Duke prosecutor removed from suit

DURHAM - A federal judge has removed the disgraced Durham County prosecutor from a lawsuit filed by three Duke University lacrosse players falsely accused of rape. Former district attorney Mike Nifong filed for bankruptcy two weeks ago, citing more than $180 million in liabilities, almost all the estimated damages from pending litigation. Attorneys for Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty, and Dave Evans have filed a civil suit against Nifong, the City of Durham, police investigators, and others, accusing them of conducting "one of the most chilling episodes of premeditated police, prosecutorial, and scientific misconduct in modern American history." (AP)

NEW YORK - Barnard College said yesterday that it has chosen Debora L. Spar, 44, a Harvard Business School professor, to be the next president of the women-only college. She has been senior associate dean for faculty research and development at the business school. Spar will assume the position July 1, succeeding Judith Shapiro. Barnard has 2,300 students and shares facilities with Columbia University. (AP)

ST. LOUIS - The US Department of Energy, frustrated by ballooning costs for a plan to build a virtually emissions-free power plant, told federal lawmakers yesterday that it plans to pull its support for the $1.8 billion project in Illinois, lawmakers said. The Energy Department would not publicly divulge its intentions about the plant, dubbed FutureGen. (AP)

PHILADELPHIA - A man who spent hours each day playing video games was convicted yesterday of killing his 17-month-old daughter when she pulled down his Xbox console. Prosecutors believe Tyrone Spellman, 27, pummeled Alayiah Turman while her pregnant mother napped in September 2006. (AP)

Attorney General Michael Mukasey said yesterday that he will refuse to say whether the interrogation tactic known as waterboarding is illegal, digging in against critics who want the Bush administration to define it as torture. In a letter to Patrick J. Leahy, the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, Mukasey said he has reviewed Justice Department memos about the CIA's methods of interrogating terror suspects and finds them to be lawful. (AP)