BP dealers: Bring back Amoco
UNDATED
(AP) - Customer boycotts of BP stations are giving rise to talk of a name
change, and it's one a lot of drivers may remember --
Amoco. The Gulf oil spill has cut deeply into profits of BP dealers all around the
country, so some dealers are saying it would be a good time to bring back a
name a lot of people know and trust. BP merged with
Amoco in the 90s, and quickly retired the brand. Even with financial perks
from BP to help them out, some dealers say it's the BP label that scares people
away. Bob Dudley -- the man who'll soon take over BP
-- worked for Amoco for 20 years, so dealers think he might be open to the change.
On the other hand, there is Jeff Miller -- whose company owns, operates and
supplies roughly 56 BP-branded stations primarily in
Obama to sell auto bailout good news
in Michigan
WASHINGTON
(AP) - President Barack Obama travels to the heart of the
The
president will push an important election-year claim: his administration's
unpopular auto industry bailout has turned into an economic good-news story. With
Americans facing a limping economy and potentially pivotal congressional
elections in three months, the White House sees progress in the auto industry. To
highlight that progress, which presidential aides believe has received too
little attention, Obama will stop at three auto plants
over the next several days.
NEW ORLEANS
(AP) - Incoming BP CEO Bob Dudley is set to outline his company's long-term
efforts to help the Gulf of Mexico recover from the oil spill and will be
getting help from a Clinton administration-era emergency management official. The
oil giant says Dudley will be in
Rangel talks about ethics violations
WASHINGTON (AP) - New York Rep. Charles Rangel
can expect a September trial before the House ethics committee, the same month he
has a primary. House investigators
accused the veteran congressman Thursday of 13
violations of congressional ethics standards, including failure to report
rental income from vacation property in the
prepared
to prove that the only thing I've ever had in my 50 years of public service is
service." Rangel also is accused of violating
House standards of conduct by using congressional letterhead to solicit
donations for a center for public service to bear Rangel's name on the
The charges
came as lawyers for Rangel and the House ethics committee worked out a plea
deal, according to people familiar with the talks. But
Republicans on the ethics committee indicated it was
too late.
FBI access to e-mail and Web records
raises fears
WASHINGTON
(AP) - A new controversy surrounding the FBI's surveillance tactics is one for
the Internet age.
The bureau
wants to clarify federal law to ensure its agents can gather information about
a person's e-mail traffic and Web surfing practices without having to go to
court where a judge could refuse the request.
A 2008
opinion by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel has cast doubt on
whether the FBI can collect the information using so-called national security
letters just signed by a bureau official. The Obama administration is seeking
an amendment to clarify the FBI's authority. Senate Judiciary Committee chairman
Patrick Leahy of
In Rhinebeck with
Disney sells Miramax to investor for
$660 million
LOS ANGELES
(AP) - The Walt Disney Co. says it will sell Miramax Films to an investor group
for about $660 million, ending a 17-year association with the studio and a
six-month bidding process. The New York Times and
investor
group is led by construction magnate Ronald Tutor. Tutor and his partners put
down a nonrefundable deposit of $40 million to Disney on Thursday. Disney had
been looking to sell Miramax amid a studio overhaul because it no longer
resonated with its other family centric studio units such as Pixar and Marvel. Miramax's Oscar-laden film library is
full of prestigious films such as "My Left Foot" (1989), "Pulp
Fiction" (1994) and "Good Will Hunting" (1997).