Hurricane Patricia strengthens to Category 5, nears Mexico

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico — Hurricane Patricia strengthened into an “extremely dangerous” Category 5 storm late on Thursday as it churned toward Mexico’s Pacific coast, the National Hurricane Center said.

Seattle D dominates 49ers

The Seattle Seahawks continued their defensive dominance of the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday night, sacking Colin Kaepernick six times in a 20-3 victory in a matchup of recent NFC Super Bowl representatives.

Shriners Open co-leader Hearn starts strong, closes even stronger

David Hearn started fast and finished even faster Thursday at TPC Summerlin, opening with birdies on three of his first four holes and closing out his round with three consecutive birdies in posting a 7-under-par round of 64 and a share of the lead after the first round of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

Burst of ‘dark money’ to boost Heck on TV, radio

U.S. Senate candidate and Rep. Joe Heck is getting a big boost from One Nation, a nonprofit group with ties to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Hole of the Day: No. 17 dogs Fowler

If you were looking for a hole that could short-circuit a player’s round Thursday, this was it.

 
Report: Search for ‘El Chapo’ includes hunt inside U.S.

The search for Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman now includes efforts in the United States, a Mexican official with knowledge of the investigation told CNN on Thursday.

Health-care veteran tapped to lead Henderson Hospital

Sam Kaufman has been named the chief executive officer of Henderson Hospital, Karla Perez, regional vice president of The Valley Health System and vice president, acute care division, with Universal Health Services said Thursday in a statement.

City National Corp. reports rise in net income

City National Corp., parent company of wholly owned City National Bank, on Thursday reported third-quarter 2015 net income of $71.8 million, compared to $69.9 million for the same three-month period in 2014.

House panel backs northern extension of Interstate 11

WASHINGTON — The House Transportation Committee approved legislation Thursday that could pave the way for construction of a highway directly linking Las Vegas and Reno.

EDITORIAL: Race to the bottom

A San Francisco middle school principal has given her students a valuable lesson on the tyranny of good intentions.

Chaparral High gets $10M Engelstad grant

A Las Vegas high school with a homeless population of 6 percent, a minority population of 80 percent, a graduation rate of 72 percent and at least 50 student-parents at any given time has been given $10 million from the Engelstad Family Foundation.

Knowing Vegas: What happens to old casino chips?

Millions of casino chips have been taken out of Las Vegas resorts this year by tourists and local visitors. Hundreds of thousands more expire when a casino, like the Las Vegas Club, closes.

 
Video shows blasts at nuclear waste dump site that shut down U.S. 95

A video of Sunday’s explosions that preceded a fire in a state-owned radioactive waste trench at the US Ecology site 10 miles south of Beatty shows white smoke emanating from the soil before the ground erupts, shooting debris and more white smoke into the air.

 
Former Subway spokesman pays $1 million to victims

LOS ANGELES — Jared Fogle, the disgraced former Subway spokesperson who has agreed to plead guilty to child pornography and sex crime charges, has paid out a total of $1 million in restitution to ten of his victims, according to the Associated Press.

Defense rests in Ammar Harris death penalty trial

Jurors are expected to hear closing arguments Monday in the death penalty trial of Ammar Harris, a felon charged in a shooting that led to a fiery crash that left three dead on the Strip.

Report: AmeriLeague founder in Las Vegas is actually a convicted con man

Cerruti Brown, the founder of AmeriLeague, a fledgling pro basketball league that was scheduled to conduct its draft in Las Vegas on Thursday, is actually Glendon Alexander, a former McDonald’s All-American-turned-conman who has multiple criminal convictions for fraud.

Amodei wins House passage of mining bill

WASHINGTON — The House on Thursday approved legislation supported by the Nevada delegation, who say it would speed regulatory approval of mining operations for gold, silver, copper and other “strategic and critical” minerals.

 
Friend of Charleston shooting suspect sees bond reduced

CHARLESTON, S.C. — A judge on Thursday reduced the bail for a South Carolina man charged with lying to investigators and concealing knowledge about a massacre allegedly carried out by his friend, who is accused of gunning down nine black churchgoers in Charleston.

 
House Republicans pursue debt ceiling solution

WASHINGTON — House Republicans are scrambling to build support for legislation that would raise the debt ceiling before the November 3 deadline in order for the U.S. to prevent a first-ever default.

Catch Rick Springfield perform at the Hard Rock on Sunday

In “Magnificent Vibration,” his debut novel, Rick Springfield writes about a guy named Bobby Cotton who stumbles upon, on the inside of a self-help book, a phone number that rings directly to God — an intriguing prospect.

Hip-hop act The Internet clicks with satisfying songs

If you want to gain any real traction as an artist or musician, branding can be important. Needless to say, if you’re at all concerned with that sort of thing, it’s important to choose a memorable moniker.