>> withdrawal from iraq, unrest in iran, unease in the gulf arab states- the persian gulf has long challenged u.s. policy makers, and that's more true today than at any time in history. how will president obama's direct appeal to arabs and muslims affect u.s. foreign policy goals? what will the withdrawal of u.s. forces from iraq portend? >> we have to have a long view, think of the region as a whole. >> can the u.s. and its allies prevent iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon? >> their president makes statements which sound as though he is a religious fanatic, and religious fanatics are not deterrable. >> next, on great decisions. >> in a democracy, agreement is not essential, but participation is. join us as we discuss today's most critical global issues. join us as we discuss today's most critical global issues. join us for great decisions. [instrumental music] >> great decisions is produced by the foreign policy association, inspiring americans to learn more about the world. funding for great decisions is provided by the carnegie corporation of new york, the starr foundation, shell interna

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but in july 2005, hurricane dennis swirled over the gulf of mexico. the rig's celebrity would be short lived. thunder horse toppled over. >> this was a state-of-the-art rig which had cost bp billions of dollars to design and build, and it looked like it was going to sink. it was very embarrassing. >> narrator: after an investigation, bp discovered that the storm wasn't the problem. >> that, in itself, shouldn't have been disastrous. it turns out that bp engineers had incorrectly installed a number of valves that are meant to control the flow of water in the supports that keep the rig afloat. and the rig, as a result, took on water instead of shedding it. >> narrator: a senior engineer on the thunder horse project agrees it was human error. >> the storm is not really the cause of why that thing almost flipped. it's because the check valve was installed backwards, okay? and all that was probably caused by being in a hurry and not dotting their is and crossing their ts, in this case. >> narrator: the platform became one more big black eye for bp. >> you

the days of gambling in the gulf are over. one epic spill was enough. >> somebody can drill only when they satisfy the government they have a process in place to deal with a worst-case scenario. >> reporter: for companies that do, by year's end, drilling could resume on some of the gulf's 36 deep-water drips. independent engineers must certify every rig's blow-out preventer, the well's emergency cut-off. and each stage of the drilling process. there are new standards to cementing wells and the ceo the company responsible for the well is accountable, has to certify it meets all requirements. all were considered failings in this summer's bp disaster. marvin o doms, president of shell oil, half of its six deep-water rigs in the gulf need work to meet the new requirements. >> we should think of it as a safer system overall and get back to work. >> reporter: brian lambert put up his home to sale a shallow water driller in deep financial trouble. >> my worries are that it will take years for us to get back on our feet again. >> repo

and we used gulf of mexico water. because you are doing those same tests, just by changing the fact that you are using this crude, meant that we spent a lot of time in the lab at e.p.a. devising methods to ensure we got representative samples. when you think about it, if you are not dispersing the oil, that's not helpful. so trying to find the fraction as it became known was really important. i think there is a huge amount of science between crude oil number two and prudhoe bay and going into open water and i am probably not qualified to speculate more than that except i want to see a progression before i would agree. the deep sea environment is different and certainly that's a little harder to imitate those pressures and the temperature gradient between the oil. so i can't say it won't ever happen. but i can say this. i believe the industry is going to want to look at this tragedy and draw the conclusion that dispersements should be used all the time at the well head. look how well it worked. i am personally not ther

> six months later, it's just so different than i think we all forecasted. >> reporter: here in the gulf, the spill's economic and environmental impact is still unfolding. >> we've taken a serious hit. we will not know for a few years exactly how deep or how long that damage will run. >> reporter: on most of this coast, the oil is gone, but not the stain. mark strassmann, cbs news, new orleans. >> couric: and when we come back how to handle an angry chimp. and when it does, men with erectile dysfunction can be more confident... in their ability to be ready with cialis. with two clinically proven dosing options, you can choose the moment that's right for you... ... and your partner. 36-hour cialis and cialis for daily use. cialis for daily use is a low-dose tablet... you take every day, so you can be ready anytime the moment's right. day or night. tell your doctor about your medical condition... ... and all medications and ask if you're healthy enough for sexual activity. don't take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. don't drink

