(AP) — Jodi Arias heads back to court as jurors consider whether the death penalty should be an option for sentencing the former waitress after convicting her of first-degree murder last week.

The 32-year-old aspiring photographer admitted killing her onetime boyfriend Travis Alexander in June 2008, at his suburban Phoenix home. She initially denied involvement then later blamed masked intruders. Two years after her arrest, she said it was self-defense when he attacked her after a day of sex.

Prosecutors said she planned the killing in a jealous rage as Alexander wanted to end their affair.

Testimony began in early January. The jury reached its verdict last Wednesday after about 15 hours of deliberations over four days.

Jurors on Wednesday will hear testimony before deciding whether the death penalty should be an option for sentencing Arias.

An Omaha man has been sentenced to six years in federal prison for receiving and distributing child pornography.

U.S. Attorney Deb Gilg says 47-year-old Michael Abraham was sentenced Monday. Abraham must also register as a sex offender and remained under supervised release for seven years after his release.

There is no parole in the federal court system.

Abraham was arrested following an undercover investigation by the Nebraska State Patrol and the FBI’s Cyber Crimes Task Force. Officers discovered child pornography being shared online from a computer in Abraham’s home. On Sept. 21, a search warrant was executed at Abraham’s home and turned up more than 100 videos and 50,000 images of child pornography and child erotica.

(AP) — The attorneys for a Cleveland man accused of keeping three women in captivity for about a decade say he will plead not guilty.

Attorneys Craig Weintraub and Jay Schlachet tell WKYC-TV that suspect Ariel Castro has been portrayed as a “monster” in the media, and after meeting with him Tuesday they don’t see him that way.

Weintraub says it’s unfair and offensive that “the media and the community want to demonize this man before they know the whole story.”

Schlachet says details of Castro’s innocence “will be disclosed as the case progresses.”

Weintraub also says Castro “loves dearly” the child he fathered with alleged kidnap victim Amanda Berry while she was in captivity.

Castro is charged with kidnapping and raping Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight.

Police say homicide is suspected in the deaths of a Creighton University professor and his wife at their home in west-central Omaha.

The bodies of 65-year-old Roger Brumback and 65-year-old Mary Brumback were found just before 10 a.m. Tuesday inside the home. Officers were sent to the home after a man who planned to move or buy a piano from the couple saw Roger Brumback’s body.

No arrests have been reported. Police have not said how the Brumbacks were killed.

Roger Brumback was a physician and researcher and had been chairman of the Pathology Department at Creighton University from 2001 to 2010.

Mary Brumback wrote a book about fiber and weight control with her husband in 2006.

Douglas County records say they bought their home in 2001.

Police have been poring over a west Omaha home where two people were found dead.

The bodies were found just before 10 a.m. Tuesday inside the west-central Omaha home. Officers have been sent to the home to check on the well-being of the residents.

Police spokesman Michael Pecha (PEH’-kuh) says it’s unclear whether a crime was involved in the deaths, but homicide investigators have been called in.

The names of the deceased and other information about the case haven’t been released.

Motorists in Hall County can expect DUI checkpoints and high visibility patrols during a special Nebraska State Patrol enforcement effort focused on reducing the risk of alcohol related crashes.

“We all know drinking and driving is a dangerous combination,” said Captain Chris Kolb, Troop C Commander. “Through special enforcement efforts such as the one planned this weekend we hope to raise awareness of the need for voluntary compliance as we work together to save lives on our roads.”

The special enforcement paid for thanks in part to a $2,375 grant from the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety (NOHS), is planned for Friday, May 17

Authorities say a 40-year-old man has been killed in a collision between his pickup and a locomotive.

The Saline County Sheriff’s Office says the accident occurred around 5:20 a.m. Tuesday at a railroad crossing north of Nebraska Highway 33, west of Dorchester.

The Sheriff’s Office identified the pickup driver as Brad Kasl, of Dorchester. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sheriff’s officers and BNSF officials are investigating the crash.

A Colorado teacher found a suspicious package inside a high school in Lafayette and took it outside, where police detonated it.

A 16-year-old student was arrested after the explosive device was found at Centaurus High School Monday morning.

Lafayette Police Cmdr. Gene McCausey says the device that was similar to a pipe bomb forced the evacuation of the school and the closure of a nearby road for several hours.

McCausey says the device could have hurt people nearby had it exploded.

The FBI and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are involved in the investigation.

Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning has been fined $19,000 by the Federal Election Commission for violating campaign finance laws during his run for U.S. Senate last year.

The FEC determined Bruning did not file candidacy paperwork in a timely manner for his run for U.S. Senate in 2012, among other violations. Bruning agreed to a settlement with the FEC last month.

The fine stems from a complaint filed against Bruning by the Nebraska Democratic Party shortly after Bruning announced he was launching an exploratory committee for a Senate run in late 2010.

Bruning was defeated in the Republican primary in May 2012 by then-state Sen. Deb Fischer, who went on to win the election.

 

(AP)-A U.S. Army general accused of sexual misconduct is scheduled to return to court.

Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair is set to appear Tuesday for hearings before a military judge considering pre-trial motions.

A court martial for Sinclair is scheduled to begin June 25 on charges that include forcible sodomy, indecent acts, violating orders and adultery. The married father of two faces life in prison. He has thus far deferred entering a plea.

The most serious charges involve a female captain who served under Sinclair’s command in Iraq and Afghanistan with whom he admits having an affair.

The woman testified at an evidentiary hearing last year that Sinclair threatened to kill her and twice physically forced her to perform oral sex after they argued.