Good news from the Gulf? Perhaps. A BP official announced Sunday that they have made progress in maneuvers to get a new cap installed on the gushing Deepwater Horizon oil well—a process that’s being conducted mostly by robotic submarines one mile under the water’s surface. Within six days, the official said, BP is hopeful it will have constructed a perfect seal. “We’re pleased with our progress,” said BP's senior vice president. If the new seal works, it will capture 2.5 million to 3.4 million gallons a day—or, essentially, all of the leaking oil. To put that into perspective, the old cap collected about 1 million gallons a day. BP hopes to fully plug the leak by August.

What a nail-biter! After almost two hours of play, Spain finally scored a goal in the final minutes of overtime to secure their first World Cup championship, besting a valiant effort by the Netherlands. The first half of the World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands ended without a goal, but plenty of fouls—referee Howard Webb drew a yellow card five time. Both sides appeared a little cautious and struggled to build any real rhythm. Still, Spain dominated the early proceedings, much as it did in its semi-final against Germany, before the Netherlands worked their way back into the game. Spain’s best chance came in the fifth minute, when Sergio Ramos’s header drew an excellent diving save from Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg. The Netherlands found a small opening in the dying moments of the half, but Arjen Robben’s shot from range was well stopped by Iker Casillas.

Though Senate Democrats are confident that financial regulation legislation will eventually pass, several roadblocks have consistently delayed when the legislation will actually be voted on. The successful passage of the sweeping overhaul is contingent on Majority Leader Harry Reid finding the necessary 60 votes to evade a Republican filibuster, a task fraught with difficulty in an bitter election year. Also up in the air is when West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin III names the late Democratic Senator Robert C. Byrd's successor, as Byrd supported the legislation., and whether the Republicans who support the measure will vote to close debate. In the best-case scenario, the bill could be voted as early as this Thursday.

In a tragic aside to today's World Cup festivities, two bombs killed at least 64 people—including one American—in Uganda's capital, Kampala. The explosions went off at two restaurants where people had gathered to watch the televised World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands. Kampala Police Chief Kale Kaihura said today he believes that the Somali Al-Shabab militia, which has pledged loyalty to al Qaeda but has never attacked outside of Somalia, may be responsible for the blasts. The deadlier of the two blasts took place at a rugby club, and the other explosion took place at an Ethiopian restaurant, where three Americans were wounded; Al-Shabab is an avowed enemy of Ethiopia. According to an AP reporter on the scene at the rugby club, evidence suggests that a suicide bomber may be to blame. Kris Sledge, an 18 year-old Pennsylvania native who was wounded at the Ethiopian restaurant, said, "I remember blacking out, hearing people screaming and running...At this point we're just glad to be alive." An Al-Shabab leader did not accept culpability for the attack, but offered a chilling reaction: “Uganda is one of our enemies. Whatever makes them cry, makes us happy.”

Science remains among many of America’s stickiest issues and many in the field are not happy with President Obama, who’s being attacked for putting political concerns before scientific research. Many charge that the Obama administration has not done enough to reverse a culture from the Bush years that allowed officials to get in the way of their important, if not essential, work. “We are getting complaints from government scientists now at the same rate we were during the Bush administration,” an activist lawyer told the Los Angeles Times. Among the complainers are water-quality experts, federal scientists, biologists, and oil and gas exploration teams. In March 2009, the president effectively set policy in a memorandum calling for scientific integrity standards, but many argue those have yet to fall into place. John P. Holdren, in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, disagrees. “There should not be any doubt that these principles have been in effect,” he said, adding that further “augmentation of these principles” will be on the way.

This may not be your ordinary catfight between two women, let alone politicians: Carly Fiorina, the former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, and Meg Whitman, the former head of eBay—and now the California Republican Party’s nominees for governor and senator, respectively—are said to have a history of friction. Fiorina and Whitman, high-powered women who are both used to being in charge, appear almost twin-like, just a couple of Silicon Valley professionals. The truth, however, is much more complex. After the Los Angeles Times interviewed 24 officials, political operatives, and others who have worked with the women, many said the rumors of the tendentious relationship are true. Spokespeople for Fiorina and Whitman beg to differ. “Those are spun-up stories that have to be considered ridiculous,” said Whitman’s spokesman. The two started working together during John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign.

