OT kinda sorta: A tendril of the slick from the massive BP oil leak may have reached the Gulf of Mexico’s loop current today and could end up in the Florida Straits in eight to 10 days, federal officials warned this morning. If a portion of the oil slick does end up in the loop current, Lubchenco said, scientists believe evaporation a...nd dispersion would cause the oil hitting the Florida Straits to be emulsified streamers and tar balls. Twenty tar balls were found Monday by the U.S. Coast Guard off Key West. They are being tested by the Coast Guard at a Connecticut lab to see if they came from the BP oil leak.