WALKING ON WHITEWATER?

A federal judge threw out a fraud indictment against Governor Jim Guy Tucker of Arkansas, the most prominent figure snared in the Whitewater investigation of special prosecutor Kenneth Starr. "This is a major blow to Starr," says Washington correspondent Suneel Ratan. "It means that he can no longer go after whomever he wants. His authority is being cut back." Tucker, a Democrat, had been accused of obtaining a federally backed loan under false pretenses and trying to avoid taxes. U.S. District Judge Henry Woods said the charges bore no resemblance to the matters Starr has been assigned to investigate. Ratan cautions, however, that Starr can, and probably will, appeal Woods' decision.