NEW ORLEANS - BP PLC was on Saturday slowly raising the 300-ton blowout preventer that failed to stop oil from spewing into the Gulf of Mexico, careful not to damage or drop a key piece of evidence in the spill investigation.

A BP spokesman said in an e-mail to The Associated Press that the 50-foot device was detached from the wellhead Friday afternoon.

The April 20 explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon killed 11 workers and led to 206 million gallons of oil spewing from BP's undersea well.

NEW YORK - Venus Williams brought the glitter.

On a Friday night that felt like bonus tennis at the U.S. Open, Williams and Nadal performed like players on a mission - maybe trying to outhustle a hurricane that never showed, or maybe, in Williams' case, trying to finish in time to catch the end of cocktail hour.

Wearing a black sequined dress she designed as a tribute to New York, the third-seeded Williams outclassed qualifier Mandy Minella of Luxembourg 6-2, 6-1.