at some $18 million including benefits. brian? >> thanks. >>> now back to the coverage of th

it will transition from bp. i give bp some credit. they paid out already over $200 million in claims. we can do better, the facility, quicker, more efficiently, but unlike 9/11 or some of these other tragedies, there is an infrastructure in place which i will modify. i am accompanied by the people helping me modify this, camille biros, jackie zinns, amy weiss, all from my staff who are working with me in transitioning from bp to this new facility which will completely replace bp in terms of the processing of claims. there are already 36 regional offices around the gulf that are accepting claims, processing claims, again, we can do it better, but there is an infrastructure in place to help deal with this issue, this tragedy. now, i drafted and circulated a draft protocol, merely a draft and received comments from state attorney generals, from the department of justice, from interested individuals. i received especially some very, very valuable input from the staff of this committee, and over the last week, i have been reviewing and eva

bp shakeup.eo is on his way out and an american will take over the job of trying to make good on the gulf oil spill disaster. >>> and more secrets. the obama white house faces new troubles in the already troubled afghanistan war after a huge leak of secret pentagon documents. >>> the leak of classified documents marks the latest chapter in the age old conflict between freedom of the press and national security. jeff greenfield takes a closer look at the issue in the age of the internet. >> reporter: the massive release of documents came not from a news organization, but from wikileaks, a 3.5-year-old online site with no headquarters, no physical presence anywhere, and with a history of releasing secrets of all sorts, from rule books for guantanamo, bank records, sorority initiation rituals. wikileaks founder, 39-year-old australian julian assange, acknowledges that he has an agenda. >> we hope the release of this material will result in significant reforms in u.s. and allied policy in afghanistan

." >> the chairman of bp insists that the company will recover. meet the man tasked with making it happen, the new american ceo will have to rebuild bp. the iraq war -- >> we did not assign any weapons of mass destruction. they should have realized in london and in washington that their sources were poor. >> a very warm welcome to bbc world news. coming up later, for white south africans plead guilty to humiliating black workers. are you not a bit early? olympic stars gather the side of the new stadium in london, celebrating the two years to the start of the 2012 games. >> hello to the cost of dealing with the disastrous oil spill in the gulf of mexico. it has pushed the bp into the red for the first time in thre18 years. it is the biggest quarterly loss in u.k. corporate history. it cost chief executive tony hayward his job and he will be leaving in the autumn. bp has also announced it is setting aside more than $32 billion to pay for the cleanup. >> and the flower of british industry, bpa. it is generating a $17 billion a three-month loss. here

bp successfully stops the gushing oil, for now. we'll have the latest developments from the gulf. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, martin bashir and cynthia mcfadden in new york city, this is "nightline," july 15th, 2010. >> good evening, i'm terry moran. and we're going to begin tonight with an inspiring story of personal courage and medical triumph. you are about to meet a woman who, as a teenager, had her face blown apart by an accidental shotgun blast. it was a miracle that she survived. but now, more than a decade later, with a family of her own, she's undergone a remarkable procedure that's altered her life for the better. her journey is amazing. but we want you to know that some of the pictures you are about to see are very disturbing. ashleigh banfield has the exclusive report. >> i had gorgeous blue eyes. i had darker blond hair. i had a nice tan. i've always had nice shaped eye brows. i was very beautiful. naturally beautiful. >> reporter: for the last 11 years, chrissy steltz has bee

bp didn't do that. bp was putting band-aids on the problem as you would expect an in -- in an emergency situation. the best news is that the oil stopped. until the oil stops, it's very hard to corral the claims. you don't know how many claims, whether the oil reaches a certain area. now that the oil has apparently been stopped or the leak has stopped, it will make it a lot easier and quicker to get a handle on the universe of claims. >> now on the 9-11 situation, you did that pro bono, and how were you able to spend that much time pro bono, you do have to make a living, you just gave that as a gift to the country? >> i gave it as a gift to the country, but let's be more pragmatic, when i did the 9-11 fund, i was a special government employee, as i did now, with t.a.r.p., so i'm not an official government employee. i'm allowed in both 9-11 pro bono and t.a.r.p. pro bono, to maintain a private practice, while at the same time working in these public policy areas, so i was allowed to benefit, to benefit fr

