BP's latest attempt to stop the oil rushing into the Gulf of Mexico is to place what amounts to a mile-long catheter into the gusher.

BP PLC technicians have been guiding deep-sea robots to thread the 6-inch tube with a rubber stopper into the 21-inch pipe spewing oil from the ocean floor.

As they tried to plug the leak, the company learned that federal regulators approved spraying chemical dispersants beneath the sea. This was a contentious development because it has never been done underwater.

Here's hoping it works!