NATION IN BRIEF

Duke Case Prosecutor Reports for Day in Jail

DURHAM, N.C. -- The prosecutor who led the now-discredited rape case against three Duke University lacrosse players reported to jail Friday to serve a 24-hour sentence for contempt of court. The city, meanwhile, was in settlement talks with the exonerated players.

According to a person close to the case, attorneys for the men are seeking $30 million from Durham and reforms in the legal process.

If the terms are not met, the ex-players will sue early next month, according to the person, who spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the proposed settlement was not complete.

The former district attorney, Michael B. Nifong, declined to speak with reporters as he arrived at the jail. He was disbarred for ethics violations in his handling of the case, and a judge found him in contempt for lying to the court when he insisted he had given defense attorneys all results from critical DNA tests.

San Diego Diocese Settles Abuse Cases

SAN DIEGO -- The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego said that it has agreed to pay $198.1 million to settle 144 claims of sexual abuse by clergy, the second-largest payment by a diocese.

Earlier this year, the diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection just hours before trial was scheduled to begin on 42 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse. Bankruptcy could shield the diocese's assets, but a judge recently threatened to throw out the bankruptcy case if church officials did not reach an agreement with the plaintiffs.

The San Diego diocese initially offered about $95 million to settle the claims. The victims were seeking about $200 million.

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? NEW YORK -- A judge denied requests to dismiss charges against three police officers in the fatal shooting of an unarmed man on his wedding day. Two of the officers, Michael Oliver and Gescard Isnora, have been indicted on manslaughter charges, and the third, Mark Cooper, is charged with reckless endangerment. All three have pleaded not guilty in the Nov. 25 shooting death of Sean Bell outside a Queens nightclub. According to police union officials and defense lawyers, the undercover officers believed Bell and his friends were going to get a gun.

? MIAMI -- A federal judge ruled against Manuel Noriega for a second time, concluding that the former Panamanian dictator could be extradited to France to face trial on money-laundering charges. Noriega's attorney immediately filed notice that he will appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. U.S. officials have said Noriega will remain in a minimum-security prison near Miami until his extradition orders are finalized.

? Two robot rovers on the surface of Mars are moving again after ending a six-week sleep during severe dust storms, NASA said. Gusts of wind have cleared dust from the solar collectors on Opportunity, one of the rovers, which will head next week into the half-mile-diameter Victoria Crater, the agency said. The other, Spirit, has been sent onto a plateau of layered bedrock called Home Plate.

-- From News Services