New twists mark Duke sex scandal.(NEWSWATCH)(Duke University)

The saga of the three white lacrosse players at Duke University accused of raping a black student who is an exotic dancer continues to unfold in North Carolina. In December, the Durham attorney general dropped the rape charges against them but said he would pursue kidnapping and sexual offense charges.

DA Michael Nifong said he dismissed the rape charges because the accuser began to waver on details of the alleged event. Nifong said that he is "willing to go in whatever direction the evidence takes me" and noted that he would drop all charges against the men if the accuser expresses doubts about their identities when she sees them at a pretrial hearing. "If she came in and said she could not identify her assailants, then we don't have a case," he said.

At the request of Nifong, the state attorney general Roy Cooper will take over prosecution duties against the three men. Nifong has been accused of violating ethics rules by making biased statements about the three accused men to the media.

Meanwhile, Duke is allowing two of the alleged attackers to return to school for the spring 2007 semester. Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann can come back to campus now that the rape charges have been dropped, said Duke officials. Lifting their suspensions was "the ...