Nevada State News

Las Vegas man accused of stealing $500K in COVID unemployment benefits

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 17:20:12 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- A federal grand jury indicted a Las Vegas man for allegedly defrauding the Nevada Department of Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation (DETR) and the California Employment Development Department (EDD) in a scheme to steal COVID unemployment benefits.

Craig Renard Gibson made his initial appearance in court on Tuesday, Aug. 26.

The grand jury indicted him on five counts of bank fraud, one count of illegal transactions with access devices, and four counts of aggravated identity theft.

United States Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Albregts scheduled a jury trial to start on Oct. 20.

According to court documents, from Aug. 26, 2020, to Dec. 9, 2020, Gibson, along with others, allegedly possessed debit cards issued in the names of other people that contained unemployment insurance benefits provided by DETR and EDD.

Using those cards, Gibson and the others allegedly withdrew over $500,000 from those cards illegally.

If convicted, Gibson faces a maximum penalty of 162 years in prison and a fine of $5,250,000. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence after considering sentencing guidelines and other factors.

A beauty pageant where you have to be at least 60-years-old to enter

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 15:44:00 +0000

PAHRUMP, NV ( KLAS ) - Another exciting edition of the beauty pageant in Pahrump where contestants are at least 60 years old.

The Ms Senior Golden Years happens every year at the Saddle West Casino.

2024 winner Debbie Forrest was in a video introducing this year's contestants:

Diane Sauter, Mercedes Kennedy, Denise Gholson, Mary Mcrory and Carolyn Buckley, who said:

“My platform is: the veterans. I want to do the Fisher House and anything I can do to help the veterans.”

As they do every year, the contestants dance to a musical number, walk the stage in evening gowns, and show off their talent.

Buckley explained why she was using a cane in her presentation:

”My husband died last year. I was using his cane. He was holding my hand through my performance.”

The ladies were serenaded by Danny Pilman before the final big announcement from MC Stephani Elliot:

”Your 2025 Ms Senior Golden Years USA: Carolyn Buckley!”

And the crowd erupted in cheers and applause.

I also have to give a shout-out to the “young” lady who started the Ms Senior Golden Years program: B.J. Hetrick-Irwin, a spitfire who just turned 100-years-old. She was saluted with proclamations and surrounded by friends and family at a community party in her honor just a few weeks ago.

Was state of Nevada hit by a ransomware attack? ‘Symptoms line up’

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 13:00:23 +0000

Nevada’s incident began Sunday morning, when the Nevada Highway Patrol and Nevada State Police dispatch phone lines went down.

Jet skiers lead rangers to missing Nevada veterinarian's body in Lake Mead

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 12:33:41 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- Two young people jet-skiing on Lake Mead located the body of a missing Nevada veterinarian, who the coroner’s office later determined drowned after taking a sedative, according to documents the 8 News Now Investigators obtained Tuesday.

Dr. Shawn Frehner disappeared in April after a video showing him kicking a horse went viral. Frehner's family filed a missing persons report before the media reported the incident.

The search for Frehner began at Lake Mead after his keys, wallet and cellphone were found in his truck parked at Hemenway Harbor on April 7. Crews later found Frehner’s body near the Boulder Islands within the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on April 18. Rangers also located ankle weights on his body, documents said.

Frehner’s identity was confirmed on April 19 through dental records.

As a vet, the coroner’s office noted Frehner had “access to multiple medications used for euthanasia of large animals.”

The coroner’s office confirmed Frehner’s cause of death was drowning with the use of pentobarbital. His manner of death was listed as suicide.

Pentobarbital is a barbiturate, which is a type of medication that acts as a central nervous system depressant. It is also a common animal euthanasia drug in the United States and Canada, according to the National Library of Medicine.

A video 8 News Now obtained showed Frehner jabbing a horse in the face before he went missing. The video also showed Frehner flushing a horse’s nose with a syringe — a normal practice. Shortly after, he is seen jabbing the horse in the face.

In his apology, Frehner said he was attempting to reposition the horse to help it breathe, but recognized he had kicked the horse. He said he wished the situation had never happened.

He was the subject of an investigation by Nye County deputies for animal cruelty following a complaint from the horse’s owner.

Help is available 24/7 by calling 988.

Nevada targeted in cyber attack; state, federal investigation underway

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 12:32:47 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- The State of Nevada was targeted in a cyber attack that resulted in the closure of many state agencies, causing them to deactivate their websites and phone lines, the governor's office confirmed Tuesday evening.

Early Sunday morning, the state identified a network security incident and immediately engaged in 24/7 recovery efforts. The cyber attack targeting the state prompted a state and federal investigation, a press release from the Office of the Governor said.

As of Tuesday afternoon, there is no evidence that any personally identifiable information (PII) was compromised, according to the governor's office.

A spokeswoman for Republican Gov. Lombardo acknowledged, in a statement late Tuesday afternoon, that the criminal investigation into the ongoing technological meltdown that began Sunday night prevents her from providing "technical details at this point."

What's more, the spokeswoman, Elizabeth Ray, would not directly address whether the state's systems were hacked or whether the state is being asked to pay a ransom to restore its online capabilities, hallmarks of the type of brazen cyberterrorism that more and more frequently brings large corporations and institutions to their virtual knees.

Recovery efforts have impacted certain state technology systems on the state network, causing some state websites or phone lines may be slow or briefly unavailable.

Late Tuesday afternoon on the social media platform X, the Nevada DMV posted, "At this time, all DMV offices are to remain closed until further notice."

Other major state departments' websites and mainframes are down, and many state agencies closed both Monday and Tuesday. Those include the departments of public safety, health and human services, and corrections. Other websites, such as the state pharmacy and funeral boards, are also down. Other websites, though, such as the state bar's, are operational.

State offices are expected to begin to offer in-person services later in the week, and individual agencies will announce when counters reopen and any alternative options. Emergency call-taking and essential services will remain available statewide.

As for state employees, the cyber attack did not impact state payroll, and all state employees will be paid on time through the normal process, the governor's office said. Though state employees were placed on paid administrative leave on Monday, many employees returned to the office on Tuesday and will continue to return to the office as systems come back online.

Dr. Gregory Moody, UNLV's director of cybersecurity programs, said state departments often want to keep their proprietary information private, even from other departments.

"There are state actors who are always going to be looking for the trove of data that states, counties have," Moody said. "They have information about, you know, all the citizens, they have their social security numbers, they have tax information, they have accounts, they have resources. And it spreads across a whole bunch of different domains, departments that are supposed to be linked together and work well. But in reality, they function very separately and very disparately."

Ray told the 8 News Now Investigators she would make more information available and that the governor would sit for an interview about this 'network security incident' once they can do so.

A representative for the FBI confirmed Monday that the bureau was assisting in the investigation.

The governor's office said the state is focused on restoring services safely and validating systems before returning them to normal operation.

Sunrise Hospital workers call out corporate owner HCA: ‘Invest in us,’ put people over profits

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 12:11:59 +0000

Sunrise Hospital workers picketing to draw attention to “skyrocketing” CEO compensation at corporate owner HCA. (Photo courtesy of SEIU Local 1107)

Workers at Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center in Las Vegas say their units are dealing with severe understaffing, turnover and burnout while corporate owner HCA Healthcare rakes in billions in profits.

At an informational picket Monday, the workers called on the hospital to negotiate a fair first contract with them, something they have been waiting on for approximately a year and a half since they voted to unionize. With the workers was a 20-foot inflatable rocket emblazoned with the words “skyrocketing CEO compensation at HCA.”

HCA is one of the largest hospital corporations in the United States and reported $5.7 billion in profits last year, up around 10% from the previous year. HCA operates three hospitals in Southern Nevada: Sunrise Hospital, MountainView Hospital, and Southern Hills Hospital & Medical Center.

According to SEC filings, HCA CEO Samuel Hagan made nearly $23.8 million in 2024.

At the same time, HCA employed approximately 313,000 people with a median wage of $60,820, meaning half of workers made more than that amount and half made less.

That equates to Hagan receiving $391 for every $1 earned by an average employee.

Or, as SEIU Local 1107 put it, “the CEO made more in a single day than most workers made in the entire year.” Union leaders argue the disparity is indicative of a larger crisis of corporatization and consolidation.

Genie Patrick, a medical social worker at the hospital, said the community supports health care professionals at Sunrise Hospital.

“We have Google reviews of the community stating, ‘I love the way you treated me. You helped me so much,’” she said. “We just want to be appreciated, like everybody else, because we’re doing the job. We’re working hard. We want HCA to appreciate us like everybody else does.”

Casey Donaldson, a physical therapist who’s worked at Sunrise’s inpatient rehab unit for eight years, echoed that sentiment and said it’s difficult to see good employees leave.

“We need to make sure that we’re retaining these incredibly experienced people,” he said.

Donaldson implored HCA to “invest in us. Invest in frontline professionals.”

Kalani Kauwe, a physical therapist at Sunrise’s trauma intensive care unit, said it’s not uncommon to be assigned 15 or more patients per shift. At other hospitals, workloads are closer to 10 patients per shift.

Both Donaldson and Kauwe emphasized their unit sees patients at their lowest — after car accidents, traumatic brain injuries, strokes.

“They went from being completely independent, now they need two people to help them move in the bed,” said Donaldson. “We need to go in there when they’re incredibly vulnerable and improve their independence within about 10 to 14 days, to get them home.”

Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom, who attended the event Monday, expressed his firsthand gratitude for physical therapists specifically.

“I wouldn’t be walking without a physical therapist,” he said.

Sunrise Hospital employs nearly 300 health care professionals. In addition to physical therapists and medical social workers, there are laboratory medical technologists, occupational therapists, pharmacists, and speech-language pathologists. They voted to unionize under SEIU 1107 early last year but no initial contract has been reached.

That professional workers bargaining group is separate from Sunrise Hospital nurses, who were already unionized under SEIU. SEIU represents about 20,000 health care and public service workers across Nevada.

Sunrise health care professionals held a similar rally in May to highlight the stalled negotiations and need for better working conditions.

In addition to their picket, the workers launched a website to encourage supporters to put pressure on the hospital and its corporate owners: RespectSunriseProfessionals.org. According to SEIU, hundreds of emails have already been sent.

HCA Healthcare and Sunrise Hospital did not directly respond to the claims made about working conditions, but provided a statement to the Nevada Current: “At Sunrise Hospital, we believe a strong culture of respect and collaboration among our colleagues is critical to our mission. We value each member of our team and are committed to fair and equitable compensation for all.”

The statement noted that bargaining meetings are scheduled for this week.

“We look forward to continuing to engage in open, productive discussions with the union to foster an environment where our employees can provide the excellent service they are known for,” concluded the statement.

HCA made headlines last month after Attorney General Aaron Ford announced the State of Nevada would receive $768,500 as part of a $2.9 million multistate settlement with the health care giant for requiring nurses to repay the cost of a mandatory training program if they left the company before two years.

Ford, attorneys general from California and Colorado and the Biden administration argued it was an unlawful form of employer-driven debt and a violation of state consumer protection laws.

In addition to penalty fees paid to the state, HCA agreed to pay $75,776 in restitution to Nevada nurses impacted by the repayment policy.

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated with a statement from HCA Healthcare.

State of Nevada still digging out from under cyber attack

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 12:00:10 +0000

(Photo: Alejandra Rubio/Nevada Current)

If Nevada state officials know what — or who — crashed the state government’s information technology systems and brought multiple state offices and services to a screeching stop, they’re not saying.

“The State was targeted in a cyber attack, and the incident is under active state and federal investigation. To protect internal systems during an active criminal investigation, the State is unable to provide technical details at this point,” reads a memo sent by the governor’s office late Tuesday.

A spokesperson with the governor’s office won’t say if the the state’s systems were hacked or if the state is being held ransom by cyber attackers, according to KLAS.

Some state offices are expected to resume offering in-person services “later this week,” according to the state’s late Tuesday update.

“Medicaid coverage and provider payments remain fully operational,” the memo said.

Payroll services weren’t affected and employees will get paid on time, the memo added.

State websites and IT services, hence many state services, were made unavailable beginning Sunday morning. As of early Wednesday morning, many state of Nevada websites were still down (the state’s homepage, the governor’s office) but others (the currently out of session Nevada Legislature, the Nevada Department of Employment) were up.

As in earlier updates, the state’s memo Tuesday said there is “no evidence” anyone’s personal information “was compromised.”

“The Office of the Governor and Governor’s Technology Office (GTO) are working continuously with state, local, and federal partners to restore services safely,” the memo said.

Las Vegas judge sentences 'gorilla pimp' lawyer to probation after sex-trafficking investigation

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 06:31:27 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- A judge sentenced a longtime attorney, who police said referred to himself as a “gorilla pimp,” to probation in what began as a sex trafficking investigation and an alleged murder-for-hire plot.

Clark County District Court Judge Christy Craig sentenced Gary Guymon to probation Tuesday after he entered no contest pleas to felony charges of bribing or intimidating a witness to influence testimony and coercion earlier this year.

Guymon initially faced sex trafficking, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit murder, pandering, and bribing or intimidating a witness to influence testimony.

As part of the sentence, Guymon will be permanently disbarred and must continue mental health counseling, a court spokesperson said.

Police arrested Guymon on Feb. 3. At the time, they accused Guymon of forcing women he represented to perform sexual acts on himself and his friends -- and in one case, they said he allegedly orchestrated a murder-for-hire plot.

Guymon referred to his prostitution ring as the “$100 club,” according to an arrest report the 8 News Now Investigators obtained. Guymon referred to himself as a “Demon of validation,” according to police. Guymon forced one woman to use a sex toy and threatened her with incarceration if she did not follow his orders, police said.

Guymon purchased a Range Rover and leased an apartment for another woman who said the relationship moved from attorney/client to romantic, the report stated. Guymon is married.

When the relationship took a turn, Guymon sent numerous threatening text messages, police said.

“I just became your mother******* gorilla pimp!!!!” Guymon texted, according to the report. “Effective immediately: you will do what I tell you to do. You will date who I tell you to date. You will not break stride. You will march forward.”

In an interview with police, “Guymon denied introducing clients of his to associates of his for sexual acts,” documents said. “He stated multiple times he was just attempting to help the females out and would occasionally receive lap dances from them.”

As part of their investigation, police surveilled and tracked Guymon for several weeks

Guymon previously worked in the Clark County District Attorney’s Office.

