In the News: Another Bad Day for BP

The Guardian calls today's Washington hearing with BP executives a "root canal" (one example) as gulf oil leak estimates increase by 50% and President Obama gears up for tonight's TV address on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Oil industry executives from Shell and ExxonMobil also testified in Washington today. Exxon, meanwhile, launched a blog to share its perspective on the oil spill. Tomorrow, BP CEO Tony Hayward will face a special Senate hearing and the TV cameras.

Fitch downgraded BP's stock (again) while a fire temporarily halted its Gulf operation, which is now partnering with Kevin Costner's company. Other brands in the news:

American Apparel founder Dov Charney gives out email and phone number in hiring policy flap.

AT&T and Apple were overwhelmed with iPhone 4 pre-orders. Apple, meanwhile, expanded into social gaming.

Best Buy plans marketing geared at women.

CBS dispute with 48HR heats up.

Ernst & Young faces UK inquiry over role in Lehman Brothers collapse.

Google's Wi-Fi data collection practices come under U.S. state scrutiny.

Kroger recalls ice cream flavor in U.S. over allergy fears.

Microsoft is spending $80 million to market Office 2010.

New York Times plans a public beta site for its digital experiments.

RIM is developing a tablet and BlackBerry to compete with Apple.

Sabra leads hummus revival in America.

Sun TV News, a Fox News clone with the tagline "Hard News and Straight Talk," is coming to Canada courtesy of Quebecor Media.

Is Tesla Motors' IPO "fueled by glamor"?

Unilever is introducing nutritional labeling at staff cafeterias worldwide as part of its Lamplighter corporate responsibility initiative.