the high-stakes civil trial between the federal government and aisle giant bp gets underway this morning nearly three years after this deadly rig explosion in the gulf of mexico that triggered the worst off shore oil spill in the nation s history. casey stiegel is live outside the courthouse in new orleans for us today. what is going on? what can we expect? reporter: court started an hour ago at the federal courthouse here in new orleans behind me. this trial will last very long and there is a lot of money at stake. there is the potential this could last well into the fall. it is really broken down into two phases. phase one is what started today. that will primarily going to focus on the events leading up to the accident itself. what caused the natural gas to leake from that well back in april 2010. how did it reach the deck of the deepwater horizon and explode? and why did the drilling rig sink, killing 11 people? well the plaintiffs are
there s even a regions cashcor analysis. but one of the best things is the personalized advice you ll get from a regions business expert. hey, mary. hi, mike. thanks. she really understands business. is your small business ready for something better? switch to regions. a year ago this week, an explosion on deep water horizon oil rig in the gulf of mexico killing 11 workers and yielding the largest off shore oil spill in u.s. history. judy this was such a big story for so long. what about now? it s not a big story. it s a story that has everybody doing the one year anniversary story with so many questions about the true long lasting impact of this bill. i mean, it s just amazing. there was carl cannon did an excellent piece comparing the reaction of the california spill back in 1969 and the
shore oil spill in u.s. history demanded major media coverage. now, one year later, are they still paying attention? or has the national spotlight dimmed on that story? and it s coming, the royal wedding of william and kate wedding of william and kate along with the royally mad [ male announcer ] look outside. it s grow time. so let s plant some perennials that ll turn up ery year. trees and shrubs to give us depth. and fill it out with flowers placed in just the perfect place. let s spend less, but plant more. what do you say we plant a weekend, water it, and watch a summ spring up? more saving. more doing. that s the power of the home depot. we re lowering the cost of summer salads, with live vegetables, buy two get one free.
shore oil spill in u.s. history demanded major media coverage. now, one year later, are they still paying attention? or has the national spotlight dimmed on that story? and it s coming, the royal wedding of william and kate along with the royally mad media. has it gone too far? all next on news watch. today we re asking the crowd to try new and improved boost nutritional drink. oh! it s smooth, it s creamy. and fulfilling! really, really nice tasting. it s easy to hold. this beats anything else i ve tried. i ll go along with that. boost has 26 vitamins and minerals and 10 grams of protein to help you stay strong and active. it s delicious. wonderful. i want another one. and i ll recommend it to anyone.
it was tough getting that kind of information on this end since we ve lost internet and can t get in touch with some of the people. their cell phones may be down that we ve been talking to throughout this storm. so, that s entirely possible. this hotel s going out of power, but it has underground cables to supply it with power and tests it through hurricane fabian through 2003 when most of the rest of the island was in the dark, julie. julie: all right, rick leventhal, thank you very much. bp s blown out oil well is finally dead. retired coast guard thad allen saying a permanent cement plug successfully sealed the well at the bottom of the gulf of mexico. pressure test saying it will come. five months after a deadly explosion there, sank that drilling rig and led to the worst off shore oil spill in u.s. history. a terrorist arrested in the same airport that the alleged