after a week of weather interruptions related to hurricane alex and the administration is expected to argue today it had to take immediate action in case of another spill and set the stakes even higher because it is hurricane season. government announced this moratorium this may. a federal judge blocked it last month. he called the ban arbitrary and unfair and say the administration failed to justify the need for a blanket moratorium in all drilling in water over 500 feet and the government failed to take into account the economic impact on the industry and on local communities. lawmakers in the gulf region, even democrats, have strongly opposed the moratorium for that reason. they say it hurts jobs and could drive away the oil companies permanently. what this moratorium has done is threaten the jobs and the livelihood of tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people along the coast. arguments start at 3:00 p.m. local at the court of appeals in new orleans. government la
reinstate that six month moratorium suspending deep water drilling for half a year. malini wilkes is live in washington with a look at that and so much more because so many jobs are hanging in the balance. that s right, steve. today in federal appeals court, the obama administration will argue that a six-month ban on deepwater drilling should be reinstated while it figures out what went wrong on the deep water horizon and tries to ensu ensure other rigs are safe. the administration is expected to argue that the stakes are even higher now because it is hurricane season. the government announced this moratorium by may but challenged by oil companies. they called the ban arbitrary and unfair. he says the administration failed to justify the need for a blanket moratorium on all drilling and water over 500 feet and the government failed to take into account the economic impact on the industry in local communities. lawmakers in the gulf region, even democrats have strongly opposed this mor
tonight, the justice department appealing the decision, asking them to put a hold on the decision, not a blanket moratorium this time. a more modest stay that would affect the deep water operation that is present safety concerns raised by the deep water horizon event, 33 rigs. in other news, bp saying it s on target to complete drilling by mid august, when it cliaims is the best chance to stop the gushing. the national hurricane center warning the first tropical depression of the 2010 hurricane season have been formed in the western caribbean. bp saying it needs five days to move the equipment out of harms way. as promised, let s turn to nixon white house con sill john deal and the author of the book
republicans as being in the pockets of big oil? no, it is not. as you were just saying, everyone takes money from big oil, especially if you are from texas or louisiana, i mean politician wise. i don t think it is fair. both sides need to shut up basically and do what bp is not able to do and put a plug in it. like bill. but then we would have no renewable energy. why is it we rarely hear of obama and his relations with hall law burton. haliburton? we hear it on fox news. somebody wants to play a contributor. the bottom line is i am so sick of the blame game. i am so sick of politicians capitalizing off what is an environmental crisis. i think we should note the recent federal court decision that basically struck down obama s blanket moratorium on
drilling. right. a lot of folks want to do one rig at a time instead of a blanket moratorium. so all right. we have to leave it there. both of you, thank you both for your time tonight. now let s go back to anderson. thanks. just ahead, louisiana, maddening example of bureaucracy getting in the way say state workers. vacuums were working just fine. why did the coast guard shut them down. also ahead, saving the bird. how foez found covered in oil are cleaned and hopefully one day returned to the wild. talking to kevin costner about the efforts here in the gulf. bp purchased dozens of the machines he designed to pick up oil.