🎰 Former NBA player and coach Damon Jones was arrested in Las Vegas on Thursday in connection with a federal probe of illegal sports betting. Jones, along with Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, is accused of using insider information on the NBA to facilitate sports betting either for a cut of the winnings or for a fee. In the same FBI operation taking place Thursday, Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups was arrested for allegedly participating in rigged La Cosa Nostra mafia poker games. FBI Director Kash Patel, in a press conference, said there were tens of millions of dollars of illegal winnings among the different criminal plots connected to the arrests made.
🤝 Gov. Joe Lombardo is concerned about the effect of the federal government shutdown on Nevada and is urging Congress to end it. He says in a press release sent Wednesday that people across the state are suffering even as the state works to fill funding gaps, noting that paychecks and benefits are in jeopardy. He says it is well past time for Democratic leadership in Congress to work with Republicans and the president to reopen the government.
He also sent a letter to Sen. Jackie Rosen, D-Nev., asking her to join the efforts. She responded by saying that her concerns about health care costs, the issue holding up a funding bill, are real and that the governor needs to push his fellow Republicans to negotiate. She noted that failure to extend the Affordable Care Act's enhanced premium tax credits would leave a projected 40,000 Nevadans without health coverage.
🐣 It's no longer legal to poison or crush an animal in Henderson or sell chicks or ducklings under two weeks old. Those are two of the laws protecting animals approved by the City Council on Tuesday. Also now against the law are selling animals in public areas without a permit and failing to return trapped animals to their owners within 72 hours. People are now allowed to enter vehicles under specific circumstances to rescue animals in distress. The council also took action on livestock in rural areas, increasing the number and types of livestock permitted on qualifying properties to include horses, cattle, goats, sheep, swine, chickens and roosters.
🏈 The Las Vegas Raiders seemed upbeat after this week's practice as they head into their bye week, just two days after a 31-0 blowout loss to Kansas City. For a team that was shut out for the first time in nearly two years, the Las Vegas Raiders seemed upbeat after practice this week.
Linebacker Devin White shot pool in the middle of the locker room as defensive end Maxx Crosby walked by, laughing with teammates, despite rumors he was being shopped before the trade deadline. On the other side of the room, wide receiver Jakobi Meyers was happy to discuss that his desire to be traded remains intact. Check out the full story.