Legendary guitarist Slash told MTV News that he was originally supposed to appear in Rihanna's video for "Rockstar 101" in which she appears dressed as none other than the iconic GUNS N' ROSES axeman.

"I was supposed to actually be in that video," Slash told MTV News. "I played on the song, and they called me up to ask me to play in the video, but my record was just coming out, and I was sort of worn thin," he explained. "She was really sweet. She sent me this pleading text to come do the video, but I couldn't make it work. I told her that me not being in the video wasn't going to make or break it."

So what does Slash think of Rihanna's pantomime-like depiction of him in the clip?

"The video is way better with her being me than with me being me," he said. "All things considered, it brings an element of sexuality to it that I probably wouldn't have been capable of. I think it's hot, and I sent her a text this morning telling her it was definitely hotter with her doing it than with me doing it. Everything works out the way it's supposed to."

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/164002 … anna.jhtml

COVINGTON, La. (AP) '” The dire impact of the massive Gulf spill was apparent Sunday on oil-soaked islands where pelicans nest as several of the birds splashed in the water and preened themselves, apparently trying to clean crude from their feet and wings.

Pelican eggs were glazed with rust-colored gunk in the bird colony, with thick globs floating on top of the water. Nests sat precariously close the mess in mangrove trees. As oil crept farther into the delicate wetlands in Barataria Bay off Louisiana, BP officials said Sunday that one of their efforts to slow the leak wasn't working as effectively as before.

BP spokesman John Curry told The Associated Press on Sunday that a mile-long tube inserted into the leaking well siphoned some 57,120 gallons of oil within the past 24 hours, a sharp drop from the 92,400 gallons of oil a day that the device was sucking up on Friday. However, the company has said the amount of oil siphoned will vary widely from day to day.

Engineers are working furiously to stem the growing ooze as more wildlife and delicate coastal wetlands are tainted despite the oil-absorbing booms placed around shorelines to protect them.

A pelican colony off Louisiana's coast was awash in oil Saturday, and an Associated Press photographer saw several birds and their eggs coated in the ooze while nests rested in mangroves precariously close to the crude that had washed in. Workers had surrounded the island with the booms, but puddles of oil had seeped through the barrier.

Meanwhile, three top Obama administration officials are returning to the Gulf Coast to monitor the spill response.

Anger with the government and BP, which leased the rig and is responsible for the cleanup, has boiled over as the spill spreads. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief Lisa P. Jackson was headed Sunday to Louisiana, where she planned to visit with frustrated residents.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano were to lead a Senate delegation to the region on Monday to fly over affected areas and keep an eye on the response.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs also told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday that Justice Department officials have been to the region gathering information about the spill. However, he wouldn't say whether the department has opened a criminal investigation.

Meanwhile, the official responsible for the oversight of the month-old spill response said he understands the discontent among residents who want to know what's next.

"If anybody is frustrated with this response, I would tell them their symptoms are normal, because I'm frustrated, too," said Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen. "Nobody likes to have a feeling that you can't do something about a very big problem."

President Obama also has named a special independent commission to review what happened. The spill began after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded off the coast of Louisiana on April 20, killing 11 workers, and sank two days later. At least 6 million gallons of crude have spewed into the Gulf of Mexico since, though a growing number of scientists have said they believe it's more.

The visits from top Obama chiefs come as BP said it will be at least Tuesday before engineers can shoot mud into the blown-out well at the bottom of the Gulf, yet another delay in the effort to stop the oil.

A so-called "top kill" has been tried on land but never 5,000 feet underwater, so scientists and engineers have spent the past week preparing and taking measurements to make sure it will stop the oil that has been spewing into the sea for a month. They originally hoped to try it as early as this weekend.

"It's taking time to get everything set up," BP spokesman Tom Mueller said. "They're taking their time. It's never been done before. We've got to make sure everything is right."

