Can you spot Durham DA Nifong spin "reporting?"

In more than 60 public statements, Durham DA Mike Nifong has tried to spin facts, including DNA results, to support his charge that some Duke lacrosse players are guilty of raping a woman.

Below are the headlines and first three paragraphs of three newspapers' reports today of results of a second round of DNA testing of Duke lacrosse players.

Read the following headlines and paragraphs. See if you can't pick out which headline and paragraph are closest to DA Nifong type spin.
_____________________________

Number 1:

DNA ID'd: It didn't come from Duke player

Genetic material obtained from a vaginal swab of the accuser in the Duke lacrosse rape case conclusively matches a man who is known to Durham police but who is not a Duke lacrosse player, a defense attorney said Friday.

"In other words, it appears this woman had sex with a male," attorney Joseph Cheshire said. "It also appears with certainty it wasn't a Duke lacrosse player."

The finding could be significant because District Attorney Mike Nifong has said that one reason he believes the woman's claim of rape was that a nurse determined she had vaginal trauma consistent with her story. The Duke players have insisted they didn't have even consensual sex with the woman.

___________________________

Number 2:

Second DNA rape test may help Duke athletes

A second round of DNA testing in the Duke University lacrosse rape case came back with the same result as the first — no conclusive match to any member of the team, defense attorneys said Friday.

Attorney Joseph Cheshire, who represents a team captain who has not been charged, said the tests showed genetic material from a "single male source" was found on a vaginal swab taken from the accuser, but that material did not match any of the players.

"In other words, it appears this woman had sex with a male," said Cheshire, who spoke at a news conference with other defense attorneys in the case. "It also appears with certainty it wasn't a Duke lacrosse player."

____________________________

Number 3:

No firm link in test 2 of DNA

A second round of DNA tests shows no decisive match between the escort service dancer who says she was raped by three Duke University lacrosse players and any member of the squad, defense attorneys said Friday night.

However, the results show that genetic material found on a fake fingernail that the dancer says was ripped from her hand during the attack are consistent with the DNA of one unindicted player, whom defense lawyers declined to name. That means the player could not absolutely be eliminated as a suspect, defense attorneys said, but is a finding that falls short of ironclad proof.

"There is no conclusive match ... that ties any of these young men to this woman who has made these false accusations," said defense attorney Joseph B. Cheshire V, who represents Duke lacrosse co-captain David Evans, who has not been charged in the case. "There is no conclusive match of DNA."

_____________________________

Number 1 headline and paragraphs: The Durham Herald Sun

Number 2 headline: The Seattle Times. Paragraphs; The Associated Press

Number 3 headline and paragraphs: The Raleigh News & Observer

In contrest to the Durham HS and the AP, The N&O avoids mentioning in its lead paragraphs the important new news of vaginal semen and an ID of the fellow whose semen it is. But it does recycle for the umpteenth time the "ripped from her hand during the attack" claim.

You have to follow The N&O story from the front page to inside the paper before you find any mention of the vaginal semen.

That by reporters and a newspaper who just a few weeks ago told readers on page one a Duke lacrosse player was cited for having an open can of beer.

No wonder an attorney friend says some folks down at the Durham County courthouse have taken to calling N&O reporters "the Raleigh DAs."