BBC News with Jim Lee.
The oil company BP says it has for the first time stopped the
torrent
of oil that's been leaking into the Gulf of Mexico for the past three months. A BP Vice President Kent Wells said a new 75-ton cap had cut off the oil flow during the early stages of a pressure test. Madeleine Morris reports from Washington.
For the first time in nearly three months, the cameras a mile under the surface of the Gulf of Mexico are showing no oil flowing from BP's broken well. In the words of the company, the well is "
shut in
". The four pipes connected to the new capping system are closed while the company tests the pressure inside. After around 48 hours of tests, BP will decide what to do next - whether to start siphoning the oil to four ships on the ocean surface, keep the well completely blocked, or open a
backup
.
In a major political victory for President Obama, the US Senate has given final approval to the biggest overhaul of American financial regulation in more than 70 years. The measure passed by a vote of 60 to 39. President Obama said this would prevent a repeat of the financial crisis of 2008.
"Because of this reform, the American people will never again be asked to
foot the bill
for Wall Street's mistakes. There will be no more taxpayer-funded bailouts, period. If a large financial institution should ever fail, this reform gives us the ability to
wind it down