ABC Gives "Extraordinary Admission" 103 Words

Since the NYT brought up the AL tubes story again, then I thought I'd release this suprising nugget that I came across while pouring through the 30-week pre-war time period.

On January 30th, ABC News reported on an "extraordinary admission" from the Assistant Secretary of State regarding the linchpin of the Bush Adminstration's case that Iraq was developing nuclear weapons.

Here are the entire 103 words that ABC dedicated to this story:

PETER JENNINGS - There was an extraordinary admission today from a senior member of the Bush Administration about a key piece of evidence the President claimed to have against Saddam Hussein. First, listen to what the President said at the State of the Union.
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH - He's attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes, suitable for nuclear weapons production.
PETER JENNINGS - But today on Capitol Hill, the Assistant Secretary of State Richard Armitage, being questioned about the evidence, said, particularly on the aluminum tubes, "we miscalculated." Clearly, there is a difference of opinion in the intelligence community.
The head of the UN nuclear agency, Mohammed el-Baradei, said they were investigating this.

No quotes from Armitage? No assignment of a reporter to dig into this "extraordinary admission" a little bit more? No searching on Lexis Nexis to dig up the previously reported doubts on the tubes?

You would think that ABC's previous mention of the tubes that ran on January 9th, 2003 would've raised a bigger flag for the editorial staff:

MARTHA RADDATZ - Inspectors also refuted one key part of the US case against Iraq. The US has repeatedly accused Iraq of buying high strength aluminum to be used in a secret nuclear weapons program.
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH - Iraq has made several attempts to buy high strength aluminum tubes used to enrich uranium for a nuclear weapon.
MARTHA RADDATZ - The inspectors' conclusions? That the tubes were for traditional weapons, not nuclear weapons.
MOHAMED ELBARADEI, INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY - We believe at this stage that these aluminum tubes were intended for manufacturing of rockets.

ABC accurately reported that the Inspectors "refuted one key part of the US case against Iraq" and that three weeks later the Ast. Secretary of State made an "extraordinary admission" about the tubes .

So why did they only give the story 79 and 103 words and then totally let it drop off their radar screen?