Top News

Three sisters united by birth and bonded by an unimaginable twist of fate huddled together on Tuesday outside the east valley apartment where pregnant 24-year-old Sagittarius Gomez was found stabbed to death just over a week ago.

Police arrested the woman's estranged boyfriend, Eric Covington, 27, for the crime.

Gomez's mother, Carolyn Clark, wailed in grief as police released the crime scene back to the family.

Pamela Tillman and Catherine Clark were there to support their sister, whose anguish they understand all too well. With Gomez's death, each sister has lost her eldest child to homicides in Las Vegas.

Catherine Clark's son, DeMario Reynolds Sr., was murdered in June. Tillman's son, Martinique Tillman, was slain in 2001.

Monday

Oh, Canada!

With an ace-high hand, 23-year-old Canadian Jonathan Duhamel took home the $8.9 million top prize at the World Series of Poker's Main Event.

Duhamel bested a field of 7,319 players to win the $10,000 buy-in No Limit Hold'em World Championship.

Before Monday, Duhamel's entire career earnings at the tournament was $43,000.

Tuesday

Upbeat? About budget?

Gov.-elect Brian Sandoval spoke confidently about balancing the 2011-13 state budget on existing taxes, though figures from the state budget director indicate it might require spending cuts of at least 16 percent.

After a 90-minute closed-door meeting with Budget Director Andrew Clinger, an optimistic Sandoval said "the numbers look very good in terms of our being able to cut."

He offered no specifics.

Gov. Jim Gibbons invited Sandoval to help put the budget together.

Wednesday

No pleasure cruise

A Henderson couple was among 4,466 passengers and crew members stranded aboard a disabled cruise ship left drifting in the Pacific Ocean for several days.

Vicky Alvarez and her husband, Fernando, said a Carnival Splendor crew member pounded on their door to alert them of the engine room fire that disabled the ship. Smoke wafted into the couple's room, but no one was hurt.

They spent the next four days with little food and without power, hot water, air conditioning and Internet access.

The ship's auxiliary power allowed for working toilets, cold water and severely limited phone service.

Thursday

She didn't want to go

The relatives of Lexis Kaye Roberts said the 12-year-old Las Vegas girl almost stayed home from a weekend trip to Arizona from which she would never return.

Lexis' skeletal remains were found last month in rural Louisiana. She had been shot several times.

Her mother, Suellen Roberts, 31, remains missing.

Mary Woodburn, Lexis' grandmother, said the girl wasn't feeling well and didn't really like her mother's new boyfriend, Steve "Spider" Sanders, who was to go on the trip with them.

Sanders, 53, has been named the prime suspect in Lexis' slaying.

Friday

That's news to us

The Review-Journal announced that Publisher Sherman Frederick and Editor Thomas Mitchell will step down.

Bob Brown, advertising director of the newspaper since 2001, was named publisher of the newspaper effective immediately.

An announcement on Mitchell's replacement had not been made.