Gulf spill update

BP’s latest attempt to stop the flow of oil into the ocean via the so called ‘top kill’ failed.  Now they’re trying to slash the top of the well to then fit a new cap on it, which seems to me even less likely to succeed.
Meanwhile, the oil that had already reached the Louisiana shores, has now spread to Mississippi and Alabama, and Florida is only a few miles away:

BP early Wednesday used robot submarines and a complex maneuver in an attempt to stop the massive flow of crude oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico.
The company appeared to be making its second cut into the undersea well's riser pipe, the initial steps toward placing a cap over the well that has spewed hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico every day since late April.
Meanwhile, rust-colored oil washed ashore Tuesday on barrier islands off Alabama and Mississippi as a beleaguered BP tried to stop the continued flow of the largest spill in U.S. history.

And forget about the 5,000 barrels a day figure.  That number now stands at 19,000, with a 20% projected increase after the cut is performed, and with the caveat that the figure is likely higher still given that we’re quite likely fed lies by BP and probably the government:

But the operation carries the risk that the flow of crude from the ruptured well could increase by up to 20 percent once the damaged riser is cut away.
And the gusher may not be shut down until August when BP expects to complete relief wells that will take the pressure off the one now spewing into the Gulf.
The 5,000-foot-deep well erupted after an explosion and fire aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig on April 20. Eleven people were killed. The rig sank two days later, leaving up to 19,000 barrels (798,000 gallons) of oil pouring into the Gulf, according to federal estimates.
After fouling sections of Louisiana's marshes over the past two weeks, the oil was spreading toward the northeast on Tuesday. Tar balls and patches of reddish-brown "weathered" oil came ashore on Dauphin Island, Alabama, south of Mobile, Alabama, and on Mississippi's Petit Bois Island, off Pascagoula, Mississippi, authorities reported.

And the last bit of terrifying news is that the hurricane season started yesterday and if one hits, it’s going to multiply the disaster:

In Louisiana, Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser warned a hurricane in the area could drive more oil ashore.
"We don't want to scare anybody, but we need to be realistic about it," Nungesser said. "If a storm does top out levees, it will probably bring oil with it."
He said residents who evacuate ahead of a hurricane might return "not to a flooded home, but to a home that is completely contaminated with this oil."

Charming.  Thanks oil companies!