BP works to put a tighter-fitting cap on the well

NEW ORLEANS – Deep-sea robots swarmed around BP's ruptured oil well Monday in a delicately choreographed effort to attach a tighter-fitting cap that could finally stop crude from gushing into the Gulf of Mexico nearly three months into the crisis. Video of the billowing brown oil leak showed glimpses of yellow equipment and swinging robot arms engaged in a project akin to building a giant Lego tower underwater. BP officials said that the 18-foot-high, 150,000-pound metal cap should be attached on Monday but that they will have to test and monitor the equipment for two days to see if it can throttle the nation's worst offshore oil spill. Late Monday afternoon, the cap was being lowered into place and was just 40 feet away from the top of the well. From the White House to Gulf Coast marinas and town halls, all eyes were on the slow, deliberate process a mile below the sea. President Barack Obama is getting repeated updates, his adviser David Axelrod said. Residents on the coast were skeptical, though, and know that even if the gusher is contained, the disaster will be far from over. If the cap works, the blown-out well will still be leaking. But the newer, tighter cap will enable BP to capture all the oil and funnel it up to ships on the surface if necessary