did the government hide information on how bad that gulf oil spill was? a new report critical of how the obama white house handled it. >>> stuck at home. divorced couples who are still forced to live together. good jobs being turned down because people can't move in this economy. >>> and making a difference. american volunteers returning to a grateful nation. one of the neediest places on earth and we go along. >>> also tonight, a message from the boss. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> good evening. the u.s. supreme court sometimes deals in esoteric legal questions but not today. here's the case, a young marine is killed in iraq. at his funeral back home, with his family and friends at the height of their grief, protestors show up, saying "thank god for dead soldiers." and worse. can you imagine being that marine's parents and imagine how that would make you feel? today, the court got this case. they're not being asked to decide if it was a terrible thing to do, it was. they have to decide if it was free speech

the gulf of mexico and the arctic sea are wildly different places. to imagine the same kind of approach from the standpoint of the industry and the scrutiny of the government cannot but perhaps from the standpoint of whether we choose to require some additional protections given the nature of this special place. those are on the table for discussion. >> comments? >> mine is certainly a no- brainer. we have so much research and background that supports these findings, i think they are fine. >> i have a comment on 11. your new 11, chancellor. the arctic -- it seems to me that not all the new safety challenges are introduced but also new operating challenges. operating in those conditions it is very different than operating in the gulf of mexico. i think we should add that provision there. also, that fighting indicates that the oil and gas industry are planning for development in frontier areas -- in frontier areas. dick and only plan for that if the federal government proceeds in drilling in this area. i wonder if the finding should be the federal gove

these stocks are still way below their levels prior to the gulf spill. as you heard, getting these rigs back online is a slow process. and that's tonight's "market focus." >> jeff: with three weeks to go until election day, the floodgates are open for spending on political advertisements. so how can investors benefit? tonight's word on the street is "elections." kevin baker is senior financial analyst for thestreet.com ratings. kevin, welcome to "nightly business report." >> thank you. >> jeff: give us a sense of just how much spending is going on as we hit this final home stretch into election day? >> well, so far candidates like rick scott, who is running for governor of florida, and mec whitman, who is running for governor of california. meg whitman has dipped into her pockets for another $140 million from the money she made at ebay. >> jeff: there is obviously a lot of spending going on in this department. we had the citizens united versus the federal election cases. the supreme court eliminating any spending from corporations and other corporate-typ

in the gulf of oman, south of iran, the crew rescue a drifting boat with no fuel and 27 dehydrated men on board. >> the government of oman received a thank you from the government of iran so that was kind of nice to get an indirect thank you for helping these stranded mariners. >> reporter: and the ship and crew trained with navies in pakistan and libya, the first u.s. ship to visit libya in 40 years. >> it was hot and dusty. >> reporter: but the most dangerous mission was anti- piracy, working with warships in the gulf of aden, where pirates seized a ship. >> once our helicopter overhead we were able to intercept them. >> reporter: he says nothing smells quite like home. >> when you are out to sea from miles away, you can smell the redwoods. you can smell fresh seabreeze. it's a distinctly california smell. >> military intervention by the united states and other nations appear to have had an impact. as fox news reporter amy kellog told us last march the number of attacks was down. >> reporter: the naval force apprehends pirates. three attacks on friday alone, and earlier in the week a

our report criticizes these obama administration's response to the gulf of mexico oil leak. welcome to "bbc world news". coming up later for you, rounding up the suspects. fbi agent fly to puerto rico to arrest more than 120 people on the drug related programs. the owners of liverpool football club tried to block a takeover bid by the boston red sox. the united states has apologized for the nato helicopter attack inside pakistan that kills at at least two soldiers. they mistook the soldiers for insurgence. police say militants have attacked nato fuel tankers in afghanistan. it is the latest in a series of five raids on a don't convoys. -- on nato convoys. >> it is becoming a familiar sight -- nato tankers consumed by flames. a dozen gunmen towardrched a de. pot. a team from the bbc rest to the scene. moments later, a correspondent had to run for cover. the taliban say they carried out the attack and tonight was followed by another. the more they are hit by u.s. drones, they say, the more they will hit the convoys. thosse convoys are sitting ducks. about 6000 lories have pbee

