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Legislators agreed to cut the higher education system's state support by 12.5 percent over a previously approved budget, lower than the 36 percent cut in Gov. Jim Gibbons' budget.

"I am pleased we were able to cut the governor's proposal by almost two-thirds," Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, said.

If a 10 percent tuition hike is approved, the state's colleges and universities would have to cut about 10 percent.

"It's the first time in many, many months where we replaced uncertainty with a clearer picture of what's ahead of us," University of Nevada, Las Vegas President David Ashley said.

MONDAY

YUCCA MOUNTAIN FIGHT

In a victory for Yucca Mountain opponents, nearly all of the more than 300 concerns raised by parties challenging the Department of Energy's license application for the planned nuclear waste disposal site were accepted for review by safety regulators.

Officials with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Atomic Safety and Licensing Boards allowed 299 out of 318 contentions. They granted Nevada and California permission to participate in license hearings, as well as Clark County and rural counties near the site.

TUESDAY

TRIAL IN 2007 SLAYING

Employees at Ashley Furniture Homestore were devastated when store manager Robert Bills was killed in 2007 during a robbery attempt. But they were equally shocked when police said a store employee had helped the shooter.

Thayer Burton, 18, is facing a charge of murder with a deadly weapon in the 2007 killing. Prosecutors said Burton, whose trial started last week, pulled the trigger. Co-defendant and former Ashley employee Lucia Reveles is set for trial next month.

WEDNESDAY

GAMING PIONEER DIES

Claudine Williams, the first woman to run a Strip casino and a pioneer who shaped the gaming industry and Las Vegas, died last week. She was 88.

Williams operated the Holiday Inn-Holiday Casino on the Strip until it was sold in the 1980s and renamed Harrah's Las Vegas.

"She not only had a tremendous impact on our company and was an enormous influence on me, she had an enormous impact on the gaming industry as a whole," said retired Harrah's chairman Phil Satre.

THURSDAY

CAESARS DEATH ARREST

A 28-year-old man was arrested last week in the death of a waiter whose body was found near Caesars Palace loading docks, where employees took smoking breaks.

Bryan Hall was charged with murder with a deadly weapon and robbery with a deadly weapon. Police accused Hall of killing Brad Flamm, 27, a waiter at Trevi in the Forum Shops. Police wouldn't speculate on a motive, but evidence indicates Hall and Flamm knew each other.

FRIDAY

OFFICER REMEMBERED

Hundreds of law enforcement officers, family and friends paid their respects to Las Vegas police officer James Manor, who was killed in a collision May 7.

Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie praised Manor as a "fine young officer" and thanked Las Vegans for their support. Manor died while responding to a domestic violence call.

Calvin Darling, 45, was arrested on drunken driving charges, which stand while the investigation continues.