Free Republic

Is Gavin Newsom trying to help Donald Trump? You have to wonder from the California governor’s plan to raise gasoline prices in Nevada and Arizona before the November election. California’s prices are the highest in the country—$5.21 a gallon on average vs. $3.59 nationwide—owing to hefty taxes and burdensome regulations, such as its cap-and-trade program and low-carbon fuel standard. Mr. Newsom is escalating his war on the industry. The California Energy Commission is planning to impose a tax on refineries’ “gross margins”—i.e., the difference between wholesale gasoline and crude prices plus certain regulatory costs. The gross margin notably doesn’t include...

The Mirage Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, and its instantly recognizable volcano, is soon shutting down after more than three decades in business. The 3,000-room resort will cease operations on July 17 as it undergoes a three-year renovation that wipes away any markings of the Mirage and its tropical theme. Opened in 1989 by casino mogul Steve Wynn, the Mirage ushered in a era of luxe resorts for the Strip and was the first resort to have a sidewalk attraction with its volcano, prompting the Bellagio and Venetian to imitate the Mirage with its dancing fountains and...

The Trump campaign and the GOP are suing to stop Nevada’s forgiving law allowing mail ballots to be counted four days after Election Day.As a Nevada law allowing mail ballots received up to four days after Election Day to be counted faces a legal challenge, a fresh look at Nevada’s 2022 vote count reveals the potentially election-flipping number of mail ballots that were counted despite arriving after Election Day. In just Clark County, nearly 40,000 mail ballots were counted that arrived in the days after voting supposedly ended, roughly 5 percent of the county’s total ballot count. In that same...

Reno — Washoe County, Nevada, is a battleground county in a critical battleground state and may hold the keys to congressional contests, and potentially the presidency. But in this cycle, one of the most consequential races in the state is that of county commissioner. That commissioner would wield the swing vote on a panel that — among other responsibilities — oversees elections in Washoe. Members appoint the county's top election official, set the budget for elections and ultimately certify statewide election results. "It's important to realize that we are in a national election, that national election is being run at...

A Las Vegas vape shop owner defended himself with a knife, stabbing a would-be robber who jumped over the counter during an attempted daylight heist. The incident, captured on video, reveals the dramatic moments when Johnny Nguyen, owner of Smokestrom Smoke Shop, faced off against the attacker, stabbing him at least seven times.

New York, California, Georgia, Texas, and Nevada also received migrant flights. The House Homeland Security Committee subpoenaed documents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Tuesday detailing a list of 45 cities that thousands of paroled migrants flew into in the past two years via a controversial immigration program. The DHS established the immigration policy in October of 2022, which was intended for Venezuelans to enter the country legally as long as they had an American sponsor, and passed a vetting process. It was later opened to migrants from Haiti, Cuba, and Nicaragua. The program did not secure the...

New Emerson College Polling/The Hill swing state polls find President Biden trailing former President Trump in the states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin; the differences are within each survey’s margin of error.

A man allegedly murdered another man at a bus stop near the Las Vegas Strip, eating his victim’s face in the process, according to documents the 8 News Now Investigators obtained. Colin Czech, 29, faces a charge of open murder. Just before 5 a.m. Sunday, a person called police about a man who reportedly tackled another man to the ground on Las Vegas Boulevard near Charleston Boulevard, documents said. About 45 minutes later, another person called police, saying a man was on top of another man at a bus stop “eating” the other man’s face. Officers responded, finding Czech kneeling...

The suspect in a hit-and-run crash earlier this month that killed a senior adviser to Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D., Nev.) is an 18-year-old migrant who entered the United States illegally, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported on Tuesday. "[Elmer Rueda-Linares] entered the United States March 12, 2021, at or near the Rio Grande City, Texas, Port of Entry without inspection by an immigration official," the Department of Homeland Security told the outlet in a statement on Tuesday, adding Rueda-Linares was arrested but "later released on his own recognizance June 22, 2021." Rueda-Linares fled the scene following a two-vehicle crash at around...

A law firm in the Summerlin area near the Red Rock Resort became the scene of a violent shooting this morning, prompting a significant response from local law enforcement. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) is currently investigating the incident that has reportedly left multiple victims, according to police sources per 8 News Now. The shooting occurred shortly after 10 a.m. inside a business located at the 10800 block of Charleston Boulevard, near Pavilion Center Drive, an area known for its bustling activity and proximity to several local businesses and attractions. The intersection has been closed to traffic as...

