A new report released this week by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) warns that the "oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico poses... indirect threats to seafood safety." State and federal officials, however, say they are aggressively testing seafood from the Gulf Coast in order to protect the public from any potential health risks from the oil that gushed continuously into the water for nearly three months. With these conflicting messages, how difficult will it be for the Gulf's seafood industry to get back on its feet?

BP has pledged to give $20 billion in compensation to victims of the devastating Deepwater Horizon oil gusher. So far, $300 million has been distributed, but many are concerned that some portion of this money has gone to people scamming the system.

Attempts to permanently seal the ruptured BP oil rig are now well underway, but major concerns about the gusher's cleanup continue to swirl around the Gulf Coast. 

BP has successfully installed and closed a 75-ton cap atop the gushing oil well in the Gulf of Mexico and for the first time in 85 days, oil has stopped flowing into the ocean. While this may come as a huge relief to many whose lives and livelihoods depend on the Gulf waters, some experts estimate that up to 184 million gallons of oil may have already contaminated the sea. (For a sense of scale, imagine one of the world's largest super-massive cruise ships filled up to the brim with sticky crude oil.  Now imagine another one, the exact same size, also filled to the brim with oil. That's roughly 150 million gallons.)

The Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster is permeating political campaigns across the country, even far beyond the Gulf Coast. Candidates around the country are incorporating the event and its ramifications into their campaigns, whether or not they are directly affected by the spill.

Gary McDowell, a Democrat from the Michigan House of Representatives running for Congress, has made it a key talking point on the road. McDowell called for a permanent ban on drilling in the state's Great Lakes, warning that without this protection, they could become "the next victim of a tragic oil spill disaster like the one caused by BP." Representative Joe Sestak, a Democrat running for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, accused his opponent, Pat Toomey, of caring more about "Big Oil profits" in a political ad (which you can watch after the jump).

John Francis knows about the desire to act after an oil spill. In 1971, a major oil spill in the San Francisco Bay led him to make radical changes in his life. He ultimately decided to stop driving and start walking... everywhere.

After countless arguments with people, in which he had to defend his decision to boycott the use of motorized vehicles, Francis made another life-altering change — he stopped speaking. But now he has a lot to say, and gives a talk today at the TEDX Oil Spill conference, where leading thinkers will tackle questions raised by the disasterous spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Eleven men were killed when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded on April 20th. Today the family members of those men will visit the White House to meet with President Barack Obama. We speak with Chris Jones, whose brother, Gordon, died in the explosion. Jones recently pleaded with BP CEO Tony Hayward with the emotional words, "I want my brother back."

BP hit another bump in the road in its attempts to the cap the oil leak when a saw got suck in a riser pipe on Wednesday. This setback comes after many failed attempts to plug the well, including the first containment dome, the "top kill" approach and the "junk shot" technique. The current operation, known as the Lower Marine Riser Package, could capture most of the leaking oil but could allow for some to continue to escape along the margins of the apparatus.

With so many failed attempts, some are calling for a radical last-measure solution: using a nuclear explosive to destroy the well and stop the leak. The option would be politically and environmentally risky, but it may not be entirely out of the question. President Obama has already dispatched a team of five nuclear physicists to the Gulf, though there have been no mentions of considering a nuclear approach.

Yesterday, BP temporarily halted its "top kill" approach to capping the leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. According to reports, the drilling fluid was escaping into the water along with the crude oil. Drilling was expected to resume by midnight. We get an updated from Chris Kirkham, a reporter with the Times-Picayune in New Orleans.

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill may very well become the most costly environmental disaster in history. The total costs are still unknown but some estimate it could be in the billions of dollars. BP is already spending between $6 and $7 million a day on efforts to cap the leak and cleanup the spill. By comparison, the Exxon Valdez spill — which was less damaging than the Deepwater Horizon — cost Exxon $3.8 million in clean up and damage costs, and $500 million in punitive damages.

Oil has now been gushing into the Gulf of Mexico for 36 days. BP has taken full responsibility for plugging the leak and cleaning up the water and shores, but some are now saying that after a month of attempts, their time at bat is up, and the federal government should take over operations. According to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, the government can federalize the spill and run the cleanup operation, billing BP for the total cost. However, this remedy is meant to be used as a last resort.

Thousands of gallons of oil are still spewing each day from leaking pipes at the Deepwater Horizon's wellhead in the Gulf of Mexico. The oil has touched land along the coasts of Louisiana and Mississippi and is headed for other coastlines along the Gulf. The amount of wildlife affected has been minimal so far, but more damage seems inevitable.

Today marks one month since the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The accident caused a massive fire that killed eleven workers. And days later, the rig capsized and sank. Ever since, an estimated 210,000 gallons of oil have been gushing into the Gulf every day. (That's a minimum, according to BP: Many observers think the rate is much, much higher.) Three companies are being held responsible: BP owns the well, Transocean owned the rig and Halliburton was contracted to run certain rig services. Over the past month, we've seen the executives from those three companies pass the blame around on Capitol Hill, we've heard leading politicians change their stance on offshore drilling, and we've learned of innovative technologies that have been used to try to plug the leak and clean up the spill (with little success).

Last night at around 8:00 p.m. the "Joe Griffin," a 280-foot container boat, left Port Fourchoun, Louisiana for a fifty mile trip to the site of the collapsed Deepwater Horizon oil rig.

Economists say the Deepwater Horizon oil spill could cost tens of billions of dollars both in cleanup and lost business revenue. Industries in the affected area are already taking hits, as fishing operations shut down and tourism slows. David Kotok, chief investment officer for money management firm Cumberland Advisors, says in the best-case scenario the cleanup will take years and the economic impact will be mostly felt in a handful of states on the Gulf of Mexico.