American Morning
A slick maneuver?
So where's all the spilled oil? The coast guard insists it can't find much more to clean up on the surface of the gulf. Their crews keep conducting flyovers and the pilots keep coming back with the same story, there's little crude to be found. Can millions of gallons of oil really be all gone? Some of the locals say they know where the crude is and they'd be happy to point the coast guard in the right direction. CNN's Jim Acosta reports.
Gut Check: Should pets be considered like a child in divorce court?
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For Gayle Myers, her dog Lucky is just like her child. "I don't have any kids, so she is the closest thing that I am going to have to a child." She and her husband, Craig, had taken in Lucky, a Shih Tzu mix, as a stray. When their eight-year marriage ended in divorce, the couple managed to resolve all outstanding issues - except for who would get to keep Lucky. "I know that he cares about her and didn't want to give her up either. It's just - neither of us wanted to give her up,” Myers says. And because in Maryland, pets are considered property, like a house or a car, it was up to retired Maryland Circuit Judge Graydon S. McKee II to decide who would get the dog. He awarded the couple joint custody - the first time a decision on dog custody has been recorded in Maryland. Lucky will spend six months a year with each of his "parents." McKee says after listening to both sides, he thought it was the only fair thing to do. Watch 
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Senator demands probe of BP tax break
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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Two days after BP said it will write off the cost of the oil spill cleanup against its income taxes, a U.S. senator is calling for a Congressional probe into the company's tax plans.
Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla. sent a letter to the Senate Finance Committee Thursday, requesting a series of hearings on the matter and calling BP's plans to take a tax write-off "unacceptable."
On Tuesday, BP said it took a $32 billion charge in the second quarter for clean-up costs, resulting in tax savings of about $10 billion.
That's half the value of the $20 billion fund that BP set up to aid Gulf coast victims, Nelson pointed out.
BP announced the charge along with its second quarter earnings, saying the cleanup costs were the main reason for its $17 billion loss during the quarter.
BP spokesman Daren Beaudo, in an email to CNN, said the company is following U.S. tax code in taking the charge. Read More
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Feds: Military contractor scammed nearly $200M
(CNN) – A bizarre case is playing out in a New York courtroom. The feds say a former CEO scammed his company for nearly $200 million. They say he spent it on prostitutes for employees, plastic surgery for his wife, cars, trips, parties, and the list goes on. So why should you care? Alina Cho has the answer.
Video: Fighting fair could strengthen marriage
(CNN) – New research finds fighting fair can actually make your relationship stronger. Scott Stanley is co-author of "Fighting for Your Marriage" and co-director of the Center for Marital and Family Studies at the University of Denver. He joined us on Thursday's American Morning to explain the findings.
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