The U.S. Department of Justice said in a court filing Monday that Texas' new voting maps for Congress and for the Texas House do not meet federal anti-discrimination requirements, setting up a legal battle that will decide the landscape of future elections in the state.

The case, which involves the election districts drawn by the Republican-led Texas Legislature, will likely be decided by a federal court in Washington, D.C.

District boundaries are redrawn every 10 years to reflect changes in census data. Any changes to Texas' voting practices must be cleared by a federal court or the Justice Department to ensure changes do not discriminate based on race or color.

The Justice Department took issue with the maps for Congress and the Texas House, but it agreed with the state attorney general that maps for the Texas Senate and State Board of Education met requirements under the federal Voting Rights Act. But the Justice Department reiterated that the court would have to make its own determination on the education board and Senate maps.

The agency denied that the congressional and House plans maintain or increase the ability of minority voters to elect their candidate of choice, as required by federal law. The Voting Rights Act requires map drawers to give special protection to districts that contain mostly minorities.

Three siblings accused in a cross-country crime spree that began in Florida and ended with a police chase in southern Colorado could soon learn whether they'll stand trial.

Lee Grace Dougherty and her brothers Dylan Stanley-Dougherty and Ryan Edward Dougherty were in court in Walsenburg, Colo., on Tuesday for a preliminary hearing.

Such hearings in Colorado typically involve judges hearing from arresting officers to determine if there's enough evidence to hold a trial. However, defendants can waive their right to have the evidence presented in court.

The siblings are accused of robbing a bank in Georgia and shooting at police officers in Florida and Colorado. They're also suspected in two car thefts in Utah.

The lawyer for two Americans jailed as spies in Iran was back in court Tuesday seeking a second judge's signature on a bail deal that could free them after more than two years behind bars.

Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal were detained along the Iran-Iraq border in 2009 and were convicted last month of spying for the United States in a case that has deepened the mistrust between Washington and Tehran. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad raised hopes a week ago that the men, both 29 years old, could be released in a matter of days in what he described as a humanitarian gesture.

But months of internal political battles between Ahmadinejad and his rivals in the clerical leadership and the judiciary appear to be holding up the possible deal to lift the men's eight-year prison sentences and free them on bail of $500,000 each.

The official explanation for the latest snag was that a second judge whose signature is required on the bail papers was on vacation until Tuesday, their Iranian attorney has said.

A Thai court sentenced a nightclub owner and a lighting effects company executive Tuesday to three years' imprisonment each for a fire that killed 67 people in Bangkok on New Year's Day in 2009.

The Bangkok Criminal Court found Santika nightclub owner Wisuk Sejsawat and company executive Boonchu Laosinart guilty of causing the deaths of other persons without intent.

More than 1,000 revelers were inside the club when an indoor fireworks display set off after the countdown to New Year ignited the blaze. The fire raced through the two-story building, sending panicked guests running for the main entrance.

Victims — including three Singapore, one Japanese and one Myanmar national — died of burns, smoke inhalation and from being crushed in the stampede to get out. More than 100 people were injured.

Dozens of the injured victims and relatives of the dead were in the courtroom Tuesday to hear the verdict. Fifty plaintiffs jointly filed the case against the defendants.

"I feel better now that justice is served," said Taworn Promtong, whose 24-year-old daughter died from injuries sustained in the fire. "But my family was never the same without our eldest daughter. There's a void that could never be filled."

The verdict did not deal with allegations made soon after the fire that police had turned a blind eye to safety violations at the club prior to the fire.