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The "static kill" procedure to permanently plug the runaway oil well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico achieved the "desired outcome," BP said Wednesday. "The well pressure is now being controlled by the hydrostatic pressure of the drilling mud, the desired outcome of the static kill procedure," the company said in a statement. The British oil giant described the news as a "significant milestone."

I have no idea if I'm doing this right, so I hope somebody can fix whatever I mess up. I am so sorry for not posting sooner, but the last couple of days have been a blur. The surgery on Tuesday didn't actually start until noon even though we signed in at 7:30 am and they took Jeff to the OR around 10:30. We got our final report at 10 pm. By 11:00 pm I was able to go to his room in the ICU. He did very well during the surgery. Coming out of the anesthesia was a little...

Caroline Kennedy has told Gov. Paterson that she is withdrawing her name from consideration to replace Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Senate, The Post has learned.

Battered by a one-two punch of declining readership and ad pages, Newsweek magazine is getting an extreme makeover this year that will include a large circulation reduction, deep cuts in operating costs, and a new effort to attract advertisers by concentrating on an elite audience. According to The New York Times, executives at Newsweek say the retooled magazine will focus on being a "thought leader" that focuses on telling readers how to think about news, rather than telling people what happened in the last week. The plan, similar to the editorial outlook espoused by The Economist magazine, is aimed at...

Less than a month after a huge upset victory, and promises that fundraising would be ramped up, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is asking his senior staff to keep working for him without pay, while lower level campaign staff are seeing their salaries cut dramatically or eliminated altogether. "The goal is to get a leaner, meaner campaign structure moving into Super Tuesday," says a senior campaign adviser. But many of those being asked to take the cut are refusing, and walking away, leaving the campaign with holes to fill.

March 10, 2006 -- DUBYA'S LUCKY LOSS ON PORTS GEORGE Bush's enemies are excited. The Dubai ports deal is dead. The president had said he would veto any attempt by Congress to block it - but a House committee vote Wednesday with the insanely lopsided margin of 62-2 hollowed out his threat and left its husk to rot. (The Dubai company sure doesn't see much hope: It announced yesterday that it will sell off its U.S. port work.) Surely, his enemies say, this is curtains for Bush. Republicans are fleeing from him, he can't keep his troops in line -...

Americans have not yet begun to pay the price for the Bush presidency. The global ramifications of his foreign policy, the long-term impact of his budgetary excesses, our depleted military, the ongoing erosion of civil liberties and church/state separation, the unprecedented acquiescence to corporate power…all these factors, and more, will dictate the course of this nation for decades to come. Had Al Gore assumed the presidency in 2001, he would have confronted the same challenges - a nation, and world, simmering in a mix of cultural/religious extremism and declining resources. Realistically speaking, Mr. Gore could probably not have solved any...

"I don't expect to ever be a candidate again," said Al Gore, who is about to be reincarnated as a media mogul with the launch of his new cable and satellite channel, Current TV. "I think of myself as a recovering politician, and I'm on about Step 9," he told the New York Times in an interview. "I've not reached the point in my life where I would say there's zero percent chance. But I truly don't expect it." Asked how he might respond if someone asked him what he does for a living, Gore replied that he'd say: "I...

Rick Scarborough, temporary chairman of the Judeo-Christian Council for Constitutional Restoration (organizer of the conference Confronting The Judicial War On Faith – April 7-8 in Washington, DC) offered his heartfelt thanks to Congress and President Bush for passing emergency legislation to save the life of Terri Schiavo. "Thank God we have a Congress and president who care enough about a life imperiled to intervene in this case," Scarborough commented. "Like the 1960s, when state courts ignored clear-cut violations of civil rights, federal intervention is necessary. The legislation that passed in the early hours of this morning will facilitate that." Scarborough...

It's time to Thank GOD, For Helping his servant President Bush. I mean really Thank GOD. "No weapon formed against you shall prosper." Please Honor The LORD In this thread!

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored, He has loosed the fateful lightening of His terrible swift sword His truth is marching on. Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on. I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps His day is marching on. Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory!...

With nearly half the state Senate signing on as sponsors, a bill being introduced today in the General Assembly seems to put the Peach State on the path to join California, Florida and others in enacting a statewide ban on smoking in restaurants and other public places. Anti-smoking bills have failed in Georgia since the first attempt in 1995. But with 25 of the Senate's 56 members as co-sponsors — and with many communities having enacted or contemplating smoking bans — state Sen. Don Thomas (R-Dalton) likes the odds. "The momentum is going in our direction," said Thomas, a family...

<p>SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Arnold Schwarzenegger struggled to put sexual harassment allegations behind him Monday as a new poll indicated some voters were having second thoughts about recalling Gov. Gray Davis.</p> <p>"The campaign is not losing momentum," Schwarzenegger spokesman Karen Hanretty told CBS' "The Early Show." A four-day bus tour of the state that Schwarzenegger concluded in Sacramento on Sunday had drawn thousands of enthusiastic supporters.</p>

<p>Republicans plan to begin the process today of using their so-called "nuclear option" to end the Democratic filibusters of judicial nominees by changing Senate rules governing how many votes are required to break such blockades. Top Stories • Bush sees Mideast free-trade • Lawmakers to investigate District's salaries • Saddam's regime may face trial in Iraq • Probe of French passports sought • Black leaders say rift exists with immigrants • 'Quiet' efforts credited for stability in oil rates • Ramsey 'here for the long haul'</p>

MIDI - DANCES WITH WOLVES I thank God that I am here…I am grateful This is my country…land that I love We have been blessed by God from above Though it's old-fashioned…when flags pass by I'm overcome…I wipe my eyes I love America…celebrate America I love America…freedom is America I love America…celebrate America I love America…freedom is America When the others are too frightened…we must lead the way We give hope to huddled masses for a brighter day This is my country…land of my birth It is the greatest…country on earth Though it's old-fashioned…when flags pass by I'm overcome…I...