When a crew from CBS News tried to film an oil-covered beach in Louisiana, they were stopped and threatened with arrest by a group of BP contractors and members of the Coast Guard. "This is BP's rules, it's not ours."

Besides lying to everyone about the extent of the damage, and the company's culpability in the spill, BP has started to wield its power over the US government by having the Coast Guard keep prying journalists from seeing the effects on Louisiana's shoreline. Governor Bobby Jindal had recently visited the site, telling reporters, "This wasn't just sheen, we were seeing heavy oil out there." When the CBS News crew arrived to film the area, BP's muscle showed up, too.

A picture from NASA showing the spill two days ago:

[Images via Getty, Getty/NASA]