Duke prosecutor wins first election

Mike Nifong, the lead prosecutor in the Duke University lacrosse scandal, defeated two strong critics in a Durham County, N.C., election Tuesday, ensuring that he will head a controversial rape case that he has vowed to take to trial.

Nifong, who has spent more than 25 years in the Durham district attorney’s office, was facing his first-ever election after being appointed to the top prosecutor’s job last year. His two opponents, both private attorneys, claimed he mishandled the Duke case by criticizing the players before any arrests were made.

Defense attorneys have gone a step further, demanding that Nifong be recused from the case and alleging he ignored key evidence because it would benefit him in the election.

Nifong received 45 percent of the vote in a Democratic primary that will almost definitely determine the winner in the November election, because no Republicans joined in the race.

New York

‘Opal’ author’s contract canceled

A Harvard University student’s novel has been permanently withdrawn and her two-book deal canceled, publisher Little, Brown and Co. announced Tuesday, as allegations of literary borrowing proliferated against Kaavya Viswanathan’s “How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life.”

Little, Brown, which had initially said the book would be revised, declined to comment on whether Viswanathan would have to return her reported six-figure advance.

Little, Brown pulled “Opal Mehta” after extensive similarities were discovered to two works by Megan McCafferty, “Sloppy Firsts” and “Second Helpings.”

The Harvard Crimson student newspaper, alerted by reader e-mails, reported Tuesday on its Web site that “Opal Mehta” contained passages similar to Meg Cabot’s 2000 novel, “The Princess Diaries.” The New York Times also reported comparable material in Viswanathan’s novel and Sophie Kinsella’s “Can You Keep a Secret?”

Washington

Ebersol jet crash due to pilots, ice

Federal accident investigators Tuesday blamed the pilots of a chartered jet who tried to take off with ice on the wings for the 2004 crash that killed TV executive Dick Ebersol’s son.

The Canadair Challenger 601 business jet rolled wildly after takeoff on Nov. 28, 2004, from Montrose Regional Airport in Colorado, plunging to the ground and bursting into flames. The NTSB found that ice or snow on the wings destroyed its ability to fly.

Ebersol said that putting all the blame on the pilots was “completely unfair” because the NTSB had overlooked the fact that the flight company his family had been using for 10 years had subcontracted with other companies to handle the flight. He said the business practice was deceptive.

Chicago

Campral may not treat alcoholism

The drug Campral, approved two years ago to treat alcoholism, works no better than a placebo in reducing craving for alcohol, according to a study released Tuesday.

The report in the Journal of the American Medical Association compared several treatments for alcoholism and found the older generic drug naltrexone offered the clearest benefits.

In a statement, Campral marketer Forest Laboratories Inc. said the study should be viewed as “a single data point.”