Arizona Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and Nevada Rep. Susie Lee introduced legislation this week aimed at enabling $45 million in Bureau of Reclamation funds to be used for helping the Hoover Dam. Proponents of the "Help Hoover Dam Act" say it would cut regulations and allow the bureau to tap into the Colorado River Dam Fund to support efforts related to the dam's upkeep. Ed Gerak, Executive Director of Irrigation and Electrical Districts of Arizona, said in a statement that the funding could help mitigate possible price increases for electricity. This bill will allow the Bureau of Reclamation to use...

Former Ambassador to Iceland Jeff Gunter, a self-claimed “America First” candidate, has a history of funding anti-Trump Republicans such as Liz Cheney and Mitt Romney as he seeks to become the Republican nominee for Senate in Nevada. Over $8,000 donations in 2016 for Never Trump and former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), who later helped the Democrats lead the January 6 select committee.Over $14,650 donations to Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) from 2007 to 2020.$5,000 in donations to Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign$7,700 in donations to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)$7,500 in donations to anti-Trump Speaker John Boehner

RENO, Nev. (KOLO) - In an effort to discourage homeless camps, Washoe County Commissioners voted on a controversial camping ban. Community members came forward Tuesday morning to speak on the ordinance that would make it a misdemeanor to sleep in a car or tent, or park an RV on county owned property. “Its unconstitutional to arrest someone who has no access to alternative shelter,” said one resident. ... The Supreme Court will also have a hearing to weigh in on whether cities can legally ban or limit unhoused people camping in public spaces. If they vote against this, the current...

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign accused Nevada’s Democrat secretary of state of “corruption” Monday, claiming that the elections official and the Democratic National Committee are in cahoots and “inventing a new requirement” for ballot access in the state that has “zero legal basis.”

Nevada hasn't voted Republican in a presidential election since 2004. I have to admit that I'd nearly given up on the state, as hopes of being competitive there have been repeatedly shattered. But Donald Trump appears to be in a solid position to win it in November. He's led in the RealClear Politics average in Nevada since early November, with an average spread of +4.3 points. In 2020, Trump never led Biden in the RCP average there. Something has definitely changed. Naturally, Democrats have to be worried. Even though Nevada only has six Electoral College votes, those are six votes...

Republicans are gearing up for what could be an epic showdown for majority control of the Senate with several contentious elections around the country later this year. Democrats control the U.S. Senate with a 51-49 majority, but Republicans are looking at a favorable Senate map in 2024, with Democrats defending 23 of the 34 seats up for grabs. Three of those seats are in red states former Donald Trump carried in 2020 - West Virginia, Montana and Ohio. Five other seats, one of which is held by an independent, are in key swing states narrowly carried by President Biden in...

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department issued an arrest warrant for 45-year-old Daniel Rodimer.A former congressional candidate was identified by Las Vegas police as the murder suspect in the death of Christopher Tapp. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) said on Wednesday an arrest warrant for Daniel Rodimer, 45, was filed on March 6. He is being charged with open murder. LVMPD said on Oct. 29, first responders went to a call of an injured man on the 3000 block of the Las Vegas Boulevard. When they got there, they found Tapp injured from what they believed was an...

U2 frontman Bono dedicated the song “All I Want Is You” to First Lady Jill Biden while wrapping up the band’s inaugural residency at Las Vegas’ $2.3 billion Sphere arena over the weekend. Before performing the band’s 1988 hit, “All I Want Is You,” Bono said that he was dedicating the song to “one woman in particular,” which was Jill Biden. SOME NEWS: Bono takes U2 on a break from Achtung Baby to perform “All I Want is You” and dedicates song to all women in world, on their crew, women experiencing hardship in world. Then he dedicates it to...

It took almost 20 torturous years to build the Fontainebleau Las Vegas and, when it finally opened, four executives left in the first month. In a town built on luck, those aren’t good odds. There are few Vegas projects as snakebitten as the Fontainebleau. What was supposed to be a towering spinoff of the Miami icon has turned into a nightmare for just about every owner who’s taken it on. Not even its grand opening on Dec. 13 could stop the barrage of bad press, from execs bailing to a viral $21 plate of six sad nacho chips. With this...

Clark County violated Nevada and federal law by prematurely deleting communication records related to its voter registration lists, an audit published on Thursday claims. In a litigation notice sent to Clark County Registrar Lorena Portillo on Tuesday, Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections (RITE) asserted that Nevada’s most populous county violated the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and several state laws by deleting most of its election-related communications after six months. The NVRA requires states to “maintain for at least 2 years” and “make available for public inspection … all records concerning the implementation of programs and activities conducted for...