A Texas man on Nebraska's death row for killing two men has appealed his case to the state Supreme Court.

Marco Torres Jr., formerly of Pasadena, Texas, was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and other charges in the 2007 shooting deaths of two Grand Island men, 48-year-old Timothy Donohue and 60-year-old Edward Hall.

Prosecutors said Torres fled to Texas after the shootings and burned Hall's car in a remote area. He was arrested in Houston.

Torres is asking the high court to throw out his conviction because some evidence shouldn't have been allowed, and his objection to the sentencing process shouldn't have resulted in a death sentence, among other things. Arguments will be heard March 2.

Thursday's admission in a Provo courtroom means that Keith Brown, 55, will go to prison for at least 10 years.

None of the sisters were in court, but a statement issued to The Associated Press by group spokesman Kimball Thomson said they were satisfied with the plea agreement.

"While clearly the current events surrounding the family are painful, the sisters were well prepared for this day, and are relieved and grateful to close this chapter in their lives," Kimball said.

Brown's three daughters and two sons are part of the classical piano group The 5 Browns, whose albums have topped the classical music charts and who have appeared on "Oprah" and other shows. The group also has been profiled by "60 Minutes."

Brown appeared in Fourth District Count with scratches and bruises on his face but with few other signs of the horrific crash three days earlier in which his Porsche plunged 300 feet into a canyon, also injuring his wife.

Defense lawyers for Olympic skater Nancy Kerrigan's brother are asking a judge to throw out statements he made to police after the death of their father last year.

Mark Kerrigan has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter in the case.

Prosecutors say 70-year-old Daniel Kerrigan was fatally injured in a violent fight with his drunken son at the family's Stoneham home. Kerrigan's lawyer and family say his father died from a longstanding heart condition and his son was not responsible.

Kerrigan's lawyer says he was so intoxicated when police first questioned him that he could not have voluntarily waived his right to silence.

At a court hearing Thursday, a police officer testified Mark Kerrigan yelled vulgarities when officers tried to handcuff him as emergency medical technicians tended to his father.

The 5 Browns are a piano group from Utah that features the three sisters and their two brothers. The Juilliard-trained siblings' CDs have topped the Billboard classical music charts and their concerts often sellout in all 50 states and in Japan, Germany, France, Korea, Mexico and England.

Their critical and popular acclaim has led to appearances on "Oprah," "The View" and other shows, and a profile by "60 Minutes."

The family patriarch, Keith Brown, survived the crash and faces one first-degree felony count of sodomy on a child and two second-degree felony counts of sexual abuse of a child, according to Fourth District Court records obtained Wednesday.

The records filed Feb. 10 in the abuse case don't identify any victim by name or indicate the relationship between Keith Brown and the alleged victims.

A federal appeals court has rejected a bid to remove the judge overseeing the case of a woman convicted of trying to extort millions from University of Louisville coach Rick Pitino.

The two-page decision issued Monday by the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals also turned down a request by Karen Cunagin Sypher to delay her sentencing, which is set for Feb. 18.

Sypher was convicted in August of extortion, lying to the FBI and retaliation against a witness. Prosecutors said she sought millions in cash, cars and a house from Pitino to stay quiet about their one-night stand at a Louisville restaurant in 2003.

Her attorney, David Nolan, has filed multiple motions alleging a wide-ranging conspiracy involving Pitino, U.S. District Judge Charles R. Simpson III and multiple people involved in the case. Prosecutors have called Sypher's claims meritless.

A federal jury on Thursday found that a former congressional aide broke the law by taking a trip to the World Series with a corporate official and lobbyist who picked up the tab. It was the 21st consecutive conviction in a broad corruption investigation tied to Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Jurors found Fraser Verrusio, 41, guilty of conspiracy and accepting an illegal gratuity for the trip to the first game of the 2003 World Series in New York. He also was found guilty of making a false statement for failing to report the trip on his House financial disclosure form.

Verrusio was policy director for the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee under the chairman at the time, Rep. Don Young, a Republican who still represents Alaska in the House. The trip was paid by United Rentals, a construction equipment rental company that was a client of Abramoff's firm and wanted Verrusio's help getting an amendment to a highway money bill.

Verrusio's lawyers said the trip was a legitimate business meeting and that Verrusio did nothing for the company in return. They suggested that federal agents pursued him because he refused to wear a wire in a separate corruption investigation of Young. The congressman was never charged.