Former Las Vegas police sergeant booked at maximum-security prison

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 06:27:38 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- A former Metro police sergeant is now serving his prison sentence at High Desert State Prison, a maximum-security facility where Nevada's death row inmates are housed and where a string of inmate deaths have recently occurred, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned.

Kevin Menon was transferred to the prison located near Indian Springs on Aug. 21, according to the Nevada Department of Corrections.

On Aug. 4, Clark County District Court Judge Ron Israel sentenced Menon to at least four years in prison for orchestrating phony arrests, which mainly targeted men of color, and a sex crime.

Menon pleaded guilty in May to eight counts after a grand jury indicted him in three separate cases. The charges include oppression under the color of office with immediate threat or use of physical force, subornation of perjury, and capturing the image of the private area of another person.

Menon agreed to serve 4-10 years in prison as part of the plea agreement. He will also have to register as a sex offender upon his release.

"I am not the man these charges reflect," Menon said in court as Clark County District Court Judge Ron Israel sentenced him. "For any harm I have done, I beg for forgiveness."

Israel sentenced Menon to 4-10 years as per the plea, questioning why Menon accepted the plea if he maintained his innocence. The plea deal drastically reduced the amount of time Menon could have spent in prison if the case had gone to trial and a jury had convicted him.

In the first case, a grand jury indicted Menon for illegal stops and searches of mainly Black men on the Las Vegas Strip while Menon worked as a sergeant in plain clothes. Metro investigators said Menon instigated situations with the public without probable cause. In one case, Menon ordered the search of a car without any reason, police said. In another, the sergeant, who often worked in a plain clothes capacity, intentionally collided with a person on a pedestrian bridge, leading to that man's arrest.

After a search of Menon's home related to the first case, police said they found numerous images of child sexual abuse material on Menon's devices. This resulted in the second case.

Police returned to Menon's home, where they found hidden cameras that Menon installed in a bathroom to record family members using the toilet. This resulted in the third criminal case.

Video shown to the grand jury in Menon's first case shows Menon directing a team of officers to target individuals, pulling maneuvers such as a "shoulder check" to agitate the target and then arrest him.

Menon's wife and sister-in-law, identified as victims in his third criminal case, have stayed by his side through various court appearances.

After his initial arrest, the department placed Menon on leave with pay and suspended his police powers pending an investigation. The department later stopped paying him. Menon "separated" from Metro in June, a spokesperson said.

FILE - Towers view over the High Desert State Prison in Indian Springs, Nev., April 15, 2015. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

Menon tried to have Israel removed from the case, citing allegations of abuse from his adult daughter. Israel issued a response stating he should remain on the case, but could not discuss certain issues about his daughter due to HIPAA. Clark County District Court Chief Judge Jerry Wiese decided Israel should remain on the case.

Menon will be eligible for parole in 2029.

High Desert State Prison is located near Indian Springs, which is about a 45-minute drive north of Las Vegas.

Las Vegas aviation administrator under review for alleged conflict of interest

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 06:23:30 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- World Fuel supplies Las Vegas pilots’ gas, sponsors their customer services, and owns the company at the center of a new contract bid, but airport officials want a chance to explain why this isn’t a monopoly.

The Clark County Board of Commissioners agreed last week to delay a Clark County Department of Aviation (CCDOA) fee increase and begin a review into allegations that a department official, Ben Czyzewski, is subject to a conflict of interest since he also fulfills an unpaid role on an aviation service company’s board.

Several pilots at Henderson Executive Airport and North Las Vegas Airport raised similar concerns at publicly posted tenant meetings amid the changes to their lease agreements, which, if not resigned, could lose them their hangars.

Pilots submitted their questions to 8 News Now for the CCDOA’s new incoming aviation director, Jim Chrisley, about the conflict-of-interest claims, concerns about loss of hangars, and questions regarding World Fuel’s role at Henderson and North Las Vegas.

Title 20

Chrisley and other CCDOA leaders presented new proposed fees last week, which haven’t been changed in 15 years, to the Clark County Board of Commissioners. The department leaders have held the proposal, Title 20, does not have anything to do with fuel prices, such as with World Fuel.

“Let me be clear, the fuel is completely separate from what we were updating in rates and charges. These were things like tie-down spaces for small aircraft, shade hangers, when a transient jet comes in and pays based on how long they stay, the parking fees, et cetera,” he said.

However, inside Title 20, fuel and fuel purchases are mentioned over twenty times throughout the documents’ changes. Some of the fee changes are directly tied to fuel discounts for transient pilots. Chrisley noted the correlation but hesitated to link Title 20 directly to fuel discounts.

“If you purchase a certain amount of fuel, your aircraft parking fees are either reduced or waived depending on how much fuel you purchase,” he said. “That is a typical procedure done and that's and once again, that second page is strictly for our transient customers.”

The company tied to the bid, Ascent Aviation Group, is owned by World Fuel, but Chrisley said the bid process is not known or connected to Czyzewski, addressing conflict of interest concerns.

Fair compensation?

At both tenant meetings, pilots asked if there would be compensation if their hangars were removed from the airport due to the lease agreement renewals, some of which are 30 to 35 years old, or the proposed airport upgrades.

“Those agreements, each lease agreement has its own terms and standards in there,” he said. “And they will be the lease agreement will be met as it's written.”

Chrisley was asked if there are any commitments that can be made to the tenants, worried that they will not receive what they believe to be fair compensation from the CCDOA.

“The lease agreement is for the ground on that lease,” he said. “That's the ground lease for those hangars. The structure itself is owned by that tenant. So, any lease changes, et cetera, would be about the ground lease.”

Air Elite’s ties

When 8 News Now went to a tenant meeting at Henderson Executive Airport, Air Elite branding was found on the walls, posters, and front desk spaces. Tenants told 8 News Now they have seen county employees wearing Air Elite logos and answering the phones as Air Elite.

Chrisley said much of the branding is purposeful, pointing to Air Elite as a customer service brand that enhances passenger and tenant experiences at the airport.

“They are a customer service program that we participate in with our employees, our facilities, we meet a standard to be deemed air elite worthy, and that's what this is all about, to improve our marketing,” Chrisley said. “Let's look at the Super Bowl and Formula One. The reason those were so successful is we were able to provide that unbelievable level of customer experience at both general aviation airports.”

World Fuel supplies Las Vegas pilots’ gas, sponsors their customer services, and owns the company at the center of a new contract bid, but airport officials want a chance to explain why this isn’t a monopoly. (KLAS)

Air Elite is sponsored by World Fuel and has the fuel company’s logo on nearly all branding around the airport—including fuel trucks at Henderson and North Las Vegas airports.

There are leadership ties at CCDOA and North Las Vegas Airport to Air Elite, according to the company’s website and LinkedIn. Czyzewski currently fulfills an unpaid role at the company as their board’s vice chair and Karina Tarnowska, North Las Vegas Airport’s manager, was previously hired after working at Air Elite.

“I would take that previous experience to broaden Karina his abilities, to make her even better at what she does now, to understand that level of customer service that North Las Vegas airport needs to provide to our transient customers,” Chrisley said. “That's what our valley demands. So that is all a great experience to help complete and provide that great customer service at North Las Vegas, which is why she was hired back.”

Chrisley was asked if Air Elite pays CCDOA or the airports any licensing fees or any profit for the branding around the airport.

“Not that I’m aware of,” Chrisley said. “Because we're voluntarily participating in this program. We're trying to promote our fixed base operators, our operation at these airports to attract, as we're supposed to do, to attract that business jet traffic off of Harry Reid [International Airport].”

If the CCDOA or airports are not receiving licensing fees or any profit, Chrisley was asked if the company is being given free advertising on taxpayer-funded facilities.

“It’s not advertising,” he said. “It's advertising for our fix, our [fixed base operator]. This is network visibility marketing to attract that business to Henderson and North Las Vegas airports.”

Is it appropriate?

Although 8 News Now was not allowed to attend the North Las Vegas Airport tenant meeting, some tenants expressed frustration that Czyzewski, who is under county review, was leading the meetings.

“He knows those he knows those agreements,” Chrisley said. “He knows the airports he's been doing a long time, and he is an excellent representative of our airport system.”

Chrisley was asked, given that Czyzewski was under review, should there have been a different representative leading the meetings, as it appeared to cause frustration from tenants.

“Those meetings were scheduled well in advance, and yes, he should have been leading them with help from others,” Chrisley said. “Moving forward, we are going to have other folks in the room at those meetings for sure, to ensure that there's no confusion over what's being said.”

Public audit?

Multiple tenants and pilots asked 8 News Now what would become of the county’s review, and if there would be a public audit launched to look into leadership ties between the CCDOA and World Fuel associated companies. Chrisley said the CCDOA is already looking into those ties.

“We've already looked into it,” he said. “We're going to continue to evaluate it.”

Chrisley was asked if an organization above the CCDOA could look into those claims, such as Clark County, and if he would commit to a public audit by an entity such as that.

“Yes, absolutely,” he said. “And we'll be working closely with our district attorney's office to evaluate it.”

The Clark County Board of Commissioners is still reviewing the allegations of a conflict of interest and is expected to discuss the outcome at its next meeting.

Business owners speak out against increase in homeless population near Las Vegas park

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 03:05:55 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- Business owners near a Las Vegas park say they're fed up after the homeless community has gathered along the street outside their doors and is affecting business.

Business owners at the shopping center on Eastern and Sahara avenues say they don't want to push the homeless community away, but they feel the balance is tipping.

"We deal with the problem every day, it's not increasing but it's steadily daily," said Cindee Petrocco, owner of Jake's Bar.

What should be a family park behind Jake's Bar, Justice Myron E. Leavitt Family Park is turning into an extension of the street, and they want Las Vegas city leaders to do more.

"The solution is to find a place to move them, you can't just clear them out, they need somewhere to go. It doesn't matter whether it's here or Centennial, it doesn't matter it's everywhere," Petrocco said.

Jake's Bar sits next to the park. Petrocco has put up trespassing signs on the side of her business, but told 8 News Now they have been ineffective.

However, community leaders said they're working to address the problem.

Al Rojas with the Safe Communities' Network says his goal is to restore the park as a safe place for families while also addressing concerns from business owners who feel the sidewalks have turned into an extension of the park.

"I've talked to a lot of residents who have lived in the area for years and they said they gave up on this park years ago. They will not bring their children here," Rojas said.

Rojas said people living in the area depend on the park. Groups like the Same Communities Network say they'll keep pressing Las Vegas City leaders for more resources to make this park safer for families and nearby businesses.

If you have an issue with the homeless community on private property, it's recommended to put up "no trespassing" signs, secure trash containers, and have good lighting to help reduce opportunities for unwanted activity.

Flood advisory, severe thunderstorm warning issued to portions of Las Vegas valley

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 02:17:09 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- A flood advisory and severe thunderstorm warning were issued to portions of Southern Nevada, including the Las Vegas valley, Tuesday afternoon.

The flood advisory will stay in effect until 5:15 p.m. Tuesday due to thunderstorms making their way across the valley.

Minor flooding in low-lying and poor drainage areas is expected to affect parts of Southern Nevada, including Las Vegas and Henderson.

A severe thunderstorm warning was also issued for northwestern Mohave County and Central Clark County. The warning will stay in effect until 4:30 p.m. due to a severe thunderstorm that was located near Boulder City, moving northeast at 35 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

The impacted areas include Henderson, Boulder City, Las Vegas Bay, Lake Las Vegas, Boulder Beach, Callville Bay Campground, Railroad Pass, Boulder Beach Campground, Las Vegas Bay Campground, Callville Bay, and the Hoover Dam.

Winds are expected to reach up to 60 mph with damage to roofs, siding, fencing and trees.

The National Weather Service reminded drivers to always avoid flooded roadways.

Smell haunts neighbor of shuttered Las Vegas funeral home; 100+ 'improperly stored' bodies removed

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 01:48:08 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- A neighboring business owner to a now-shuttered Las Vegas funeral home said the smell started in April. By early August, the coroner's office was removing 146 bodies from the building.

More than two weeks ago, the Nevada Board of Funeral and Cemetery Services voted to pull the license of McDermott’s Funeral Home and Cremation Services. The board met over two days to review four complaints filed against the business, which is in an industrial area on Western Avenue near Sahara Avenue. The Nevada Attorney General's Office signs off on the complaints.

On Friday, Aug. 8, the 8 News Now Investigators recorded coroner staff moving bodies from the property. The remains were transferred to Davis Funeral Home.

The board found the business failed to timely bury or cremate bodies -- including one case where a woman was not cremated for almost 11 months, documents said.

The Nevada Board of Funeral and Cemetery Services pulled the license of McDermott’s Funeral Home and Cremation Services in early August. The board met over two days to review four complaints filed against the business, which is located in an industrial area on Western Avenue near Sahara Avenue. (KLAS)

“In here, it was really bad,” Michael Trotta said in one room in his vinyl and screen-printing business. Trotta, the owner of The VinylDude.com, said several walls in his suite abutted McDermott’s.

A police report the 8 News Now Investigators obtained regarding the transfer notes the coroner’s office located “approximately 110 improperly stored deceased bodies.” Documentation from the funeral board indicates McDermott’s operated four coolers in its suite.

“Three to six months ago that that smell started,” Trotta said. “It was just like very strong and just a pungent dirt-type smell.”

McDermott’s website refers customers to the coroner’s office for questions. An archived version of its homepage shows it charges customers a little more than $1,000 for direct cremation and more than $3,000 for a traditional burial.

The Western Avenue location, not far from the Las Vegas Strip, served as a crematory and office. McDermott’s also operated a public-facing establishment on Decatur Avenue, an office the board said was not properly permitted.

Trotta watched as police officers and the coroner removed the bodies on Aug. 8.

“And they told you what?” 8 News Now Investigator David Charns asked.

“That they had all these bodies that were stacked up against our common wall,” Trotta said.

A prior letter from McDermott's manager to the funeral board. (KLAS)

The board’s main complaint involved the funeral home’s failure to “[cremate] or otherwise [dispose] of” eight bodies for an extended period of time. Nevada law stipulates that a funeral home must bury or cremate a body “within a reasonable time after death,” however, an exact amount of time is not written into law.

In one case, a woman’s body remained at the crematory for nearly 11 months before cremation, board documents said.

The allegations surrounded board inspections in July and August 2024, where an inspector determined several bodies in McDermott’s care were there for an “extended period.” The inspector also located “three coolers containing numerous bodies that were leaking blood and bodily fluids,” documents said.

