In the Gulf, sheen appears once again to be winning - at least for now. BP's underwater robots recently completed their latest mission back to the bottom of the Gulf, and this time they came up empty. The ROVs (remotely operated vehicles) were looking for the source of the latest mystery oil sheen that has persistently hovering about the wreckage of the Deepwater Horizon since November, but found nothing on their expedition, which ended Saturday.

Showing once again that he's well aware of the equal importance of perception and reality, David Vitter wrote a letter to BP today to urge the oil giant to make good on some of the post-Big Oozy promises they aired in the papers and on TV. In the letter, Louisiana's junior senator tells BP big shot Lamar McKay that the company shouldn't be hiring European contractors to do Gulf of Mexico work.

We've seen troops and treasures unfurled to celebrate Louisiana's 200th birthday. But the bow on this bicentennial present to the Pelican State, as ever, will come in the form of a song that's near and dear to our hearts. And you can watch in on TV! Sunday night on PBS (LPB/WLAE, 7 p.m.). "Sunshine By the Stars" stretches Gov. Jimmie Davis' famed "You Are My Sunshine" into a full hour with some help from famed Louisiana musicians.

As any supermarket tabloid editor could tell you, sheen never goes away completely. Out above the wreckage of the Deepwater Horizon, another oil sheen was spotted on the surface of the Gulf earlier in November. That means even after fixing the leaky dome, loose oil is still seeping out.

BP won't be doing any new business with the federal government in the coming months. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that the oil giant won't be allowed to sign new contracts with the U.S. government. The temporary suspension comes as a result of a "lack of business integrity" the British company showed in the Big Oozy, according to EPA.

Updated 7:30 p.m.

Not even 24 hours after BP admitted guilt for the Big Oozy, another oil facility explosion and fire was reported in the Gulf of Mexico. According to Plaquemines Parish officials, the explosions was reported at a shallow water platform owned by Black Elk Energy about 25 miles off Grand Isle at 9:15 a.m., and the Coast Guard dispatched crews to put out the fire. Two people are missing, according to the Coast Guard. It was previously reported that 

Updated 5:15 p.m.

BP admitted that their part in the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster was criminal today.The oil company is set to plead guilty to criminal charges brought against them for the Big Oozy, and pay $4 billion in fines over the next five years, as part of an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice. A total of 14 charges were brought against the company by the DOJ today, and three BP employees were charged in connection with the disaster and spill - including two rig employees who will now face manslaughter charges.

When Jim Letten's office wasn't busy getting sued for commenting on nola.com, they were busy charging people with wrongdoing this week. The local U.S. Attorney's office threw the book at one man who concocted a pair of schemes to steal $1.4 million during the Big Oozy, and another who threatened to blow up a nuclear reactor. Click through for details on the separate cases:

The dome that was leaking oil at the bottom of the Gulf has a new lid. BP capped and plugged the latest oil seepage coming from the site of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster this week. The leak was emanating from the discarded, 40-foot-tall containment dome, which was used in a failed attempt to stanch the Big Oozy. The dome discharge created a sheen at the surface of the Gulf. Underwater robots, or ROVs, descended to the deep on Tuesday to cap the dome's "stove pipe" opening at the top, and plug connection ports on the side of the structure. 

BP thinks the latest Gulf oil is coming from a leaky dome. According to a statement released Thursday afternoon, the sheen discovered above the Deepwater Horizon on Sept. 16 is seeping small globules of oil out of a containment dome that was used in one of the company's many ineffective attempts to cap the Macondo well. The structure is not currently in use, BP said.