in the gulf of mexico. meet the real meg itman: serving on the board of goldman sas, whitman was caught reaping millions from insider stock deals.fter ebay shareholders sued and a judge cited the obvious nflict of interest she was forced to pay the money back. what kind of person would be involved in deals a fellowepublican congressman called corrupt? and in her last year at ebay, itman paid herself $120 million right before the cpany laid off 10% of it's workers. we're choong a governor, shouldn't character matter? or at least that's what my m thinks. with high speed inteet from at&t, get my homework done fast, leaving me time to download movies and mic and chat with my friends. [ mom ] how's your sdying? it's coming along! [ female announcer ] work faster,lay more with the fastest internet for the price. callo get high speed for $14.95 aonth with a one-year price guarantee. please, i know what he's up to. high speed internet from at&t is so fa that we gemore done in less time, leaving me time to chat. wat

do not care about gulf, fees, or a world-class facility, and we will cut your budget by 15%. we said we want the ability to say that we think you are making a mistake and if you go down this road i do not think we can hit the standard. we think it is important, frankly, for the city to have this provision to protect harding park for generations to come. thank you. supervisor elsbernd: another question going back to the first, incentive. can you talk about your plans? should there be incentive payment? >> the spirit of the conversation, initially, was driven from the objective that we all have to see that as the golf course performance improves, the net proceeds are turned back to the community through the asset itself, capital spending and making sure that all of the things are having a -- happening on the golf course to maintain it. also for the kids in the city of sentences go. particularly those at the park that are unfortunate, where less privileged children cannot have the benefit necessarily, we wanted to create a sustainable funding model. we said we wanted to take our

of mexico -- its business in the wake of the gulf of mexico oil spill. part of its priorities will be to ensure that bp has a future in the u.s., where its reputation lies in tatters. >> this is what most americans associate with bp, a torrent of oil flowing into the gulf of mexico. but after months spent on the cleanup, it is time to look ahead. with new leadership. >> the first thing we have got to do is globally restore the trust in bp. bp is a large organization, first and foremost restore the trust, that the trust of our employees, shareholders, government, and regulators back. that is a big challenge that will take a while, but it is the number one focus. >> before taking up his official duties, bop dudley, the first non-britt to head up -- bob dudley, the first non-brit to head up bp. the company is also splitting its expiration end -- exploration and production into three parts. >> i do think bp has a future in the u.s.. there are still fines and penalties to come along. it will be smaller, but they are important to the u.s.'s gulf coast oil prod

. >>> and a look at deep below the surface of the gulf of mexico. unlike anything you have seen before. scientists are concerned about new evidence of dead sea creatures, which could be related to the gulf oil spill. here's more. >> reporter: all is apparently not well below the gulf. this word comes as an associated press reporter takes a dive below the surface. video appears to show lots of dead coral and barnacles in places where they once lived. >> nothing seemed to be lives on the rigs and the animals and crabs and lobsters, barnacle, sponges and coral, none seemed to be feeding or living. >> it was a very clear delineation of where the damage stopped or began and after 65 feet on every vertical leg throughout the whole structure. >> reporter: scientists are concerned. >> it's not only ours but i spoke with dozens of divers, none have seen this before. >> reporter: it's been five 1/2 months since the oil rig exploded and began leaking 200 million gallons of toxic crude into the gulf of mexico and the effectiveness is still being debated. >> you

of oil flowed in the gulf waters between april and july. and now, a draft report has been issued about the obama administration's actions during the crisis. it already has the white house firing back. >> emily schmidt is in ing with this morning with all the details. hi, emily. >> reporter: rob and vinita, good morning to you. this draft report actually comes from the staff of a commission that was appointed by theside president to investigate the spill. and its early findings are very critical of the white house. especially in the aftermath of the rig explosion that caused the disaster. the report claims that, quote, for the first ten days of the spill, a sense of overoptimism affected responders. it claims that the administration made erroneouearl early estimates about how much oil was flowing into the gulf. for the first month of the crisis, officials were saying the well was releasing about 200,000 gallons a day. by august, everyone was told it was really 2.6 million gallons per day, 10-times as much as the original estimate. the admini