Photos provided in the documentation show stained sheets, which the inspector notes were not changed after a subsequent inspection. During one visit, the inspector noted “fluids of a body… had dripped onto a body on a lower shelf and onto the floor.”

Las Vegas police and the Clark County coroner's office work at McDermott's crematory on Aug. 8, 2025. (KLAS)

During one inspection, one body was lying in the cooler with no lid and the person’s face visible, documents said. The funeral home told the board the body was awaiting preparation.

The funeral director told the board that just one employee was working in the crematory during the inspection and that the inspectors arrived before business hours.

In another case, a family filed a complaint after their loved one, who died in December 2023, was not cremated for 51 days after her death, documents said. An investigative report indicates the family was told there was a two-week delay and that the company was “running behind.”

Several families have contacted the 8 News Now Investigators, saying they experienced delays after they signed with McDermott’s. Some others said they had no issues and felt the delivery of cremains was timely.

“What does it mean to you that those people were right there?” Charns asked Trotta.

“That's sad, just sad,” Trotta said.

An attorney for the National Funeral Directors Association stressed that each state has its own policies when it comes to funeral service regulations.

“It prevents the family and the funeral home rushing toward an artificial, and sometimes harmful, deadline,” the attorney said in an email. “For example, I have had cases where the family is in another country halfway around the world and want to see their loved one before they are cremated. If there is a rigid time limit in the state regulations, that could deprive the family of this final opportunity. In Las Vegas, there are many John and Jane Does recovered, and it can take quite a bit of time before their families can be identified and contacted. Sometimes the state does not release the remains for disposition for weeks, if not more.”

“Should neighbors smell the funeral home next door?” Charns asked Kurt Soffe, a 43-year funeral home veteran and co-owner of Jenkins-Soffe Funeral Homes & Cremation Center in the Salt Lake City area.

Michael Trotta, the owner of The VinylDude.com, said several walls in his suite abutted McDermott’s. (KLAS)

“My personal opinion is that, no, our professional standard is to care for that individual and to also care for the living,” Soffe said.

Soffe stressed how funeral homes must care for the living alongside the dead.

“It's heartbreaking,” he said. “Paying tribute is really the final opportunity we have to memorialize a life.”

Soffe described his business’s turnaround time from death to cremation as 7-14 days, noting that extreme delays can rarely occur but have happened.

Documents from Metro police say the coroner's office removed "approximately 110 improperly stored deceased bodies." (KLAS)

“The change in a human body can occur quite rapidly,” he said about the delays.

In addition to the “reasonable” time clause in Nevada law, state law requires operators to preserve the “dignity” of any remains in their care.

“I had to come in here sometimes and just deal with it,” Trotta said about the smell. “It is what it is. I got to feed my kids.”

After the business closed, someone sprayed black paint over all of McDermott’s signage. Because customers were showing up at his door asking questions, Trotta put stickers on the now-defunct signage directing them to a phone number. He fears he may be targeted for speaking up.

Nevada law only says burials and cremations must occur "within [a[ reasonable time after death." (KLAS)

In a response to the allegations, the funeral director wrote to the board, indicating most of the bodies awaiting burial or cremation involved social services and that “takes weeks, months or in extreme cases over a year to complete.” That process involves the county paying for the funeral home’s services if a family cannot or if the person does not have next of kin.

In 2021, the board cited McDermott’s for a similar delay in service.

A representative for McDermott’s said all remains in its care were stored in body bags and wrapped in sheets, and at no point were they "stacked" inside.

Seven members comprise the board, including three who oversee funeral services at competing Las Vegas-area funeral homes, according to the board’s website.

Metro police were not conducting an investigation into the storage. It was not clear if the attorney general's office would move forward with any other claims other than the four complaints that led to the shutdown.

8 News Now Investigator David Charns can be reached at dcharns@8newsnow.com.

Nevada DMV offices closed 'until further notice' due to statewide network outage

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 01:36:36 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) - The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles announced Tuesday afternoon that its offices will remain closed until further notice due to a statewide network outage.

The announcement comes days after several agencies were affected by the outage that occurred on Sunday morning.

Tuesday evening, the governor's office announced the state was targeted in a cyber attack and that the incident was under an active state and federal investigation.

"The DMV is currently working to resume normal business operations," the DMV stated Tuesday in a post on its social media page.

DMV cancelled appointments & fees

All cancelled appointments during the outage will be honored as walk-ins for a two week period following reopening. Any fees incurred during the outage will be waived.

What services are still available to DMV customers

At this time, all in-person and online transactions, as well as kiosk transactions, are temporarily unavailable with the exception of Rapid Registration and Turbo Titles, according to the DMV.

How can Nevadans avoid scams during this time?

Be cautious of unsolicited calls, emails, or texts asking for personal information or payments. The State will not ask for your password or bank details by phone or email. As official state websites return online, verify information.

How is the State responding?

Gov. Joe Lombardo’s office released a statement Tuesday morning, “As network recovery operations continue, state offices will be closed again today, aside from critical employees and operations. We will continue to provide updates throughout the day.”

The incident is impacting many of the state’s technology systems, including phone lines, websites and in-person services for some departments. However, the governor specified that emergency services, including calls to 911, should not be interrupted.

According to a news release, teams are working around the clock to restore services with agency partners, including the FBI.

The governor’s office said that it has not seen any evidence that personally identifiable information was compromised.

Nevada lieutenant governor seeks to eliminate HOV lanes

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 01:05:45 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- Nevada Lieutenant Governor Stavros Anthony wants to eliminate HOV lanes in the state, citing their lack of use for carpooling.

“We're going through a process to apply to the federal government to do away with HOV lanes completely,” Anthony, a republican said.

Part of that process is figuring out what happens with federal HOV funding. The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) said it may have to return $145 million if HOV lanes go away, due to that money being allocated for the development of the lanes.

Nevada's Lieutenant Governor, Stavros Anthony, is seeking to eliminate HOV lanes in the state, citing their lack of use for carpooling. (KLAS)

Anthony said if the money has to go back, he’ll consider alternative plans with HOV lanes to keep the money in Nevada.

He said the goal of HOV lanes is to get people to carpool with each other, but he doesn’t see that happening. “Nobody's doing that,” Anthony said. “I've not ever talked to anyone who has called up somebody else in order to, carpool together in order to use the HOV lanes. Since that's not happening, the HOV lanes are useless.”

In a survey NDOT conducted, 497 people said HOV lanes inspire them to carpool out of 1,600 respondents.

Nevada's Lieutenant Governor, Stavros Anthony, is seeking to eliminate HOV lanes in the state, citing their lack of use for carpooling. (KLAS)

The survey, conducted in 2024, is part of a long-running NDOT study to determine the future of HOV lanes. Just over 3,040 people took the survey, and it’s a near-even split on how people use and feel about HOV lanes.

53.8% of people who took the survey say they use HOV lanes while they’re operational, but 54.7% say they don’t think the HOV system is beneficial.

Director of UNLV's Transportation Research Center, Shashi Nambisan, said one aspect that will need to be considered during the study is whether to focus on transporting more people or more cars.

“From a purely technical perspective, as long as there is a demand of two or more people in a vehicle during the peak travel period, we will be moving more people by having an HOV lane,” Nambisan said.

NDOT’s study will be complete in 2027; until then, the lanes should remain the same as they are now.

5 daytrips from Las Vegas to tickle your tourist tendencies

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 00:52:32 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The road is calling, but you only have a day to get there, do your thing, and get back to your routine in the morning.

Here are five suggestions for leaving Vegas in the rearview mirror for a change of scenery. See a photo of each spot at the bottom of this story:

Grand Canyon West Skywalk

This trip, covering 128 miles to a remote spot in northwest Arizona, ends with a thrill. The 10-foot-wide horseshoe-shaped glass bridge goes 70 feet out over the rim, with the canyon floor 4,000 feet below. A zip line attraction requires an extra fee. There are also trails for hiking, a free arcade, shopping and dining opportunities, and free shuttles from off-site parking that will take you to the Skywalk and other destinations at the attraction. The All-Access pass is $99 per person, and includes a $10 voucher that can be redeemed for merchandise or at one of four restaurants, including the Gwe Ma'jo featuring traditional Hualapai Tribe recipes. The attraction is on the Hualapai reservation, and it is not affiliated with Grand Canyon National Park. Cross Hoover Dam and head south to Dolan Springs, where you will go east on Pearce Ferry Road, which connects to Diamond Bar Road. See the website for more information.

London Bridge

Yes, the real thing, sold after it started to sink into the Thames. Bought at auction for about $2.5 million, the 930-foot London Bridge was carefully dismantled, shipped through the Panama Canal and reassembled on the shore of Lake Havasu. The project was a tremendous expense for town co-founder Robert McCulloch, who made his fortune in chainsaws and boat motors, but it did the trick. It opened in 1971 and became the centerpiece tourist attraction that brought visitors to the lake. See the bridge on this live webcam. It's 165 miles to the bridge via southbound U.S. 95, east on I-40 across the Colorado River and then south again on U.S. 95.

Barstow Station

Before Las Vegas had two outlet malls of its own, Barstow, California, was a popular day trip. But there's still a pulse when you stop at Barstow Station, which opened in 1975. Where else can you eat McDonald's in a railroad car? A Barstow community leader recently credited the touristy spot with putting the town on the map, making it more than a bathroom break on the way to Las Vegas. Barstow still has the aura of a Route 66 town looking to appeal to highway travelers. Barstow is about 155 miles southwest of Las Vegas on I-15. Bonus stops: Just before Barstow, you can stop in Yermo to find the candy offerings of Eddie World and the original Del Taco location.

Rachel, Nevada

Home of the Little A'Le'Inn and unabashedly appealing to UFO fanatics in their quest to see Area 51, this little town has a colorful story for visitors. Six years ago, an estimated 3,000 people showed up in Rachel for "Storm Area 51," an event created in response to Matty Roberts' spur-of-the-moment Facebook group. In a short time, 1.3 million people responded with intentions of attending the event. Two secure gates to Area 51 had small crowds show up, and the Department of Defense was in no mood to play. The little cafe, with a flying saucer hooked up to a tow truck in the parking lot, is the focal point of Rachel proper, right near the middle of the "Extraterrestrial Highway" — State Route 375 between U.S. 93 and U.S. 6. On the way to Rachel, you'll pass the Alien Research Center, a gift shop in a quonset hut with a very tall alien statue out front. The drive to Rachel is 147 miles through a lot of desert land.

Rhyolite, Nevada

A town that boomed around 1907 and was pretty much deserted by 1920 is more than just another ghost town. Art has taken hold in this out-of-the-way desert destination that once produced $1 million in gold. The Goldwell Open Air Museum is on private property near the Rhyolite townsite, which is on Bureau of Land Management property. Ghostly sculptures by Belgian artist Albert Szukalski in 1984 have spawned a collection of works since his death in 2000. The Rhyolite townsite still has walls of a three-story bank, part of a jail, and the Bottle House, which was restored in 1925. A privately owned train depot has been restored. By the time you've made it to Rhyolite, you might be tempted to go into neighboring Death Valley National Park. But that trip deserves much more than an afternoon drive-through. Make the 123-mile drive to Rhyolite via U.S. 95 to Beatty. Go southwest on State Route 374 toward Death Valley and turn right after about 3 miles.

Visitors walk on the Skywalk at Grand Canyon West following the opening ceremony on the Hualapai Indian Reservation in Arizona on March 20, 2007. (ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
London Bridge, shown here on March 9, 2021, has become a popular tourist attraction in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)
A 1957 Chevy welcomes travelers to Barstow, California, on old Route 66. (Photo by: Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
An alien-like statue displays a sign welcoming guests to the Little A'le' Inn restaurant and gift shop on July 22, 2019. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
Belgian artist Albert Szukalski's scuptures on display near the ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada. (Photo by: Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
The ghost town of Rhyolite near Beatty, Nev. (Duncan Phenix/KLAS)

There's plenty to see along the way on each of these day trips. And once you get out on the road, you might not be satisfied with a short trip.

Take a packed bag along with the essentials just in case that two-hour trip home just seems like to much to face.

Vegas Knight Hawks to celebrate IFL championship win with Las Vegas fans

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 00:20:14 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- The Vegas Knight Hawks are inviting Las Vegas fans to join them in celebrating their Indoor Football League National Championship win.

A championship party is set for Thursday, Aug. 28, at 5:30 p.m. on the patio of the M Resort. The celebration will feature team meet-and-greets, giveaways, prizes and more.

The Knight Hawks won against the Green Bay Blizzard with a score of 64-61 in the championship game.

As part of the festivities, fans who purchase a 2026, full-season membership with a minimum of two seats by Sept. 30 will also receive a limited edition member exclusive championship ring and special Champions Pricing.

For those who are interested can call 702-645-4259 or email tickets@knighthawksfootball.com.

The Vegas Knight Hawks is owned by Bill Foley, the owner of the Vegas Golden Knights.

The event is open to the public. Fans are asked to RSVP ahead of time. Parking will be available in the West Lot.

Las Vegas valley adult learners attend college for 1st time

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 00:11:54 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- School is in session, and going back to school may look different for older adults looking to get their degree for the first time.

At 66 years old, Randy Varner is pursuing college for the first time.

"I'm retired and my biggest regret in life was not going to school," Varner said.

He's a sophomore studying hospitality after previously working in the industry for 15 years.

"Even though I'm not using college to pursue a career, lifetime earnings, I'm doing it to better myself and that was a good fit to pursue hospitality to take what I learned actually working and apply it. I consider myself an ambassador, so I'm really trying to help younger people. I have knowledge in that area and I want to pass on my experiences," Varner stated.

It was a big change for Varner and for many others going back to college who have to navigate their schedules, classes and learning styles.

"The biggest challenge for me was the technology side. At my age, I'm learning as I go but you have a lot of resources here and a lot of help," Varner explained. " I don't have any other real commitments so I'm lucky because a lot of these students take five classes and work full time, juggle all kind of stuff where I can focus on the school."

Just ask Eddy Valdez, who is taking a mix of online and in-person classes at UNLV. He's studying psychology to advance his career. He also has a wife also attending college and six kids.

"Work is all over the place but when I started out this year, I would try to set aside a Wednesday or a Thursday evening," Valdez said. " Usually we would tell the kids okay you guys it's quiet time, everybody go to their rooms and we would sit here and be on our laptops and knocking out study sessions or test and quizzes."

