EXCLUSIVE: DA in Duke Rape Case Asks to Be Taken off Case  —  After Weeks of Criticism, District Attorney Mike Nifong Asked to Be Recused  —  ABC News Law & Justice Unit  —  District Attorney Mike Nifong has requested that he have himself removed from prosecuting the Duke Lacrosse rape investigation, ABC News has learned.

Bush Authorized Iranians' Arrest in Iraq, Rice Says  —  A recent series of American raids against Iranians in Iraq was authorized under an order that President Bush decided to issue several months ago to undertake a broad military offensive against Iranian operatives in the country, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday.

Boneless Wonders  —  Meet the spineless members of Congress. … Today, Boneless Wonders sit on the benches of both parties in Congress.  More are to be found on the Democratic side of the aisle than the Republican.  But the herd of Boneless Wonders these days is a bipartisan one.

CIA Leak Probe: Inside The Grand Jury  —  Late in the morning of July 12, 2003, Vice President Dick Cheney stood atop a pier at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia awaiting the commissioning of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, a ship 20 stories high that took eight years to construct.

Scientists prepare to move Doomsday Clock forward  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The keepers of the "Doomsday Clock" plan to move its hands forward next Wednesday to reflect what they call worsening nuclear and climate threats to the world.  —  The symbolic clock, maintained by the Bulletin …

African Lion Kisses, Hugs Woman Who Saved It  —  People Shocked To See Affection Between Pair  —  People in Cali, Colombia, are shocked to see the bond between a large African lion and a woman who saved it from abuse, involving long, affectionate kisses and hugs between the pair.

Video: Paula Abdul, hammered  —  I was thinking of writing about the Democrats' earmark debacle in the Senate and the irresistible, gloating headline on Jim DeMint's press release about it.  But it's Friday night.  Time to unwind.  Time to dispense with the serious stuff for awhile and crack open a beer.

New Arms Shipments to Iraqi Militia Detected  —  Alexis Debat Reports:  —  US military intelligence sources tell ABC News that large shipments of weapons have been smuggled to Iraqi militia over the past five weeks, including dozens of Iranian supplied EFP's , or Explosive Form Projectiles, highly effective against armored vehicles.

Cold, Snow in Parts of Southern California  —  A cold snap hit the Southland amid forecasts of record or near-record low temperatures Friday and Saturday night in metropolitan, coastal and valley areas of Los Angeles County.  —  Also on abc7.com:  —  Post-midnight lows early Friday included 16 …

Chavez: Do We Need Any More Evidence?  —  In his three-hour inaugural address — yet another characteristic he shares with his hero, Fidel Castro — Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez eliminated any remaining doubt about his plans to rule as a socialist dictator.

Blog Power: The Top 10 Blog Stories Of 2006  —  Here, in David Letterman-style, are my picks for the Top 10 blog stories of 2006:  —  10) YearlyKos  —  9) Supreme Court confirmation hearings  —  8) Congressional Leadership elections  —  7) Bloggers hired by campaigns  —  6) Blogs officially recognized as media

Flynt Leverett  —  Senior Fellow; Director, Geopolitics of Energy Initiative  —  Flynt Leverett is a Senior Fellow and the Director of the Geopolitics of Energy Initiative of the American Strategy Program at the New America Foundation.  Most recently, Dr. Leverett was a Senior Fellow …