One of the more bizarre but inevitable side effects of the Occupy Wall Street movement has been the blossoming of celebrity in otherwise barren Zuccotti Park, and, ironically, no greater personality has risen out of the movement than Community Affairs Detective Rick Lee, the “Hipster Cop.” Lee has been profiled in the New York Times and the Washington Post, and today graces the digital pages of GQ in an exclusive interview. But having ruffled the feathers from the more suspicious members of the movement, how does Lee come out, politically, from the fruits of his newfound fame?

Jennifer Rexford, who worked cleaning the mess left by the BP oil spill, has documented the impact the spill has had on her body by filming her deterioration and her attempts to seek medical help.

It was a more innocent time. Dave Weigel was still writing for The Washington Post, and BP was still just an awful name for a brand of honey. On April 19, 2010, CNN’s Ed Henry sat down for a (much lighter) follow-up to our Inside the White House Press Corps interview. After bravely tackling subjects like Star Wars, tattoos, porn star names, and the then-imminent Lost finale, Ed’s interview promptly vanished into thin air.

Luckily, the video has resurfaced, allowing a nostalgic look back at a bygone era.

At today’s White House briefing, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was generously given the opportunity to apologize to outgoing BP CEO Tony Hayward for criticism the administration leveled at Hayward’s May comments about the size of the spill relative to the ocean. While Republican Joe Barton was quick to volunteer an apology to Hayward for the $20 billion fund to compensate for oil spill damages, Gibbs wasn’t in such a contrite mood. In fact, he said “Nobody owes Tony Hayward an apology.

Yesterday, incoming BP CEO Bob Dudley announced that the company would initiating a pullback of the cleanup efforts, with “less boom, fewer hazmat suits, but no less commitment,” according to MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell. This was deemed appropriate because, according to Dudley, no oil was flowing out of the oil well. Except there was no way to verify that, because the live feed of the seafloor had been shut off for three days.

While his predecessor, Tony Hayward tried to clear his image in America in his first interview since announcing his departure from the company, incoming BP CEO Bob Dudley wet his feet in the American media pool last night in an interview with Greta Van Susteren, where he expressed optimism in the clean-up operation and the belief that the open well is now probably capped permanently.

In the United States, outgoing BP CEO Tony Hayward is, at best, a national joke, and at worst, an incompetent, deliberately heartless oil baron who deserves not an ounce of sympathy. In the UK, people buy him drinks when they see him in nightclubs and greet him with standing ovations. In his first interview since announcing his departure, Hayward tells the Wall Street Journal that the difference in image is due to his demonization in the American media.

Sandra Bullock is backpedaling to condemn a PSA she made as part of the Restore the Gulf campaign. The PSA, called “Be the One,” features Bullock and other celebrities asking viewers to sign a petition to Congress demanding a fully funded restoration plan for the Gulf. Turns out, though, that the campaign is sponsored by an organization called America’s Wetland Foundation, which, despite the nice sounding name, is actually a greenwashing front group for big oil companies likes Shell, American Petroleum and, you guessed it, BP.

After news broke of BP CEO Tony Hayward‘s ignominious exile to Siberia, Hayward took the fall and acknowledged his role in the BP oil disaster. Kidding! He obviously blamed it on the American Lamestream Media™. Shockingly, asked by Mediaite White House correspondent Tommy Christopher to comment on Hayward’s departure, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs wasn’t feeling Hayward’s pain all that much.

The host of the top cable news show, Fox News Bill O’Reilly, was interviewed last night by the host of the top late night show, NBC’s Jay Leno.

The two-segment discussion saw some surprising takes from O’Reilly on Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and Lindsay Lohan – and an extremely harsh joke at exiting BP CEO Tony Hayward‘s expense.

Tony, we hardly knew ye: the Times UK is reporting (somewhere behind their brand-new pay wall) that BP CEO, public relations master and yacht enthusiast Tony Hayward may be stepping down as early as September. BP has denied the report.

In an interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer scheduled to air tonight, UK Prime Minister David Cameron argued that a thorough investigation of the release of Lockerbie Bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was unnecessary, but despite this he promises to work hand-in-hand with the US government in their investigation of possible connections between al-Megrahi and BP.

Just when you thought BP couldn’t sink any lower, think again. Yesterday, John Aravosis of AmericaBlog reported that a photo of BP’s crisis response room in Houston was doctored to look both busier and more recent.

