Nevada
Nevada fourth grader joins House speaker in lighting US Capitol Christmas tree – WTOP News
A fourth grade student from Nevada helped light the U.S. Capitol Christmas tree on Tuesday evening.
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
(Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)
Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images
(Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
(Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
(Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
Grady Armstrong, a fourth grader from Virginia City, Nevada, helped U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and members of the Nevada Congressional Delegation light the Capitol Christmas tree on Tuesday night.
The tree is a 53-foot-tall red fir from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada. It’s the first time in 61 years that a tree from Nevada is featured on the West Lawn of the Capitol.
The tree traveled roughly 3,000 miles to D.C., and is decorated with about 6,000 LED lights and more than 5,000 ornaments, many of them made by children from across Nevada.
Armstrong earned the honor of lighting the tree after winning an essay contest.
“You don’t have to go far to enjoy Nevada. Right from my school playground, you can look east for hundreds of miles over the mountain ranges that make up the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest,” he said.
“I want the country to know how special Nevada’s public land and national forests are. These lands are full of wonder, from big animals like elk, mule deer, bighorn sheep and even moose,” Armstrong added.
The tree, nicknamed “Silver Belle” as a nod to Nevada being the “Silver State,” will be lit from dusk until 11 p.m. every night through early January 2026.
WTOP’s Alan Etter contributed to this report.
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Nevada
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Nevada
EDITORIAL: Nevada hurt by California’s anti-fossil fuel crusade
California Gov. Gavin Newsom won’t admit it, but a move by President Donald Trump is especially helpful to drivers in California — and Nevada.
Gasoline prices are pressuring consumers around the country. On Friday, the average U.S. price was $4.55 a gallon. In California, that would be a bargain. The average there was $6.16 a gallon. Nevada’s average was $5.23 a gallon, the result of around 88 percent of the state’s gasoline coming from California.
It might be getting worse — regardless of what happens in Iran.
In recent months, two major California refineries have shut down. That represented a 17 percent reduction in California’s refining capacity. Their closures weren’t caused by the Iran war, but by Gov. Newsom and California’s relentless attacks on fossil fuels.
To make up for the fuel it won’t extract or refine in-state, California depends on imports from foreign countries.
“We are importing 30 percent of our crude oil from the Middle East,” Mike Ariza, a former control board supervisor at the Valero Benicia Refinery, said in an interview. He has been warning the public about California’s potential fuel shortage. “There are not very many ships left on the way that have fuel,” he said last month.
Last week, KCRA-TV in Sacramento reported that “about 2 million barrels of oil are in the process of being unloaded in Long Beach off of the last California-bound tanker that got through the Strait of Hormuz.”
At a California legislative hearing Tuesday, Siva Gunda, the vice chairman of the California Energy Commission, said the state has enough gasoline to accommodate demand for the next six weeks. That’s not a very long time, especially given that it takes weeks or months for oil to travel from the Middle East to California. And that process won’t begin until the Strait of Hormuz reopens.
There is a region, however, with abundant oil available for sale and safe passage — the southeastern United States. Unfortunately, the Jones Act, an antiquated 1920 law, mandates that only U.S.-flagged ships may move cargo between U.S. ports. But only 55 of the more than 7,000 oil tankers worldwide comply with this requirement.
This is where Mr. Trump rode to the rescue. Late last month, the White House announced Mr. Trump would suspend the Jones Act for another 90 days. In March, he originally waived it for 60 days. This will make it easier for California and Nevada to obtain domestic product.
If only Mr. Trump could also suspend the destructive energy policies imposed by Gov. Newsom and California Democrats.
Nevada
Nevada SPCA brings adoptable pet to spotlight for Furever Home Friday
LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — An adoptable pet is in the spotlight for “Furever Home Friday,” with Amy from the Nevada SPCA featured in a segment highlighting an animal available for adoption today.
The Nevada SPCA encouraged viewers looking to add a pet to their family to consider adopting.
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