Crews will shoot heavy mud into a crippled piece of equipment atop the well. Then engineers will direct cement at the well to permanently stop the oil.

As the spill spreads deeper into vulnerable marshes, some have called for federal officials to take over the response. But Allen said the government must hold BP accountable. After the 1989 Exxon Valdez tanker spilled 11 million gallons of oil in Alaska, Congress dictated that oil companies be responsible for dealing with major accidents '” including paying for all cleanup '” with oversight by federal agencies.

BP has tried and failed several times to halt the gusher, and has had some success with the mile-long tube.

Engineers are also developing several other plans in case the top kill doesn't work, including an effort to shoot knotted rope, pieces of tire and other material '” known as a junk shot '” to plug the blowout preventer, which was meant to shut off the oil in case of an accident but did not work.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/201 … Stories%29

By Rick Jervis, USA TODAY

VENICE, La. '” Oil giant BP conceded Thursday that
the Gulf of Mexico oil leak is larger than it
originally estimated, adding more worry as portions
of the massive spill began trickling ashore for the
first time.

Mark Proegler, a BP spokesman, said workers are
capturing about 210,000 gallons a day '” the total
daily amount the company and the Coast Guard have
estimated is gushing into the sea '” but some is still
escaping. He would not say how much.

Proegler said the figure has always been just an
estimate because there is no way to measure how
much is spilling from the well.

Tentacles of the oil spill were seeping Thursday into
Louisiana's lower marshes.

Some of the crude seeped into the Loop Current, a
fast-moving current south of the well that could
swing the oil east toward Florida's coastline, said
Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration. But she said only a
small amount of oil is entering the current and will
likely break down by the time it nears Florida.

"The bulk of the oil on the surface is still far away
from the Loop Current," she said.

Crews have been struggling for nearly a month to
cap the well that began gushing oil following last
month's explosion and sinking of the Deepwater
Horizon rig about 50 miles offshore. The downing
of the rig killed 11 workers and sparked an
ecological emergency in the Gulf.

Oil pushing into marshes ratchets up the urgency
and marks the start of a complex cleanup effort, said K
urt Fromherz, a spokesman for Plaquemines Parish,
who toured the oily marshes with parish leaders and
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/env … Stories%29

LONDON (AP) '” British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced Monday he will resign by September in a dramatic move that eases the way for his Labour Party to stay in power in a possible coalition government with the third-place Liberal Democrats.

Brown said the Labour Party, which came a distant second to the Conservatives in Thursday's national election, would begin a leadership contest to replace him while he focused on talks aimed at breaking Britain's election deadlock.

"As leader of my party I must accept that as a judgment on me," Brown said, referring to Labour's poor showing in the election.

Brown's startling news conference came as the Conservatives, who won the most seats in the election but not a majority in Parliament, were already holding talks with the Liberal Democrats. Lawmakers had said those talks stalled over differences on key issues, including reform of the voting system, a Liberal Democrat demand.

In a statement outside his office at 10 Downing Street, Brown said Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg had asked to begin formal coalition talks with the Labour Party and the two could form a center-left alliance.

Clegg had previously said Brown's departure would likely be a condition of any deal with Labour.

"There is a progressive majority in Britain, and I believe it could be in the interests of the whole country to form a progressive coalition government," Brown said.

Cameron's center-right Conservatives won 306 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons, 20 short of a majority. Brown's center-left Labour won 258 and the center-left Liberal Democrats took 57 seats. Other smaller parties took the rest.

Brown said he hoped a new Labour leader would be appointed at the party's annual convention in September. Foreign Secretary David Miliband and Education Secretary Ed Balls will likely be leading contenders to succeed Brown as party leader.

The pound fell nearly 1.5 cents against the dollar after Brown's statement, trading at $1.4866 late Monday, reflecting some fear of Labour's continued presence in the government.

Britain has a record 153 billion-pound ($236 billion) deficit that the Conservatives have pledged to tackle faster than Labour.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2010 … Stories%29