investigation has yet to close and the gulf is back open for business. mark strassmann, cbs news, atlanta. >> couric: in other news tonight, the "don't ask, don't tell" policy is on hold. a federal judge in san diego issued an injunction today barring enforcement of the ban on openly gay men and women serving in the military. jan crawford in washington is our chief legal correspondent and, jan, what exactly does this ruling mean? >> well, katie, as of right now with this ruling the military can no longer enforce "don't ask, don't tell." of course, that policy presented openly gay people from sevenning in the military. now under this decision they can. and this is a sweeping injunction, katie, it applies to the military worldwide, not in just this judge's district which means that's almost unprecedented to have one judge effectively determining government policy across the board. so the ball is really now in the administration's court to decide will it appeal. >> couric: and having said that, jan, the obama administration has come out against the policy,

on the seabed, will implored -- oil poured into the gulf of mexico. it should have been secured in a secure concrete casing. the concrete was supplied by the company halliburton. we have known for a while the concrete casing must have failed in some way, and now investigators say their own tests show that the concrete mixture was not stable and that halliburton knew it may not be stable but used it anyway to try to secure the well. neither halliburton or bp, said the investigators, acted on data from tests showing that the concrete could be unstable. the oil slick has blighted the gulf of mexico, dennis the local economy, and upset the americans. they say it was not only the concrete's the failure that brought about the disaster, but how britain has already attracted controversy with its relationship with american -- but halliburton has already attracted controversy with his relationship american politicians. these findings will bring more scrutiny. >>> a fresh round of protests and strikes over pension reforms in france have been causing problems for

. >>> and six months later, the gulf coast is still struggling from the worst environmental disaster in u.s. history. this is the "cbs morning news" for wednesday, october 20th, 2010. good morning, everybody. thanks for being with us. i'm betty nguyen. president obama heads west today the beginning of a four-day campaign trip including oregon, washington, california and nevada. the president is working hard to try and get democrats to the polls hoping to reassemble the coalition that put him in the white house two years ago. good morning. >> good morning, betty. as midterm elections get closer the president is spending more and more time on the campaign trail, his latest trip out west will be the longest of the season. president obama is heading out west to try to defend democratic turf. over the next four days, he'll headline events in several states where incumbent democrats are fighting to keep their jobs. >> that's what it's about! >> reporter: among them senators barbara boxer of california, patty murphy of washington and majority leader harry reid of nevada. but with the presid

a government panel says the obama administration kept a lid on the truth of just how bad the gulf oil spill was. after the deepwater horizon rig exploded april 20th, 206 million gallons of oil gushed into the gulf. but, the review panel says the administration's public estimates about the spill size were far lower and later it said most of the oil was gone, when it wasn't. the review panel says the administration also blocked a request by government scientists to disclose its worst-casey estimate. the white house insists it was, quote, clear with the public about the spill. >>> this morning, folks in northern arizona are picking up the pieces after a rare swarm tornadoes caused extensive damage. the twisters were spawned by a huge storm system that pounded much of the southwest. as sandra hughes reports. >> reporter: the tornadoes that touched down in northern arizona tossed 28 train cars from a parked freight train like they were toys. >> i came from the northeast. i've seen ice storms and hail storms and snowstorms but nothing like this. >> reporter: 30 rvs were damaged at a busines

the gulf of mexico accident showed us what could happen when deep sea drilling spirals out of control. >> members of the parliament have also rejected the proposal. individual member states are likely to raise their own objections. >> germany has joined the list of major economic powers warning china to fairly align its currency with those of its trading partners. between a two-day trip to china, a german economy minister has warned that a trade war could result. instead, it is up to china to prevent a damaging trade dispute with the united states, which has complained the yuan could be undervalued by as much as 40%. germany is benefiting from strong demand in china, but says a stronger yuan would be crucial to future trade relations. >> german ports are stacked with containers bound for china. there has been a clear increase in demand for german products, especially in the engineering sector. between january and july of this year, german exports to china increased 50%. the volume of trade between the two nations amounts to some 70 billion euros. r melowersathe atnan ed ti s finished

