PHOENIX - Arizona is preparing to ask an appeals court to lift a judge's ruling that put most of the state's immigration law on hold in a key first-round victory for the federal government in a fight that may go to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Paul Senseman, a spokesman for Brewer, said Arizona would ask the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco later Thursday to lift Bolton's preliminary injunction and to expedite its consideration of the state's appeal.

But the key sponsor of Arizona's law, Republican Rep. Russell Pearce, said the judge was wrong and predicted the state would ultimately win the case.

- Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino is used to answering questions from reporters.

On Thursday, Pitino will face questions unlike anything he's answered at a press conference.

Pitino will retake the stand in the trial of woman accused of demanding millions from him to stay quiet about a sexual liaison between them at an Italian restaurant in Louisville in 2003.