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As the fires burn on in Southern California, more than a half-million people have been forced to leave their homes in the largest evacuation in the state's history. Guests and callers discuss what it is like to leave everything behind.

The current debate over waterboarding may be new, but the practice is not. It predates the Inquisition and has been used, off and on, around the world ever since. The interrogation technique has been modified slightly but, in essence, has changed very little in the past 500 years.

The nomination of Michael Mukasey to be the next attorney general is back on track after a bit of a roller coaster ride this week. Two Senate Democrats — Charles Schumer of New York and Diane Feinstein of California — said late Friday that they would support Mukasey.

Merrill Lynch CEO Stanley O'Neal appears to be on his way out days after the company reported a loss of more than $8 billion. The company has not confirmed reports that O'Neal is negotiating the terms of his departure.

In the 1800s, a chef in Paris created a liquid that deepened the flavor of everything it touched. Its flavor wasn't any combination of the four recognized tastes. It took a Japanese soup lover and scientists to acknowledge a fifth taste: umami.

The expansive new mob drama American Gangster stars Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. Fresh Air's film critic says it's a panoramic portrait of a nation disintegrating from moral rot — although cinematically, it feels a little secondhand.

The price of gold hit a 28-year high, topping $800 an ounce, after the Federal Reserve decided to cut interest rates by a quarter point. It was the second cut by the Fed this year. The move to spark the economy comes as the price of a barrel of oil broaches $100.

Investment brokerage firm Merrill Lynch is looking for a new CEO after ousting Stan O'Neal. Speculation is focusing on Laurence Fink, the CEO of Blackrock, which provides global investment management services, and Robert McCann, who heads Merrill's brokerage division.

On Sunday, the undefeated New England Patriots take on last year's Super Bowl Champions, the Indianapolis Colts. Both teams have star quarterbacks and there has been much debate over which team will emerge victorious. Paul "Fitzy" Fitzgerald, contributor to ESPN.com, explains.

Paul Tibbets, who piloted the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb, has died at age 92. On Aug. 6, 1945, Tibbets' B-29 dropped the nearly five-ton bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Tibbets always insisted that he did not have regrets.

In a reversal, NASA promises to release the results of an air safety survey. The study was based on four years of interviews with thousands of pilots of commercial and general aviation aircraft. It suggests that the skies are more hazardous than the government has acknowledged.

Mike Huckabee enjoys the best week of his long-shot bid for the Republican presidential nomination: a bump in poll numbers in Iowa and a big spike in online fundraising.

With its anti-foreigner line, Germany's National Democratic Party has drawn criticism. Now, the party is trying to change its image, portraying its members as victims of intolerance.

Thousands of Southern California evacuees are finding shelter at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium. The evacuation center is being compared to the shelters set up at the Louisiana Superdome and Houston's Astrodome after Hurricane Katrina hit.

The White House on Thursday rolled out new sanctions against Iran, designating Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a proliferator of weapons of mass destruction and its elite Quds Force as a supporter of terrorism.

NASA launches the unmanned aircraft Ikhana from Edwards Air Force Base north of Los Angeles. It measures the heat coming off the wildfires raging there. That data is then converted to images, and sent back to the ground via satellite. It helps firefighters better react to conditions on the ground.

Argentines go to the polls this weekend to elect their next president. First lady Christina Fernandez de Kirchner's candidacy has been boosted by the success of her husband, President Nestor Kirchner, in reviving Argentina's economy. But inflation has become the latest national preoccupation.

President Bush promises swift action and assistance to those in fire-ravaged southern California. Joined by Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwazenegger, he toured the charred remains of neighborhoods and met with distraught residents.

Winds are slowing in California, giving firefighters a respite from the massive wildfires. The fires around Los Angeles are contained, but farther south in San Diego County, firefighters are struggling to control them. Around 10,000 firefighters are working day and night to put out the blazes.

The massive Cedar fire in 2003 destroyed hundreds of homes in the San Diego area. Now, people who lost their homes in 2003 are providing both practical advice and inspiration to the victims of this week's devastating fires.

Oil prices hit a new high on Friday. As the price climbed to $92 a barrel, analysts says it is possible the price could continue to climb past $100. Soon, the price of gas and home heating oil will follow crude's rise.

A week after wildfires in southern California force a quarter-million residents to flee their homes, critics complain that mass evacuations were only necessary because San Diego's fire response wasn't up to the challenge. The fires are now largely under control.

A Spanish delivers verdicts for 27 men and one woman charged in connection with the Madrid train bombings in 2004. Charges range from masterminding the attack to stealing dynamite to building the bombs. They detonated on four commuter trains, killing 191 people.

Hollywood writers for film and television are picketing at studios in a bid to get a more lucrative deal on royalties from DVDs and Internet programming. Last-minute talks with producers and a federal mediator fell apart late Sunday. It's the first strike since 1988.

A new documentary by acclaimed director Jonathan Demme, Jimmy Carter Man From Plains, charts the rise of an ex-president. And Darfur Now considers the human toll in the Sudanese conflict.