While the thought of going back to school can be intimidating, Jake Thompson, the Associate Vice Provost for undergraduate education and high impact practices in academic affairs, said they offer a ton of help from tutoring, financial aid, student programs and mental health support.

"There are a lot of adult learners at UNLV, approximately 30% of our students fall outside of the 18 to 25 year age range so we have almost 10,000 adult learners here," Thompson said. "Take the risk, take the leap of faith and think about enrolling in some classes, you can start off with just one or two and another really important key is getting involved in campus."

Going back to school also means going beyond the books, as adult learners gain other life skills like communication and social skills.

"My biggest fear in life was talking in front of people. I never done it," Varner added. "Then last year they said we would like you to be on a panel at Rebel Ready week in front of 4,000 people and I go 'no.' They finally convinced me to do it, I got some coaching and once I did it, I gained the confidence."

If you're thinking of going back to school, just know it's never too late.

"Do it, that would be my advice. I was scared to death," Varner stated. "When you do it, you'll get help, you'll work your way through it, you work through the problem and it's one of the best things I've done."

UNLV also hosts an adult learner's summit, which provides a supportive environment and connections to help adult learners with their needs and reach their goals.

"Like why wouldn't I to put myself and my family in a much better position financially, career-focused, setting that example for my kids," Valdez said.

Older adults lost billions to scams, fraud in 2024

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 23:44:19 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- We’ve all gotten them – those annoying calls, texts, and even emails from scammers hoping to make a quick buck. But among the millions of Americans who lose money to scammers every year, older adults, especially those 60 and up, are hit the hardest.

“We get phone calls every day, and they’re trying to scam you and get your information all day long, and it’s constant,” Burnett Bartaltt said.

Bartaltt said scams have become routine and sometimes costly.

“They have scammed me out of money, and I have not been able to get it back,” Bartaltt explained. “I went to my bank, and my bank saw [the check] and the check looked so good; it looked really great. And I thought I had something going on that I could get paid for driving – it was a bad scam.”

From fake checks to car repairs, even a home he hoped to move into, Bartaltt said he’s been a victim of multiple scams, costing him thousands of dollars.

“They’re gonna come and tell you all these great things that they’re going to do for you, and they really are not trying to help you at all; they’re just trying to scam you through everything you got,” Bartaltt said.

According to AARP, older Americans lost $12.5 billion to scams and fraud in 2024, up 25% from 2023. The most common are imposter scams where criminals call or text, pretending to be government officials or companies like Amazon or PayPal.

“It’s when you get that text that tells you that you owe money,” retired LVMPD detective Tamia Dow explained. “You owe a parking ticket, you owe toll fees, or you have warrants.”

Dow said scammers targeting seniors also pose as Medicare or AARP representatives. She said in either instance, do not respond and contact the organization directly to confirm claims.

“Verify everything,” Dow said. “Make sure to not click on links in their text messages or email. If you see something from somebody you did not start a conversation with, do not respond to them. Confirm everything.”

Other schemes include online shopping cons, fake job offers, and investment scams. Dow warns seniors to be extra cautious, especially when it comes to money or personal information.

“Just be wise and weary of people trying to find out your information and most definitely of them asking you of any kind of money,” Dow explained.

Submit a form.

If you are a senior and have been a victim of a scam or fraud, we want to hear from you. Fill out the form above and share your story of how you were impacted.

Fired over accusations lodged by a Trump polemicist, Fed governor not going quietly

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 23:43:11 +0000

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell administers the oath of office to Lisa Cook to serve as a member of the Board of Governors at the Federal Reserve System during a ceremony at the William McChesney Martin Jr. Building of the Federal Reserve May 23, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook will challenge her removal, her attorney said Tuesday, arguing President Donald Trump “has no authority” to fire her.

Trump announced late Monday that he would fire Cook, the first Black woman to serve on the Federal Reserve Board, over allegations that she falsified documents to obtain a favorable mortgage rate. She has not been charged with a crime.

Cook has consistently voted not to lower interest rates, rejecting requests Trump has made of the independent central banking board.

Cook’s attorney, Abbe David Lowell of Lowell & Associates, said in a statement to States Newsroom that she would sue to block the firing. Former president Joe Biden appointed Cook in 2022. Her term ends in 2038.

“President Trump has no authority to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook,” Lowell said. “His attempt to fire her, based solely on a referral letter, lacks any factual or legal basis.”

Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, referred Cook’s mortgage application to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution. Pulte has made similar accusations against political enemies of the president.

Pulte has accused New York Attorney General Letitia James, who investigated Trump’s business dealings and won a finding of fraud in state court, and California U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, who led the investigation into Trump’s first impeachment inquiry, of mortgage fraud.

Trump posted a letter on social media, arguing that the allegations of Cook’s mortgage fraud had called “into question your competence and trustworthiness as a financial regulator.”

He said the Federal Reserve Act gave him the authority to dismiss a governor for gross misconduct.

Trump’s fight with Fed

The president defended his decision to dismiss Cook to reporters during a more-than-three-hour Cabinet meeting.

“We need people that are 100% on board,” Trump said, adding that he’s already considering someone else for the job.

Cook is not the only Federal Reserve Board member Trump has trained his criticism on. He has long gone after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell for not lowering interest rates.

Trump has pushed for lower interest rates to boost the economy, but rates have remained lower amid concerns that the president’s tariffs will produce price hikes.

“I think we have to have lower interest rates,” Trump said Tuesday.

Dems defend Fed independence

The dismissal has drawn outrage from economists and Democrats, including the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Yvette D. Clarke of New York.

“President Trump is attempting to oust Dr. Lisa Cook — the first Black woman to serve on the Federal Reserve Board — with no credible evidence of wrongdoing,” she said in a statement.

“Let’s be clear: this is a racist, misogynistic, and unlawful attack on the integrity and independence of the Federal Reserve,” Clarke said. “It is a dangerous attempt to politicize and exert control over the central bank — one that will only continue to damage the economy, harm hardworking Americans, and undermine our credibility on the world stage.”

Heather Boushey, a top economist under the Biden administration, said in a statement that Trump’s move to fire Cook undermines the independence of the Federal Reserve.

“It is clear from his actions that he does not believe he is bound by rule of law, but can — and will — intimidate experts to bend to his own ends,” Boushey said.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a late Monday statement that any attempt to fire Cook “shreds the independence of the Fed and puts every American’s savings and mortgage at risk.”

“This brazen power grab must be stopped by the courts before Trump does permanent damage to national, state, and local economies,” Schumer said. “And if the economy comes crashing down, if families lose their savings and Main Street pays the price, Donald Trump will own every ounce of the wreckage and devastation families feel.”

The top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, Richard Neal of Massachusetts, slammed the president, calling Cook’s firing unlawful.

“President Trump’s illegal removal of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook is (an) economic assault,” Neal said in a statement. “Instead of taking responsibility for his own economic failures, he’s manufacturing a villain to blame. As seen around the world, politicizing the central bank means rampant inflation, higher mortgage rates, unstable retirement accounts, and more uncertainty for the people. All of which will threaten the financial security of every American.”

Piles of human cremated remains discovered outside Las Vegas

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 23:28:34 +0000

Editor's note: This story and image have been updated to clarify the source of the photo.

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- The Bureau of Land Management is investigating the discovery of dozens of piles of human cremains outside of Las Vegas, the 8 News Now Investigators have confirmed.

A person who 8 News Now is allowing to be anonymous stumbled on what they described as about 70 piles of ashes on a dirt road outside of Searchlight, they said while providing a photo. Searchlight is a rural community about an hour south of the Las Vegas valley off U.S. 95. 8 News Now is granting this viewer anonymity at their request.

The Bureau of Land Management is investigating the discovery of dozens of piles of human cremains outside of Las Vegas, the 8 News Now Investigators have confirmed. (KLAS viewer)

An official with BLM confirms to the 8 News Now Investigators that the piles are human cremains and that the department is actively investigating.

What are generally referred to as "ashes" are pulverized bone, which are left over after a person is cremated.

A person stumbled on what they described as about 70 piles of ashes on a dirt road outside of Searchlight, they told 8 News Now. (KLAS viewer)

There is no law in Nevada barring a person from scattering ashes on public land. BLM policy allows for a person to scatter cremated remains; however, the policy limits "commercial distribution of cremated remains."

8 News Now Investigator David Charns can be reached at dcharns@8newsnow.com.

Las Vegas man sentenced to life in prison for 2023 murder spree

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 23:24:30 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- A man was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday, without the possibility of parole, for a 2023 murder spree in Las Vegas.

Spencer McDonald, 32, killed his grandmother, Dina Vail, 80, Andrew Graden, 43, and a complex maintenance man, Chris Brassard, 45.

On June 27, 2023, at the Rancho De Montana Apartments on Flamingo Road near Durango Drive, McDonald told police he walked into his grandmother's bedroom with a cosplay sword and a large kitchen knife and attacked her.

According to police, McDonald then waited for Graden to return home and attacked and killed him, too. Complex maintenance worker Chris Brassard became the third victim when he went to check on Vail, after learning a friend had not heard from her for days.

McDonald pleaded guilty, but mentally ill, to all three murders, which means he will need to receive mental health treatment for life.

When asked by the judge if he wanted to comment, McDonald responded, “I can say why it happened. The timing was that of being required to see a psychiatrist in order to reinstate disability income. I was deeply afraid of the side effects.”

In court Tuesday, McDonald’s public defender Anna Clark emphasized she did not want to diminish the victims’ pain, but expressed they were “grateful” for the resolution.

“It takes into account the overwhelming loss,” Clark said. “Both of those statements are true at the same time, that his life has value and their lives have value."

However, a family member for one victim countered. Wendy Lemieux, sister of Andrew Graden, joined the hearing via Zoom.

“I'd like to start by saying I object to what the defendant's lawyer just said about the defendant,” Lemieux said. "My family will feel AJ's absence for the rest of our lives, and this is truly unforgivable. Nothing short of death by stabbing and bludgeoning seems sufficient as punishment for this predator."

As part of a plea deal, prosecutors dropped the possibility of the death penalty.

DNC panel rejects Israel-Gaza resolutions; chair instead calls for task force

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 22:56:11 +0000

Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee, withdraws his resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza during a meeting of the Resolutions Committee at a Democratic National Committee meeting Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)

A Democratic National Committee panel did not advance any resolution on Israel’s war in Gaza during its meeting in Minneapolis on Tuesday, reflecting the party’s deep divisions over how forcefully to confront one of the U.S.’s closest allies.

The panel rejected a resolution, brought by a 26-year-old new DNC member, calling for an arms embargo on Israel and a recognition of Palestinian statehood.

The panel unanimously passed a resolution brought by DNC Chair Ken Martin reaffirming the party’s current position that calls for for an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages held by Hamas since Oct. 7, 2023, and the unrestricted delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza.

Martin withdrew his resolution, however, and promised to form a task force “to continue to have the conversation, to work through this and bring solutions back to our party.”

The move buys Martin and the party more time to deal with one of the most contentious and emotional issues roiling the party. Advancing a status quo resolution risked further alienating young progressive members of the party incensed at the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza, yet calling for an arms embargo would surely upset older Democrats who’ve long supported Israel.

“This is a moment that calls for shared dialog. It calls for shared advocacy, and that’s why I’ve decided today, at this moment, listening to the testimony and listening to people in our party, to withdraw my … resolution,” Martin said.

Resolutions passed by the DNC resolutions committee are meant to elevate principles consistent with the party’s platform and are largely symbolic.

Florida DNC member Allison Minnerly told reporters after the meeting she was disappointed Democrats didn’t pass her resolution.

“Overwhelmingly, Democrats want the end of U.S. involvement in this war, particularly they want their elected officials to not be complacent in this crisis. So while it’s important that the conversation started today, the chair has placed a comma on that conversation,” Minnerly said.

Last month, 27 Democratic U.S. Senators — including Minnesota Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith — voted for a resolution to block the sale of American bombs and firearms to Israel. The resolution didn’t pass, but a growing number of Democrats voted in favor of it as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza grows more dire amid widespread hunger and suffering.

Martin, who was the longest serving chair of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer Labor Party, has struggled to keep the various Democratic factions together in his six months at the helm of the DNC. He pushed out 25-year-old DNC Vice Chair David Hogg, who aimed to bring a new generation of Democrats into office even if it meant contentious primary challenges. Martin is also confronting slowing donations and a dissatisfied voter base eager for a stronger resistance to President Donald Trump.

This story was originally published by Minnesota Reformer.

'Chill, Snow, Repeat:' Farmers' Almanac predicts 'wetter than normal' winter season for Southern Nevada

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 22:39:20 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- The summer weather might still be hanging on, but the Farmers' Almanac has already released its extended forecast for the winter season.

The editors of the Farmers' Almanac are predicting "wild weather" across the nation with dramatic swings and widespread wintry weather.

While snow will be limited in the south and west regions of the country, the weather outlook for the almanac dubbed "Chill, Snow, Repeat" isn't all about flakes.

For the desert southwest region of the country, the almanac is predicting a wetter than normal winter with temperatures staying in the normal range.

"We are not expecting a big spike in temperatures this winter," 8 News Now Meteorologist Tedd Florendo said. "If we do have several wet systems roll through, combined with cold overnight lows, it is possible we could see more opportunities for snowflakes around the valley again this winter."

Florendo also added that he doesn't anticipate the snowflakes sticking around and refreezing during the overnight hours.

The winter outlook suggests a memorable winter from coast to coast, featuring some cold temperatures, frequent snowfalls, and plenty of surprises for every region.

Nevada state offices remain closed for in-person services due to network 'security incident;' FBI assisting in investigation

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 22:03:22 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- State offices across Nevada are being impacted by what the governor's office called a "security incident," causing many, including the DMV, to be closed Monday and Tuesday.

Gov. Joe Lombardo's office released a statement Tuesday morning, "As network recovery operations continue, state offices will be closed again today, aside from critical employees and operations. We will continue to provide updates throughout the day."

The state first identified the incident Sunday morning and began investigating immediately.

The incident is impacting many of the state's technology systems, including phone lines, websites and in-person services for some departments. However, the governor specified that emergency services, including calls to 911, should not be interrupted.

"During recovery, certain websites, online services, and office phone lines may be slow or briefly unavailable; 911 emergency call-taking remains available statewide," the release said.

According to a news release, teams are working around the clock to restore services with agency partners, including the FBI.

The outage is impacting DMV and the Department of Public Safety, including Nevada State Police, as well as other state agencies.

