The Times-Picayune of New Orleans:
An attempt to kill the runaway deepwater horizon well spilling oil into the Gulf of Mexico is going according to plan so far, leaving the coast guard admiral in charge of managing the spill "cautiously optimistic" but unwilling to say the well is capped.
Admiral Thad Allen said gas and oil is no longer blowing out of the wrecked well on the sea floor as BP engineers and contractors pumped thousands of gallons of heavy mud down the well hole overnight Wednesday and early Thursday.
The aim is to plug the well with mud and cement it closed.
Reports from BP indicate pressures in the well are dropping -- a sign that the weight of the mud is pressing down on the upward thrust of gas and oil, Allen said.
"Right now, no news is good news," said Allen. "We're in a period of wait and see. We want to see how the well is stabilizing."
Note that while this is a good sign, the question is whether the mud will hold down the oil and gas long enough for the well to be sealed. So this is a positive development, but there's still more work to be done.
Join the discussion in Hesiod's recommended diary, Coast Guard: Top Kill Worked!.