BP Agrees to Create $20B Fund for Spill Victims

BP has agreed to finance a $20 billion fund to pay the claims of people whose jobs and way of life have been damaged by the Gulf oil spill, senior administration officials say. The independent fund will be led by lawyer Kenneth Feinberg, who oversaw payments to families of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The development comes as top BP executives met at the White House this morning with President Obama, who promised last night to "make BP pay." Only sketchy details were emerging, and it's unclear what would happen if $20 billion turned out to be not enough. President Obama is expected to make public remarks this afternoon.
(More Gulf oil spill stories.)