strain. an evening and a day since they shut off the oil, pressure readings are somewhat lower than optimal, but not apparently a clear cut danger sign. bp executive kent wells says pressure keeps building but slowly and with no indication the well is in trouble and no leaking oil anywhere they can see. they've got four robot subs down there checking on it. so two possibilities now. a hidden leak could be keeping the pressure somewhat low, or it could just be that so much oil has already leaked out, it's taking longer for that pressure to build up. in any case, bp and federal officials are expected to reassess throughout the night whether to keep those valves shut, or open them up again and start collecting oil on tankers and possibly venting some of it once again into the gulf waters. meantime, when it comes to damage already done, word today that bp has now paid out more than $200 million in damages to about 32,000 people in the gulf. with me to talk about that, the testing and what happens next, the president of louisiana shrimpers association, also "newsweek" contributing editor