Oil Closes in on Florida

A major snag in BP's latest effort to cap its leaking oil well was overcome today, as workers were able to free a jammed saw blade that had been slowing progress for much of Wednesday. With the saw cleared, the company is now able to resume cutting the damaged pipe as part of an overall effort to install a containment device above the leak. If the operation is successful, BP will be closer to its goal of channeling leaking oil to a ship on the water's surface. The procedure, which has never been attempted so deep under water, carries a risk increasing the spewing by 20 percent for a time. Meanwhile, oil was seen for the first time on the Florida coast near Pensacola in the Panhandle.