University of Nevada-Las Vegas

Religious conservative Rick Santorum's startling win in three Republican nominating contests has reignited his White House bid, raising fresh question marks over frontrunner Mitt Romney.

Christian conservative Rick Santorum's unexpected trio of state wins has reignited his White House bid and raised new question marks over Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney.

Christian conservative Rick Santorum reignited his White House bid, claiming an unexpected trio of state wins that raised new question marks over Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney.

Christian conservative Rick Santorum reignited his White House bid, claiming an unexpected trio of state wins that raised new question marks over Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney.

Charlie Minn's '8 Murders a Day' shows effects of extreme violence in Juarez, Mexico, which saw more than 3,100 murders in 2010. The holiday blockbusters dominating movie theater marquees this time of year will get a lesser known and more serious neighbor at one Las Vegas cineplex next week.

OPTIMISM IS NOTHING NEW. Southern Nevada is experiencing the end of its four-year economic decline and has begun to show economic growth, with "slight upward" job gains on the horizon due to an ongoing increase in tourism, said Stephen Brown, director of UNLV's Center for Business and Economic Research.

WASHINGTON ? Last week, Republicans circulated a story to Nevada reporters about Rep. Shelley Berkley's husband, Dr. Larry Lehrner, who's been buying up and reselling foreclosed properties in Las Vegas.

We have long suspected that Metro Police officers shoot their guns more often than police in other cities, and that our process for investigating those shootings is faulty.

The public-private partners pushing for a multibillion-dollar stadium at UNLV received a 180-day extension to develop a plan to build it without a special tax district to fund construction.

Desert Pines' guard stands tall even among giant valley talents . This local high school basketball player will take college recruiters off the beaten path this winter on the recruiting trail.

Bishop Gorman's Major is a gem of a defensive player. If someone told Bishop Gorman girls' basketball coach Sheryl Krmpotich she was only allowed to choose one player in the nation to play defense, the search wouldn't make it very far.

Once, it was Rick Perry. Then, it was Herman Cain. Now, Newt Gingrich is leading the GOP presidential field, with commanding margins in polls in Iowa, Florida and South Carolina, and nationwide. Mitt Romney may be leading in Nevada, but since the Iowa straw poll, he has led the national Republican presidential field for less than three weeks total. Yet Romney has been the focus of President Barack Obama's re-election rhetoric. Perry releases a flat-tax plan. An Obama campaign spokesman hits Romney for being "guided by the same principle ... shift a greater share of taxes away from large corporations and the wealthiest onto the backs of the middle class." Cain was embroiled in a sexual harassment scandal before he suspended his campaign Saturday. Obama's campaign slams Romney for being a flip-flopper.

Like God before it, the novel is dead, or so we are told.

Alabama 42

In the wake of the Nov. 17 crash in Arkansas, Oklahoma State postponed home games last weekend against Grambling and Texas-Arlington, but university officials decided to resume the Cowgirls' schedule yesterday, five days after a memorial service for the victims inside Gallagher-Iba Arena.

A UNLV professor is developing a smartphone application that could be important to the future of the gaming industry.Its name: HealthE Gambling. Bo Bernhard, UNLV sociologist and executive director of International Gaming Institute, says we should not think of it as a "problem gambling app," because no piece of technology ? outside of some futuristic Philip K. Dick novel ? is going to treat full-on pathological addiction. (A true addict would pawn his iPhone anyway.) Still, that's the basic idea here. Just as people use calorie counters and exercise diaries to effectively monitor their health, this device would help people monitor their gambling habits.

Holiday shoppers, beware: Shopping has begun earlier than ever this year.

It looks like Santa's elves are becoming increasingly tech-savvy in the North Pole.

Josh TolentinoJunior, Cheyenne High SchoolClubs/activities: Key Club, Dance Club

Fans of talk radio, TV news shows and political rallies have grown accustomed to the rudeness, acrimony and vitriol that typically accompany discussion of politics and public policy. Civility seems a lost virtue. Imagine, then, what might happen when nearly 1,000 people gather to debate the issues of the day - Afghanistan, immigration, gay marriage, mandated health care, the national debt and education reform. Such hot-button topics were discussed this week at the Las Vegas Convention Center - with civility and courtesy. Speakers weren't interrupted, let alone shouted down; opposing views were offered with respect, and rebuttals were on topic and thoughtful.