Crews make progress on Mississippi River oil slick

NEW: River bends and swift currents helping to isolate oil against banks Four vessels were being allowed to move on the river channel, says Coast Guard "We're getting the important cargo to the important places," official says Spill is much smaller than the ones that followed Hurricane Katrina in 2005 NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- Swift currents and bends in the river have helped in the cleanup of the oil spill that led to this week's closure of the Mississippi at New Orleans, a U.S. Coast Guard official said Friday. A worker carries mops soaked with fuel oil on a bank of the Mississippi River in Jesuit Bend, Louisiana, on Thursday. The spill initially covered about 90 percent of the surface of the river after a barge collided with a tanker Wednesday, but it has been reduced to 20 percent to 30 percent, Coast Guard Capt.... [read full story]