and i want bp to sort it out. i do think it's in britain's interest and also america's interest, and the world's interest, that bp remains a strong and stable company, not only so it's able to make those payouts to those fishermen, to the business owners who have been hit by the spill. >> reporter: did it trouble how tough the president has been? at one point he called bp reckless, and at another point, he said he was looking for -- >> who's as whose ass to kick. >> reporter: that is a direct quote from the president. >> look, i don't want to get into a war of words over this. the president and i have spoken about this. we agree it's important bp does those things. >> reporter: do you think this was unhelpful? did you have any differences with him on this? >> i don't want to get into a war of words. what matters is dealing with the issue. >> yeah. >> reporter: and abdul al megrahi. the man convicted of killing 270 people in that pan-am bombing 22 years ago. scotland released him as a terminal cancer case. but a gr

problem and bp should pick up the tab. and you know we're not here to assign blame, we're just here to help people. >> reporter: new orleans archbishop gregory aymond has been visiting some of the hardest hit fishing communities, sometimes traveling by helicopter to get to the more remote places. on this sunday, he visited lafitte. >> personally i wanted to be with them in solidarity. and also as the archbishop and their shepherd to reassure them that in times of challenge and difficulty god never abandons us. >> reporter: virtually everyone here at st. anthony's has been affected by the oil spill. and the archbishop says the situation has been especially difficult coming on the heels of katrina. >> what has happened through this is that all of the wounds and the fears and the discouragement, and the intensity of katrina has reopened. i can see it on people's faces, i can hear it when they talk, there's definitely post-traumatic stress, which has not yet been fully dealt with. and then this tragedy on top of that just reop

bp didn't do that. bp was putting band-aids on the problem as you would expect an in -- in an emergency situation. the best news is that the oil stopped. until the oil stops, it's very hard to corral the claims. you don't know how many claims, whether the oil reaches a certain area. now that the oil has apparently been stopped or the leak has stopped, it will make it lot easier and quicker to get a handle on the universe of claims. >> now on the 9-11 situation, you did that pro bono, and how were you able to spend that much time pro bono, you do have to make a living, you just gave that as a gift to the country? >> i gave it as a gift to the country, but let's be more pragmatic, when i did the 9-11 fund, i was a special government employee, as i did now, with t.a.r.p., so i'm not an official government employee. i'm allowed in both 9-11 pro bono and t.a.r.p. pro bono, to maintain a private practice, while at the same time working in these public policy areas, so i was allowed to benefit, to benefit from

it took longer than anyone wanted bud tonight for the first time in almost three months, bp is saying it has stopped the flow of oil from its well. video from an underwater camera shows the oil has stopped flowing. allie rasmus in our news tonight. >> reporter: from bp to the president, the reaction to the room was one of cautious optimism. while pp was successful in capping the well for now. they emphasize that this is only a temporary fix. large spots of oil continue to flow, but under the water, these cameras were a common sight. >> i can't say it's not an exciting day, because it's been a long time, it's been 86 day i think since since we've had oil flowing in the ocean. >> reporter: bp successfully stopped flowing crude. bp had been testing a cap on the well and had in the last few days gradually stopped the oil. >> we've been slowing using mechanisms to try and close the flow. >> reporter: over the next few days, bp will test the well to see if it can with stand. president obama stopped short of calling this latest development a success. >> i think it's positive results. >> i th

now it appears bp's board has had enough of ceo tony hayward. bp is denying it so far, but it is expected hayward will be forced to step down today. >> i'm devastated. by the accident. absolutely devastated. >> reporter: unfortunately for tony hayward, too many of his comments about the disaster in the gulf spoke much louder than those. terry mcalister, energy editor of "the guardian" in london says the decision to oust hayward is an attempt to salvage the bp brand in america where the company earns 40% of its profits. >> the company cannot continue in its present state in america. the only way of giving itself a fighting chance is to get rid of the boss. >> reporter: hayward provided all the rope necessary to hang himself. they say the geyser of oil poured daye daily into the gulf. hayward to britain "sky news" -- i think the environmental impact of this disaster is likely to be very modest. and this -- >> nobody wants this over more than i do. i would like my life back. >> reporter: congress accused him of stonewalling their investigation into

