Also: Elian Gonzalez at age 16; financial reform bill passes House.
Technical manager Amitabh Rastogi kneels near one of 12 vents that are designed to collect up to 500,000 barrels of oily water a day on the "A Whale" oil skimming ship on the Mississippi River in Boothville, La. Billed as the world's largest oil skimming vessel, the ship is the length of 3 1/2 football fields and 10 stories high. From The Associated Press:
BP's massive oil spill will become the largest ever in the Gulf of Mexico by Thursday based on the highest of the federal government's estimates, an ominous record that underscores the oil giant's dire need to halt the gusher.
The oil that's spewed for two and a half months from a blown-out well a mile under the sea is expected to surpass the 140 million gallon mark, eclipsing the record-setting Ixtoc I spill off Mexico's coast from 1979 to 1980. Even by the lower end of the government's estimates, at least 71.2 million gallons are in the Gulf.
» Read the full story: BP spill nears a somber record as Gulf's biggest
» Hurricane Alex disrupts oil disaster cleanup [CNN]
» Banned FEMA trailers from Katrina return for latest Gulf disaster [The New York Times]
In other news:
» Toyota says 270,000 vehicles have faulty engines [The Associated Press]
» House passes landmark financial reform bill; Senate delays action [Reuters]