The Daily Rundown - May 28, 2026
🎰 Caesars Entertainment is being acquired for almost $6 billion by Fertitta, the company that owns Las Vegas' Golden Nugget and chains like Rainforest Cafe and Morton's. Caesars became an iconic name after the opening of Caesar's Palace on the Las Vegas Strip in 1966. However, its roots date back to the 1930s in Reno, Nevada.
Fertitta Entertainment will pay $5.7 billion and take on close to $12 billion in debt from Caesars, putting the total value of the deal at about $17.6 billion. Caesars investors will receive $31 per share. This price is a 49% premium over the share price before merger rumors. Caesars can seek competing bids until July 11.
🦌 A newly published study by the University of Michigan found that as drought conditions in Nevada and Utah increase, areas of suitable habitat for animals drop. The study tracked habitat loss over the span of 12 years. Its scope expands beyond herbivorous animals like mule deer that rely on vegetation.
Black bear and cougar populations also experience the drought’s effects, impacting both food chains and ecosystems. The study suggests doing conservation efforts for multiple species simultaneously. Nevada is the driest state in the nation, according to the Nevada State Climate Office.
🚀 Before the three Americans on the Artemis II mission flew around the moon, they had trained in helicopters in the Rocky Mountains. Now, NASA is using this same course near Gypsum, Colo., run by the state’s Army National Guard, to train more astronauts to land on the moon for the first time since 1972. Colorado’s high peaks, snowstorms and dusty terrain can mimic some of the challenges astronauts may face approaching the lunar surface.
“What's neat about Colorado is we can replicate so many different types of terrain,” said Ethan Jacobs, a chief warrant officer and military helicopter pilot with the Colorado National Guard. “We have everything from high mountains to the high-plains desert environment.” The Mountain West also played a major role in preparing astronauts for the moon more than 50 years ago.
Apollo-era astronauts trained at sites including the former Nevada Test Site, the Grand Canyon and Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. Read the full story by the Mountain West News Bureau's Rachel Cohen here.
🍎 The Clark County School District is once again providing meals to all students through the Summer Food Service Program. The program begins this week at select locations. All CCSD schools participating in summer programs, including Extended School Year and Secondary Summer School, will offer free meal service during the workweek.
Depending on their location and program schedule, schools will offer breakfast, lunch, or both. A full list of participating schools, available meals, and serving times is online at weareccsd.net/summermeals.
🧠 A national-level youth mental health counseling program is expanding its services to Nevada next academic year. The Youth Mental Health Corps will provide peer support in 16 states. The corps offers members, ages 18 to 29, opportunities to counsel their peers. They can also receive credentials to pursue a future career in mental healthcare.
The Schultz Family Foundation and the social media site Pinterest jointly founded the program in 2024. Since then, the corps has trained nearly 1,000 young people and done outreach to more than 44,000 youth. More than 3 million Nevadans — 91% of the state's population — live in a federally designated mental health professional shortage area, according to UNR School of Medicine research last year.
Part of these stories are taken from KNPR's daily newscast segment. To hear more daily updates like these, tune in to 88.9 KNPR FM.
