Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check

BP Oil Spill - Day 85:

It's going to cost BP tens of billions of dollars over the next several years to pay for cleanup and liability in the Gulf, but company accountants have found a silver lining in the whole affair: It will also save them billions on taxes.
   The Financial Times reports that by writing off the cleanup costs against taxes, BP will pay $10 billion less to the U-S and U-K governments over the next four years --a decrease of more than a quarter of the company's current tax payments-- and cost the countries hundreds of millions in much-needed tax dollars.
   This is particularly bad blow to the U-K, which is in the midst of the most severe budget cuts in decades.
   Here's how the math works: According to the Financial Times, if the oil giant does plug the leak by August, it would likely cost BP around $30 billion. "With a tax rate on profits of 33 per cent in a typical year, that would cut BP's tax bill by about $10 billion."
   In addition to cleanup costs, analysts forecast that liability payments could cost the company about $50 billion. (Maiman)

Filling a need:

Ever eat frogs legs?
   Some think of it as a delicacy (maybe because they think it's a French thing), and others think of it as freaky. But frog legs are popping up on menus across the country, so much so that industry-watchers say the United States is poised to overtake France as the world's largest consumer of frog legs.
   "We sell the hell out of them," says one California restaurateur.
   But environmentalists say the trend could wreak havoc on America's embattled amphibian population. Up to 1 billion frogs already winding up on the world's dinner tables each year, the trend could spell disaster for amphibians already pushed to the brink of extinction by habitat destruction and climate change.
   Part of the problem is that imported frogs often carry diseases like chytrid fungus, which has already been blamed for the death of 100 amphibian species worldwide. One recent study found that of the five million bullfrogs imported each year by stores in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, almost two-thirds carried the fungus.
   Editor's note: I'm too embarrassed to jump in with a hopping joke. You do it. Jump in. Get it? (Maiman)

Broadcast, cable and video news:

Another day, another report that "America's Got Talent" host PIERS MORGAN is gonna take over LARRY KING's interview show on CNN. This time it's the New York Times which claims Piers is thisclose to a deal to take over the coveted gig. He's already been hosting "Piers Morgan Life Stories" on CNN, and was a "chat show presenter" and did BARBARA WALTERS-style interview shows in the U-K before landing the gig as a judge on "America's Got Talent." He was also the former editor of the British tabloids News of the World (1994-95) and the Daily Mirror (1995-2004).

This Week's Hot TV shows (Nielsen, 2+):

10. "Wipeout," (Thu), (ABC),
9. "Two and a Half Men," CBS,
8. "The Big Bang Theory," CBS,
7. "NCIS: Los Angeles," CBS,
6. "The Mentalist," CBS.
5. "Wipeout," (Tue), (ABC),
4. "The Bachelorette," ABC,
3. "NCIS," CBS,
2. "America's Got Talent," (Tue), NBC,
1. "America's Got Talent," (Wed), NBC.

The Reel Deal:

Former Nebraska Governor and Senator BOB KERRY is reportedly talking to the Motion Picture Association of America to head up the MPAA.
   Kerry told DON IMUS yesterday that he's "talking very seriously" to the regulatory group and added: "We're in the final stages of negotiations." The MPAA, which gives ratings to films as part of its job, was headed up until 2004 by JACK VALENTI, who was with the organization for 38 years. He was subsequently replaced by former Kansas Congressman and U-S Agriculture Secretary DAN GLICKMAN until this past May.
   Until now, Kerry has been serving as President of The New School in NYC since leaving politics in 2001.

Running with the Bulls:

The annual, week-long Running of the Bulls wrapped up this morning in Pamplona, Spain, on a cloudy day with the temps around 68 degrees (20 C).
   There was chaos in the streets with three gorings and six people injured after the bulls from Jandilla in Cadiz, Spain, ran through the streets in 4 minutes, 22 seconds, highlighted by a one-minute free-for-all as the bulls entered the bullring at the end of the run.
   With that in mind, here's today's final Running of the Bulls "GoreBoard":
   Jul 07: 2 people injured, 0 gored; 2 min, 54 sec.
   Jul 08: 5 people injured, 2 gored.
   Jul 09: 2 people injured, 1 gored; 6 min, 23 sec.
   Jul 10: 5 people injured, 0 gored; 2 min, 53 sec.
   Jul 11: 3 people injured, 1 gored; 3 min, 02 sec.
   Jul 12: 3 people injured, 0 gored; 2 min, 17 sec.
   Jul 13: 2 people injured, 1 gored; 2 min, 14 sec.
   Jul 14: 6 people injured, 3 gored; 4 min, 22 sec.
   "GoreBoard" Total: 28 injured, 8 gored.
   FYI: Thanks to WOGL-FM News Director Bill Zimpfer for the use of the term, "GoreBoard" (trademark pending).