Here's the impact:

No in-person services on Tuesday. Agencies will announce when counters reopen or any alternative options
State websites and phone lines may be intermittently unavailable. If a site or line doesn't respond, try again later
For emergencies, call 911

The RTC said that, out of an abundance of caution, traffic cameras and electronic freeway signs will be temporarily unavailable.

The governor's office said that it has not seen any evidence that personally identifiable information was compromised.

Monday evening, the governor's office announced that state offices will likely be closed on Tuesday, aside from critical employees and operations, as network recovery operations continue. The Public Utilities Commission of Nevada also announced that it would be closed on Tuesday due to recovery efforts.

"We will circulate updated guidance and information tomorrow morning. Thank you for your patience and partnership as we navigate this," the statement read in part.

There is no word yet on what caused the network security issue.

Here's what should be in your holiday travel emergency kit

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 21:08:20 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- As millions of Americans get ready to travel for Labor Day weekend, the Red Cross of Southern Nevada is reminding drivers to be prepared.

The National Safety Council (NSC) said in a report that an estimated 424 people may die and over 48,000 may be injured in preventable crashes during the Labor Day holiday period.

The Red Cross is encouraging drivers to prioritize safety and preparedness in order to help prevent accidents and help drivers handle emergencies.

The organization said simple precautions can make a life-saving difference.

“Before heading out this holiday, make sure your vehicle is in good working condition, your gas tank is full, and you have an emergency kit ready,” Rachel Flanigan, Executive Director of the American Red Cross Southern Nevada Chapter, said. “Buckle up, drive responsibly and plan ahead to ensure a safe and enjoyable weekend for everyone.”

Many families are expected to drive at least 50 miles or more, the Red Cross said. They recommend a well-stocked emergency kit for vehicles traveling long distances over the holiday.

The Red Cross recommends including the following items in your emergency kit:

High-protein snacks
Water
First aid supplies
Flashlight and extra batteries
Small battery-operated radio
Blanket
Basic tools and a tire repair kit
Jumper cables
Map
Cellphone charger
Emergency contact card with names and phone numbers

NSC said data showed that 36% of traffic fatalities that happened during the Labor Day holiday period in 2023 involved an alcohol-impaired driver. The Red Cross reminds all drivers to drive responsibly over the upcoming weekend.

“Labor Day weekend travel requires extra caution,” Mark Chung, Executive Vice President of Safety Leadership and Advocacy at NSC, said. “This remains one of the most dangerous times for roadway users, and everyone plays a role in preventing tragedies. Drivers must take the necessary steps to travel safely.”

The Red Cross of Southern Nevada offered some holiday weekend travel safety tips for motorists:

Drive defensively
- Always wear a seatbelt, designate a sober driver, get enough rest, and avoid distractions.
Prepare your vehicle
- Inspect tires, check the oil, and confirm your emergency kit is fully stocked.
Avoid impairment
- Remember that drugs and alcohol, including certain prescription medications, can impair driving ability.
Monitor speed
- Obey posted speed limits and adjust speed based on weather and traffic conditions.
Stay focused
- Put phones out of reach and minimize distractions to keep attention on the road.
Check the back seat
- Always double-check the vehicle before locking it to ensure no children or pets are left behind.

Fentanyl-laced mail, code words and a fatal overdose: the alleged scheme to get drugs inside Nevada prisons

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 20:33:14 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- A man is accused of smuggling drugs to Nevada and California prison inmates by sending fentanyl-laced envelopes disguised as legal mail in a scheme that spanned at least seven different facilities, according to a Las Vegas Metro police report obtained by the 8 News Now Investigators.

Hoza Del Collins, 30, advertised his alleged drug dealing on social media, made posts revealing the process and supplies, and was caught on surveillance video personally sending the drug-laced mail, police said.

Collins faces charges including second-degree murder for supplying substances causing death, selling or transporting controlled substances, and furnishing controlled substances to a state prisoner. He is a former Nevada Department of Corrections inmate, previously incarcerated from February 2016 to February 2017 after he violated probation in a burglary case, according to records.

The Nevada Department of Corrections determined 278 calls placed between various inmates at six different facilities -- including Ely State Prison, Lovelock Correctional Center, High Desert State Prison, Southern Desert Correctional Center, Northern Nevada Correctional Center and Florence McClure Correctional Center, the only women’s prison in Nevada -- and the same phone number from January 7 until July -- demonstrated “the scope and consistency of this conspiracy," according to the report.

Police arrested Hoza Del Collins, 30, on multiple felony counts for allegedly supplying synthetic drugs to inmates in Nevada and California prisons. (NDOC)

Investigators said in at least one case, an inmate died from Collins' drug supply. Michael Trapper, who was serving time at Ely State Prison, died on July 19. An inmate who knew Trapper admitted to investigators he also scraped a white powdery substance from legal documents Trapper received the day prior and snorted it.

In one phone call on July 11, the call recipient, not named in the report, told Trapper the substance to be sent was "the purest stuff" and warned it was so potent it could “soak through your pores," according to the report.

Police determined they were referring to fentanyl, which Trapper was believed to have died from.

Trapper expressed on a phone call, "15 is all going to you," investigators said, determining this meant a $1500 payment for the drugs.

Trapper also noted on the call that he had a 30, 60 and 90-day plan to make the individual rich because of the high demand for the drugs, referred to in code as adult film actresses, investigators said.

Investigators said they listened to recorded prison calls where code words like "magazines," "subscriptions," "ink cartridges," "Alfredo sauce," "dove season," "school bus envelope" and "white girls" were discussed to communicate the alleged scheme.

Inmates coordinated payment structures for sums as high as $1,600, the report stated.

Investigators said they discovered social media posts from as far back as last September where Collins advertised and promoted drugs and offered to sell K2-laced sheets specifically targeting inmates' loved ones.

FILE - In this April 15, 2015, file photo, vegetation grows around High Desert State Prison in Indian Springs, Nev. The Nevada state attorney general on Monday, April 18, 2016, charged a former prison guard trainee with involuntary manslaughter in the shotgun killing of a handcuffed inmate in a prison hallway in Nov. 2014. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

"The post clearly implied that these drug-laced materials were intended to be smuggled into correctional institutions, a known method of introducing contraband into secured facilities," the report stated.

Investigators said Collins also offered cocaine for sale on Aug. 1 from the same social media account, and then on Aug. 13, made "story posts depicting the narcotics smuggling process Collins is suspected of using to introduce contraband into multiple NDOC facilities and California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation facilities."

Investigators uncovered video of Collins mailing envelopes to prison facilities from a Las Vegas post office on Aug. 15 and intercepted at least two of the envelopes, which tested positive for synthetic cannabinoids, according to the report. Authorities said the mailings included seven facilities, including Ely State Prison and Southern Desert Correctional Center in Nevada, and five facilities in California located in Eastvale, Soledad, Corcoran, Delano and Chino.

Prison staff intercepted the alleged fake legal mail at Lovelock Correctional Center on July 31, two days after an inmate made a call about the scheme, according to the report.

Authorities served a warrant at Collins' home on Thursday and found toxic substances they believed Collins used to create the drug materials, according to NDOC.

Collins is being held without bail. His next court date was scheduled for Aug. 28.

On Aug. 12, after the 8 News Now Investigators first reported on four separate homicides at High Desert State Prison and Southern Desert Correctional Center within one month, NDOC issued a press release blaming "drug debt" as a factor.

Prison authorities said they are working with multiple companies that have experience combating these issues through mail drug detection systems, illegal cell phone detection devices, and artificial intelligence tracking. They said each individual reacts differently to the drug exposure. Some may overdose, lose consciousness, receive traumatic brain injuries, die, or have extreme behavioral changes, including violence.

To reach investigative reporter Vanessa Murphy, email vmurphy@8newsnow.com.

Winner of $815M Powerball jackpot will pay hefty taxes

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 20:22:15 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- The Powerball jackpot jumped to $815 million for Wednesday's drawing, but that money comes with a big tax bill should one be lucky enough to win.

While daydreaming about all the ways one could spend the money, you're not the only winner. The federal and state governments will take a big slice, around 37 percent, of the prize money for taxes, leaving the winner with an estimated cash value of $367.9 million. Some states, like California, don't withhold state taxes on the winnings, but most states do. Neighboring Arizona withholds 4.8 percent.

Powerball lottery tickets are displayed Oct. 4, 2023, in Surfside, Fla. An estimated $1.4 billion Powerball jackpot that has been growing since July is about to be on the line. Saturday night’s jackpot is the world’s fifth-largest lottery prize after rolling over for 33 consecutive drawings. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)

The jackpot is now the seventh largest ever for Powerball, and it's creating some jackpot fever. Although Las Vegas doesn't participate in a lottery, valley residents often purchase them across the borders of California and Arizona.

If anyone wins Powerball, there are two choices on how to receive the payout.

They can receive an annuity, which would be paid in 30 graduated payments that grow yearly over 29 years.
They can take a cash payout. This is the option most winners choose, but it means paying more taxes.

To win a lottery, you have to be one of the luckiest people ever because it all boils down to one thing -- the odds -- which happen to be 1 in 292 million. In fact, you are far more likely to die in a plane crash (1 in 1.11 million), get killed by a shark (1 in 3.7 million), or drown in a bathtub (1 out of 109,000).

The odds improve astronomically, 1 in 24.87, when it comes to winning any Powerball prize. A single ticket costs $2, and prizes start at $4.

Henderson police find missing elderly woman dead in parked vehicle

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 18:38:51 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- Henderson police found the elderly woman who went missing over the weekend dead in a parked vehicle on Monday. They said there was no indication of foul play.

Police said Leonor Martel, 93, was last seen just before 930 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 24, in the area of Duarte Drive and Manzanita Street near Warm Springs Road and Valley Verde Drive.

Because of her age and the weather conditions, police said she was considered endangered.

On Monday, Aug. 25, police found her dead in a parked vehicle near her residence.

Leonor Martel (HPD)

According to police, there was no indication of foul play in Martel's death. They did not provide any additional details.

Her cause and manner of death will be determined by the Clark County Coroner's Office.

Ex-owner of site of Las Vegas’ deadliest fire surrenders for prison sentence

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 18:23:08 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- The former owner of the site of the city of Las Vegas’ deadliest fire surrendered to authorities Tuesday, three months after a judge gave him 90 days of freedom.

Adolfo Orozco-Garcia, 49, originally faced 27 charges related to the December 2019 fire that killed six tenants: Donald Keith Bennett, 63; Tracy Ann Cihal, 57; Francis Lombardo Jr., 72; Cynthia Mikell, 61; Kerry Marie Odo-Baclaan, 46; and Henry Lawrence Pinc, 70.

The fire injured 13 people and left more than 50 homeless. It is the deadliest fire within Las Vegas city limits.

In January, Orozco-Garcia took a plea deal, avoiding a lengthy trial scheduled to begin in February. Orozco-Garcia agreed to an Alford plea on two counts of involuntary manslaughter and one charge of wanton disregard of safety resulting in substantial bodily harm or death, documents said. An Alford plea, essentially a plea of no contest, means a defendant does not admit guilt, but believes prosecutors had enough evidence to convince a jury to convict. Orozco-Garcia admitted the deal meant he could have served less time should a jury have convicted him.

FILE - In this Dec. 21, 2019, file photo, investigators work the scene of a fire at the three-story Alpine Motel Apartments in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker, File)

In June, Clark County District Court Judge Jacqueline Bluth sentenced him to 19-48 months in prison. She allowed him to remain out of custody and self-surrender in 90 days, which landed on Tuesday.

Bluth's sentence means Orozco-Garcia will be eligible for probation after serving 19 months. The maximum time he could serve is four years.

The fire marks the deadliest in the city of Las Vegas' history. The 1980 fire at the then-MGM Grand, located in unincorporated Clark County and not the city of Las Vegas, killed 87 people.

A's to play in Las Vegas for 2 homestands in June 2026

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 18:15:58 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The A's will play back-to-back series at Las Vegas Ballpark in June next season.

With the permanent move to Las Vegas still nearly three years away — the 2028 season — A's homestands against the Milwaukee Brewers (June 8-10) and the Colorado Rockies (June 12-14) were among the highlights as Major League Baseball officially released the 2026 schedule on Tuesday.

Las Vegas Ballpark is home to the Las Vegas Aviators. There was speculation that the A's might play there until their stadium is ready. Instead, the team only took a small step away from their longtime home, Oakland.

When the stadium is built on the Strip, on the southeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue, it will become the A's permanent home.

The A's will continue to play at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento until the move.

The June games won't be the first regular-season games ever played in Las Vegas. The city has hosted many preseason games as part of "Major League Weekend" events, but the A's actually played their first six games of the 1996 season at Cashman Field in Downtown Las Vegas. At the time, renovations at Oakland Coliseum were not complete when the season started.

UNLV Rebels vs. Sam Houston Bearkats: TV channel, time, what to know

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 17:54:10 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The University of Nevada, Las Vegas Rebels will face off against the Sam Houston Bearkats in Texas this Friday.

On Saturday, UNLV bested the Idaho State Bengals at Allegiant Stadium with a score of 38 to 31 in the earliest game in Rebel history.

The Friday, Aug. 29, game in Huntsville, Texas, will be the first time UNLV has played Sam Houston, UNLV Athletics said. This is the first of two matchups against first-time opponents this season, with UNLV going up against the Miami RedHawks on Sept. 20.

How to watch UNLV vs. Sam Houston on TV

Fans can watch Friday evening's game between the Rebels and the Bearkats live on CBS Sports Network.

Kickoff: 6:30 p.m. PT
Channel: CBS Sports Network

Tickets for UNLV vs. Sam Houston

Fans who wish to attend Friday's game, which will be played in Texas, can get tickets for as low as $35 on UNLVtickets.net, the university's official ticketing platform.

Weather Forecast For UNLV Game Day

There will be scattered clouds with a possibility of isolated thunderstorms during the afternoon in Huntsville, Texas, on Friday, according to The Weather Channel.

Anyone who plans to attend should be aware that the field at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium is not a covered field. Temperatures for the day will range from a high of 90 degrees to a low of 73 degrees. Sunset will be at 7:48 p.m.

What to watch for: UNLV vs. Sam Houston

Quarterbacks: How will the Rebels continue to use their two quarterbacks, #10 Anthony Colandrea, who transferred from the University of Virginia, and #1 Alex Orji, who transferred from the University of Michigan? Both were effective in the Rebels' opening win over Idaho State.