it came after bp engineered closed the three valves. the first one, then bp tweeting about the second one at 11:30 a.m. eastern. the third, the choke line, at 1:30 eastern. at 2:15, bp tweets "the well integrity test was starting." an hour and ten minutes later, bp confirms what we could all see. the oil, completely shut off. >> there is no flow of oil going into the gulf of mexico. so, obviously, this is an encouraging point of time. remember, this is the start of our test. >> reporter: we were at the lsu oil well research lab when the news crossed. bp confirms, no more oil going into the gulf of mexico. 3:25 eastern. >> that's great news. >> reporter: from the gulf -- >> i hope it's permanently. we need that closure so we can finish cleaning up the oil and get our lives back. >> reporter: to the white house. >> i think it is a positive sign. we're still in the testing phase. i'll have more to say about it tomorrow. >> reporter: and what comes next are those crucial readings, measuring the pressure of the oil pushing up against that ca

the british government said bp did not influence the decision, and bp says it was not involved in discussions about sending the bomber home. al-megrahi's continuing health has angered groups representing the lockerbie victims. >> now looks like he may outlive all of us. the next book will be the anniversary of his release, august 20 at. the pan am families are going to have to relive this horror over and over again, and the story everyone is going to be talking about is the fate of this miserable little murderer. >> his release will be discussed later this month as special hearings to be held here at capitol hill. next week, david cameron will be in washington, ready to face tough questions on his first trip as prime minister. bbc news, washington. >> you were watching "bbc world news." still to come -- morning for moco. new zealand says farewell to his celebrity dolphin. now, if he was a revolutionary artists whose life was as rich and colorful as his paintings. on the anniversary of caravaggio's death, rome remembers the genius and scandal. >> a painter of perpetual night. one description o

bp admits it lobbied british government to release him. >> if bp is found to have gained access to libyan oil reserves by using a mass murderer as a bargaining chip, then make no mistake, any money it makes off that oil is blood money, pure and simple. >> senate hearings on bp and al megrahi will begin july 29th. >>> after a year of partisan debate in congress, a sweeping financial overhaul is about to become law. the senate passed the bill thursday and president obama says he will sign it next week. alexis christoforous reports. >> reporter: change is coming to wall street. >> conference report is agreed to. >> reporter: the senate voted to approve the long-debated crackdown on the financial industry. >> we're giving wall street the strongest oversight it's ever had. >> reporter: the final bill weighs in at over 2,000 pages. it takes on the issue of too big to fail, meaning regulators will have the power to break up large financial firms that pose a risk to the economy. it also creates a new agency to protect consumers' financial transactions and cracks down on high-risk trading at the b

the source is not bp's well, but a different well in the area. as the relief well nears its target, bp wants to try a different type of top kill, called static kill. >> the static kill discussions are ongoing right now, and we'll have a better idea over the next 24 hours what the plan by bp will be regarding that. >> reporter: they want to fill the blowout preventer with the sealing cap closed. to do that, it needs the government's approval. >> if it's approved to do so, it's a 100% chance we'll go ahead with it. i think we'll have covered all of the risk analysis, all of the issues with the procedures and stuff. >> reporter: today louisiana's governor flew over the leak site. though the work on the well may be nearing an end, bobby jindal says the cleanup work along the coast is just beginning. >> even best case scenario, there's tens of millions of gallons of oil still in that water, even if another drop doesn't spill from the well site. >> reporter: now, bp's bill for the cleanup is almost $4 billion and growing, so today bp sold assets in the

