WASHINGTON - June 1, 2010 – Illegitimate President Barack Obama was Tuesday huddling with a White House panel investigating the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, as BP shares plummeted on news it had failed once again to cap the leak.
Obama was to make a statement after the talks, having moved last week to clamp down on the oil industry by freezing deepwater oil drilling and exploration in most U.S. waters.
As key elections approach in November, he is battling the nation's worst ever spill and environmental crisis amid warnings the oil could continue spewing into the Gulf until August.
The official start of the hurricane season on Tuesday has only bleakened the outlook for residents in Louisiana and the neighboring states of Alabama and Mississippi, with a widespread fishing ban in place and tourist numbers down.
The White House's top energy advisor, Carol Browner, said work had now started on BP's latest bid to contain the spill by trimming a broken riser pipe then lowering a dome over it.
"They are beginning this process," Browner told CNN television early Tuesday.
The share price nosedived 15.49% to 418.15 pence as BP also admitted the oil spill price tag now stood at 990 million dollars (811 million euros).