Four US senators have called for an investigation into BP’s involvement in the release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the convicted bomber of Pan Am Flight 103 which exploded in 1988, killing 270 people. Last night, BP released a statement on the subject. They stuck with their account they, while they did lobby for al-Megrahi’s release, they had no direct involvement with the Scottish government’s decision. They have also said that they will continue drilling in Libya, despite the senators claims that any profits made there are potentially “blood money.”

National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen held a press conference today to explain the next steps BP is taking in its attempt to plug the gushing oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. After several failed attempts to plug the leak, BP is increasingly optimistic about this latest attempt, and Admiral Allen notes that we will know later tonight after an integrity test that will seal the well completely whether this really is the end of the leak.

The dark story of British Petroleum and their many problems took a further disturbing turn yesterday when four Democratic senators from the states of New York and New Jersey accused the company of aiding in the release of convicted terrorist Abdelbaset al-Megrahi so that they could drill in Libya. Sens. Bob Menendez and Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey and Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York are calling for BP to stop their drilling in Libya and testify in front of Congress on the issue. Menendez appeared on Studio B today to discuss this investigation into BP’s possible “blood money.”

Well, it only took 84 days but it looks like the latest attempt (the eighth!) to end the furious leaking of oil into the Gulf of Mexico may have actually been successful. Some oil might still be leaking and we won’t know for sure until tomorrow or the days to come if this is really over. However officials are optimistic and there was apparently “excitement” throughout BP today as the containment cap weighing 150,000 pounds was placed over the leak more than a mile under the surface.

BP has removed the temporary containment cap on the gusher in the Gulf of Mexico, and now the underwater live camera shows the well spilling uncontrollably into the sea. In order to explain what the next step in the process to contain the well will be, CNN had structural engineer Terry Anderson on the program as a guest to explain the reason for the cap being removed.

This Black Panther just keeps getting more and more absurd. New Black Panther Party head Malik Zulu Shabazz burst onto the scene with some strongly-worded messages to Glenn Beck and a interview with Fox News’ Megyn Kelly and has usurped BP CEO Tony Hayward‘s place as this summer’s most disliked non-celebrity in some circles. And now, video has surfaced of Shabazz praising Osama Bin Laden in 2002 for “not bowing down” to America.

Remember Tony Hayward, the cartoonishly detached BP CEO that provided the only temporary relief (in the form of relentless mockery) from the unending agony of the BP oil disaster? He’s back, unfortunately, and he’s eating seafood. Even more scandalous, there was a pretty girl within thirty feet of him while he did it! TMZ has the Pulitzer-worthy investigation.

The last time anyone checked, BP’s approval rating was not in a good place (technically, somewhere between OJ Simpson‘s and Saddam Hussein‘s). The BP name is so thoroughly disgraced that, at this point, it seems to taint everything it touches, and fearing a similar fate to the one that awaits the company, the American Energy Alliance is launching an all-out campaign to distance themselves from BP.

The horrors of the environmental devastation in the Gulf of Mexico are very real, but, fortunately, the assault is only coming from the ground– not the sky. YouTube video recently started making the rounds of what looked like “oil rain” falling in Louisiana, the sheen clearly visible on the ground. The problem? It’s not possible to rain oil– and Rachel Maddow explains why.

It’s Friday night, and Keith Olbermann and Sarah Palin are having a debate! Well, not really, but this is about the closest to direct contact that can be expected, and we have Twitter to thank for it. Olbermann is taking Palin to task for recommending an article suggesting that the BP escrow fund gives President Obama similar powers to an economic initiative passed under Hitler, and then attacking the “lamestream media” for pointing that out.

BP made waves when they made an issue of using the $20 billion escrow fund only for “legitimate” claims from workers in the Gulf coast, making skeptics concerned with what the company will deem legitimate. Well, how’s this for legitimate? Strippers from the Gulf coast region are demanding payments from the company, claiming that the fall in tourism in the region has devastated their industry. Bill O’Reilly investigates.

The Chris Matthews/Rush Limbaugh mostly one-sided feud continued today on Hardball, where Matthews revisited his interview with Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, who refused to contradict Limbaugh’s defense of Rep. Joe Barton. In attacking the Republicans for refusing to denounce him, Matthews put the fight aside for a second to “salute” Limbaugh for his influence in the media world.