BP Caves, Agrees to Show 'Top Kill' Attempt

BP has bowed to pressure from an increasingly ticked-off White House and reversed an earlier decision to cut off a live video feed as it attempts a top kill maneuver to plug the Gulf oil leak. The company—slammed by lawmakers yesterday after executives said the feed would be cut off during the attempt—warns that changes in the appearance of oil flow during the procedure may be misleading, the AP reports.

The attempt to plug the leak with mud and cement was set to begin at dawn today and last up to two days. President Obama—who snapped "Plug the damn hole" at aides in a recent meeting, according to the Washington Post— has been receiving frequent updates on BP's progress. Top government scientists will be in the room with BP to supervise the attempt and consider alternatives if it fails.
(More Deepwater Horizon stories.)