BP engineer’s case goes to federal jury
NEW ORLEANS – A federal jury on Monday started weighing whether a former BP engineer broke the law or harmlessly swiped his finger across a cellular phone when he deleted hundreds of text messages in the aftermath of the company’s massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Jurors met for about an hour-and-a-half before asking to go home for the night. They were scheduled to resume deliberations this morning.
Prosecutors argued that Kurt Mix, 52, of Katy, Texas, was trying to destroy evidence when he deleted two strings of text messages – one with a supervisor and another with a BP contractor.
But a defense lawyer, Michael McGovern, told jurors that the charges against Mix are “unfair and baseless” and the product of investigators’ “rank incompetence.” He described Mix as a brilliant engineer who worked tirelessly to seal the blown-out well and “doesn’t have a corrupt bone in his body.”
Paint companies to pay cities for lead removal
SAN JOSE, Calif. – A state judge on Monday ordered paint companies to pay 10 California cities and counties $1.1 billion to remove lead from millions of older homes.
Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge James Kleinberg found that Conagra Grocery Products Co., NL Industries Inc. and the Sherwin-Williams Co. marketed paint they knew was harmful to children. Atlantic Richfield Co. and DuPont Co. were found not liable.
Kleinberg’s verdict came after a five-week trial without a jury. The companies have 15 days to object to the ruling, which the judge labeled as “tentative.”
“There is a clear and present danger that needs to be addressed,” Kleinberg wrote in his 110-page decision. “The defendants sold lead paint with actual and constructive knowledge that it was harmful.”
Lead-based paints were barred from the U.S. market in 1978, but millions of homes painted before then still pose a health risk.
Chilean president-elect vows major changes
SANTIAGO, Chile – President-elect Michelle Bachelet vowed on Monday to initiate profound social changes in Chile, a day after winning the seat with the biggest victory in eight decades.
Analysts, however, noted that the 41 percent voter turnout was the lowest since Chile’s return to democracy, suggesting she’ll need to move deliberately, not radically, when she begins her second turn in office next year.
Bachelet will be sworn in March 11, giving outgoing President Sebastian Pinera nearly three more months in office. They shared an hourlong breakfast at Bachelet’s home Monday to discuss the transition.
Associated Press
