Early this morning, Hurricane Irene weakened slightly to a Category 2 storm but is expected to regroup in open waters and return to Category 3 strength before it makes landfall in North Carolina tomorrow. Nine-foot waves are now hitting the Carolina coast as tens of thousands continue to evacuate coastal areas. North Carolina Governor Bev Purdue says her state is doing whatever it can to prepare.

Between the earthquake on Tuesday and the hurricane heading our way, the East Coast has been suffering at the hands of Mother Nature this week, and it's only going to continue through the weekend. Hurricane Irene hammered the Bahamas and Florida on Thursday, and the Category 3 storm is set to hit North Carolina on Saturday before blasting up the East Coast through the weekend. North Carolina has already issued evacuation orders for residents along the coast.

Since the beginning of the year, Bank of America has lost more than half of its stock market value. Earlier this month, AIG sued the bank behemoth for alleged mortgage securities fraud, and just this past week the company laid off 3,500 workers. With more in mortgage holdings than any other bank, its future success is essentially tied to the state of the faltering housing market. But yesterday, Warren Buffett announced he's investing $5 billion in Bank of America. What's in store for the beleaguered company?

It's been a whirlwind week in Libya. On Monday, Libyan rebels stormed into Tripoli, effectively taking over the capital city and inciting celebrations and battles with Gadhafi loyals. Gadhafi's forces were holding foreign journalists under lock and key in the Rixos hotel, but finally freed them on Wednesday, as rebels surrounded Gadhafi's compound. As the rebels continue to search for the missing leader, the Transitional National Council is preparing to govern a post-Gadhafi Libya. What’s next for Libya?

We here at The Takeaway don't want you to head into the weekend without knowing which movies to check out — particularly if Hurricane Irene is going to keep you indoors. Every Friday we review new films here at The Takeaway. This week, we're talking about the bromance-style comedy "Our Idiot Brother," the revenge thriller "Colombiana," and the horror movie remake "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark."

Many eyes are on Jackson Hole, Wyoming today, as the markets wait on remarks from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. It was at last year's Fed Symposium that Bernanke laid the groundwork for the Fed to buy $600 billion in treasury bonds to stimulate the deflating economy. Many are hoping that this year, the Fed will unveil another economy-boosting plan. Conferences like the Fed retreat at Jackson Hole or Davos weren't always considered backdrops for major policy announcements. When did this change? And why?

There has been a bomb attack this morning at the United Nations building in the Nigerian capital of Abuja. Witnesses tell the Associated Press that one wing of the buildings has been flattened. No word yet on casualties. Islamic militants have carried out recent attacks on the city. The BBC's Bashir Sa'ad Abdullahi is at the scene and tells us more.

Hurricane Irene is charging toward the East Coast with Category 3 power, and meteorologists are warning people from North Carolina up to New England to prepare for the storm, and in some cases evacuate. We've been checking in all week with business owners taking precautions for their shops and homes in the face of this weather.

Former vice president Dick Cheney has never been shy when it comes to criticizing his political enemies. Yet the longtime public official is also a notoriously private man. In his new memoir, "In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir," Cheney opens up about some of the inner workings of the often-secretive Bush Administration. In an interview with NBC's Dateline to promote the book, Cheney promised "heads will explode all over Washington."

Yesterday the United Nations Security Council reached an agreement to release $1.5 billion in frozen Libyan assets, to help meet humanitarian needs for civilians there. The State Department is assuring the American people that money will not fall into the wrong hands. Libyan rebels are continuing their search for Moammar Gadhafi, with the help of NATO. But what will the U.S.'s role be in Libya's transition to a democracy?

It's hurricane Friday here at the Takeaway, and someone who's never afraid to get out there in the rain is our correspondent Ibrahim Abdul-Matin. He joins us to talk some sports, including one seriously quirky stat from the baseball world when the New York Yankees continued to earn their out-sized salaries. Also, we will be looking at the NBA lockout. A recent piece by Malcolm Gladwell on Grantland.com says that the idea of basketball teams as a normal "business" is a fantasy, and so the idea of teams losing money and thus justifying the lockout is completely over the rainbow.

Historically black colleges and universities were established prior to the establishment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which made previously established "separate but equal" racial segregation laws null. The schools were intended to provide higher education to the black community, at a time when black students weren't permitted to attend many institutions. Today, 105 historically black colleges and universities still exist in America, but many of them are now actively looking to enroll non-black students. Why is this? And how will this initiative change historically black colleges?

As the Libyan capital falls from Gadhafi's grasp, we're getting a first look at how the forrmer regime dealt with its opponents in its last days. A range of atrocities appear to have been carried out by Gadhafi's forces in it's final hours. This happens as heavy fighting has continues in Tripoli, which is now almost entirely in the hands of rebel fighters. We have the latest dispatch from, Middle East correspondent Wyre Davies, from our partner the BBC.