there are apparently some quite considerable problems with this top kill operation.
but assessing the situation is a problem because it's now obvious that bp has a...um....transparency issue let's say.
this thread on the oil drum is about the most current i've seen:
The Oil Drum | Deepwater Oil Spill - Top Kill Update, Restarting the Mud, and Comment Thread
and is interesting consistently, even as for a layman (and i am one) separating wheat from chaff when everyone is writing in that particular mode of self-assurance that engineers seem to drop into when they're discussing engineering problems. the upside is that there's at least some oil engineers posting. you know, people who've actually worked on rigs and understand the set-up.
there's also a diagram of the blow-out preventer thing that shows where the live feed is originating.
a link to the bp feed, for convenience:
Live video link from the ROV monitoring the damaged riser