is, what used to be the deep water horizon, and what is instead a deep water environmental nightmare, nothing has stopped the billowing oil, just today with the first hint of tar being found on some beaches in florida, before we even knew where it was from, that put a kind of new fear element in this ongoing tragedy. today the federal government vowed to do a better job regulating the industry, acknowledging this damage is done, but this damage keeps on coming. we begin our coverage again tonight with mark potter in venice, louisiana. good evening? reporter: good evening to you, brian. after two u.s. senators demanded that bp release that new video showing dramatically and from different angles all that oil pouring into the gulf, and more of it is coming ashore. the video released today shows more clearly than ever before, plumes of oil and gas pouring from the damaged oil well and pipe. this video shows the smaller of the two leaks where no attempts have been made to seal
captions paid for by nbc-universal television and welcome to today on this tuesday morning. i m meredith vieira. i m matt lauer. this disaster we re seeing unfold in the gulf may have taken a really troubling turn overnight. if scientists can confirm that the tar balls, for lack of a better expression, that washed up in key west are from that massive oil spill. it s still a big question, but the real fear is that the spill has entered the so-called loop current which would spread the oil all along the florida peninsula and up the east coast into the carolinas. monday afternoon officials stressed that had not happened, but the discovery of the tar balls could prove them wrong. we ll go live to the florida keys for more on all of this in a moment. also ahead, coming up we re going to have the parents of 17-year-old chelsea king. they ll open up about their daughter s murder and what it was like to face her killer in a courtroom on friday. coming up, they ll join us fo
his way on to campus. now instead of picking up his diploma, he s behind bars and facing criminal charges, today, tuesday, may 18th, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television and welcome to today on this tuesday morning. i m meredith vieira. i m matt lauer. this disaster we re seeing unfold in the gulf may have taken a really troubling turn overnight. if scientists can confirm that the tar balls, for lack of a better expression, that washed up in key west are from that massive oil spill. it s still a big question, but the real fear is that the spill has entered the so-called loop current which would spread the oil all along the florida peninsula and up the east coast into the carolinas. monday afternoon officials stressed that had not happened, but the discovery of the tar balls could prove them wrong. we ll go live to the florida keys for more on all of this in a moment. also ahead, coming up we re going to have the parents of 17-year-old chelsea king.
good evening. tonight, again, we have the latest pictures from one mile down, 42 miles off the coast of louisiana, there it is, what used to be the deep water horizon and is now instead a deep water environmental nightmare. nothing has stopped the billowing, belching oil, just today with the first hint of tar being found on some beaches in florida, before we even knew where it was from, that put a kind of new fear element in this tragedy. today the federal government vowed to do a better job regulating the industry, acknowledging this damage is done, but this damage keeps on coming. we begin our coverage tonight with mark potter in venice, louisiana. good evening, mark? reporter: good evening to you, brian. after two u.s. senators demanded bp release that new video from different angles, all that oil pouring into the gulf and more of it is coming ashore. the video released today shows more clearly than ever before, plumes of oil and gas pouring from the damaged oil well and
environmental disaster unfolding in the gulf of mexico, the president is doing what others have after other disasters like three-mile island and the shuttle challenger explosion. he is forming a presidential commission to investigate it. meantime, the spill grew larger today. it does every day. bp says they are grabbing some of the oil at the well head with a mile-long vacuum tube. as that work goes on everyone is watching and worrying about the current grabbing this slick and taking it around florida and on up the east coast. we begin our reporting here tonight with nbc s mark potter. he s in venice, louisiana. mark, good evening. reporter: good evening to you, brian. some of that runaway oil is being captured now but even more is still flowing. with oil on shore 50 miles from the spill site, there are new plans to finally seal that well. in louisiana s remote south pass today gooey red-colored oil has come ashore on a beach and in the marsh grasses. oil made its way pas