bp has shelled out $3.5 billion so far and more. we're learning that work on the cleanup could continue here for years, ron. >> it could go a lot higher than that $22 billion. thank you, matt gutman. >>> the oil may not be flowing, but there's still a lot of activity going on above the wellhead. reporter ted oberg was on the water today. >> reporter: ron, as the well testing closed in and surpassed the 48-hour mark, it was quiet out here. no recovered oil being burned from those ships. quiet doesn't mean things are winding down. on board, they're constantly monitoring the more than 60 ships and rigs out here at the site. they're nervous about the potential for anything to go wrong. but they're also watching the news, and they know how important this is. they say it's a great sign but only a first step. as we flew over the site, we didn't see a whole lot of oil. remember, it had been more than a day and a half at that point since the well had been capped. but as we flew a little further, there were miles of that rainbow sheen and sti

thanks for your reporting. >>> bp is in the news for something else today. perhaps you remember almost a year ago when the pan am 103 lockerbie bomber was allowed to go home to libya because he had terminal cancer and was dying -- or so we were told by both sides when the deal to release him came through. now, it turns out bp was a player behind the scenes in that controversial deal. our chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell explains how and why. >> reporter: the only man convicted of the pan am bombing abdel baset al-megrahi got a hero's welcome in libya a year ago. he was set free because doctors said he had only three months to live -- advanced prostate cancer. now, a year later, he is still alive. the cancer specialist who examined him was hired by the libyans, but today denied he was under any pressure. >> the question was how can you get an accurate prognosis and the real truth is it's very difficult to be accurate. you can just aprostate cancer sat -- approximate. it's all numbers and statistics. >> reporter: did bp pressure the governme

and i want bp to sort it out. >> reporter: bp announced yesterday it is selling $7 billion in assets in north america and egypt to help cover the oil spill costs. this morning there is a potential new concern that could stall progress. thad allen says officials are now very closely watching some storms that are forming over puerto rico to see if they could actually move into the gulf and impact the work there. rob? >> emily schmidt in washington. thanks. >>> prime minister cameron is also having to answer questions about the release of the convicted lockerbie bomber. there are mounting criticisms that bp pressured the government to release him from jail to gain access to oil. senators from new york and new jersey met with the prime minister and asked him to order an investigation. >> the best news that we came out with was that the prime minister said that our request for an independent investigation, not just to look at the documents, was still on the table. >> cameron said he believes the libyan was released by the scottish government on humanitarian grounds because he was seriousl

it took longer than anyone wanted bud tonight for the first time in almost three months, bp is saying it has stopped the flow of oil from its well. video from an underwater camera shows the oil has stopped flowing. allie rasmus in our news tonight. >> reporter: from bp to the president, the reaction to the room was one of cautious optimism. while pp was successful in capping the well for now. they emphasize that this is only a temporary fix. large spots of oil continue to flow, but under the water, these cameras were a common sight. >> i can't say it's not an exciting day, because it's been a long time, it's been 86 day i think since since we've had oil flowing in the ocean. >> reporter: bp successfully stopped flowing crude. bp had been testing a cap on the well and had in the last few days gradually stopped the oil. >> we've been slowing using mechanisms to try and close the flow. >> reporter: over the next few days, bp will test the well to see if it can with stand. president obama stopped short of calling this latest development a success. >> i think it's positive results. >> i th

cbs news learned bp's chief executive tony hayward is expected to step down. the announcement could come after the company board of directors meets monday. a spokesperson said tony hayward remains the ceo of bp and has the confidence of the board and ser i don't remember management. as the news of his departure circulated, the government's point man for the spill reiterated his top priority is sealing the well. >> i will focus on unity of effort regardless of who is in charge. >> reporter: all long the gulf coast, talk turned to gas prone hayward. >> glad he is gone. >> came as no surprise that they replaced him. surprise is why didn't they replace him earlier. >> reporter: he came under criticism for comments he made about the spill, most notably wishing to have his life back. the work to shut down the well is back on after 48 hour delay due to tropical storm bonnie. also back from shelter, dozens of voters. they expect to get the call from bp to resume oil spotting and clean up work. >> we are willing and able to do anything. >> reporter: gulf coast resident

