EDITORIAL: Freedom to ride-share

Technology has transformed economies and societies over the past 20 years — and it’s just getting started. Everybody is connected to mobile devices that get smaller and more powerful every year, allowing us to do everything from order pizza to shop for a new car at the tap of a touch-screen button.

EDITORIAL: I-11 project vital to valley, region

The most obvious selling point of Interstate 11 is its faster, more direct connection from Las Vegas to Phoenix. They’re the largest adjacent metropolitan areas in the country without a direct freeway connection. And if the scope of the I-11 project were limited to that route, it would be well worth the billions of dollars required to speed commerce and travel between the cities.

BLM sells 160 acres at auction for nearly $24 million

The Bureau of Land Management held a major land auction Thursday at its northwest Las Vegas field office, unloading more than 160 acres of property, much of it around Blue Diamond Road and in other parts of the southwest.

World premiere of ‘The Tempest’ leads spring season at The Smith Center

A new adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” from Las Vegas’ own Teller leads a spring season at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts. The diverse schedule also includes John Legend, Renee Fleming, Patti LuPone, Lily Tomlin, Joshua Bell, Diana Krall and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

Anthrax threat prompts Nevada Supreme Court evacuation

Authorities say they’re testing a white powdery substance sent to the Nevada Supreme Court along with a note claiming it’s anthrax.

Las Vegas entrepreneurs promote products at adult trade show

Chocolate-shaped private parts, marble toys and porn star trading cards, oh my. These Las Vegas creations are being shown this week at the 2014 AVN Adult Entertainment Expo at the Hard Rock Hotel through Saturday. The event is expected to attract about 50,000 people.

Woman ticketed for wearing Google Glass cleared of citation

A San Diego traffic court has thrown out a citation against a woman who was cited for driving while wearing the Google Glass computer-in-eyeglass device.

1 dead, 2 injured in ‘hard landing’ of Army helicopter in Georgia

A military spokesman says one member of an elite Army helicopter unit is dead and two crew members suffered injuries when their aircraft slammed into the ground while trying to land at a Savannah, Ga., airfield.

Hearing date set in meat cleaver murder case

A Feb. 3 preliminary hearing was set Thursday for a Richard Magdayo Dahan, 40, an unemployed chef charged with stabbing his wife to death because she wanted to end their marriage. Dahan used a meat cleaver and two kitchen knives in the Jan. 10 attack, police said.

Las Vegas police hunting for business robbers

Las Vegas police were looking for two men involved in two recent business robberies. The robbers were armed with a weapon and stole undisclosed items at two different retail businesses in northwest Las Vegas.

 
Vatican blasted for sex abuse scandal

The Vatican came under blistering criticism from a U.N. committee Thursday for its handling of the global priest sex abuse scandal.

You can’t bet on them, but Las Vegas sets Oscar odds

Wynn Las Vegas oddsmaker lists McConaughey, Blanchett and “12 Years a Slave” as Oscar favorites — for entertainment purposes only.

 
3 arrested for starting wildfire near L.A.; 2,000 residents evacuated

Nearly 2,000 residents were evacuated and two homes burned in a wildfire that started early Thursday when three people tossed paper into a campfire in the dangerously dry foothills of Southern California’s San Gabriel Mountains, authorities said.

 
Gunman, 2 others dead after Indiana grocery store shooting

A man fatally shot two women in a northern Indiana grocery store Wednesday night and was lining up to shoot a third person when police officers tracked him down and killed him, authorities said.

Nevadan advances in bid to head BLM

A U.S. Senate panel on Thursday advanced the confirmation of Nevada native Neil Kornze to head the Bureau of Land Management.

Titanic to be replicated in Chinese theme park; will simulate shipwreck

A life-sized replica of the Titanic will become the centerpiece of a landlocked theme park in China, featuring a museum and a shipwreck simulation to give visitors a harrowing sense of the 1912 disaster.