BP Building 'Containment Dome' to Slow Spill

The firm at the center of the Gulf Coast spill is building a giant dome to slow the spread of oil. BP is constructing a 4-story, 70-ton contraption to lower over one of the leaks. The BBC likens the device to a "giant iron funnel" that "resembles a primitive space rocket with a hole on top." It will apparently catch the ooze and allow it to be pumped to the surface for removal. “This has been done in shallow water but it’s never been done in deep water before,” BP's COO tells the New York Times.

Word of the dome comes as BP appears, increasingly, to be on the defensive over its role in the mess. A worker who was on the oil rig at the time of the explosion says they'd been drilling deeper than the 20,000 foot limit, says the Times. Another worker told lawyers the company had refused to install an expensive shut-off valve. BP called the claims "factually incorrect." To watch Jon Stewart's take, click here. Click here for the latest news on the spill. (More oil spill stories.)