DOUCHE OF THE DAY: 3 BP executives indicted over Gulf oil spill
(Eric Gay/AP/File)
BP agrees to pay $4.5 billion in fines in the largest such settlement in U.S. history. Two employees of the British oil giant BP have been indicted on manslaughter charges in connection with the 2010 Gulf oil rig blowout that killed 11 workers. A third executive was charged with lying to authorities about his work estimating the rate oil was flowing during the disaster. The federal indictment unsealed on Thursday names BP well site leaders Robert Kaluza and Donald Vidrine, claiming they acted negligently in their supervision of key safety tests performed on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig before the deadly explosion in April 2010. The indictment says Kaluza and Vidrine failed to phone engineers onshore to alert them of problems in the drilling operation. The indictment also charges David Rainey, who was BP's vice president of exploration for the Gulf of Mexico, with obstruction of Congress and making false statements. [USA Today]
DirecTV Makes Deal For Lakers’ Time Warner Cable Sports Channels
Lakers fans in LA can officially rejoice (unless you have Dish Network, that is):DirecTV will launch Time Warner Cable SportsNet and Time Warner Cable Deportes today for all Southern California customers, it said in a just-issued release (see it below the original story). Time Warner Cable SportsNet will be available for on channel 691 throughout Southern California (Los Angeles, San Diego, Bakersfield and parts of Fresno) as well as Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, Las Vegas and Hawaii. Time Warner Cable Deportes will be available on channel 458.
Box Office Preview: Final 'Twilight' Could Open to Franchise-Best $150 Million
"New Moon," released in November 2009, holds the series record with a domestic opening of $142.8 million; box-office observers believe "Breaking Dawn -- Part 2" will surpass that number. The final outing for Summit Entertainment's blockbuster Twilight franchise could have the sharpest bite of all. Most box-office observers believe The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 2 will score a franchise-best opening at the domestic box office with a $145 million to $150 million debut, beating record holder 2009's New Moon ($142.8 million). Breaking Dawn 2 began rolling out in North America at 10 p.m. last night; by this morning, it will be playing in 4,070 theaters. Whoa! The film already is outpacing Breaking Dawn 1 in several foreign markets where it opened Wednesday, including France. It debuts in a total of 61 international territories this weekend, making it Summit's largest day-and-date opening ever. The film's foreign presence will be boosted by Imax run, but the large-format exhibitor isn't carrying the movie domestically. [THR]
It’s Official: ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ To Preview In 500
Paramount Pictures announced yesterday morning it will release the first 9 minutes from JJ Abrams’ much anticipated sequel Star Trek Into Darkness exclusively in
