The Deepwater Horizon burns in the Gulf of Mexico about 50 miles off the coast of Venice, La. on April 21, 2010.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: U.S. COAST GUARD  The Deepwater Horizon burns a day after an explosion on the rig in the Gulf of Mexico.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Gerald Herbert / Associated Press  Smoke rises from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig as it burns in the Gulf of Mexico. The BP oil spill that followed the explosion would send 205 million gallons of crude into the gulf.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Gerald Herbert / Associated Press  The oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico is seen from a helicopter.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times  Oil from the BP disaster swirls in the Gulf of Mexico.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times  A boat holds a containment device that will be lowered into deep water.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times  Dead jellyfish float in the waters off the Chandeleur Islands.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  Oil surrounds parts of Louisiana's Chandeleur Islands.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  Oil booms can be seen on portions of Ship Island in the Gulf of Mexico.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  A boat makes its way along the edge of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico near the Chandeleur Islands.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  Oil floats on the surface about 12 miles from the Louisiana marshes. Shrimp boat operators nearby tried to mop up as much as they could.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times  Kyle Currie, 14, and Olivia Martina, a zoologist, attempt to capture a northern gannet affected by the oil spill. The bird was taken from an island off Gulfport, Miss., back to the mainland by boat.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times  The Alabama National Guard erects barriers against a growing oil slick that could reach the state's shores.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  Troops position sandbags on the shores of Grand Isle, La., to prevent oil from reaching the wetlands. The oil slick is currently about 12 miles offshore.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico continues to spread despite BP's efforts to cap the well. A suction tube has been inserted into one of the broken pipes on the seafloor, and some oil is being captured and transferred to a surface ship. Meanwhile, a gas byproduct is burned on board the main ship.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  Greenpeace senior campaigner Lindsey Allen takes water samples along a 20-yard area of marsh where oil is thick in concentration near the south pass of the Mississippi River.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  U.S. Coast Guard members carry away a dead brown pelican found on Breton Island by a game warden with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who said that the bird had oil on its wings. The dead pelican was turned over the the U.S. Coast Guard as evidence. Breton Island is a part of the Breton National Wildlife Refuge. Some 40,000 birds are on Breton Island during nesting season. Layers of protective booms, both offshore and on, have been placed to protect the birds.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  A dead oil-soaked bird washes up on a beach near Grand Isle, La., as a crew works to clean up the sludge that has made landfall. Locals have also begun to worry about hurricane season.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  At 3:30 a.m., a cleanup crew works through the night, using tractors to rake up oil globs and tar on the white beaches of Pensacola, Fla.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  Workers hired by BP rake up globs of oil, which have come ashore on the beaches in southern Louisiana, near Port Fourchon and Grand Isle. It coats the beaches, and each wave brings a new batch.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  At Grand Isle State Park, La., where the oil spill has come ashore, a laughing gull is unable to fly. It died overnight and was removed in the morning by authorities.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  In Port Fourchon, La., Bud Parker and a crew work on the construction of a large dome meant to cap a leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. The dome weighs about 100 tons and will be dropped about 5,000 feet to the sea floor.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times  Still alive but almost unrecognizable, a sea gull is paralyzed by oil on the beach at East Grand Terre Island in Barataria Bay, La.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  Terrance Castle of Houma, La., wipes his sweat soon after beginning a cleanup effort on a beach near Grand Isle.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  President Obama and Tad Allen, commander of the Coast Guard, join with concerned residents of Grand Isle.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  In the waters off Grand Isle, La., members of the United Pentecostal Church of Gretna, La., watch as Pastor Vidal Galvez baptizes two members of his church. He and his followers intended to go to the public beach, but it was closed due to the oil spill. The bay waters are still considered safe for swimming and fishing.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  Oil is splashed on the rocks of Port Fourchon, La., where cleanup operations are underway.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward tours his company's cleanup operations at Port Fourchon, La.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  A young pelican sits on its nest as its mother stands by. Oil has reached the shore of islands near Grand Isle, La., where thousands of birds nest.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  Oil has reached islands close to Grand Isle, La.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  Erica Miller, left, and Danene Birtell wash an oil-covered pelican at the Fort Jackson Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Louisiana. The bird was rescued from Barataria Bay.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  Jonathan Henderson, center, of Gulf Restoration Network, and a small group of environmentalists try to get their message to President Obama as his motorcade goes by in Louisiana. It was Obama's second visit to the region.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  The relief well being drilled at the worksite of the Deepwater Horizon. BP has now asked for international assistance in skimming oil.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  The relief well being drilled at the worksite of the Deepwater Horizon.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  The worksite of the Deepwater Horizon.