BP Resumes Effort to Plug Leak

BP resumed its "top kill" operation late this afternoon after the second straight day of an unannounced suspension and mixed messages. They continue to say they will need 24 to 48 hours for a final verdict. Energy Secretary Steven Chu tells the Washington Post there's "some evidence" that the first so-called junk shots made progress.

Chu said officials were cautiously optimistic that "some of the junk took." BP shut down the operation overnight after failing to stop the oil flow, reports the New York Times. But that information didn't become public until this afternoon, despite another day of positive assessments on the morning talk shows. Says a spokesman: "The operation is by definition a series of phases of pumping mud and shooting bridging materials and junk and reading pressure gauges. It is going to keep going, perhaps 48 more hours.”
(More Gulf oil spill stories.)