Trial of rod blagojevich. the judge says he expects a lengthy deliberation. manufacturing activity slowing in some parts of the country. retail sales are up with shoppers focusing on necessities. now, back to hardball. welcome back to hardball. we ve got some good news tonight. the oil slick on the gulf surface down there is dispaiding more quickly than expected. it s evaporating much more quicker than expected. you can see where the oil has gone in a series of maps made by the new york times. there they are. on june 16th, bp had started its second containment system. by july 1st strong winds had pushed the oil into marshlands and coastlines and two days ago oil has been broken up into smaller patches. so does this mean the days of oil washing ashore are coming to a close and is it a positive indicator of what s going on