FACTBOX-Developments in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill

June 1 (Reuters) - Here are developments in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the largest in U.S. history:

SPILL CONTAINMENT EFFORTS

* After BP Plc (BP.L) said the complex "top kill" maneuver to plug its Gulf of Mexico oil well had failed on Saturday, it is moving to the next option -- the lower marine riser package cap, which will capture oil from the well rather than plug it.

* The company will know by the end of the week whether the new containment effort has worked, BP Managing Director Robert Dudley said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."

* Government scientists estimated that cutting the riser pipe coming out of the blowout preventer to prepare for the next containment option could result in a temporary oil flow increase of up to 20 percent.

* The ultimate solution may be the drilling of two relief wells began in May and to be completed in August, an expensive but more reliable way to intercept and cap the leaking well.

OIL SLICK THREAT

* The huge oil slick from the gushing well could threaten the Mississippi and Alabama coasts this week, driven by moderate southerly and southwesterly winds, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.

* Louisiana's wetlands and fishing grounds have been the worst hit so far by the spill, while Mississippi and Alabama have escaped lightly so far, with only scattered tar balls and oil debris reaching its coasts.

* The NOAA forecast was a sober reminder that oil from the unchecked spill, broken up and carried by winds and ocean currents, could threaten a vast area of the U.S. Gulf Coast, including tourism mecca Florida, as well as Cuba and Mexico.

POLITICS

* President Barack Obama met on Tuesday with the co-chairs of a commission he set up to investigate the spill, former Senator Bob Graham and former Environmental Protection Agency chief William Reilly. Obama vowed to overhaul U.S. laws and regulations governing offshore drilling to prevent a repeat of the catastrophe.

* Attorney General Eric Holder will survey the damage from the oil spill on Tuesday and meet with federal prosecutors and state attorneys general ahead of what legal experts believe will be a criminal investigation into the rig explosion that killed 11 workers and caused the spill.

* Democratic lawmakers stepped up their calls for action. Congressman Ed Markey called the spill an "environmental crime" and Senator Mary Landrieu demanded BP invest $1 billion in wetlands protection.

* On Sunday, the president ordered government and contractor clean-up resources in areas affected by oil be tripled.

COMPANY NEWS

* Dudley said that he does not think BP CEO Tony Hayward, who has faced heavy criticism, should resign.

* BP's total financial cost of the response to the disaster now stands at $990 million, and is rising.

MARKETS

* BP shares plunged on Tuesday after the top kill strategy failed, and the company has now lost more than a third of its market value, or about 46 billion pounds ($67 billion), since the leak started six weeks ago.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"If our laws were broken leading to this death and destruction, my solemn pledge is that we will bring those responsible to justice on behalf of the victims of this catastrophe and the people of the Gulf region," Obama said.

(Writing by Mary Milliken; editing by Philip Barbara)