News.

1. MV Rachel Corrie Continues Aid Mission to Gaza 
2. Thousands Mourn Turkish Victims of Flotilla Attack
3. Swedish Dockers Boycott Israeli Goods, Ships in Flotilla Protest
   
4. Scientists: Spill Could Extend Up Atlantic Ocean
5. Gov’t Could Be Underestimating Spill Size
6. Widow: Rig Victim Worried of Safety Conditions Before Explosion
7. BP Lobbyists Have Government Ties
8. Alabama Prisoners Hired for Spill Cleanup
9. Study: Over 1,400 Financial Lobbyists Formerly Worked in Gov’t
10. Report: G8 Preparing to Drop Africa Aid Pledge

MV Rachel Corrie Continues Aid Mission to Gaza

The Free Gaza Movement’s remaining humanitarian aid ship is expected to reach the Gaza coastline in the next day. The MV Rachel Corrie is continuing its mission in the face of Israeli vows to thwart its passage following the attack on the other six ships in the Freedom Flotilla earlier this week. Named after the slain US peace activist, passengers aboard the Rachel Corrie include Irish Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Maguire and former United Nations deputy secretary-general Denis Halliday.

Thousands Mourn Turkish Victims of Flotilla Attack

Up to 20,000 people gathered in Istanbul on Thursday to pay tribute to the nine activists killed in the attack. The coffins were carried through central Istanbul draped in Turkish and Palestinian flags. The youngest of the nine victims was nineteen-year-old US citizen Furkan Dogan. Dogan was born in Troy, New York and moved to Turkey when he was two years old. An autopsy showed he was shot at close range, once in the chest and four times in the head.

Swedish Dockers Boycott Israeli Goods, Ships in Flotilla Protest

Israel continues to face worldwide protest over the flotilla assault. In Sweden, the Swedish Dockers’ Union has announced a more-than-week-long boycott of all ships and goods originating from or destined to Israel. We’ll have more on the flotilla assault after headlines.

Scientists: Spill Could Extend Up Atlantic Ocean

The effort comes amidst warnings the oil spill is likely to extend thousands of miles up the Atlantic ocean as early as next summer. The National Center for Atmospheric Research issued the prediction based on a detailed computer modeling study. Researchers say the spill could move as far as Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, before hitting the open Atlantic Ocean.

Gov’t Could Be Underestimating Spill Size

A newly released report, meanwhile, shows the federal government could still be drastically underestimating the size of the spill. Last week the government estimated the well is spewing between 12,000 to 19,000 barrels of oil a day. But according to the Huffington Post, the Department of Interior’s "Flow Rate Technical Group" now says those figures represent the lower range of "lower bounds" using conservative estimates.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, the Center for Public Integrity released a report showing the Coast Guard knew within twenty-four hours of the April explosion that the rig’s blowout preventer had failed and that the spill could have reached as high as 8,000 barrels a day, a larger figure than officials disclosed at the time.

Widow: Rig Victim Worried of Safety Conditions Before Explosion

The widow of one of the eleven victims of the rig explosion that triggered the spill has revealed her late husband expressed concern over safety conditions shortly before his death. In an interview with NBC News, Shelley Anderson said her husband, Jason, took steps to ensure his family would be prepared should anything happen to him.

Shelley Anderson: "Everything seemed to be pressing to Jason about getting things in order, in case something happened, teaching me how to do certain things on the motor home so that I could go and do things with the kids and make sure that I knew how to do everything. They were getting pressure from someplace higher up to do things that maybe weren’t exactly the way Jason thought that they should be."

Reporter: "Weren’t as safe as they should be?"

Shelley Anderson: "It was a safety issue, right."

BP Lobbyists Have Government Ties

The Huffington Post is reporting BP has hired at least twenty-seven lobbyists who formerly worked in Congress or the executive branch. The hirings all came in the first three months of this year, before the April spill. BP spent $3.8 million on lobbying the federal government during the same period.

Alabama Prisoners Hired for Spill Cleanup

In other spill news, more than 200 Alabama prisoners have been hired to assist in the cleanup effort. The Alabama Department of Corrections says nearly 150 prisoners will have been trained in Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response by the end of this week.

Study: Over 1,400 Financial Lobbyists Formerly Worked in Gov’t

A new study says Wall Street lobbyists continue to draw large numbers from former lawmakers and government officials. According to the groups Public Citizen and the Center for Responsive Politics, over 1,400 former members of Congress, Capitol Hill staffers and federal employees have registered as financial sector lobbyists since 2009. The number includes at least seventy-three former lawmakers and 148 ex-staffers connected to the House or Senate banking committees. More than forty lobbyists formerly worked for the Treasury Department.