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Under pressure from all sides, Brown backtracks, says Yucca ‘should not be revived’ • Nevada Current

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Under pressure from all sides, Brown backtracks, says Yucca ‘should not be revived’ • Nevada Current


After weeks of taking heat from opponents and critics Democrat and Republican alike for expressing a willingness to bring nuclear waste to Nevada, Republican Senate candidate Sam Brown on Saturday said that the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project should not be considered.

“Over the past month, I’ve invested time speaking with engineers and experts on Yucca Mountain. It is abundantly clear that the project is dead,” Brown said on social media Saturday.

“As I’ve said before, it should not, and will not, be revived as a nuclear waste repository,” Brown added. 

Brown’s campaign did not respond Saturday to a request to identify where and when he has said that before.

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His statement Saturday is in stark contrast to remarks he made in 2022 but that only came to light last month, in which Brown said not allowing nuclear waste in Nevada was “an incredible loss of revenue for our state.”

In a 2022 recording obtained and reported by the Los Angeles Times last month, when asked about Yucca Mountain at a campaign event, Brown said “one of the things I’m afraid of is a lack of understanding and the fearmongering that Harry Reid and others have spread,” and “that we could miss an incredible opportunity for revenue for our state in the future.”

“If we don’t act soon,” Brown added in those 2022 remarks, “other states like Texas and New Mexico, right now, are assessing whether or not they can essentially steal that opportunity from us. And at the end of the day, we all know Nevada could use another great source of revenue and it sure would be a shame if we didn’t monopolize on that and become a central hub of new development that we can do at Yucca.”

In a statement issued by Brown in response to the Times story, he did not specifically reassert support for bringing nuclear waste to Nevada, but said “I’m always interested in economic opportunities for Nevada that better diversify our economy.”

Ever since the so-called “Screw Nevada” bill passed by Congress in 1987 singling out the Yucca Mountain site northwest of Las Vegas to be studied as the nation’s nuclear waste facility, opposition from the Nevada public and the state’s politicians of both parties has been overwhelming.

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Since Brown’s 2022 statements became public, Sen. Jacky Rosen and multiple other Democrats have hammered Brown for expressing willingness to bring nuclear waste to Nevada.

And Jeff Gunter, Brown’s chief challenger for the Republican nomination to challenge Rosen in the general election, is airing an ad promising to block the Yucca project if elected to the Senate and blasting Brown’s willingness to “dump toxic nuclear waste here.”

Less than three weeks ago Brown responded to Rosen and Gunter’s attacks over Yucca by telling The Hill he is “not committed to supporting the opening of Yucca Mountain.

“However,” Brown added in that May 14 statement to The Hill, “I will consider all thoroughly vetted future proposals, with the safety of Nevadans being my top priority, while ensuring the proposals are substantially economically beneficial.” 

“Leadership means considering all economic opportunities that could better support the lives of Nevadans,” Brown added.

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That too is in contrast to his statement on social media Saturday, in which Brown said, “As Nevada’s next US Senator, I’ll stand with President Trump to oppose it.”

Trump’s opposition to dumping nuclear waste in Nevada was itself a reversal of position on the the former president’s part.

Yucca Mountain was officially designated as the nation’s nuclear waste “repository” during the administration of George W. Bush, in 2002. But the project was the subject of legal and regulatory proceedings for the next several years, until the administration of Barack Obama ordered the Department of Energy to discontinue its licensing application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and eliminated federal funding for the project.

While president, Trump attempted to restart funding for Yucca, but was thwarted by Congress. Trump reversed positions during the 2022 campaign cycle in an effort to help Adam Laxalt, the Republican who defeated Brown in the 2022 Senate primary but lost to Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto in the general election. The Biden administration has never included funding for the Yucca Mountain project, and has assured Nevada officials that it has no plans to ever do so.

The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, which includes a playbook for actions the influential organization suggests should be urgent priorities in a second Trump administration, calls for resuming and funding the Yucca Mountain licensing process.

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2025 worst year for home sales in Southern Nevada since 2007, report says

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2025 worst year for home sales in Southern Nevada since 2007, report says


Home prices in Southern Nevada dropped from record highs to end 2025 and less homes sold last year compared with 2024.

Approximately 28,498 existing homes sold in the region last year, which is down almost 9 percent from the 31,305 homes that sold in 2024, according to trade association Las Vegas Realtors, which pulls its data from the Multiple Listing Service. This is the lowest number of homes sold in a year in Southern Nevada since 2007 right before the Great Recession.

The median sale price for a house sold in Southern Nevada in December was approximately $470,000, a 3.9 percent drop from November, according to LVR. By the end of December, LVR reported 6,396 single-family homes listed for sale without any sort of offer. That’s up 28.8 percent from one year earlier.

Despite a down year in sales, the local market did end on a high note.

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George Kypreos, president of Las Vegas Realtors, said he is optimistic the housing market could turn around this year. The LVR report noted that home sales in Southern Nevada have seen “peaks and valleys” in recent years, generally declining since 2021 when a record 50,010 properties sold.

“Although it was a relatively slow year for home sales, we’re seeing some encouraging signs heading into the new year,” said Kypreos in a statement. “Buyer activity locally and nationally is starting to improve. Home prices have been fairly stable, and mortgage interest rates ended the year lower than they were the previous year. Most trends are pointing to a more balanced housing market in 2026.”