the explosion killed 11 worker and more than 200 million gallons leaked into the gulf. this report suggests what one worker's widow maintained, the disaster was preventable. >> from day one, he deemed this [ inaudible ]. >> in fact, before the explosion, halliburton actually tested the cement mix at least four times. the first three times, it failed. the last time, it passed. but, bp never knew that because halliburton never told them. critics are outraged. >> bp and halliburton knew that the cement was not going to work. this is like building a car with brakes that you know are going to fail. >> reporter: investigators also independently retested a similar cement formula. it, also, proved unstable. the federal report concludes, bad cement was not the explosion's sole cause but good cement would have prevented it. mark strassmann, cbs news. >> president george w. bush's memoir won't officially be released until the week after the elections but this morning we're learning new details. according to the drudge report president bush said he gave the order to shoot down hija

the six-month anniversary of the gulf oil disaster. oil is no longer gushing into the sea and people are returning to white sandy beaches, bp continues its deep beach cleaning operation. >> if there is buried oil, we go in with the tillers. >> even though the well is permanently sealed, oil is still coming ashore. 560 miles of coastline have oil on them across four states. 93% of gulf waters are open for fishing, but louisiana shrimp catch is down 52% through the first six months of the year and then the rest of the gulf coast economy. >> seems like groundhog day every day. >> businesses crippled by the spill continue to pile up claims. only 76,000 have been approve and paid. >> we are pulling teeth to get things done and fight a battle it seems like every day. there is so much to be done. >> experts believe it could take years before the spill's effects are fully understood. kirk gregory, nbc news. >> let's take a look at what's coming up later. let's say hello to brent cannon. >> the nfl is crack down on hard hits, but will that mess

they live in the bayou, close to the gulf of mexico, where the oil disaster occurred. r gerio the houma made a living by catching small fish and shrimp. but after the 1930s, oil refinery activities eroded the bayou. their canals changed the water flow, and let sea water get in, ruining the tribe's livelihood. brenda daldarabisho, the principaiedshetre. she wants the u.s. government to formally recognize the houma is an indigenous tribe. this would let them regulate their land and water and help protect it. for over 30 years the houma have titioned t government for recognition, but the authorities neither granted recognition nor formally explained why. >> the oil and gas industry has played a major hole in our federal recognition efforts. they have lobbied against our petition for federal recognion d eye lomore powerful than we are. >> reporter: then in april, the oil spill disaster in the gulf ofexo. the water in which they fish became polluted. all fishing was banned for three months. john parfait fishes for shrimp. though he's allowed to fish agn,heri oshmpas fallen

. >> in his latest assignment, deciding who should pay for damages of the gulf oil spill, is one of his toughest yet. they really go after you. >> they dork but it goes with the territory. >> you don't see the richest woman in the world in the public eye very often, but we caught up with her to see how she and her husband are doling out their fortune. what would you do with $60 billion? bill and melinda gates have a plan, and tonight you'll hear all about it. >> i'm steve kroft. >> i'm lesley stahl. >> i'm bob simon. >> i'm morley safer. >> i'm anderson cooper. >> i'm scott pelley. those stories and andy rooney tonight on "60 minutes." since 2009, we've helped over 200,000 americans keep their homes. and we're reaching out to small businesses too, increasing our lending commitment this year to $10 billion... and giving businesses the opportunity to ask for a second review if they feel their loan should have been approved. this is how recoveries happen. everyone doing their part. this is the way forward. called the humana walmart- preferred prescription plan. it's a medicare prescription

