thanks for following this story for us. we want to go down to the gulf of mexico where the all-clear has been given on that busted bp well pipeline that caused so much drama, heartbreak and the dental of 11 men, becoming the worst oil disaster in u.s. history. commander thad allen declared the oil well official low dead early this morning. so-called bottom kill passed all pressure tests. the line may be plugged but no doubt it will be years before the people along the gulf fully recover. bermuda is bracing at this hour as hurricane igor pounds a tiny atlantic island. already, we re hearing half of the island may have been lost power. we re live from there next. and the new dalg of the tea party movement and her past comments about witchcraft. become part of our conversation. accepted us a message on twitter or facebook. check out our blog, cnn.com/don. to my grandkids, i m nana.
other issues. in afghanistan, more than 3.5 million people cast ballots for parliament today. at least 11 people were killed. counting should take about a month. complicating the process, of course, the election commission has already been flooded with complaints of irregularities and allegations of fraud. a crucial pressure test of bp s macondo oil well in the gulf of mexico is set to begin at midnight eastern time. if successful, it means cement pumped deep into the well today is holding the so-called bottom kill. thad allen will have the final word on whether the well is officially dead. for nearly 40 years, the federal government has asked people in every state if and how much they use illegal drugs. well, this year the national survey on drug use and health isn t the worst researchers have seen, but it is worse than last year. cnn s jeanne meserve reports
bp s oil well is finally dead. official word may not come for a day or so. cement was pumped from this drilling rig into the well deep underneath the ocean floor, a procedure known as bottom kill. pressure testing will confirm where the plug is holding. once thad allen announces the well is dead, crews will abandon the site. the last boat is expected to leave the area in about a week. not one, but two tornadoes, two of them hit new york city on thursday night. imagine that. the national weather service confirms one twister touched down in betwequeens and another brooklyn. one storm related death was reported in queens when a tree fell on a car. also in queens, officials say the storm caused a sudden spike in wind called a microburst, clocked at 125 miles per hour.
gulf and intersected the well that had been leaking and they michigan to pump in the cement. that s the final bottom kill. after they permanent he seal this well, it is important to note there s a long recovery ahead for people in the area. i don t if you can hear it, but we have boats started up. crews are headed out on the water now to continue to look for oil. here in louisiana they were able to collect more than 25,000 gallons of oil just this past week here. so oil continuing to wash ashore. so still a long cleanup. bp has committed to being here through the cleanup, but what the company has not said, and this is a lot of the questions being asked here, they said they would not ban drilling into the reservoir through another well, alex. some of the big concern was about the hit that happened throughout the summer in terms of the fishing industry, all the restrictions, the tourism there,
official word may not come for days. cement was pumped deep into the well today, a procedure known as bottom kill. pressure testing is set to begin later tonight. that will confirm whether the plug is holding. thad allen announces the well is dead, crews will pack up and abandon the site. the last boat is expected to leave the area in about a week. governor bob mcdonnell has brought the state of virginia one step close tore expecting a woman to executing a woman for the first time in almost a century. the governor rejected a clemency request for teresa lewis. attorneys say the 41-year-old grandmother is borderline mentally retarded. she told cnn she s sorry and wishes she could undo her crime. lewis is set to receive a lethal injection on thursday. she plotted the murder of her husband and stepson in 2002. the tw triggermen received life without parole. new york state police say