bp wants to keep the cap in place until relief wells are completed. but the government has asked the company to draw up plans in case the cap needs to be opened. >> if there's any indication of a precipitous drop in pressure or any reason why we might need to do something about it, we would need to have to vent immediately to relieve the pressure on the well. >> reporter: but that would allow millions more gallons of crude to gush into the gulf for at least a few days. bp is considering another option to shut the oil flow known as static kill. much like the failed top kill method, it would involve pumping heavy drilling mud and cement into the well. company executives believe the plan may have a chance now that the well is capped. still, they stress the idea is only in the planning stages and it will take another couple of days at least before any decision is made. and even if bp does try the static method, the relief well is said to be the ultimate fix. the operation should be completed next week. betty, back to you. >> tara mergener joining us live

but bp has a plan. >>> and a lockup. lindsay lohan becomes the latest star to serve time in just a few hours. >>> good morning. and thanks for being with us. for the first time, afghan leaders are setting a date when they will be ready to take over national security. >> the big announcement came just hours ago meeting of leaders from around the world, including the u.s. secretary of state. it was a meeting that was nearly interrupted by violence. >> nick schifrin is live in kabul this morning. >> reporter: a busy day. good morning, rob. good morning, vinita. afghan president, hamid karzai, has viewed the that his hope t security forces will be able to take control of security in the country in five years. but he never used the date 2014. that is now the date that he hopes that his police, his army, can take control of all 34 provinces across the country. that is a very ambitious goal. afghans here widely think of the police as corrupt. and the army here is not ready or large enough to really take control of security. but

the head of bp. bob dudley is in. he grew up in mississippi so may he has some affection for the gulf. >> the thing he has going for him is he has an american accent. [ laughter ] >> and grew up -- and he grew up in that area. >> but don't feel too badly for tony hayward. he will be taken care of. we'll let you know how. >>> we have elizabeth and tracy to take care of you as you get to work this morning. >> good morning. >> that's right. >> i'm going to try my best. >> good morning. >>> a little slow, i know, to get out the door. you know, not a whole lot of problems out there. that's the good news. they should be picking up the construction cones in hayward. there was a full freeway closure in hayward near the 880 interchange. everything is fine in oakland past the coliseum. and quiet into downtown. the taillights are northbound traffic. same thing across the san mateo bridge. 13 minutes in either direction across the span of the bridge between hayward and the peninsula and just a couple of headlights there southboun

bp and the government appear to be at odds over whether to leave that well capped, as bp wants to do,s in the gulf. bp says hooking up that containment system would leave oil once again spewing freely into the gulf for three days. >> here we find ourselves at a point which we would hope would be the end of this opera. but instead, we have this nagging doubt that something very serious might be wrong. >> reporter: bp has another idea. >> in terms of the static kill, this is very much in its infancy. this is not something that we have approved to do. >> reporter: the latest plan to clog that well until a relief well can end it for good. engineers have already tried and failed to do what they call a top kill, that is, filling the well from the top with mud. the static kill that bp is now considering would involve filling it from the bottom. with that well now capped, bp thinks conditions may be just right. rob and vinita? >> john, thanks. >>> well, he is never one to shun the spotlight. former illinois governor rod blagojevich is expected to testify at his corruption trial. that could ha

the senator accused bp of corporate irresponsibility. the company says they were prepared to send another official to the hearing, but not tony hayward. >> smaller and wiser is what the new boss of bp wants his company to become in the wake of the oil spill. they announced setting aside $32 billion to pay for the cleanup. that cost be paid to announce the biggest quarterly loss in history. >> he the flower of british industry, bp [unintelligible] because of the $32 billion costs related to the worst oil spill in history generating a three- month loss. here is what caused the calamity, the exploration three months ago on the deep corner horizon rate -- horizon rig. >> the worst performance in bp's history. are you confident you can rebuild? >> it is a huge loss, but the underlying performance of the company is strong. it continues to be strong. we are strong cash flow. it is a tragedy, but there is no doubt we will not be able to run the company. >> those who run bp know they have to change almost everything about the way the company oper

