Disasters

Commentary: A lesson learned out on the Gulf of Mexico
All the images of oil-covered birds and idled fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico have our commentator, Reverend Gordon Stewart, recalling a lesson he learned out on the water.
Fargo will pay $13,000 a month for warehouse space over the next year to store the bulk of 370,000 sandbags left over from this spring's flood fight.
BP trying to put a lid on the Gulf oil gusher
Live video showed that an inverted funnel-like cap slightly wider than a pipe was being maneuvered into place Thursday night over the oil spewing from a busted well. However, the gushing oil made it very difficult to tell if the cap was fitting well.
New regulation likely for oil
Obama's new oil commission will consider new regulations in response to the spill which may punish BP or even ban offshore drilling. Midmorning looks at the impact of such laws not only on the environment, but on our access to affordable oil.
Effort to contain Gulf oil stalls with stuck saw
Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen is saying that a saw has become stuck as it was cutting through a pipe on a busted well, stalling the latest attempt to contain the Gulf oil gusher.
Will the oil spill change your behavior?
Recent polls have indicated a drop in support for offshore drilling and an increased pro-environment stance among the American public. But will the oil spill really get Americans to reconsider their use of fossil fuels and change their behavior?
Feds open criminal probe of Gulf oil spill
Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday that federal authorities have opened criminal and civil investigations into the nation's worst oil spill.
Police say a 7-year-old girl is fighting for her life at a Robbinsdale hospital after falling off a raft on Lake Orono during the weekend.
'Flotels' await oil spill cleanup workers on Gulf
The 40-foot-long corrugated steel boxes, resembling oversized white shipping containers, are stacked two high and three wide atop a barge at Port Fourchon, the oil industry's hub on the Gulf of Mexico. The words "Martin Quarters" painted in black offer the only clue that they're not stuffed with cargo.
Oil spill and the political fallout
The federal government are finding more oil in the Gulf and trying to stem the tide of tar balls washing into marshes in Louisiana. President Obama recently announced that he's adding more manpower to help clean up the spill. He's also announced changes in drilling policy. Beyond the policy approaches, the President is being graded by the public and pundits on the style of his leadership.