when we left you on friday, we all hoped the last chapter in the oil spill was about to be written. but tonight a new concern. federal officials say there's at least one leak coming from the oil well itself. there's a picture showing mysterious bubbles emerging from somewhere near the new cap. at this point, federal officials say the leaks do not appear to be so serious they need to open the valves immediately to relieve the pressure, but they are watching hour by hour. and watching with them, matt gutman, in buris, louisiana. matt. >> reporter: diane, it was a tense day. we've been watching those footballs. at first, a lot of concern about what they met. earlier, there were hints bp may actually have to open up the well and unleash some of that oil. now we know those bubbles don't pose a major threat of a leak. even now, bp is still monitoring all of the deep seabed. it's got another day to test this. that's three days longer than anyone anticipated. of concern tonight, those bubbles signaling several leaks. >> we're actually looking for in this case would be methane gas which is sometimes a precursor to oil actually rising up through the formation. >> reporter: concerned government scientists continue to monitor the well. deep sea robots are now taking samples and scanning the ocean floor for seismic activity. they're even monitoring the temperature around the well, still a frigid 40 degrees, but which would have been warmed by leaking oil come up at a torrid 300 degrees. one of those leaks seems to be a natural seepage about two miles away from the well on the seabed. >> the gulf is loaded with seeps of oil and gas, and that is one of the challenges that everybody is facing here, what is natural and what is not. >> reporter: the others, tiny leaks on the stacking cap itself, so far too minor to warrant unsealing the cap and unleashing that river of oil. when bp downplayed the threat over the weekend, admiral allen penned a blistering letter, packed with commands like, you must provide, you are required, and i direct you. the admiral wanted more information about the leaks faster. and he demanded to know whether bp intends to keep the well shut in. that weather tapped into a sore point for the administration, one of the most frequent searches on google news, who's in charge. critics say the government has too little say and too few resources. >> 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 and the government seems to be flat-footed. >> reporter: and at issue here, diane, is whether or not to open up the well. if those leaks are found to be serious, bp would have to unscrew the well, allow all of that oil to come out, then hook in these pipes and siphon that oil to the surface. to do all of that, they would have to unleash millions of gallons of oil again into the gulf. diane. >> the dread of everyone, thank you, matt gutman. and whatever happens at the wellhead, what about the oil already in the water? how much is there and where is it tonight? at the height of the spill back in mid-june, it was the size of kansas we were told. today, the spill the size of tennessee. so where is it drifting tonight? here's jeffrey kofman. >> reporter: that blown-out well, capped, at least for now. those ships frantically burning oil and gas at the spill site, suddenly quiet. and look at this map of the area where the oil had been spotted first in may, then in june and then this weekend. in just a few days the oil slick has shrunk considerably. >> we see light at the end of the tunnel. it's a very long tunnel, but today we're making progress. >> reporter: which is a good thing, because the more than 400 skimmers have had very little impact, catching perhaps 80,000 barrels of the 5 million that spewed into the gulf. >> and we still have a heck o fa lot of oil out in the gulf of mexico. >> reporter: while oil has hit the beaches and marshes in four states, this weekend, there is no sign of oil along the florida panhandle. and scientists say the very small amount of oil in lake pontchartrain, the tidal bay north of new orleans, has broken down and disappeared. and remember the loop current that threatened to catch and carry the oil through the florida keys and up the coast to miami and beyond? it hasn't happened. there is no oil here on miami beach or anywhere nearby. because the loop current has crumbled. the loop current has split apart and now sits north of the spill site. but none of this means we have dodged the bullet of environmental disaster. >> i think as a minimum, three years before we begin to know if there was a much larger economic impact. >> reporter: it is a disaster at a depth and on a scale never seen before. jeffrey kofman, abc news, miami. and from the news of the gulf tonight, we move on to the news about unemployment. as of tonight, 2.5 million