Bonnie Gone, Ships Return to BP Well

The effort to plug BP's leaky oil well in the Gulf of Mexico was back on track today as the skies cleared and crews raced to stop the gusher for good before another storm halts the operation again. A drill rig is expected to reconnect at around midnight to the relief tunnel that will be used to pump in mud and cement to seal the well, and drilling could resume in the next few days.

Oil may have migrated north to Mississippi Sound, Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said, and officials are checking to see if boom protecting sensitive marshlands was pushed ashore. Completion of the relief well that is the best chance to permanently stop the oil now looks possible by mid-August, but Allen said he wouldn't hesitate to order another evacuation based on forecasts similar to the ones for Bonnie. (More British Petroleum stories.)