Defense, Defense, Defense: The Rebels' defense came up with timely interceptions, but gave up too many yards and points to Idaho State. 8 News Now Sports Reporter Ron Futrell said they may need to tighten up their defense moving forward.

First On-The-Road Game: This will be the first time that head coach Dan Mullen has taken a UNLV football game on the road, and this experience at Sam Houston could be much different than playing in the "friendly confines" of Allegiant Stadium.

Cool temperatures and chance of thunderstorms expected in afternoon

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 16:41:09 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- Cloudy skies and breezy winds from nearby showers started Tuesday morning. Finally, some isolated showers began popping up during the later morning commute, but most of those light showers ended by 9 a.m

Passing morning showers
Chance of afternoon thunderstorms
Highs are staying well below normal
Storm chances lessen as the week goes on
Drier and hotter Labor Day weekend

As sunshine breaks through the clouds, the heat will help cook up the abundant moisture in place, bringing chances for afternoon thunderstorms. Highs today will be well below normal, just reaching the upper 80s.

Temperatures cooled to the 70s with the help of the morning rain showers. Heavier rain overnight in the Moapa Valley dropped .12" near Mesquite and .16" into NW Arizona near Littlefield along I-15.

Rain totals closer to Las Vegas were heavier in the northwest valley along the 215 Beltway near Lake Mead to the foothills of the Spring Mountains, with .08" there and also out at Red Rock. Centennial Hills picked up .04". Pahrump also picked up a little rain very early this morning.

Spotty light showers are still possible this morning, but the focus will turn to areas of sunshine cooking up afternoon thunderstorms that could bring more serious storm elements like lightning, flooding, and higher winds.

Some areas west of Las Vegas are under flood watches today, including Nye and Esmeralda Counties, where rain is expected to be heavier today and cause flash flooding. Remnant moisture begins to retreat tomorrow through the rest of the week, with fewer chances of showers or thunderstorms each day before the weekend.

Highs will stay very mild by late-August standards. After reaching 110 or higher several times this month, temperatures may not make it to 90 degrees today. Our coolest high on record is 88, and we could tie that today. Highs will warm back to the 90s starting tomorrow, but remain below normal until the Labor Day weekend.

Today: 88 degrees and chance of afternoon thunderstorms
Wednesday: 93 and chance of showers or thunderstorms
Thursday: 95 Slight chance of showers or thunderstorms
Friday: 97 Slight chance of showers or thunderstorms
Saturday: 99 Sunny
Sunday: 100 Sunny
Monday: 101 Mostly sunny
Tuesday: 100 Sunny

Help for Las Vegas valley seniors struggling to pay power bills

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 15:47:19 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- For seniors struggling to make ends meet, especially when it comes to paying utility bills, there is help.

The Project REACH Senior Expo offers assistance and is holding more events. The program is for those 62 and older who meet eligibility guidelines and have past due power bills.

"Today, we're connecting seniors to financial utility assistance," Angel Williams with NV Energy community relations said.

Not only will the utility help with the power bill, it will also help seniors reduce future bills by connecting them with smart thermostats and the qualified appliance replacement program.

"That's where you can qualify for a free refrigerator or electric dryer if your's is more than 10 years old," Williams said.

United Way is also at the expo and ready to help seniors with other services for those experiencing economic hardship.

There are also some giveaways being offered at the Project REACH Senior Expo. (KLAS)

An expo last week drew more than 1,000 people. There are expos taking place on Tuesday, Aug. 26, and again on Thursday, Aug. 28, at Sam's Town Hotel and Gambling Hall. The hours are from 8 a.m. to noon. As long as a person is in line by noon, they will be helped.

Seniors attending the expo need to bring three key items with them: a valid photo ID, a current past-due utility bill, and proof of income.

Las Vegas police officer injured in crash

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 14:31:40 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- A police officer is recovering following a crash on Tuesday morning west of the Las Vegas Strip.

The single-vehicle crash was reported around 2 a.m. near Frank Sinatra Drive and Reno Avenue.

The officer was transported to a local hospital. Las Vegas Metropolitan police said the officer's condition is stable and more information will be released later.

SR 160 reopens between Las Vegas, Pahrump after fatal crash

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 14:29:01 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- Nevada State Police are investigating a deadly crash that occurred on Tuesday morning, which closed the main highway from Las Vegas to Pahrump for several hours. The road reopened around 6:30 a.m., according to the RTC.

The crash was reported after midnight in the westbound lanes of State Route 160 at mile marker 28. Traffic headed from Las Vegas to Pahrump was diverted to US 95 northbound to get to State Route 160 and enter Pahrump from the northern end of the valley.

Horsford, Titus join LGBTQ+ roundtable to hear from trans people amid heightened Trump-led attacks

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 12:02:03 +0000

U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford, Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson, and U.S. Rep. Dina Titus attend an LGBTQ+ roundtable about the attacks on the trans community. (Photo: Michael Lyle/Nevada Current)

As President Donald Trump has intensified policy assaults on the transgender community such as blocking support for gender-affirming care and banning trans service members from the military, some Democrats have declined to push back against attacks.

Democratic U.S. Reps. Steven Horsford and Dina Titus joined the Human Rights Campaign, LGBTQ+ organizations, and trans locals on Sunday to hear about the impact of Trump’s policies, and assure them they aren’t fighting alone.

“One of the things that I think is so important is to be in conversation and to be able to hear directly about the lived experience of how you’re feeling,” Horsford told the roundtable. “If not, we’re leaving that to you to figure out alone, and no one should feel alone at this moment.”

Las Vegas was among the stops of the Human Rights Campaign’s American Dreams tour, a nationwide effort to bring LGBTQ+ people together to share stories and engage with local and federal elected leaders.

Organizers have hosted roundtables in Columbus and Dallas so far, and have events planned in Atlanta, the District of Colombia, and Nashville in the fall.

The tour comes as the LGBTQ+ community, in particular trans people, have seen a Trump-fueled wave of anti-trans demonization and policies.

Trump has issued several anti-trans orders, including one to block federal support for gender-affirming medical care to patients younger than 19, and another to end the national Suicide and Crisis Lifeline 988, which specialized in support for LGBTQ+ youth. Trump has also threatened to withhold federal funding from states that allow transgender children to play school sports.

Recent reporting also found the Trump administration also sought Social Security numbers and names of children who received gender-affirming care at a hospital in Philadelphia showing efforts aren’t letting up anytime soon.

The policies from the White House have emboldened broader anti-trans rhetoric and behavior in society.

Titus admonished Republican congressmembers who have harassed U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride of Delaware, the nation’s first elected transgender member of Congress, by continuing to misgender her during committee meetings.

West Juhl, the communications Director of Communications and Campaigns for the ACLU of Nevada, said the constant attacks show there is “an existential crisis for our community.”

“Rhetoric really is taking aim at the foundational principles from the queer liberation movement in such a very specific way,” Juhl said, referring to the movement for LGBTQ+ equality starting in the 60s. “I think the way that they talk about us now, it sounds to me like the way they talked about us back when being queer was a mental illness that would get you institutionalized.”

The administration and its backers want “to make it seem like somehow being a person of color, being an immigrant, being queer, trans, is antithetical to being an American or being part of the American dream,” said Kelley Robinson, the president of the Human Rights Campaign.

“I, for one, am not willing to cede this country that my community has put our blood, literally, sweat and tears, into,” she said. “I’m certainly not willing to cede our power.”

The roundtable focused on actions by Trump and Republicans, but many prominent Democrats have also parroted anti-trans talking points.

Third Way, a DC-based think tank that is attempting to push Democrats rightward, recently sent a memo listing words Democrats should abandon that included to LGBTQIA+ and cisgender.

Robinson said fighting for trans rights shouldn’t be partisan and is about affirming basic human rights.

“These are basic civil rights everyone deserves,” Robinson said. “We have never gotten ahead by sacrificing members of the community under the bus.”

Horsford said that conservative-backed political groups are trying to pit trans people against other groups, including Black voters. The GOP unleashed countless ads targeting trans people during the 2024 election – though Democrats rarely, if ever, campaign on trans protections.

When Horsford was the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, he said he hosted meetings with HRC to have “a conversation with some of the Black leaders in Congress to talk about this issue, because we understood that the trans issue was being directly targeted to Black voters and others to try to divide us.”

“I do think it’s important for all of us to be more supportive, to declare publicly more support, and to not shy away from difficult conversations,” Horsford said.

Hearts and mind, laws and policies

The roundtable featured a mix of trans and queer locals as well as providers and nonprofits that provide services to the LGBTQ+ community, who shared a sense of hope tempered by uncertainty.

Robinson said it was important to highlight, and share, all stories, to give weight to “the humanity of our experiences.”

“From the HIV epidemic to the attacks on marriage, we’ve always seen how our stories can not only shift hearts and minds but shape laws and policies,” she said.

Torri Shack, the head of programs at the LGBTQ+ Center of Southern Nevada, said with curtailment of resources for LGBTQ+ youth, such as mental health and gender-affirming care services, he is worried about a potential rise in suicide.

“The bottom line is that hostile rhetoric fuels the crisis and (gender) affirming care and inclusive policies save lives,” Shack said.

Some hoped to see more positive media coverage to really underscore the humanity of trans people. Others spoke of the frustration that “what we’re dealing with is that our government’s completely not ours anymore.”

“I truly believe resilience is the way that we’re going to get through this,” Shack said. “Sitting aside on the sidelines, watching all this stuff happening, feeling sad and blue and staying in our house. That is not an option anymore.”

Blue states that sued kept most CDC grants, while red states feel brunt of Trump clawbacks

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 12:01:24 +0000

(Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)

The Trump administration’s cuts to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funding for state and local health departments had vastly uneven effects depending on the political leanings of a state, according to a KFF Health News analysis. Democratic-led states and select blue-leaning cities fought back in court and saw money for public health efforts restored — while GOP-led states sustained big losses.

The Department of Health and Human Services in late March canceled nearly 700 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grants nationwide — together worth about $11 billion. Awarded during the covid-19 pandemic, they supported efforts to vaccinate people, reduce health disparities among demographic groups, upgrade antiquated systems for detecting infectious disease outbreaks, and hire community health workers.

Initially, grant cancellations hit blue and red states roughly evenly. Four of the five jurisdictions with the largest number of terminated grants were led by Democrats: California, the District of Columbia, Illinois, and Massachusetts.

But after attorneys general and governors from about two dozen blue states sued in federal court and won an injunction, the balance flipped. Of the five states with the most canceled grants, four are led by Republicans: Texas, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Ohio.

In blue states, nearly 80% of the CDC grant cuts have been restored, compared with fewer than 5% in red states, according to the KFF Health News analysis. Grant amounts reported in an HHS database known as the Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System, or TAGGS, often don’t match what states confirmed. Instead, this analysis focused on the number of grants.

The divide is an example of the polarization that permeates health care issues, in which access to safety-net health programs, abortion rights, and the ability of public health officials to respond to disease threats diverge significantly depending on the political party in power.

In an emailed statement, HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said the agency “is committed to protecting the health of every American, regardless of politics or geography. These funds were provided in response to the COVID pandemic, which is long over. We will continue working with states to strengthen public health infrastructure and ensure communities have the tools they need to respond to outbreaks and keep people safe.”

The money in question wasn’t spent solely on covid-related activities, public health experts say; it was also used to bolster public health infrastructure and help contain many types of viruses and diseases, including the flu, measles, and RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus.

“It really supported infrastructure across the board, particularly in how states respond to public health threats,” said Susan Kansagra, chief medical officer of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

The Trump cutbacks came as the U.S. recorded its largest measles outbreak in over three decades and 266 pediatric deaths during the most recent flu season — the highest reported outside of a pandemic since 2004. Public health departments canceled vaccine clinics, laid off staff, and put contracts on hold, health officials said in interviews.

After its funding cuts were blocked in court, California retained every grant the Trump administration attempted to claw back, while Texas remains the state with the most grants terminated, with at least 30. As the CDC slashed grants in Texas, its measles outbreak spread across the U.S. and Mexico, sickening at least 4,500 people and killing at least 16.

Colorado, which joined the lawsuit, had 11 grant terminations at first, but then 10 were retained. Meanwhile, its neighboring states that didn’t sue — Wyoming, Utah, Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma — collectively lost 55 grants, with none retained.

In Jackson, Ohio, a half-dozen community health workers came to work one day in March to find the Trump administration had canceled their grant five months early, leaving the Jackson County Health Department half a million dollars short — and them without jobs.

“I had to lay off three employees in a single day, and I haven’t had to do that before. We don’t have those people doing outreach in Jackson County anymore,” Health Commissioner Kevin Aston said.

At one point, he said, the funding helped 11 Appalachian Ohio counties. Now it supports one.

Marsha Radabaugh, one employee who was reassigned, has scaled back her community health efforts: She’d been helping serve hot meals to homeless people and realized that many clients couldn’t read or write, so she brought forms for services such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to their encampment in a local park and helped fill them out.

“We would find them rehab places. We’d get out hygiene kits, blankets, tents, zero-degree sleeping bags, things like that,” she said. As a counselor, she’d also remind people “that they’re cared for, that they’re worthy of being a human — because, a lot of the time, they’re not treated that way.”

Sasha Johnson, who led the community health worker program, said people like Radabaugh “were basically a walking human 411,” offering aid to those in need.

Radabaugh also partnered with a food bank to deliver meals to homebound residents.

Ashton said the abrupt way they lost the funds — which meant the county unexpectedly had to pay unemployment for more people — could have ruined the health district financially. Canceling funding midcycle, he said, “was really scary.”

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist and promoter of vaccine misinformation, has called the CDC a “cesspool of corruption.” At HHS, he has taken steps to undermine vaccination in the U.S. and abroad.

Federal CDC funding accounts for more than half of state and local health department budgets, according to KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News. States that President Donald Trump won in the 2024 election received a higher share of the $15 billion the cCDC allocated in fiscal 2023 than those that Democrat Kamala Harris won, according to KFF.

The Trump administration’s nationwide CDC grant terminations reflect this. More than half were in states that Trump won in 2024, totaling at least 370 terminations before the court action, according to KFF Health News’ analysis.

The Columbus, Ohio, health department had received $6.2 million in CDC grants, but roughly half of it — $3 million — disappeared with the Trump cuts. The city laid off 11 people who worked on investigating infectious disease outbreaks in such places as schools and nursing homes, Columbus Health Commissioner Mysheika Roberts said.

