HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — A 34-year-old Florida man who led officers on a chase through three southern Nebraska counties has been sentenced to prison.

On Thursday Adams County District Judge Terri Harder gave Christopher White 14 to 15 years in prison. White had pleaded no contest and was convicted of methamphetamine distribution, attempted possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and operating a vehicle to avoid arrest. His companion on March 10 was 31-year-old Keri Ansley, who was sentenced last month to time served. Both are from Milton, Florida.

Prosecutors say the two tried to evade officers while racing through Adams, Kearney and Webster counties. The chase ended when the couple’s vehicle ran out of gas. Officers say the two had a firearm and methamphetamine with them.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court has denied an Omaha man’s quest for freedom, saying he failed to show his lawyer put on such a poor defense that it kept him from getting a fair trial.

Ryan Poe is serving a life sentence for the Nov. 11, 2004 killing of Trever Lee in a botched robbery at Lee’s Omaha home.

Poe had filed a motion for post-conviction relief, typically sought after all other appeals have been exhausted.

On Friday, the high court upheld a lower court’s finding that Poe’s attorney wasn’t negligent for not impeaching the testimony of a witness against Poe. The lower court found that Poe’s girlfriend never told the defense attorney — as Poe insists — that the witness denied to her that Poe had committed the crime.

BELLEVUE, Neb. (AP) — Two men were convicted of charges related to the death of a 2-month-old girl who had been living in filthy conditions at a house in Bellevue.

28-year-old Aaron Thompson and 36-year-old Michael Degarmo each pleaded no contest Wednesday to one count of negligent child abuse and were found guilty by Sarpy County Court Judge Robert Wester.

The Sarpy County Attorney’s Office dropped three counts of misdemeanor child abuse against each of the men.

They were arrested after Bellevue police responded to a call of a baby not breathing and found Jasmine Thompson.

Three other children were removed.

The men will be sentenced later.

Earlier, 30-year-old Kristin E. Lary pleaded guilty to one count of felony possession of a controlled substance and four misdemeanor child abuse counts.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Students at an Omaha high school have been observing a decomposing fetal pig in a forensic science class.

Westside High School science teacher Brenda Zabel currently is teaching a unit that focuses on death, learning about decomposition patterns, chemical changes such as rigor mortis and other physical changes. The pig gives students a firsthand look at things that scientists and law enforcement officials who investigate crimes observe.

Students at the school have been introduced to the fetal pig activity about 30 times, and one teacher says the results have been different every time.

The students head outside three times a week to check on the carcass, as well as observe weather data and monitor what insects are on it.

Timothy Ketelsen

BLOOMFIELD, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska man accused of stealing cattle faces multiple felony charges in Knox County.

44-year-old Timothy Ketelsen of Bloomfield is accused of stealing cattle on at least five different occasions since November. Authorities say he sometimes enlisted his sons, ages 16 and 14, to help him load steers onto trailers at night.

According to authorities, Ketelson sold the cattle at various markets.

Ketelson faces charges including two misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a child, felony illegal sale of livestock and six counts of felony theft.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The lifting of the Boy Scouts of America’s ban on gay adult leaders prompted some gay Eagle Scouts to quickly rejoin the movement on Tuesday. But the Mormon church — the nation’s largest sponsor of Scout units — warned that it may split away to form a global scouting organization of its own.

Mormon officials described the admission of openly gay leaders as “inconsistent with the doctrines of the Church.”

The contrasting reactions followed the BSA national executive board’s 45-12 vote on Monday to lift the nationwide ban while allowing church-sponsored units to continue excluding gay adults.

Across the country, scores of gay Eagle Scouts signed forms with the advocacy group Scouts for Equality, expressing interest in rejoining the Boy Scouts as volunteers.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska is offering 150 scholarships to high schools for students who want to enroll in the Nebraska Virtual Scholars program.

University President Hank Bounds announced Monday that schools can apply for scholarships on behalf of their students for the 2015-16 school year. The scholarships will allow students to take courses from the University of Nebraska High School for free.

All Nebraska high schools are eligible to apply. Applications will be accepted through Oct. 2, and recipients will be announced by Oct. 9.

The university launched the Nebraska Virtual Scholars program in 2011 to expand access to online courses for Nebraska high school students.

United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg and Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson announced that Scott N. O’Leary, 20, of Lincoln, Nebraska, was sentenced on July 17, 2015 in Lincoln, Nebraska, to 144 months in prison by Senior United States District Judge Richard G. Kopf, for receipt of child pornography.  Additionally, once released from federal prison, O’Leary will be on supervised release for 15 years and will be required to register as a sex offender.

In August of 2010, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported a CyberTip to the Nebraska State Patrol regarding child pornography that had been uploaded to a social media account on the internet.  In June of 2012, another CyberTip was reported to the Nebraska State Patrol regarding child pornography that had been uploaded to another social media account.  Both of those CyberTips were associated with accounts listed under a female’s name.

Nebraska State Patrol investigators were able to trace the IP address of the computer associated with those accounts, and through further investigation, determined that Scott N. O’Leary was the suspected offender.

State Patrol investigators determined that O’Leary had created the fictional accounts in question.  O’Leary created several accounts on various websites and social networks under the female pseudonym.  He had used the fictional persona to communicate with young boys ranging in age from 12 to 17.  O’Leary solicited and received naked images from approximately half the boys he had been in contact with.  He also used bribes and threats to obtain images.

In addition to soliciting naked images from young boys, O’Leary uploaded images of at least one victim to a website known for the exchange of child pornography.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This case was investigated by the Nebraska State Patrol with assistance from the Department of Homeland Security.  The case was jointly prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office.

Sen. John Murante

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska state lawmaker who was considering a run for Congress says he plans to seek re-election instead.

Sen. John Murante of Gretna announced Monday that he won’t seek the seat held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Brad Ashford of Omaha.

Ashford defeated Republican Lee Terry last year in the race to represent the 2nd Congressional District, which includes Omaha’s Douglas County and parts of Sarpy County.

Murante says he and his wife received an outpouring of support, but now is not the time for him to run.

Murante, a Republican, was elected to his first term in the Legislature in 2012, and is up for re-election next year. He serves as chairman of the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee.