Enterprise

WASHINGTON - The federal government hired a New Orleans man for $18,000 to appraise whether news stories about its actions in the Gulf oil spill were positive or negative for the Obama administration, which was keenly sensitive to comparisons between its response and former President George W.

The Gulf oil spill is a bonanza for some and a bust for others.

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. - Want to know the future of the oil-stained Gulf of Mexico ecosystem? Look first to its muddy, polluted past.

Army Sgt. Robert J. Barrett Rob Barrett's family knew he was going into the military since he was 8 years old.