Anna Sale here on the day shift.

The impact of the oil spill in the Gulf continues to dominate the news. President Obama starts his week in the Gulf Coast and will address the nation from the Oval Office tomorrow night. We talked this morning to the mayor of a town along the Mobile Bay, and we'll be checking back all week with residents to hear what effects they're seeing. Tomorrow, we'll look at new technological tools that have sprung up to help us understand the scope of the spill. There are new imaging technologies being developed that involve cheap digital cameras and kites. There's a new app called Oil Reporter that creates graphic illustrations of the spill's effects based on the input of users all along the coast. There's also the tool at ifitwasmyhome.com that overlays the spill's size over your community, giving you a sense of just how far it stretches. We'll look at where these tools came from, and how well they're working. And, of course, there's old-fashioned word of mouth to get a sense of its scale. That's why we're asking you: Has the spill affected you or your hometown? Share your story.

We were also interested in the news today that the Obama administration wants to phase out government checks and go all direct deposit for benefit payments. If your checkbook is already collecting dust while your bills and paychecks go in and out automatically, this might not sound like such a big deal. But what about citizens without bank accounts? We've looked at this population before, and we want to know how the transition will work for them.

And I don't know about you, but I'm still waiting for the lazy days of summer to start. Once they get here, you'll be prepared, thanks to our new series, to help you build your summer reading list. We talk tomorrow with the author of "Anthropology of an American Girl," which was just re-released this summer. The original book was self-published by Hilary Thayer Hamann in 2003, the book became a cult hit and the newly edited version of this epic novel is getting rave reviews.