A week after his Officeonscreen wife Jenna Fischer tied the knot, John Krasinksi made it official with his main squeeze, Emily Blunt. On Saturday the pair exchanged vows in a private ceremony in Villa d'Este in Como, Italy. Guests included George Clooney and his girlfriend Elisabetta Canalis. Blunt and Krasinski have been together since 2008, and got engaged in August 2009. A source told US Weekly, "It was an outdoor ceremony and absolutely beautiful."

Bob Sheppard, the iconic Yankee Stadium public address announcer nicknamed “The Voice of God,” has died at age 99. Sheppard started with the Yankees on April 17, 1951—announcing for a lineup that included the likes of Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, and Phil Rizzuto—and called his career quits late in the 2007 season, after falling ill with a bronchial infection. He also served as the stadium announcer for the NFL’s New York Giants from 1956 to 2005 and for men’s basketball and football at St. John’s University, where he taught classes. Baseball, though, is what made Sheppard a star.

Colton Harris-Moore, the 19-year-old fugitive known as the “Barefoot Bandit,” has nowhere else to run—or, for that matter, fly. After a two-year escape from U.S. justice, Harris-Moore was arrested on Eleuthera, an island in the Bahamas, on Sunday. Harris-Moore’s flight from the law began after he escaped from a Washington state halfway house in 2008, and extensive media coverage followed. Since then, he's gained folk-hero fame for his ability to avoid officials, as well as steal cars, boats, and planes. Now in police custody, it doesn’t look like he’ll maintain that status much longer. A police official said the suspect would soon be flown to Nassau, where the Royal Bahamas Police Force would be holding a news conference.

Universal Pictures took a cue from Pixar and other animated-movie makers and—surprise, surprise—found huge success this weekend. Despicable Me, the movie studio’s first animated film, topped the box office with an estimated $60.1 million. The film stars Steve Carell as an overgrown bumbler who plans to steal the moon but has a change of heart when three orphaned girls enter his life. Jason Segel, Russell Brand, and Julie Andrews are among the other stars to provide voices for the 3-D characters. This week’s other big release, Predators, opened third with $25.3 million. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse came in second, with another $33 million for its total $237 million 12-day haul.

Let the political hand wringing begin: Democratic governors are placing fault on their colleagues in Washington—not just President Obama—over their party’s plight in the approaching midterm elections this fall. Among their many complaints: budget shortfalls, unemployment, and angry voters. Gathered in Boston for the National Governors Association (NGA) meeting, the politicians believe that Congress and the White House are making what’s been a difficult year even worse. While grateful for the stimulus legislation, the governors argue that more needs to be done. “I’m disappointed in Washington,” said Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn.

Beatles fans, it appears, don't like "Poker Face" singer Lady Gaga. Here's proof: When John Lennon's son Sean recently let the pop star play on his father's old grand piano, longtime fans got angry about it. Sean had tweeted a photo of Gaga sporting fishnets and playing the white Steinway, and a quick stream of bemoaning Beatles fans on Twitter followed. Sean’s response: “Pianos meant are to be played. Why is everyone so uptight?”

Bobby Spillane, the 45-year-old son of legendary mobster Mickey Spillane, fell to his death from the sixth floor of his Manhattan apartment Saturday. Sources said that Bobby had been leaning out a window and calling out to his brother, Michael, when the screen collapsed. Michael looked on from across the street in horror. “Michael said he’ll never forget the thump when he hit the ground. He said, ‘That will be in my mind forever,’” a family relative told The New York Daily News. Law enforcement sources said the death is still under investigation. Spillane, who was an actor in TV shows and films including Law & Order, Rescue Me, and The Thomas Crown Affair, had just returned from a vacation with his wife.

The key role of Bruce Banner, aka The Incredible Hulk, is now up for grabs in the 2012 blockbuster The Avengers. Marvel Studios confirmed that it will not be casting Edward Norton, who played the green behemoth in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. “Our decision is definitely not one based on monetary factors, but instead rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members,” Kevin Feige, Marvel’s president of production, wrote in a message to HitFix.com. So far the reaction of the first movie’s fans has been vocal: They want Norton back. It’s too bad, really, that Norton and studio execs couldn’t come to more agreeable terms.

It has been six months since 1.5 million Haitians, those lucky enough to survive the massive earthquake, were displaced and left on the street. And in that time, only 28,000 of them have moved into new homes. Port-au-Prince is still in ruins and the streets are lined with makeshift tents as people wait for new lodging that is too slow in coming. The weak central government has been overwhelmed by the complexity of dealing with the cleanup, and worried about encouraging residents to return to seemingly undamaged homes, afraid that structural damage still lingers beneath the surface. Still, international aid organizations are finding some positives. “We haven’t had a major outbreak of disease,” said one U.N. representative. “We haven’t had a major breakdown in security.”

