The good news today from the Gulf of Mexico notwithstanding, BP still has plenty for which to answer regarding the oil spill.

— Why did crews on the Deepwater Horizon reportedly ignore warning signs before the platform blew up on April 20?

— Did the company take shortcuts regarding the casings used to seal the shaft it had sunk deep into the sea bottom?

— Why didn’t the company have a ready-made action plan drawn up in the event of such a catastrophe?

— Why did BP keep insisting that it would pay “all legitimate claims,” using language it should have known would enrage Gulf coast residents whose lives have been shattered by the oil spill?

Those are just for starters.

But today came word that the company had stopped the oil flow into the Gulf. The coast isn’t out of the woods yet. BP has more testing to do on the containment cap. Then we’ll wait for the relief wells to be finished, and then the company will pour cement into the blown-out well to plug it for keeps.

Meanwhile, the company had better get its “answer men” up to speed. There will be plenty of questions to answer in the weeks to come.