Monday morning headlines

Stocks taking off: First trading session of August builds on last month's strong showing. Dow is up 170 points in early trading.

BP to start plugging: Later today the oil company will pump heavy drilling mud into the Gulf well. From the NYT:

The static kill, also known as bullheading, is part of a two-pronged strategy to kill the well by cementing it shut twice, once from above with the static kill and then from below, using a relief well. Final victory over the well -- which blew out on April 20, crippling the Deepwater Horizon rig and killing 11 drill workers -- will not be declared until the completion of the relief well sometime in late August. A second relief well is also being drilled as a precaution, in case the first one fails to complete the job.

Why Maxine Waters is in trouble: The L.A. representative arranged for a meeting with former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson about federal bailut money for a bank in which her husband owned stock. From the NYT:

At a Treasury Department meeting in September 2008 -- scheduled as Ms. Waters had requested -- OneUnited officials made a direct appeal for bailout money for their bank, rather than just on behalf of the National Bankers Association, participants in the meeting have said. In December, OneUnited received $12 million in federal bailout money, although Treasury officials said last year that it was not as a result of Ms. Waters's intervention.

State lawmakers back to work: They return after the legislature's month-long recess - and no resolution in sight to the budget impasse. (Capitol Alert)

Beware bacon lovers: Prices for fresh pork bellies are at an all-time high - and 53 percent higher than a year ago. From the WSJ:

Bacon demand tends to peak during the summer, when supermarkets heavily promote the meat product--sliced from the fatty part of a pig's abdomen--to coincide with a seasonal bump in Americans' consumption of BLTs: bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches. The decision by North American swine producers to cut their losses by trimming their herds back in 2008 and 2009 is now feeding into cost pressures faced by supermarkets.

Other cities to pay for Bell pensions: Surprise! More than half of former city manager Robert Rizzo's $600,000-a-year pension will be spread among 140 small cities and special districts. For that, we can thank the state's archaic pension system. (LAT)

Hyatt unions turn up heat: The Century Plaza has lost two scheduled events because of labor squabbles. From the LABJ:

Unite Here alleges the Hyatt chain is pushing for "recession contracts" that would roll back health benefits and freeze wages, while opposing organizing campaigns at nonunion hotels. Hyatt disputes Unite Here's claims, and said in a statement that its employees deserve "competitive compensation, comprehensive benefits and an excellent work environment."

Full cargo screening starts at LAX: They'll be checking all freight and mail placed in the the bellies of wide-body jetliners. LAX is one of the nation's five busiest cargo hubs. (Daily Breeze)