“An amazing story,” said Rush Limbaugh, the acerbic conservative radio talk-show titan, during a recent show, referencing editor-at-large Lloyd Grove’s feature in The Daily Beast called “ The Elite Turn Against Obama". The story, which looks at a fallout in President Obama’s elite, upper-echelon support base—many who gathered at this week’s Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado—sat well with a man not typically known for throwing in a kind word. Limbaugh went on to point out the story’s key figures—the New York Daily News publisher Mort Zuckerman and Harvard professor Niall Ferguson—and lauded how they all seemed to agree that Obama’s policies are encouraging laziness. “The damage that’s being done to this country purposely, and that we have to come to grips with it—finally, they’re saying it,” Limbaugh said.

Correction: This post originally said that White House Budget Director Peter Orszag and economic advisor Larry Summers agreed that Obama's policies are encouraging laziness. Summers and Orszag attended the Aspen Ideas Festival, but neither criticized President Obama's agenda while there. We regret the error. 

American Idol champ and reigning country star Carrie Underwood tied the knot with NHL player Mike Fisher on Saturday in what their wedding planner called “a spiritual expression of their love.” Their wedding, located in a southern luxury resort, went off without a hitch. 250 friends and family gathered for the ceremony, which featured the couple’s favorite Bible readings and classical music. “We could not feel more blessed to have found each other and to have shared this day with our friends and family that mean so much to us!” Underwood and Fisher told People magazine in a statement. The couple plans to keep homes in Nashville and in Peterborough, Ontario, near where Fisher plays hockey for the Ottawa Senators.

Israel’s blockade is once again coming under scrutiny as a Libyan aid ship heads to Gaza, despite orders from the Israeli government to divert to the port of Ashdod. Sent by the Gadhafi Foundation, the ship is carrying 2,000 tons of aid, along with eight activists and an Al Jazeera journalist. It is expected to arrive in roughly three days. But Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who said the ship would not be allowed to enter the Palestinian territory called it, "an unnecessary provocation." If Israeli forces decide to board the ship — as they did in May, when violence between commandos and activists left nine Turks dead — the Gadhafi Foundation has already promised they would not meet any resistance.

Scrambling for cash to cover the escalating costs of the Gulf cleanup, BP has entered exclusive negotiations with the Apache Corporation to sell up to $12 billion of assets. Included in the package would be a major stake in Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay, the largest oil field in North America. BP also has two other sales in the works, with two companies reportedly interested in buying off BP’s 60 percent stake in Pan American Energy, an Argentinian oil producer, for some $9 billion. Other smaller asset packages, like its businesses in Venezuela, Colombia, and Vietnam, could earn another $2 billion on the market. Goldman Sachs estimates that the company’s cleanup and compensation costs will ultimately rise to around $70 billion. Many of BP’s other rivals may also use the opportunity offered by the company’s low share price to explore possible mergers. Exxon, for instance, has reportedly been told by regulators that, at least in theory, there would be no problem with a merger.

Bet Cuba didn’t see this coming: In his first known public appearance in four years, Fidel Castro was seen at a Havana scientific facility, a pro-government blog reported on Saturday. Photographs taken with a cell phone were posted to the blog and show the ailing 83-year-old revolutionary leader smiling and talking, with a group gathered around him. Rosa Baez, the blogger, wrote that it was a “surprise visit"—which may be an understatement. In fact, Castro has rarely appeared in photographs and videos since undergoing intestinal surgery in 2006. “He is thin, but looked good and, according to our director, is very good mentally,” reads a comment on Baez’s blog. Castro remains head of Cuba’s Communist Party. His 79-year-old brother, Raul, has been president of Cuba since 2008.

The recession has been hard on black Americans: in Kansas City’s black community, for instance, unemployment is around 15 percent, almost three times the rate for whites. Still, despite the nation’s slow economic recovery, blacks continue to rally around President Obama. “I like what he’s doing,” said one Kansas City resident. “But I can't feel it.” His views remain the standard among blacks. In fact, polls show that 90 percent of African Americans think Obama’s policies are on the right track—this despite Obama’s overall 46 percent approval rating. What black voters don’t seem to care about, though, are midterm elections. And the Democratic National Committee seems well aware of the problem. It has launched a $50 million nationwide effort to get blacks to the polls this November.