WASHINGTON -- The Secret Service officer who shot and wounded a man waving a gun outside the White House fired after he heard the gunman's revolver click, federal officials said Friday.

Robert W. Pickett refused to drop the revolver when confronted by police Wednesday, and he pointed it at bushes where officers were hiding, a federal Park Police detective said. Pickett was charged Friday with assaulting a federal officer.

Pickett had fired his own gun twice, according to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court by Detective Sgt. Timothy J. Moser.

Pickett was hit in the right knee and remained hospitalized in good condition Friday.

Storm slams Midwest

A large winter storm system brought snow and ice to the Midwest on Friday, sending cars skittering across roads, downing power lines and forcing hundreds of schools to close.

Fourteen inches or more of snow was forecast in some areas. The freezing rain and snow were part of a system that stretched from Texas to the Great Lakes.

Killer of Cosby's son apologizes, drops appeal

LOS ANGELES -- Saying he wanted to "do the right thing," the man convicted of killing Bill Cosby's only son, Ennis, has written a letter to the California attorney general's office confessing to the crime and asking that his 1998 appeal be dropped.

"It is based on falsehood and deceit. I am guilty and I want to do the right thing," Mikail Markhasev, 22, wrote in the letter.

On Friday, a California appeals court judge granted his wishes and dismissed his appeal.

Duck products recalled

WASHINGTON -- An Indiana company is recalling 6,000 pounds of duckling products that may be contaminated with a bacteria that can cause fatal food poisoning.

The duckling products were distributed Jan. 10 to restaurants and other food establishments in 11 states, including Florida, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Friday.

The USDA said the products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

Recalled are these products:

Sysco Imperial partially boned fully cooked roasted young duckling halves in 8.25-pound boxes with a box code of 011001.
Maple Leaf Farms partially boned roasted young duckling halves in 7.5-pound boxes with a package code of 1010.

All the recalled products bear the number "EST.P-2375" inside the USDA seal of inspection.

In politics . . .

NUCLEAR WEAPONS CUTS: In directing the Pentagon to consider further cuts in nuclear weapons, President Bush is testing military leaders' views that reductions beyond those planned would undermine their ability to deter war.

Bush said Friday he is ordering Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to conduct a "top-to-bottom" review of the military. Included in the review is a look at how much further the nuclear arsenal could prudently be reduced, officials said.

GORE'S CLASS: Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, faced with criticism for announcing that what Al Gore says in class is off the record, now says students may talk about it.

But they're still asked not to tape-record the Gore lectures or work as paid sources or stringers for news organizations seeking details about the class. Working journalists will still be barred.

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