She also said the city had planned to buy a new electronic health record system for easier access to patients’ hospital records — which could improve disease detection and provide better treatment for those infected — but that was put on ice.

“We’ve never had a grant midcycle just get pulled from us for no reason,” Roberts said. “This sense of uncertainty is stressful.”

Columbus did not receive its money directly from the CDC. Rather, the state gave the city some funds it received from the federal government. Ohio, led by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine and a Republican attorney general, did not sue to block the funding cuts.

Columbus sued the federal government in April to keep its money, along with other Democratic-led municipalities in Republican-governed states: Harris County, Texas, home to Houston; the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County in Tennessee; and Kansas City, Missouri. A federal judge in June blocked those cuts.

As of mid-August, Columbus was awaiting the funds. Roberts said the city won’t rehire staff because the federal funding was expected to end in December.

Joe Grogan, a senior scholar at the University of Southern California’s Schaeffer Institute and former director of the White House Domestic Policy Council in Trump’s first term, said state and local agencies “are not entitled” to the federal money, which was awarded “to deal with an emergency” that has ended.

“We were throwing money out the door the last five years,” Grogan said of the federal government. “I don’t understand why there would ever be a controversy in unspent covid money coming back.”

Ken Gordon, Ohio Department of Health spokesperson, wrote in an email that the $250 million in grants lost had helped with, among other things, upgrading the disease reporting system and boosting public health laboratory testing.

Some of the canceled HHS funding wasn’t slated to end for years, including four grants to strengthen public health in Indian Country, a grant to a Minnesota nonprofit focused on reducing substance use disorders, and a few to universities about occupational safety, HIV, tuberculosis, and more.

Brent Ewig, chief policy and government relations officer for the Association of Immunization Managers, said the cuts were “the predictable result of ‘boom, bust, panic, neglect’ funding” for public health.

The association represents 64 state, local, and territorial immunization programs, which Ewig said will be less prepared to respond to disease outbreaks, including measles.

“The system is blinking red,” Ewig said.

Methodology

KFF Health News’ analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grants sought to answer four questions: 1) How many grants have been terminated in the U.S. under the Trump administration since March? 2) Which states saw the most grants cut? 3) What were the grants for? and 4) Did the grant terminations affect blue, red, and purple states differently? This follows a similar analysis by KFF Health News for an article on nationwide NIH grant terminations.

Our primary data source was a Department of Health and Human Services website showing grant terminations. We compared an initial list of grant terminations from April 3 with one from July 11 to determine how many grants had been restored. The USAspending.gov database helped us track grants by state.

To classify states politically, we followed the same steps from our April coverage of National Institutes of Health grant terminations. States were “blue” if Democrats had complete control of the state government or if the majority of voters favored Democratic presidential candidates in the last three elections (2016, 2020, 2024). “Red” states were classified similarly with respect to the Republican Party. “Purple” states had politically split state governments and/or were generally considered to be presidential election battleground states. The result was 25 red states, 17 blue states, and eight purple states. The District of Columbia was classified as blue using similar methods.

This analysis does not account for potential grant reinstatements in local jurisdictions where the funds were awarded indirectly rather than directly from the CDC; it accounts only for the recipients’ location, and excludes grants terminated from Compacts of Free Association states and other foreign entities that received grants directly from the CDC. At least 40 CDC grants were terminated that were meant for global health efforts or assisting public health activities in other nations following the Trump administration’s order for the CDC to withdraw support for the World Health Organization.

This article first appeared on KFF Health News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The Orwellian echoes in Trump’s push for ‘Americanism’ at the Smithsonian

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 11:59:55 +0000

Erasing history is a deeply Orwellian thing to do. (Altayb/iStock / Getty Images Plus)

When people use the term “Orwellian,” it’s not a good sign.

It usually characterizes an action, an individual or a society that is suppressing freedom, particularly the freedom of expression. It can also describe something perverted by tyrannical power.

It’s a term used primarily to describe the present, but whose implications inevitably connect to both the future and the past.

In his second term, President Donald Trump has revealed his ambitions to rewrite America’s official history to, in the words of the Organization of American Historians, “reflect a glorified narrative … while suppressing the voices of historically excluded groups.”

This ambition was manifested in efforts by the Department of Education to eradicate a “DEI agenda” from school curricula. It also included a high-profile assault on what detractors saw as “woke” universities, which culminated in Columbia University’s agreement to submit to a review of the faculty and curriculum of its Middle Eastern Studies department, with the aim of eradicating alleged pro-Palestinian bias.

Now, the administration has shifted its sights from formal educational institutions to one of the key sites of public history-making: the Smithsonian, a collection of 21 museums, the National Zoo and associated research centers, principally centered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

On Aug. 12, 2025, the Smithsonian’s director, Lonnie Bunch III, received a letter from the White House announcing its intent to carry out a systematic review of the institution’s holdings and exhibitions in the advance of the nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026.

The review’s stated aim is to ensure that museum content adequately reflects “Americanism” through a commitment to “celebrate American exceptionalism, [and] remove divisive or partisan narratives.”

On Aug. 19, 2025, Trump escalated his attack on the Smithsonian. “The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL, where everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was…” he wrote in a Truth Social post. “Nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future. We are not going to allow this to happen.”

Such ambitions may sound benign, but they are deeply Orwellian. Here’s how.

Winners write the history

Author George Orwell believed in objective, historical truth. Writing in 1946, he attributed his youthful desire to become an author in part to a “historical impulse,” or “the desire to see things as they are, to find out true facts and store them up for the use of posterity.”

But while Orwell believed in the existence of an objective truth about history, he did not necessarily believe that truth would prevail.

Truth, Orwell recognized, was best served by free speech and dialogue. Yet absolute power, Orwell appreciated, allowed those who possessed it to silence or censor opposing narratives, quashing the possibility of productive dialogue about history that could ultimately allow truth to come out.

As Orwell wrote in “1984,” his final, dystopian novel, “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”

Historian Malgorzata Rymsza-Pawlowska has written about America’s bicentennial celebrations that took place in 1976. Then, she says, “Americans across the nation helped contribute to a pluralistic and inclusive commemoration … using it as a moment to question who had been left out of the legacies of the American Revolution, to tell more inclusive stories about the history of the United States.”

This was an example of the kind of productive dialogue encouraged in a free society. “By contrast,” writes Rymsza-Pawlowska, “the 250th is shaping up to be a top-down affair that advances a relatively narrow and celebratory idea of Americanism.” The newly announced Smithsonian review aims to purge counternarratives that challenge that celebratory idea.

The Ministry of Truth

The desire to eradicate counternarratives drives Winston Smith’s job at the ironically named Ministry of Truth in “1984.”

The novel is set in Oceania, a geographical entity covering North America and the British Isles and which governs much of the Global South.

Oceania is an absolute tyranny governed by Big Brother, the leader of a political party whose only goal is the perpetuation of its own power. In this society, truth is what Big Brother and the party say it is.

The regime imposes near total censorship so that not only dissident speech but subversive private reflection, or “thought crime,” is viciously prosecuted. In this way, it controls the present.

But it also controls the past. As the party’s protean policy evolves, Smith and his colleagues are tasked with systematically destroying any historical records that conflict with the current version of history. Smith literally disposes of artifacts of inexpedient history by throwing them down “memory holes,” where they are “wiped … out of existence and out of memory.”

At a key point in the novel, Smith recalls briefly holding on to a newspaper clipping that proved that an enemy of the regime had not actually committed the crime he had been accused of. Smith recognizes the power over the regime that this clipping gives him, but he simultaneously fears that power will make him a target. In the end, fear of retaliation leads him to drop the slip of newsprint down a memory hole.

The contemporary U.S. is a far cry from Orwell’s Oceania. Yet the Trump administration is doing its best to exert control over the present and the past.

Down the memory hole

Even before the Trump administration announced its review of the Smithsonian, officials in departments across government had taken unprecedented steps to rewrite the nation’s official history, attempting to purge parts of the historical narrative down Orwellian memory holes.

Comically, those efforts included the temporary removal from government websites of information about the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the atomic bomb over Hiroshima. The plane was unwittingly caught up in a mass purge of references to “gay” and LGBTQ+ content on government websites.

Other erasures have included the deletion of content on government sites related to the life ofHarriet Tubman, the Maryland woman who escaped slavery and then played a pioneering role as a conductor of the Underground Railroad, helping enslaved people escape to freedom.

Public outcry led to the restoration of most of the deleted content.

Over at the Smithsonian, which earlier in the year had been criticized by Trump for its “divisive, race-centered ideology,” staff removed a temporary placard with references to President Trump’s two impeachment trials from a display case on impeachment that formed part of the National Museum of American History exhibition on the American presidency. The references to Trump’s two impeachments were modified, with some details removed, in a newly installed placard in the updated display.

Responding to questions, the Smithsonian stated that the placard’s removal was not in response to political pressure: “The placard, which was meant to be a temporary addition to a 25-year-old exhibition, did not meet the museum’s standards in appearance, location, timeline, and overall presentation.”

Repressing thought

Orwell’s “1984” ends with an appendix on the history of “Newspeak,” Oceania’s official language, which, while it had not yet superseded “Oldspeak” or standard English, was rapidly gaining ground as both a written and spoken dialect.

According to the appendix, “The purpose of Newspeak was not only to provide a medium of expression for the worldview and mental habits proper to the devotees of [the Party], but to make all other modes of thought impossible.”

Orwell, as so often in his writing, makes the abstract theory concrete: “The word free still existed in Newspeak, but it could only be used in such statements as ‘This dog is free from lice’ or ‘This field is free from weeds.’ … political and intellectual freedom no longer existed even as concepts.”

The goal of this language streamlining was total control over past, present and future.

If it is illegal to even speak of systemic racism, for example, let alone discuss its causes and possible remedies, it constrains the potential for, even prohibits, social change.

It has become a cliché that those who do not understand history are bound to repeat it.

As George Orwell appreciated, the correlate is that social and historical progress require an awareness of, and receptivity to, both historical fact and competing historical narratives.

This article is an updated version of an article originally published on June 9, 2025.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Las Vegas tourism trends down but airports plan expansion, upgrades

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 06:28:26 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- Las Vegas airports are expanding as tourism rates trend downward, but aviation leaders say the construction is just in time, as federal projections show the city’s airspace will soon “reach capacity.”

Jim Chrisley, the incoming Clark County Department of Aviation Director, touted the airport’s effective response to tourism from Super Bowl LVIII and the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix. The success is coming ahead of major construction and expansion set to offset Las Vegas airspace reaching capacity by 2030, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

“If one major airport like Harry Reid [International Airport] gets delays that trickles out to the rest of the system,” Chrisley said. “Which causes people to miss connections, which causes delays, so they're trying to avoid that at all costs.”

Chrisley said the FAA’s annual report projected Las Vegas’ air traffic would be “severely congested” by 2033, but there is a multilayered approach to responding to it.

“We work closely with our airline partners, and they track such things through scheduling, and they also will up gage aircraft,” he said. “We'll have additional seats, which they've known how to do, as we all know, as they continue to find ways to squeeze more seats into airplanes.”

Another aspect of the solution is the construction of the Ivanpah Supplemental Airport, set to be completed by 2037. The environmental impact statement phase is in progress for the 6,000-acre airport.

“It's commercial, other things could fall along with cargo, etcetera,” Chrisley said. “But the primary reason for that airport is to provide that commercial service capacity that we need to continue to support the growth, because as an airport and airport system, we never want to be the barrier to future growth.”

Some of the aging infrastructure at Harry Reid International Airport’s A and C gates is also set to be replaced, a part of the “maximation effort.”

“We've got a roadway project on way, which is what we call as the ‘High T,’ which is improving access from Tropicana into the terminals,” Chrisley said. “Then, on the bigger scale stuff, we're also looking to that initial planning and budgeting process, because these are big projects we're talking about, as we presented many times, constructing on the old terminal two site.”

Chrisley was asked by 8 News Now if there have been delays or what the budget is for the project. He did not address any delays and said it is too soon to discuss the budget, especially the capital plan.

“We're highly involved with that, and we're trying to tweak to get to that planning number, and then we'll be ready to share as we move forward,” he said. “But we're still in that initial planning, and providing that budget would be premature at this time.”

The Las Vegas Loop’s airport station is also on the way as construction continues southward from the Boring Company’s initial stations. Chrisley reminded excited loop-goers that it is not an airport project, but they are continuing discussions.

“There's also been discussions with them on interim,” he said. “Is there a way for them to enter on the interim, as they finish more stations before they physically come to the airport. How [will] they would get to and from the airport? Those are things that are under discussion right now.”

Looking at the downward tourism numbers for Las Vegas, Chrisley said there is a reason to be optimistic—if you don’t count the Canadian visitors.

“International is actually up, if you were to take out Canadian,” he said. “Canada is definitely down, and that's dragging our international numbers down, but it's strong.”

Harry Reid International Airport has added Ireland as one of the primary airlines, and Chrisley said they are continuing to recruit other airlines.

“Obviously we would love to get a Qantas or Emirates, or any of those big style or larger international carriers,” he said. “But it's always a work in progress.”

Chrisley is currently working as the senior director of aviation and has been appointed to succeed Rosemary Vassiliadis as the next director of aviation. Chrisley has been with the county department since 2015 and previously spent more than 21 years in the U.S. Air Force, according to the Clark County Department of Aviation.

This is part one of a two-part interview with the new director of aviation, Jim Chrisley. Part two will cover responses to a county conflict of interest review into an aviation employee.

Multiple parked cars hit in west Las Vegas valley parking lot after man suffers medical episode: police

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 04:25:11 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- A man suffered a medical episode resulting in him hitting several parked vehicles in a west Las Vegas valley parking lot Monday evening, according to Metro police.

Around 8:15 p.m., police responded to a large business parking lot in the area of Rainbow Boulevard and Flamingo Road after a report of a crash.

Preliminary details from the investigation showed that the driver of a vehicle suffered a medical episode, causing the vehicle to accelerate at a high rate of speed and crash into several unoccupied parked vehicles, police said.

The driver was taken to a local hospital with unknown injuries.

No roads were closed due to the crash.

Growing frustration among residents after Nevada DMV offices close due to statewide outage

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 02:29:55 +0000

UPDATE: State offices will likely be closed on Tuesday, Aug. 26, aside from critical employees and operations as network recovery operations continue, according to the governor's office.

