Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar says the use of a controversial federal database to verify citizenship and voter eligibility is "dangerous." That's after Nevada's Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo sent a letter to election officials across the state urging them to adopt the so-called SAVE system. KNPR's Paul Boger reports.
The federal government's Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements was created in the mid-1980s to help federal agencies determine an immigrant's eligibility for public benefits.
However, after retooling by the Trump administration, the system has become a way for all levels of government to verify voters' citizenship status. The only problem is that it's known to mistakenly flag some eligible voters as potential noncitizens.
In his letter, Lombardo encouraged Aguilar to use individualized inquiries during the period leading up to an election to help verify citizenship status and voter eligibility.
The Department of Homeland Security recently claimed without evidence that 185 noncitizens were on Nevada voter rolls.
In response, Aguilar, a Democrat, reiterated that there are already numerous safeguards in place to prevent ineligible voters from casting a ballot.
He went on to say that, given the current issues with the system, he "cannot and will not risk violating someone's constitutional right to vote."
The federal government has approved a new waiver meant to help bridge the gap between when an incarcerated person receives medical care and when they are released from prison.
Approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the waiver allows for Medicaid coverage for eligible incarcerated youth and adults in the final weeks before their prison sentences end.
The approval means people can begin treatment, fill prescriptions and connect with community providers before their release.
According to the Nevada Health Authority, people leaving incarceration experience higher rates of chronic and infectious disease as well as serious mental illness and substance use disorders.
In a statement, Gov. Joe Lombardo said people released without a proper treatment plan often end up back where they started. He said this provides an opportunity to break that cycle.
Nevada joins 21 other states and Washington, D.C., in offering prerelease Medicaid services to incarcerated individuals.
The effort is part of a state law passed two years ago.
Tribal gaming leaders say prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket threaten their way of life. They made the comments at this year's Global Gaming Expo, or G2E, in Las Vegas. KNPR's Jimmy Romo reports.
Tribal gaming is heavily regulated, much like the rest of the traditional gambling industry. However, prediction market companies have, for the most part, flown under federal regulators' radar.
That's why tribes have collaborated with state attorneys general to regulate the gaming space themselves by suing prediction market companies.
Jason Giles (JYLZ), a tribal citizen of the Muscogee (muh-SKOH-gee) (Creek) Nation and executive director of the Indian Gaming Association (IGA), spoke on stage during the conference and said, “They really don’t like when tribes point out that for 40 years, even before that, we had to fight all the way to the Supreme Court just to get bingo.”
Recently, the 6th and 9th U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals allowed Nevada, Ohio and Tennessee to regulate prediction markets. Now these companies are banned from those states. More cases are expected to follow.
Tribal gaming leaders and the IGA say they are willing to take the matter all the way to the Supreme Court to preserve their sovereignty over the issue.
Soaring fuel prices will cost the Clark County School District about $3 million more this school year than previously anticipated. Officials said this week they expect total costs to be about $18 million. Last year, the district paid about $15 million for fuel. CCSD has the largest district-owned and -operated bus fleet in the country, the Las Vegas Review-Journal notes.
The Vegas Golden Knights take on the Anaheim Ducks at home in The Fortress on Friday evening. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
It's the first game after the Golden Knights signed forward William Karlsson to a two-year contract extension. Karlsson has skated with the Golden Knights since the franchise's inaugural 2017-18 season.
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.
