user: UPDATE 1-Cleanup of oil-fouled California beach enters third day

(Updates with additional cleanup workers expected to arrive Thursday)

SANTA BARBARA, May 21 (Reuters) - Cleanup teams labored on Thursday for a third day to remove patches of crude petroleum that stained a California beach and fouled offshore waters from a pipeline rupture that may rank as the biggest oil spill to hit the Santa Barbara coastline in more than four decades.

As much as 2,500 barrels (105,000 gallons) of crude oil, according to latest estimates, gushed onto San Refugio State Beach and into the Pacific west of Santa Barbara when an underground pipeline running parallel to a coastal highway there inexplicably burst on Tuesday morning.

Plains All American Pipeline, which owns and operates the 24-inch line, said it shut off the flow about 30 minutes after control-room operators detected pressure irregularities.

By then, however, a torrent of oil had streamed down a canyon, under a culvert and out onto the once-pristine beach, blackening a 4-mile (6-km) stretch of sand and rocks and leaving two oil slicks in the water spanning more than 9 miles (14 km) in length.

The company estimated that up a fifth of the spill that spilled had reached the ocean.

Environmental activists and local officials said it was believed to be the largest oil spill in 46 years along the ecologically sensitive but energy-rich Santa Barbara shoreline, about 125 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

If the pipeline company's "worst-case" estimate of its oil release holds up, it would mark the biggest in the region since a 1969 offshore oil well blowout that dumped 80,000 to 100,000 barrels of crude petroleum into the Santa Barbara channel and stands as the largest spill ever in California waters.

That disaster, which dwarfs the apparent size of Tuesday's accident, killed thousands of sea birds and other wildlife and helped spark the modern U.S. environmental movement.

Still, Governor Jerry Brown on Wednesday declared a state of emergency for Santa Barbara County to hasten the availability of any resources needed at San Refugio.

Wildlife teams were immediately dispatched to rescue any animals injured by the spill. Authorities said they did not know the extent of wildlife harm, but photos showed oil-covered pelicans and other sea life washed ashore.

By Wednesday, more than 300 cleanup workers were toiling around the clock, scooping up globs of oil from the sand and raking tar balls.

Officials overseeing the operation said additional personnel would arrive on Thursday. Crews will also scrub soiled rocks and hose down contaminated areas, Coast Guard Captain Jennifer Williams said.

Meanwhile, nine cleanup vessels plied the ocean, corralling the slick with booms and skimming oil from the surface.

Refugio State Beach and nearby El Capitan State Beach, both popular seaside camping destinations, will remain closed to the public through the Memorial Day holiday weekend. The area was also closed to fishing and shellfish harvesting.

Wildlife rescue crews focused on three especially sensitive nesting areas for shore birds, including snowy plovers and least terns, said a state Fish and Wildlife Department spokeswoman.

The pipeline that burst on Tuesday typically carries about 1,200 barrels of oil an hour from an Exxon Mobil Corp processing facility to a distribution hub in Bakersfield hundreds of miles away, company and county officials said.

The cause of the rupture remained under investigation. The company said it had inspected the pipeline a few weeks ago, but results had not yet come back.

(Reporting by Steve Gorman in Santa Barbara; Editing by Curtis Skinner and Lisa Von Ahn)

summary: SANTA BARBARA, May 21- Cleanup teams labored on Thursday for a third day to remove patches of crude petroleum that stained a California beach and fouled offshore waters from a pipeline rupture that may rank as the biggest oil spill to hit the Santa Barbara coastline in more than four decades. Environmental activists and local officials said it was believed to be...

Jay-Z performs song on his 'greatest creation,' announces arrival of baby Blue

Jay-Z has rapped about making "the song cry," and now it seems like he is aiming to get fans welling up with his latest song, a tribute to his newborn daughter.

The rapper and his wife, singer Beyonce, had a baby girl over the weekend, the couple announced in a statement Monday.

"We are happy to announce the arrival of our beautiful daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, born on Saturday, January 7, 2012," the pair say in a post on Beyonce's website. "Her birth was emotional and extremely peaceful, we are in heaven. She was delivered naturally at a healthy 7 pounds and it was the best experience of both of our lives. We are thankful to everyone for all your prayers, well wishes, love and support."

Meanwhile, the New York City hospital where the couple welcomed their newborn has issued a statement of its own to denounce reports that Beyonce and Jay-Z received special treatment.

"Lenox Hill Hospital and its staff were delighted to welcome the Carter family for the birth of their firstborn on Saturday evening, but we are troubled by the misinformation being circulated in some news media reports," the executive director of the Lenox Hill Hospital, Frank Danza, said in a statement Monday. "The suggestion that the couple paid $1.3 million to rent an entire maternity floor is simply not true. The family is housed in an executive suite at the hospital and is being billed the standard rate for those accommodations. Our executive suites are available for any patient, including the food service and amenities provided to the Carter family."

There were also rumors that a father was prevented from seeing his premature twin girls by Beyonce and Jay-Z's security team, but Danza denies the reports. While the superstar couple did have their own security, "No security plan that we or the Carters' security team put in place would have prevented or delayed families from gaining access to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and to date, no families have complained to the hospital about being denied access to the NICU."

Danza adds that the hospital has "have made every effort to ensure minimal disruption to other families experiencing the births of their own children over the past three days."

On Monday, Jay-Z focused on baby Blue by releasing a song titled "Glory" on his website "Life + Times," along with a single statement: "Life just got REALLY good."

Jay-Z rhymes on the song, which features B.I.C. - three guesses what those initials stand for - "The most amazing feeling I feel/words can't describe what I'm feeling for real/baby, I paint the sky blue/my greatest creation was you."

On the song, Jay says of his inspiration: "You're a child of destiny/you're the child of my destiny/you're my child with the child from Destiny's Child/that's a hell of a recipe." He adds at another point, "The most beautifulest thing in this world/is daddy's little girl."

The 42-year-old also appears to get surprisingly personal, considering how comparatively private the couple are. "You don't know what swag is yet but you was made in Paris/and mama woke up the next day and shot an album package," Jay-Z says on the track. "Last time the miscarriage was so tragic/we was afraid you disappeared/but nah, baby, you magic."

And at the very end, the sound of a baby's cry. CNN has learned that the track was produced by frequent Jay-Z collaborator Pharrell Williams. If you've heard the song, what did you think?

Our daily cheat-sheet for breaking celebrity news, Hollywood buzz and your pop-culture obsessions.

summary:

assistant: Jay-Z has rapped about making "the song cry," and now it seems like he is aiming to get fans welling up with his latest song, a tribute to his newborn daughter. The rapper and his wife, singer Beyonce, had a baby girl over the weekend, the couple announced in a statement Monday.