Duke reaches deal with 3 ex-players

ATLANTA -- Duke University said yesterday that it has reached an undisclosed financial settlement with three former lacrosse team players falsely accused of raping an exotic dancer. David Evans, Collin Finnerty, and Reade Seligmann were indicted on charges of rape, kidnapping, and sexual offense after the woman told police she was attacked at a March 2006 team party. Evans, a senior, graduated the day before he was indicted. Finnerty and Seligmann, who were sophomores, were suspended. The school in Durham, N.C., also canceled the remainder of the team's games that season and forced the coach to resign. (Los Angeles Times)

OHIO

NORTH CANTON -- A pregnant woman vanished from her home, leaving behind broken furniture, a pool of bleach on the floor and just one witness -- a 2-year-old son who told police, "Mommy's crying. . . . Mommy's in the rug." Investigators would not elaborate on the meaning of the child's statement, but a comforter was missing from Jessie Davis's home. Authorities said yesterday they had no suspects in the disappearance of Davis, 26, who is nine months pregnant. Davis's mother, Patricia Porter, was the last person to have a conversation with Davis when she spoke to her daughter Wednesday by phone. (AP)

New York

NEW YORK -- A man who dressed in firefighter's gear to bluff his way into a co-worker's apartment on Halloween night and then sexually tortured her over 13 hours was sentenced yesterday to 20 years to life in prison. Peter Braunstein, 43, was convicted in May for kidnapping, robbing, and sexually abusing the former colleague at Fairchild publications. Dressed as a firefighter, Braunstein set fires in the hallway outside his victim's Manhattan apartment as a ruse to gain access inside her home on Halloween 2005. He then drugged her, tied her to a bed, stripped, and videotaped her. (AP)

Tennessee

ELMER -- A tearful mother of two teenage girls killed when a speeding dragster skidded into a crowd demanded answers yesterday, saying the high-powered car should never have been on a city street. "Somebody's got to take responsibility for this. I've got to bury my two girls," Darla Griswell said. Her daughters, Nicole, 19, and Raven, 15, were among six young people killed by the car when it fishtailed into the crowd Saturday at the Cars for Kids show in Selmer, a small town about 80 miles east of Memphis. At least 23 other spectators were hurt, many seriously. Authorities said yesterday it would take time to figure out exactly why the car lost control. The district attorney said he has not yet decided whether to bring criminal charges. (AP)