bp's hope is that the cap is strong enough to hold back the oil. able to assess the pressure every 12 seconds. thad allen saying progress reports every six hours. as for the concerns, much of them centered on the piping inside that blown-out well, that extends 13,000 feet into the sea floor. some scientists asking, once capped, can it withstand all of that pressure, or will the trapped oil blow through any weak spots in that well? >> they have to be careful when they close it down to make sure that pressure doesn't come up quickly and cause any of the pipes to rupture. >> reporter: meantime, halted during the testing process is the digging of the relief well, the permanent solution, which is now so close, just four feet from the side of the troubled well. another 150 feet down to go. late today, we asked louisiana's governor about the delayed decision. he told us, the stakes are very high. >> we are at a point where we cannot afford for them to make this worse. we cannot afford for them to do damage to this well. >> well, david, good news that the

bp's profits are way down. what do the numbers mean for folks in the gulf, struggling to get back on their feet? we'll ask the new chief executive. >>> we're going to get into the leak. 90,000 classified war documents leaked by wikileaks. caused just a storm in washington right now. the white house took a hard line on monday. saying they've addressed the problems raised in the documents. this leak comes at a very tough time for the white house. the public support for the war has been slipping for months. and these documents are going to reinforce those arguing for denying funding for the war. there could be be a vote as early as today in the house of representatives. >> we're going to see what happens then. >>> we begin with the shakeup at bp. tony hayward out. and the former managing director and head of bp's gulf coast restoration organization, bob dudley, is in. how will this affect the company and the gulf? jeffrey kofman, in buras, louisiana, for us this morning. good morning, jeffrey. >> reporter: good mo

bp caused the spill. some of the damage relates directly though to the administration's decision making in the aftermath of the deep water horizon explosion. most significantly, as we convene this hearing and people continue to struggle mightly to clean up after the bp spill the department of interior has made decision upon decision in recent weeks that we are told may kill upwards of 20,000 jobs in the gulf coast energy industry. some of this new wave of economic destruction is already occurring. this is where we're hitting people when they're down and when they need it the least. the governor of louisiana this part saturday wrote a powerful op ed in the "washington post" that i would like to submit that for the record. in this editorial the governor describes what he sees as an effort by the secretary of the interior to impose a second economic disaster on the people of louisiana. this second economic disaster is one of the most pressing issues before us but there are other questions concerning the depa

bp shakeup. how will the reported departure of bp's ceo affect the gulf coast disaster. >>> also, where is kyron? are investigators any closer to cracking the case of missing 7-year-old kyron horman. >>> now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm veronica de la cruz. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. the day today on your nbc station. have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

bp and company, [unintelligible] i went to bp for three days. i showed them the process. i could not even get an appointment. bp was supposed to get me a meeting. none of them never gave me a meeting. i taught the bp on the fund. nobody ever called me. i could stop the leak of a long time ago. [applause] >> i am not here to stop the leak. i am here to urge you to try and get compensated for your loss. that is what i am here for. >> i was trying to save my company. [unintelligible] >> in spite of bp's assertion is that they have been paying on average in nine days on claims, all of the claims that i had filed, none of them have been paid. i am running at an average of 53 days since they were submitted. will claims that had been sitting there for 53 days get any priority one she takeover? >> yes, we will immediately prioritize claims that are already in inventory. >> will there be put forth a standard set of data required? df have been sending in p format. and now they bought three years of checking account records. it changes every single day and it is completely arbitrary

for a couple days now there's been no oil coming out of that bp oil well in the gulf of mexico. it's not the permanent fix, we've been told. that can only come when those relief wells break through. but it's been a great relief knowing no new oil, at least, is flowing in on top of the three-month supply that has already ruined parts of the gulf. but then over the last 24 hours came the first hints of trouble, word of other leaks from somewhere down there. the question is, is there a problem with the pressure inside that same well? we begin our reporting tonight with our chief environmental affairs correspondent, anne thompson, in venice, louisiana, again this evening. anne, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. it's been a tense 24 hours for bp engineers and government scientists who have disagreed on how extensively to monitor that cap at the bottom of the sea and just what the test results mean. but tonight they agree that this test will go forward for another 24 hours. what was a picture of hope is now a mystery at the bottom of the sea. the government says almost t

a new ceo for bp. amam m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m