if the gulf was shut down, would rigs that were actually operating in the gulf pick up and move offshore? this was not an issue for those operating in 500 feet of water or less because they actually can pick up and go other places. but the notion of the deep water rigs, if they were stymied and had to wait in place, over time to the extent that you had real ready prospects around the world, that some of these rigs would actually moved. the industry by and large to the administration at their word that this was a pause, not a stop. we lost 45 rigs over the summer. mostly they were independent and decided the risk was too high. so they redeployed the rigs or gave them to their partners. the rich to rick's scheduled to come online in 2011 never commissioned -- there were two rigs scheduled to come online that were commissioned. the concern going forward is that if this turns into an eight-month delay or a nine- month delay, if there are other prospects around the world that the regulatory process seems to be shifting, what does that mean going forward? the final point is on spill liability

>>in april the deepwater horizon oil rig exploded and ruptured in the gulf of mexico. after 5 monthsthe well was finally capped, but in that time over 200 million gallons of oil had spilled into the sea and the effects have been felt from florida to texas. the cleanup, which is costing bp billions,is making headway, but the environmental, economic and emotional damage caused by the disaster could last for years... >>reporter: on a blistering hot day in grand isle louisiana, the cleanup continues... but the operation is now down to around half its original size... >>utsler: the response is a continuing important operation. more than 25000 people still involved today in theongoing efforts and activities. >>reporter: and initial signs suggest the ecological impact of the spill triggered by an oil rig explosion that killed 11 men in april, may be lighter than first feared... >>overton: prof environmental sciences, louisiana state university we have something like 7700 miles of coastline that could have been oiled in louisiana... 300 or so miles were oiled so it could have

. >> and disaster in the gulf. the new worry tonight over who is getting relief money. >> get in and drive away, why these new tack -- high-tech cars are going the distance. >> still a little chilly out there, but if you like warm temperatures and a sunny there, but if you like warm temperatures and a sunny four years ago, bob ehrlich got fired as governor of maryland. for good reason. first, he protected tax loopholes for giant cable cable companies. then, he let utilities jack up our rates 72%. and for the last four years, he worked as a hired gun for big corporations, even a bank that took billions from a taxpayer funded bailout. ehrlich sides with corporate executives again and again and again tell bob ehrlich big banks and billionares don't need help. middle class marylanders do. two governors, two different approaches. even in good times bob ehrlich didn't make education a priority. he increased college tuition by 40%, cut school construction by $200 million, and ehrlich voted to eliminate the department of e

speaking of temperatures elsewhere, let's take a look at what's going on in the caribbean and gulf of mexico right now. still plenty warm, low to mid-80s for water temperatures. we he another system that formed, that is ula, that we've been telling you about, it is a hurricane, and right now the latest with it is that it's hanging out, ju north and east of honduras, producing very heavy rain, flooding in the area as well as the yucatan peninsula, heading toward the northwest, and eventually recurving and making its way toward the east-northeast with some rain for southern florida. you can see the radar is quiet, despite the fact that we have that front dropping through. if you look right there, there's a drop around the area. downnto the 50s tonight, your four-day forecast, sunshine tomorrow. rain and wind for not just thursday, but friday too. moing rain. and then windy for saturday, the high 65. sunday right now, highs going about 65, 66 degrees. sunshine. so beautiful weekend. chilly. >> sounds like it, thanks a lot. >>> the long expected marriage between tv and the internet are ge

the gulf of mexico accident showed us what could happen when deep sea drilling spirals out of control. >> members of the parliament have also rejected the proposal. individual member states are likely to raise their own objections. >> germany has joined the list of major economic powers warning china to fairly align its currency with those of its trading partners. between a two-day trip to china, a german economy minister has warned that a trade war could result. instead, it is up to china to prevent a damaging trade dispute with the united states, which has complained the yuan could be undervalued by as much as 40%. germany is benefiting from strong demand in china, but says a stronger yuan would be crucial to future trade relations. >> german ports are stacked with containers bound for china. there has been a clear increase in demand for german products, especially in the engineering sector. between january and july of this year, german exports to china increased 50%. the volume of trade between the two nations amounts to some 70 billion euros. the weak yuan gives an edge to the exp