Gwinnett Daily Post

Feds: Storms delay drilling for final well plug

NEW ORLEANS -- Approaching storms forced crews to suspend drilling the final stretch of a relief well aimed at shooting a permanent underground plug into BP's busted oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, the government's point man for the disaster said Tuesday.

Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said the suspension could mean a delay of two or three days in completing the relief well, one of the last steps toward ending any threat from the well that spewed more than 200 million gallons of oil over three months before a temporary cap sealed it in mid-July.

Crews will pop in a temporary plug to keep what they've drilled so far safe, but they won't send workers back to land. They have about 30 to 50 feet left to drill.

Governor offers help with mosque at ground zero

ALBANY, N.Y. -- New York Gov. David Paterson offered state help Tuesday if the developers of a mosque near the site of the Sept. 11 attacks agree to move the project farther from the site.

Paterson, a Democrat, said that he doesn't oppose the project as planned but indicated that he understands where opponents are coming from. He said he was willing to intervene to seek other suitable state property if the developers agreed.

''I think it's rather clear that building a center there meets all the requirements, but it does seem to ignite an immense amount of anxiety among the citizens of New York and people everywhere, and I think not without cause,'' Paterson said in a news conference in Manhattan.

More studios sign on to allow Netflix streaming

LOS ANGELES -- Netflix Inc. will pay nearly $1 billion during the next five years for the online streaming rights to movies from Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM in a deal that could help Netflix attract even more subscribers.

The agreement announced Tuesday marks another breakthrough in Netflix's bid to stock its online streaming library with more compelling material, so it can keep its subscription service relevant as more households order entertainment through high-speed Internet connections. The online streaming push also helps the company reduce its postage bill for mailing DVDs to its 15 million subscribers.

The deal also makes the three studios' joint pay TV venture, Epix, immediately profitable.

Families of Philly duck boat victims file suit

PHILADELPHIA -- The families of two Hungarian tourists killed in a duck boat accident on the Delaware River last month have filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Philadelphia.

Sixteen-year-old Dora Schwendtner and 20-year-old Szabolcs Prem were killed July 7 when a barge being pushed by a tug slammed into the stalled duck boat. The boat capsized and sank.

Lawyers for the victims' families said the suit was filed Tuesday, naming tour boat operator Ride the Ducks of Norcross and others.

The suit seeks punitive damages and claims the deaths were senseless and preventable.

Obama signs bill to halt layoffs of teachers, police

WASHINGTON -- Summoned back from summer break, the House on Tuesday pushed through an emergency $26 billion jobs bill to protect 300,000 teachers, police and others from election-year layoffs. President Barack Obama immediately signed it into law..

Lawmakers streamed back to Washington for a one-day session as Democrats declared a need to act before children return to classrooms minus teachers laid off because of budgetary crises in states that have been hard-hit by the recession.

Republicans saw it differently, calling the bill a giveaway to teachers' unions and an example of wasteful Washington spending that voters will punish the Democrats for in this fall's elections.

Glow-in-the dark shrimp reportedly found in Oregon

NEWPORT, Ore. -- People who bought pink shrimp at some Oregon stores are reporting that it glows in the dark.

Experts tell The Register-Guard that they shouldn't worry because it's due to certain marine bacteria that can cause shrimp and other seafood to appear luminescent. They said it's not a health risk and does not indicate mishandling during processing.