* Out of the Spotlight: The new...

* Out of the Spotlight: The new Miss America, Carolyn Suzanne Sapp, broke off her engagement to former pro football player Nuu Faaola in April, 1990, because he tried to push her out of a moving car and he “beat, kicked, punched, threatened to kill me, tore my clothes, choked me,” she claimed last fall. She requested a restraining order, then withdrew it, and things have calmed down since. He said this week: “I’m not saying it’s true and I’m not saying it’s false,” but he claims they are now friends. She said: “It’s over with. There’s no reason to go over the facts.”

* Unholy Writ: The more money lawyer Jeffrey Anderson makes, the less he believes in organized religion: He has handled more than 100 lawsuits alleging sex abuse by clergy. While his practice has made him rich, Anderson, who was raised a Lutheran, said it also has taken its toll: “There’s nothing I have learned that has been faith-affirming. I deal with shattered lives and serious distortions of the human personality because of the serious abuse clergy members of all faiths inflict,” he said in Minneapolis.

* Legal Maneuver: Archibald Cox, who was fired as special Watergate prosecutor on President Nixon’s orders in 1973, was recently inducted into Harvard University’s Order of the Coif. The legal order, dating back hundreds of years to England, honors those who have made significant contributions to the legal profession. The ceremony highlighted an exhibit about the longtime Harvard teacher. The items include the subpoena calling Nixon to testify in the Senate hearings and a letter from a young child telling Cox that he had named his hamster Archie in his honor.

* Play Time: Another staple of the baby-boom generation has survived to the grand old age of thirtysomething, and it’s still popular with the preschool set. Play-Doh modeling clay marked its 35th birthday Monday. “It’s a wonderful toy because it’s versatile,” said Stevanne Auerbach, director of the San Francisco-based Institute for Childhood Resources. “Kids can have fun with it because they use their imagination.”