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  Amy Bohlke and others voice their concerns at the rally in New Orleans.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  Vacation turnout on the beach at Gulf Shores, Ala., was good on Memorial Day, partly because of the money-back guarantees offered to visitors. BP gave millions of dollars to help states on the Gulf of Mexico in the promotions.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  A crew of workers mops up oil off Port Fourchon Beach, La., where the remains of a dead dolphin lie. The body of another dead dolphin was recovered and taken for testing.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  Daniel Murphy, center, and Barry Forsythe, right, both with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, search for oiled birds in the gulf waters.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  Biologist Mandy Tumlin; a turtle and sea mammal specialist from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries; recovers a dead dolphin off of Grand Isle. The dolphin will be taken for testing to see if its death was due to exposure to toxins from the oil spill.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  A heavily oiled pelican flounders on the beach at East Grand Terre Island in Barataria Bay, La.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  The pelican struggles in the bay where oil continues to pour in. The area is a breeding ground for wildlife.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  Bird rescuers work to pick up oiled pelicans on Queen Bess Island, La. A second wave of oil started flowing into Barataria Bay, where the island is located, late last week and did heavy damage to rookeries.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  At the Fort Jackson Bird Rehabilitation Center, an oiled brown pelican gets pre-treatment to loosen up the oil before being bathed.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  One of two oiled birds caught at Pass-A-Loutre, La.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  At the Bird Rehabilitation Center in Fort Jackson, La., a group of oiled brown pelicans huddles together as they wait for a bath. More than 40 birds were brought to the center after a wave of oil hit Barataria Bay.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  The pelicans' true colors show after their bath. The birds will recuperate at the center for several days before being released from the eastern side of Florida.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  At the Fort Jackson Bird Rehabilitation Center, a group of oiled brown pelicans are kept together before receiving their baths. A total of 634 live birds had been washed and cared for at the center as of June 21. Although they are called brown pelicans, their heads are normally white when mature.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  Residents of Grand Isle and visitors gather in prayer during an interfaith blessing held on the beach on Sunday, June 13.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  Fisherman Mike LeBlanc surveys the oil spill half a mile from the Chandeleur Islands off Louisiana, where the slick had reached landfall. He said eight charter fishing groups had canceled their trips, but he says he understands. "I wouldn't want to come down here with this oil either."  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  Adam Trahan, age 53, is a lifelong resident of Grand Isle, where he works as a deckhand on a shrimp boat. He received his first payment from BP, but is still waiting on a second one. He says he won't be working in the cleanup effort.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  Emma Chighizola is owner of the Blue Water Souvenirs shop on Grand Isle. She said that business had been OK that day, with people from New Orleans visiting in support of the area.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  One of 10 Kemp's Ridley turtles recovered not far from the site of the Deep Horizon accident site on June 14. They were to be cleaned and treated by a team of sea turtle experts.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  Dr. Brian Stacy, NOAA veterinarian, left, and Jennifer Muller of the University of Florida recover an oiled Kemp's Ridley turtle. They are part of a team of sea turtle experts working to recover oiled and endangered turtles in the Gulf of Mexico near the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This is one of 10 Kemp's Ridley turtles recovered on June 14.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  One of 10 oiled Kemp's Ridley turtles recovered June 14 by a team of sea turtle experts from NOAA and the University of Florida. The endangered turtle will be treated and transported to a safer habitat.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  A large loggerhead turtle, six to seven years old and weighing over 100 pounds, evades capture by a team of sea turtle experts while swimming in the Gulf of Mexico near the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This turtle appeared to be in good condition, so the team decided not to capture it.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  Blair Witherington of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recovers an oiled, endangered Kemp's Ridley turtle within 20 miles of the Deepwater Horizon accident site. Witherington and a team of sea turtle experts from NOAA and the University of Florida have been working to recover turtles in the Gulf of Mexico.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  Fires burn around the site of the BP Deepwater Horizon rig.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  Support vessels surround the Q4000, right, in the Gulf of Mexico. The platform operated briefly during a testing problem, but it stopped collecting and burning off oil from BP's leaking well after the well was sealed for the first time since the disaster began in April.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  Without the flare of burning gases, the Q4000 is now quiet as testing is underway to close down the valves to the new cap to see if it will withstand the pressure.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  Over 10 million gallons have been set ablaze. "We've burned more oil than the Exxon Valdez spilled," a worker said.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times  Coast Guard Senior Chief Andrew Jaeger lights a fuse to burn oil trapped in a boom. Over the weekend, BP said, engineers moved closer to containing the spill.  PHOTOGRAPH BY: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times
BP said Thursday that it will pay $4.5 billion in a settlement with the U.S. government over the 2010 oil spill and will plead guilty to felony counts related to the deaths of 11 workers and lying to Congress. The figure includes nearly $1.3 billion in criminal fines — the largest such penalty...