LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A 23-year-old Omaha man has made a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to a count of fraud in connection with a computer security breach at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln last year.

Daniel Stratman made the plea on Tuesday. Federal prosecutors agreed to recommend a sentence at the low end of the guideline range and not more than two years of incarceration. Stratman’s sentencing is scheduled for March 21.

Stratman was a student at UNL in May 2012 when the breach occurred. Prosecutors say Stratman hacked into a database of more than 650,000 student, alumni and employee records.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Douglas County says it will extend benefits to same-sex spouses of employees who were legally married in other states.

The County Board voted Tuesday to change the definition of an eligible spouse so it can include someone who is the same gender as the employee. The new definition covers all benefits including health insurance.

The county will briefly reopen its enrollment period to accommodate the newly eligible spouses. Benefits would begin Jan. 1. The county is self-insured.

The City of Omaha recently said it would not offer health insurance and dental benefits to spouses of legally married gay employees. The Omaha police union has filed a grievance in response.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A 22-year-old man has been charged with capital murder in the deaths of a southeast Kansas mother and her three children a week after being jailed.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s office also charged David Cornell Bennett Jr., of Cherryvale, with rape and criminal threat. And as a potential alternative to the capital murder charge, Schmidt’s office filed four counts of first-degree murder in Labette County District Court.

Bennett is being held on $5 million bond over the deaths of 29-year-old Cami Umbarger and her young children. Their bodies were found in their Parsons home Nov. 25.

Parsons attorney Shane Adamson was appointed to represent Bennett. His office said he would not comment.

Bennett has a court hearing scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln’s police chief says he doesn’t intend to surrender any city block to gang violence.

Chief Jim Peschong (peh-SHAWNG’) said Monday that Lincoln is “bonding together as a community to make sure gangs don’t gain a foothold,” citing an increase in gang violence.

The chief’s remarks follow a weekend marked by an apparent murder-suicide, another gang-connected shooting and an assault.

On Sunday a gang member burst into an apartment that contained young children to fatally shoot a rival. Police say the gunman got into a standoff with officers a few police hours later. Police say the standoff ended when the man killed himself.

NORTH BEND, Neb. (AP) — The body of a 101-year-old North Bend woman was found in her fire-damaged home in eastern Nebraska.

Firefighters were sent to the home a little before 6 p.m. Saturday, after a passer-by reported seeing smoke coming from the house’s attic.

Dodge County Sheriff Steve Hespen says Sylvia Slavik died in her home, where she’d lived alone.

The fire case is being investigated.

BRIGHTON, Colo. (AP) — A man accused of killing two 16-year-old boys after friends say the boys tried to blackmail him has pleaded not guilty in Colorado.

William Otto of Brighton faces charges of first-degree murder, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and tampering with evidence. He appeared in Adams County court Tuesday.

Gustavo Espinosa-Gamboa was shot three times in the head and once in the chest, and Jonathan Gonzalez died from one shot to the head.

The teens’ bodies were found buried in August in the small farming town of Sedgwick, about 150 miles from their neighborhood in unincorporated Adams County. The boys lived near Otto.

Authorities say Otto killed the teens after they allegedly tried to blackmail him with a cellphone video. An arrest affidavit says the video showed Otto asking at least one of them for a sex act.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska State Penitentiary is still on lockdown after 33 inmates refused to return to their cells Monday night.

A Department of Correctional Services spokeswoman said Tuesday that the inmates were protesting a year-old policy that limits the number of inmates who can be in the prison yard at one time. The policy was enacted to reduce conflicts among inmates.

Spokeswoman Dawn-Renee Smith says there were no injuries or major damage in the protest, aside from some fires in trash cans that were extinguished. Some inmates were moved to other locations because of the smoke.

Smith says prison staff members are investigating the fires. The inmates who protested were not violent, and were all secured Monday night.

MACY, Neb. (AP) — A northeast Nebraska man has been sentenced to more than three years in prison following a robbery around New Year’s Eve.

U.S. Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced Monday that 25-year-old Cory Woodhull, of Macy, was given 40 months of prison and three years of probation for a robbery conviction. He must pay $750 in restitution.

Authorities say Woodhull found a person sitting in a snow bank following a New Year’s Eve party. Woodhull assisted the person home but then beat and kicked the person while demanding information to a food stamp card.

Woodhull took the card and a DVD collection. The person suffered serious bodily injuries.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Douglas County will consider extending benefits to same-sex spouses of county employees who were legally married in other states.

The county board will consider a measure on Tuesday that would allow the couples to apply for all county benefits, including health insurance.

Douglas County is self-insured. As written, the measure would go into effect on Jan. 1. The board might also consider re-opening the sign-up window to allow same-sex spouses of current employees to enroll.

Board chairwoman Mary Ann Borgeson says the measure would affect a handful of county employees.

Nebraska doesn’t recognize same-sex relationships. Neighboring Iowa has allowed gay and lesbian couples to marry since 2009.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Neglected areas around the Nebraska Capitol have caught the eye of a Lincoln planning expert who wants to see improvements.

Cecil Steward, a member of the Nebraska Capitol Environs Commission, wants a cohesive vision for areas to the south and east of the Capitol.

Steward, a former Lincoln planning commissioner, says the areas have a diverse mix of buildings in varying condition. Some areas have historic and some have deteriorated.

Centennial Mall on the Capitol’s north side is seeing major renovations in time for Nebraska’s 150th anniversary in 2017. Steward says other parts of the district have not yet reached their potential.