Freddie Mac currently has the average price for a 30-year fixed-term mortgage rate at 6.1 percent. That mortgage rate has not gone below 6 percent since 2022.

The all-time high median home sale price in Southern Nevada was broken multiple times last year, and currently sits at $488,995 which was last set in November while the condo and townhome market has dropped substantially from an all-time high that was set in October of 2024 ($315,000) to $275,000 to end 2025.

Major residential real estate brokerages are mixed as to where the market will head this year as Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.com have all put out their 2026 projections, and they expect a similar market to 2025. Mortgage rates aren’t expected to drop enough next year to unlock the country’s housing market, new builds will continue to lag, and prices will remain relatively elevated.

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Realtor.com said in its report that it predicts a “steadier” housing market next year and a slight shift to a more balanced market. Redfin’s report says 2026 will be the year of the “great housing reset,” which means the start of a yearslong period of “gradual increases in home sales and normalization of prices as affordability gradually improves.”

Finally, Zillow said the housing market should “warm up” in 2026 with “buyers seeing a bit more breathing room and sellers benefiting from price stability and more consistent demand.”

Contact Patrick Blennerhassett at pblennerhassett@reviewjournal.com.



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A snowmobiler dies after an avalanche in California’s Sierra Nevada

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A snowmobiler dies after an avalanche in California’s Sierra Nevada


TRUCKEE, Calif. — An avalanche in California’s Sierra Nevada on Monday buried a snowmobiler in snow and killed him, authorities said.

Rescuers responded after a 911 call around 2:20 p.m. reported a possible avalanche near Johnson Peak and Castle Peak in Truckee.

The snowmobiler was initially reported missing but then was found under the snow several minutes later, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

Fellow recreationists found him but he didn’t survive despite lifesaving efforts, according to the statement.

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Emergency personnel were working to safely extract the victim late Monday and to confirm no others were buried.

The sheriff’s office said more avalanches could occur and recommended that people avoid the area.

Each winter, 25 to 30 people die in avalanches in the U.S., according to the National Avalanche Center. The center’s current map shows high risk spots in Utah and Washington and areas of considerable risk in California, Colorado, Idaho and Wyoming.



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Who is No. 1 in the 1st Nevada Preps winter sports rankings?

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Who is No. 1 in the 1st Nevada Preps winter sports rankings?


Nevada Preps Winter Sports Rankings

Records through Sunday

Boys basketball

Class 5A

1. Liberty (10-5)

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2. Democracy Prep (9-6)

3. Coronado (5-6)

4. Bishop Gorman (9-7)

5. Desert Pines (11-4)

Class 4A

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1. Clark (8-5)

2. Las Vegas High (10-4)

3. Losee (7-5)

4. Faith Lutheran (11-5)

5. Shadow Ridge (11-4)

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Class 3A

1. Virgin Valley (9-2)

2. The Meadows (9-5)

3. Boulder City (9-5)

4. GV Christian (8-6)

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5. Pahrump Valley (5-7)

Games to watch

All games at 6:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted

Tuesday

Losee at Las Vegas

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Faith Lutheran at Liberty

Wednesday

Bishop Gorman at Desert Pines

Virgin Valley at The Meadows

Thursday

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Coronado at Mojave

Clark at Durango

Friday

Desert Pines at Las Vegas

Virgin Valley at Boulder City

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Saturday

Big City Showdown at Coronado

Liberty vs. Desert Pines, 4:30 p.m.

Bishop Gorman vs. Coronado, 8 p.m.

Girls basketball

Class 5A

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1. Bishop Gorman (11-1)

2. Democracy Prep (7-4)

3. Centennial (6-3)

4. Liberty (10-7)

5. Shadow Ridge (3-4)

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Class 4A

1. Mojave (9-4)

2. Mater East (10-4)

3. Losee (14-5)

4. Del Sol (13-3)

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5. Cimarron-Memorial (9-2)

Class 3A

1. Virgin Valley (6-5)

2. Boulder City (8-6)

3. Moapa Valley (8-4)

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4. Coral Academy (7-4)

5. Pahrump Valley (4-7)

Games to watch

All games at 6:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted

Wednesday

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Faith Lutheran at Shadow Ridge

Centennial at Liberty

Mojave at Desert Oasis

Thursday

Sierra Vista at Cimarron-Memorial, 5 p.m.

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Friday

Mater East at Desert Oasis

Virgin Valley at Boulder City

Saturday

Big City Showdown at Coronado

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Bishop Gorman vs. Centennial, 6:15 p.m.

Flag football

Class 5A

1. Desert Oasis (8-0)

2. Shadow Ridge (10-1)

3. Arbor View (10-1)

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4. Palo Verde (10-3)

5. Liberty (6-2)

Class 4A

1. Virgin Valley (5-3)

2. Sierra Vista (5-2)

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3. Mater East (6-3)

4. Clark (7-4)

5. Spring Valley (5-2)

Games to watch

All games at 5:30 p.m.

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Wednesday

Palo Verde at Desert Oasis

Coronado at Bishop Gorman

SECTA at Arbor View

Friday

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Shadow Ridge at Palo Verde

Canyon Springs at Arbor View

Alex Wright Review-Journal



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