jobless americans have no more unemployment benefits. republicans are refusing to approve more money, arguing no more deficit spend. today, president obama decided to attack. john karl is at the white house. >> reporter: today the president came out swinging, blaming republicans for the fact that those 2.5 million americans or more have already seen their unemployment benefits expire. marilyn green of jefferson city, missouri, has a law degree but no job. for more than a year, her $320 unemployment check has helped her get by. now her benefits are about to expire. >> please, congress and the president, do something. because i don't want to be in a situation where i can't pay my bills or pay my rent or wonder where i'm going to live. this is just unconscionable in america. >> reporter: today president obama said it's all the republican's fault. >> a partisan minority in the senate has used parliamentary maneuvers to block a vote. it's time to stop holding workers laid off in this recession hostage to washington politics. >> reporter: but in reality, it's not so clear-cut. republicans have also put forth a bill to extend unemployment benefits. but they insist the $34 billion cost be paid for with cuts to other programs, causing democrats to object. >> how is this paid for? >> with stimulus money. >> yeah, mr. president, that's what i thought, so i object. >> reporter: republicans say they are simply standing up for a principle the president himself espouses -- congress should pay its bills. what's wrong with that? >> in a time of great economic emergency, it's necessary that we get the benefits that millions of americans deserve that are out of work. >> reporter: but pay-as-you-go is the very principle the president put forward himself. >> there are certain things that are -- are and always have been considered emergency spending. and extending unemployment benefits to those who have lost their jobs in the worst economic recession since the great depression certainly qualifies for that. >> reporter: as the president knew even before he spoke today, the senate is almost certain to approve an extension of unemployment benefits tomorrow. that's because we'll have a new democratic senator from the state of west virginia sworn in. with that, democrats will have the votes they need to extend unemployment without finding a way to pay for it. >> so tomorrow, the vote will come. thank you, jonathan karl. now, an investigative report on u.s. intelligence after 9/11 is causing a stir tonight. "the washington post" spent two years charting the giant sprawl, the increase of agencies, now involved in increased intelligence. "the post" says there are now more than 1,200 government organizes, almost 2,000 private company, involved in collecting intelligence. a huge number of people, 854,000, have access to the most sensitive information, top secret security clearance. a lot of people are questioning whether the growth was effective or out of control. secretary of state hillary clinton arrived in afghanistan today for an international conference on the war and rebuilding that country. as two more american troops died over the weekend. 42 so far in july. which means this may be another of the deadliest months ever for americans. and that brings us to one mother and a few seconds of footage on abc news. she knew that her son had died in afghanistan. she knew nothing about his last moments until then. she looked up and realized what only a mother could. here's martha raddatz. >> when i saw the footage, it was on abc news report, and i saw the footage, and what i saw was a soldier being put on a medevac helicopter and it was only showing the soldier from the chest down, but it showed his hands. i knew that they were his hands, because i'm his mother. >> reporter: this is the mother of 21-year-old stephan mace, who loved animals, his army buddies, and his family. >> and i looked over to my husband, and i said, "richard, those are stephan's hands. i just know they are." after we saw that, i somehow tried getting in touch with the reporter. >> reporter: she found our karen russo who was the reporter in the medevac helicopter that night taping the scene. >> the mom and somehow, in less than ten seconds, maybe less than five seconds, recognized the soldier's hands as her son's. i had shot it in the dark without any light. >> reporter: he had been hit by a rocket grenade and died of wounds on october 3rd, 2009. just one year after this photo was caught, capturing his mother's love. >> this is one of my favorite pictures. he knew i loved him that much too. >> reporter: a mother now left with a favorite photo and the curious comfort of those seconds in which she knew. >> it was very painful to watch. most parents who have had children killed in afghanistan don't get that privilege. and i