Oil well 'top kill' plug readied; agency rapped

WASHINGTON (AP) — BP readied yet another attempt today to slow the oil gushing into the Gulf as a government report alleged that drilling regulators have been so close to the industry they've been accepting gifts from oil and gas companies and even negotiating to go to work for them.

President Barack Obama prepared to head to the Gulf on Friday to review efforts to halt the disastrous flow.

Scientists said underwater video of the leak showed the plume growing significantly darker, suggesting heavier, more-polluting oil is spewing out.

BP's next effort to stop the gushing oil well, perhaps Wednesday, is to involve a procedure called a "top kill," in which heavy mud and cement are to be shot into the well to plug it up. The procedure has never been tried a mile beneath the sea, and company executives estimate its chances of success at 60 to 70 percent.