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Nevada fourth grader joins House speaker in lighting US Capitol Christmas tree – WTOP News

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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.

Grady Armstrong, a fourth-grade student from Virginia City, Nev., stands with members of the Nevada Congressional Delegation during the lighting of the U.S. Capitol Christmas tree, a 53-foot red fir from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada, in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025.
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., and his wife Kelly Johnson, stand with Grady Armstrong, a fourth-grade student from Virginia City, Nev., as they light the Capitol Christmas tree, a red fir from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada, in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., and his wife Kelly Johnson, stand with Grady Armstrong, a fourth-grade student from Virginia City, Nev., as they light the Capitol Christmas tree, a red fir from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada, in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025.
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Republican from Louisiana, attends the US Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, December 2, 2025. The 53-foot red fir tree is from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada, the first time the state has provided the US Capitol Christmas Tree. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)
U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Republican from Louisiana, attends the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, December 2, 2025. The 53-foot red fir tree is from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada, the first time the state has provided the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree.
(Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)

Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 02: The U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree stands prior to the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on December 02, 2025 in Washington, DC. This year’s tree, a 53-foot red fir from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, marks the first U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree from the state of Nevada. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 02: The U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree stands prior to the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on December 02, 2025 in Washington, DC. This year’s tree, a 53-foot red fir from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, marks the first U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree from the state of Nevada.
(Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 02: Ornaments crafted by Nevada residents adorn the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree prior to the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on December 02, 2025 in Washington, DC. This year’s tree, a 53-foot red fir from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, marks the first U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree from the state of Nevada. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 02: Ornaments crafted by Nevada residents adorn the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree prior to the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on December 02, 2025 in Washington, DC. This year’s tree, a 53-foot red fir from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, marks the first U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree from the state of Nevada.
(Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 02: Members of the U.S. Coast Guard Band perform during the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree lighting ceremony on the West Front Lawn at the U.S. Capitol on December 02, 2025 in Washington, DC. This year’s tree, a 53-foot red fir from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, marks the first U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree from the state of Nevada. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 02: Members of the U.S. Coast Guard Band perform during the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree lighting ceremony on the West Front Lawn at the U.S. Capitol on December 02, 2025 in Washington, DC. This year’s tree, a 53-foot red fir from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, marks the first U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree from the state of Nevada.
(Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

The Capitol Christmas tree, a 53-foot red fir from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada, is illuminated in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The Capitol Christmas tree, a 53-foot red fir from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada, is illuminated in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025.
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

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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.

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“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

Billionaire Tax Refugees Flock to Ritzy Nevada Lake Town

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Billionaire Tax Refugees Flock to Ritzy Nevada Lake Town


Naveen Rao, a longtime California resident, ascended to a rarefied tier of wealth last year when his startup, Unconventional AI, was valued at $4.5 billion. The company is based in Palo Alto, but with the specter of anew tax on billionaireslooming over the state, Rao began considering other …



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EDITORIAL: Nevada hurt by California’s anti-fossil fuel crusade

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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.

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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.

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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.



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Nevada SPCA brings adoptable pet to spotlight for Furever Home Friday

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Nevada SPCA brings adoptable pet to spotlight for Furever Home Friday


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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