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- The aftermath of what Governor Joe Lombardo called a "network security incident" poured into Monday for those with DMV appointments.

Statewide outages in Nevada began Sunday, but the headache continued into Monday for some offices, including the Nevada DMV, which closed all its offices on Monday.

Despite the closures, Brittany Robinson received a confirmation text Monday morning for her appointment at the DMV near Sahara and Eastern avenues. However, she showed up to learn that wasn't the case.

“My initial reaction was that it was a mistake, because I received a text message this morning confirming my appointment that I've been waiting about a month for,” Robinson told 8 News Now.

She expressed frustration, claiming she took time off work for the appointment that didn't end up happening, and that she would be forced to reschedule.

“I just wish instead of a confirmation text for my appointment this morning, I would have received an email or text saying that my appointment was cancelled,” she explained. "That way, I would've rearranged things."

Kenneth Powers also arrived at the same DMV to register his vehicle on Monday and then learned the bad news. He agreed that rescheduling was the biggest headache.

“The problem is, I'll have to replan another day to come down here, make another appointment, so I can get the things I need to get done with the DMV, at a future date,” Powers said.

“People ain't got time for this, this is ridiculous,” Marian Lewis said as she approached the locked door at the DMV near Flamingo and Cimarron roads. Lewis claimed she had been attempting to make an appointment for two days to get her Real ID in order to meet upgraded federal standards to fly.

“Even though they let me get on the plane, they're telling me I need to get that ID, so that's why I'm here,” Lewis said.

The door at the DMV on Flamingo Road had a flyer with a QR code, asking people to log in at 8 p.m. Tuesday to make an appointment. Lewis told 8 News Now she believes that it is an inconvenient time for people who work or are elderly.

The Nevada DMV posted on social media Monday morning that its offices were closing in an attempt to get the word out. For those with upcoming appointments, follow the Nevada DMV on its social media pages for updates.

Motorcyclist dies after west Las Vegas valley crash

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 02:23:01 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- A 23-year-old motorcyclist is dead after a crash in the west Las Vegas valley, police said.

It happened at 3:33 p.m. at the intersection of Jones Boulevard and Eldora Avenue.

Officers were called to the scene after an SUV and a motorcycle collided at the intersection. Las Vegas Metro police said the SUV attempted to make a left turn from Eldora Avenue and into the path of the approaching motorcycle, police said.

The motorcyclist was ejected and then later taken to the hospital, where they were later pronounced dead.

Jones Boulevard was closed in both directions between Sahara and Eldora avenues. Jones reopened around 8 p.m.

The motorcyclist’s death marked the 108th traffic-related fatality in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s jurisdiction for 2025.

The collision remains under investigation by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s Collision Investigation Section.

Summerlin South Little League returns home after U.S. win

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 01:31:07 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- It was a warm welcome at Harry Reid International Airport Monday as family and friends waited for the Summerlin South Little Leaguers to come home.

The team played through local and regional tournaments before winning the national title U.S. Championship in Pennsylvania.

While they didn't win the World Championship against Chinese Taipei, there are still plenty of reasons to celebrate, as the team remains number one in the U.S.

"Our whole team has worked really hard, for months and it's really good to know that we are the best all-star league in the USA," player Cache Malan said.

Malan said the team has created a strong bond, and their hard work has paid off.

"It feels really good to know that we have a backbone and it was really sad to lose in the championship but we're still U.S. champions," Malan added. "My favorite part was probably meeting friends from different countries and playing wiffleball l with them and ping pong with them in the rec room, it was just really fun."

Coach TJ Fechser said he is proud of the boys' commitment to the game, citing their effort and focus.

"We put this team together in late May and they really came together in June, practiced hard, battled in competitions," Fechser explained. "These guys have no sense of quit in them. We've been down eight to nothing and came back, down to four to nothing and came back. We don't get frazzled by the scoreboard."

Brittaney Robertson is the mother of shortstop Ethan Robertson, and she said it's been a long stretch of traveling, but it was all worth it.

"The magnitude of support is finally starting to hit us and we've seen the watch parties and we've gotten a lot of messages from the community offering their support to the boys and to us while we've been out there is wonderful and to come back here in person and to have people stopping you and congratulating us and telling the boys how good they did while they were there is really meaningful," Robertson said.

There will be a parade at Downtown Summerlin celebrating the team's victory on Wednesday, August 27th, 2025, starting at 6 p.m.

Las Vegas mental health court marks second graduation

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 01:30:47 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- The Las Vegas Justice Court’s Mental Health Court program held its second graduation in downtown Las Vegas.

Graduates walked out of the center at the Regional Justice Center on Monday morning and stepped into a new chapter, one built on recovery and resilience. The Mental Health Court program focuses on rehabilitation rather than incarceration.

“The journey really means a lot to me. It’s a really, really big accomplishment,” Brandon Smith said.

Smith is one of six new graduates from the Mental Health Court program. After years of homelessness and drug and alcohol abuse, Smith said the program gave him hope for a brighter future.

“It’s very bright,” said Smith. “It’s gonna be a good journey through sobriety, and it’s looking bright.”

The program is designed to break the cycle of incarceration, offering participants a pathway to stability. Las Vegas Justice Court judges Nadia Wood and Eric Goodman started the program last year to connect people to essential wraparound services.

“Getting them medication, getting them treatment, getting them stabilized in housing, so that we can get them out of the criminal justice system and get them the services they need,” Wood said.

To graduate, participants commit to a year of treatment, sobriety, medication, and therapy.

“Doing 10 days in jail is a lot easier than doing a year in this program,” Wood said. “The program involves a year of staying out of trouble, not picking up new cases. Housing has curfews that they have to follow. They have drug testing, often two to three times a week.”

Commissioner Justin Jones said the program is about celebrating solutions rather than punishing problems.

“This program represents a fundamental belief that it is smarter, more compassionate and more effective to treat people, to meet people where they are, rather than put them in jail,” Jones said.

Smith said he has a new outlook on life.

“They provided me with occupational therapy,” Smith said. “My goals are to get my own place to live and I’m thinking about going to school.”

He, along with every other graduate, is a testament to what is possible when the justice system prioritizes healing people rather than processing cases.

“When we focus on treatment and we focus on getting people the services they need, we can get them out of the justice system, giving them the dignity and quality of life and also saving our taxpayers money,” Wood said.

Sixteen people have graduated from the Mental Health Court program in the last 6 months, each passing over 300 drug tests and securing stable housing.

'They could've put him in a different school': Las Vegas family upset teacher who hit kid is teaching again

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 00:27:47 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- A family is seeking answers from the Clark County School District after a teacher who was arrested for hitting their child with special needs is back to teaching at the same school.

The incident happened at Bailey Middle School last year, and police arrested Kenneth Greenberg for battering a special needs student.

"They're obviously not going to get any good education out of this when someone that they're afraid of is in the same building as them," Patricia Fritz, the aunt of the student who was battered, said. 8 News Now is not identifying the victim.

Fritz told 8 News Now the family was notified on the Friday before the CCSD school year began that Greenberg was back at Bailey Middle School.

"There's two kids involved in this, they're both traumatized. They're both in the same classroom, so the older brother was a witness to all this happening, and he is scared," Fritz said.

Greenberg was arrested in September 2024 for battery. He ended up taking a plea deal and was sentenced to probation. According to court records, his case was dismissed last month after he completed the terms of his sentence, which included taking anger management classes.

CCSD confirmed to 8 News Now that Greenberg is an employee at Bailey Middle School.

"They could've put him in a different school. I understand he did his time, like probation and anger management. But at the very minimum, they could've put him in a different school," Fritz said.

According to data 8 News Now obtained through a records request, CCSD police officers responded to 443 incident calls in the 2024-2025 school year for what's labeled as assault/battery of a student by a staff.

The following is a list of the number of schools that received 7 or fewer incident calls during the 2024-2025 school year:

Don and Dee Snyder Elementary School – 7
Sedway Middle School – 7
Bailey Middle School – 6
Hickey Elementary School – 6
Variety School – 6
Molasky Junior High School – 6
Greenspun Junior High School – 5
Elbert Edwards Elementary School – 5
Ruby S. Thomas Elementary School – 5
Escobedo Middle School – 5

CCSD released a statement to 8 News Now on the matter:

"CCSD is unable to comment on individual employee matters due to privacy laws. We take every concern about student safety seriously and, if warranted, disciplinary action is taken in line with CCSD regulations and/or Negotiated Agreements with the corresponding bargaining unit."

What to know about the parade to celebrate U.S. Champions Summerlin South Little League team

Mon, 25 Aug 2025 22:51:09 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- Details about the parade to celebrate the Summerlin South Little League team, the 2025 Little League World Series U.S. Champions, have been released.

According to a release from Downtown Summerlin, the parade will take place on Wednesday, Aug. 27. It is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.

The release said the parade will run along Park Centre Drive, and attendees are encouraged to arrive early.

The parade will be an opportunity for the community to recognize the team's hard work and performance during the World Series. While the team fell against Chinese Taipei in the World Championship, the team secured the U.S. Championship on Saturday.

You can learn about the members of the team and their coaches here.

The parade will be emcee'd by Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys and a team booster.

Participants in the parade include:

Vivas and Chance, Vegas Golden Knights cheer team and mascot
Rusher Raider, Las Vegas Raiders team mascot
Stomper, Athletics team mascot
Aviator and Spruce, Las Vegas Aviators team mascots
Pit Boss, Las Vegas Motor Speedway mascot
Las Vegas Grand Prix Formula 1
Doral Academy Middle and High School Cheer Teams
Palo Verde High School Marching Band and Cheer Team
Bishop Gorman High School Marching Band
Faith Lutheran Middle and High School Cheer Teams, Middle School Dance Team
The Meadows School Mustang Drumline

Following the parade, the team, coaches, and families will head to the Las Vegas Ballpark, where they will be honored during the Las Vegas Aviators game.

Meet the U.S. champion Summerlin South Little League team

Mon, 25 Aug 2025 22:39:00 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- The Summerlin South Little League team is coming home to a parade after an incredible run in the Little League World Series, but before celebrating them it's time to meet the players.

Summerlin South represents the state of Nevada and the Mountain Region after the team made its way through local and regional tournaments before heading to Williamsport, Pennsylvania. While the team fell short in the World Championship against Chinese Taipei, Summerlin South secured the title of U.S. champions.

The roster of players honored in the celebration includes:

#2 Ethan Robertson
#3 Luke D’Ambrosio
#4 Brooks Fechser
#5 Dustin Greusel
#6 Cutter Ricafort
#7 Cache Malan
#8 Banks Mossler
#9 Griffin Vargas
#10 Mason Schutte
#14 Jayden Lee
#15 Grayson Miranda
#19 Garrett Gallegos

They were coached by Tony D’Ambrosio, TJ Fechser, Americo Miranda, and Adam Malan.

On Wednesday, the community is invited to gather at Downtown Summerlin to celebrate the team. The parade kicks off at 6 p.m. and will be hosted by Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys.

The parade is a chance for the community to recognize the team’s hard work, dedication, and the pride they brought to Nevada on a national stage.

Lake Mohave level going down as razorback sucker conservation work scheduled

Mon, 25 Aug 2025 22:37:59 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The ongoing conservation effort to protect razorback suckers in the Colorado River will bring lower water levels in Lake Mohave over the coming months, according to a Monday news release.

Boaters should use caution when navigating downstream of Hoover Dam, where water levels will be lower than normal.

Lake Mohave. (KLAS)

Critical habitat for the razorback sucker, which is listed as endangered, includes the river between Hoover Dam and Davis Dam. In addition, rearing ponds have been established along Lake Mohave. Lower water levels will allow gathering of tens of thousands of newly hatched larvae, which will be transferred to state and federal hatcheries throughout the Southwest.

The Bureau of Reclamation will steadily lower the water levels, bringing the lake down by 5 feet by Oct. 5. The lake surface will then be at 637 feet above sea level. It will remain at that level for a week. The lake level will begin to rise after Oct. 12, expected to come up by about a foot by the end of October.

FILE - In this Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018, file photo, a Colorado River razorback sucker fish is shown swimming in a tank at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office in Lakewood, Colo. (AP Photo/Dan Elliott, File)

After time to grow in the hatcheries, many of the fish are placed in lakeside rearing ponds around Lake Mohave, where they continue to grow and learn how to forage for food. In the fall, these fish are harvested from the lakeside ponds, tagged with microchips, and released back into Lake Mohave, according to the news release.

A YouTube video taken underwater at Lake Mohave shows a group of about 50 razorback suckers. The microchips can be “read” when fish swim over PVC framed antennas like the one in the video’s foreground.

Razorback suckers (Xyrauchen texanus) typically grow to about 15 to 28 inches and weigh less than 7 pounds. They are dark brown to olive green on top, with bellies that are yellow to white. An "abruptly rising, bony dorsal keel" behind their heads is the basis for their name, according to conservation documents.

Patients traveling to Planned Parenthood in North Las Vegas for abortion medication

Mon, 25 Aug 2025 22:33:09 +0000

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- In Nevada, healthcare providers are advocating for anonymity on abortion medication prescriptions to protect their privacy and safety.

It's been three years since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. While that removed federal abortion protections, Nevada has its own abortion protections in state law.

Now, healthcare providers are working to redefine the legal frameworks around abortion, with some advocating for anonymity on abortion-related prescription labels.

"Removing the provider's name seems like a common-sense solution to decrease the risk of violence against a provider," a Nevada doctor who prefers to remain anonymous said.

"We want to make sure that we are providing lifesaving care to patients," Denise Lopez, director of Nevada Campaigns for Reproductive Freedom, stated.

Democratic Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui sponsored Assembly Bill 411, which aimed to protect the privacy of healthcare providers involved in reproductive care. Despite the bill's support, it was vetoed by Republican Governor Joe Lombardo in June, who cited transparency concerns.

Healthcare providers in Nevada face challenges, including threats and attacks, as they continue to provide reproductive care. Lopez highlighted the reality for those supporting reproductive rights, noting that doctors are still providing care despite these challenges.

Nevada remains a state with strong abortion care protections, attracting patients from restrictive areas. Since April, Planned Parenthood's center in North Las Vegas has seen patients from eight states outside Nevada and California seeking abortion drugs.

As Nevada navigates the evolving landscape of reproductive healthcare, providers continue to advocate for privacy and safety while serving patients from states with restrictive abortion laws.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KLAS. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KLAS staff before being published.