consider that a privilege to be able to see my son just a few moments before he was -- actually died. >> reporter: martha raddatz, abc news, washington. >> one mother's story of her son. there's something else you should know about vanessa. her youngest son christopher, now 18 years old, will deploy to afghanistan on july 30th. still ahead on "world news" -- a new and very public duel over the pledge of allegiance. beachgoers undersiege. is the heat creating a rampage? and guess what bill clinton wants to do he's never done before. ever seen anything like it? me neither. it's new beneful incredibites. uh-huh! it's just the way you like it-- made with wholesome grains, real beef, even carrots and peas. you love the smaller-size, easy-to-chew kibbles, and i love the carbohydrates for energy and protein for muscles. whoa! wait for me! ha-ha. you only think you're getting spoiled. 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[ child screaming ] >> oh, know that sound so well. needle shots can be so traumatic. today, news of a breakthrough. a band-aid-like patch embedded with tiny needles, that pierce the skin without causing pain or drawing blood. the system works in mine. people to be tested soon. and remember the bucket list jack nicholson and morgan freeman made, the famous phrase in the movie about doing it all before you die? bill clinton has now weighed in at a conference, calling it his, quote, bucket list. and number one, now that his daughter is getting married, living to see his grandchildren. number two, knowing that children everywhere get to live their own draems. clinton said he also wants to climb mt. kilimanjaro. and run a marathon before i give out, he said. and, by the way, clinton is 63. up next, the original ice cream multiplex. there's oil out there we've got to capture. my job is to hunt it down. i'm fred lemond, and i'm in charge of bp's efforts to remove oil from these waters. bp has taken full responsibility for the cleanup and that includes keeping you informed. every morning, over 50 spotter planes and helicopters take off and search for the oil. we use satellite images, infrared and thermal photography to map and target the oil. then, the boats go to work. almost 6,000 vessels. these are thousands of local shrimp and fishing boats organized into task forces and strike teams. plus, specialized skimmers from around the world. we've skimmed over 27 million gallons of oil/water mixture and removed millions more with other methods. we've set out more than 8 million feet of boom to protect the shoreline. i grew up on the gulf coast and i love these waters. we can't keep all the oil from coming ashore, but i'm gonna do everything i can to stop it, and we'll be here as long as it takes to clean up the gulf. o! i just parked here a second ago! give me a break, will you? 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'til it turns into heartburn, you've got what it takes: zantac. it's strong, fast lasting relief. so let them turn up the heat. you can stop that heartburn cold: (sssssssss!!!) zantac. finally tonight, baskin-robbins with a kid's idea of paradise, all those flavors of ice cream, says it's sticking five of the signature ice creams into the deep freeze to make room for what it's calling more innovative tastes. are you ready for saffron? here's john berman. >> reporter: this is the last baskin-robbins caramel praline cheesecake cone i will ever eat. the fleeting flavor is among the five being retired by the company. easily the most controversial? french vanilla. "no!" writes one fan on a new facebook page to save that flavor. "shelving french vanilla would be un-american," writes another. i feel like i am eating an endangered species, not that i would ever do that. on the one hand, ice cream is about memories -- think "ozzie and harriet" -- >> it's so nostalgic. it's part of my childhood. >> reporter: it's part of out history. since alexander the great savored snow and ice flavored with honey and nectar -- since george washington shelled out $200 for ice cream one hot summer. >> that's my weakness, i love ice cream. >> reporter: that's not a weakness, it's a strength, embrace it. >> yes. >> reporter: but ice cream is also about change. in its frozen vault, baskin-robbins has more than 1,300 flavors it has sold since 1945. some of the international favorites, not available here, include mango tango in india, coconut grove in colombia, and saffron escapade in saudi arabia. in london, even dogs get a taste from this truck. the two flavors include a dog biscuit crunch and a sort of pork and chicken sorbet. yum? baskin-robbins has not yet announced its five new flavors, but hopefully pork sorbet is not among them. john berman, abc news, new york. have a delicious night. we'll see you here tomorrow. is grilling up a masterpiece.