Briefs
Congress clears $521M to pay for National Guard costs tied to Jan. 6 attack
WASHINGTON — Congress on Thursday overwhelmingly passed $521 million to reimburse the National Guard for providing 26,000 troops to protect the Capitol after the Jan. 6 insurrection — an unexpected expense that was poised to result in training cutbacks for Guard units across the country. The National Guard Bureau used its budget to pay for […]
Bipartisan senators, Biden make a deal on $550B in new infrastructure spending
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of U.S. senators say they have worked through the sticking points on a major infrastructure package, and the Senate agreed on a procedural vote on Wednesday night to advance to debate on the proposal. The announcement came a week after Republicans blocked a test vote on the deal, with GOP […]
Stranded dogs unite Republicans and Democrats
A measure designed to shorten the wait for dogs currently banned from entering the U.S. passed the House of Representatives Tuesday night on a bipartisan voice vote. The amendment to a federal spending bill was co-sponsored by Nevada Democratic Rep. Dina Titus. Many of the dogs, according to Titus, accompanied U.S. soldiers overseas and have […]
U.S. Senate advances nomination of Stone-Manning for public lands post
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Senate on Tuesday agreed 50-49 to bring to the floor the nomination of Montana’s Tracy Stone-Manning to head the Bureau of Land Management, following weeks of GOP attacks over her ties to a 1989 tree-spiking scheme. Due to a deadlocked 10-10 vote out of the U.S. Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, (D-N.Y.), had to use […]
ACLU, NV Press Association sue to assure NDOC transparency at execution
The ACLU of Nevada filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of the Nevada Press Association against the state to assure Zane Floyd’s pending execution is conducted in a transparent manner. The complaint, Nevada Press Association v. Sisolak, scrutinizes limitations on witnesses, specifically members of the press, observing the execution, saying that the state’s “procedures violate […]
Sisolak’s COVID advisor wants mask mandate at UNLV, colleges in Southern Nevada
A member of Gov. Steve Sisolak’s COVID-19 Medical Advisory Team says Clark County’s mask mandate for employees but not the public won’t stop the spread of the more virulent Delta variant and is calling for mandatory masks at state colleges and universities in Southern Nevada. Brian Labus, an infectious disease epidemiologist and assistant professor at […]
Nevada awarded $441k by CDC to study maternal mortality
Nevada’s maternal mortality review committee will receive more than $441,000 over the next three years to improve birth outcomes among pregnant women. The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services announced the award Thursday. The funds are part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Enhancing Reviews and Surveillance to Eliminate Maternal Mortality (ERASE […]
States still lag in getting assistance to struggling renters, federal data shows
State and local officials disbursed $1.5 billion in rental assistance during June—more than during the entire previous five months—to help households falling behind on rent and utilities, according to U.S. Treasury data released Wednesday. That progress in getting slow-moving federal dollars to struggling renters comes as the Biden administration and housing advocates have been scrambling to avoid […]
Manchin will vote for Stone-Manning, hearing scheduled Thursday
The U.S. Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee is expected to vote Thursday on the nomination of Tracy Stone-Manning to lead the Bureau of Land Management, with Chairman Joe Manchin planning to vote to approve her — a major step forward for her confirmation after weeks of aggressive Republican opposition. Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, […]
Nevada ranks last in school finance; state says data lags recent increases
Nevada finds itself at the bottom of another good list, ranking last in the nation for the quality of K-12 school finance, according to a recent study. Education Week, an education news nonprofit, gave Nevada a D-minus grade for overall school finance in a study released last month, which measured spending and equitability of spending […]
Wildfire smoke likely increased risk of Covid in Nevada, study finds
In 2020, California endured the worst fire season in its history as three of the four largest fires ever recorded burned through the state. Now researchers are learning how those fires may have contributed to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic in Nevada. New research published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology suggests long-term […]
Lawmakers named to ‘innovation zones’ study committee
Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak announced appointments for a joint special committee meant to analyze and review the concept of allowing private companies to effectively establish their own government in undeveloped areas of Nevada. In May, the Senate Committee on Legislative Operations introduced Senate Concurrent Resolution 11 to create a committee meant to examine the “innovation […]