Nevada
Nevada is protected—for now—from machine-gun ruling
LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Nevada residents won’t be receiving devices that allow semi-automatic rifles to fire at the rate of a fully automatic machine gun, thanks to a settlement worked out by the state’s lawyers.
But hundreds of other people across the country are eligible to receive so-called force reset triggers, under a lawsuit negotiated by the U.S. government and firearms manufacturers.
The move comes after an executive order from President Donald Trump prompted a review of the government’s regulation of firearms in general, and a reversal of the government’s position in two key cases.
Meanwhile, a lawsuit filed by 16 states, including Nevada, seeks to ban forced reset triggers using the reasoning the federal government formerly employed in its own legal actions.
“Especially coming from a state like Nevada, where we’ve experienced a mass shooting, we don’t want these forms of devices, predominantly because it’s against our law”, said Attorney General Aaron Ford. “But secondly, we have personal experience on these, what happens when these types of things are placed into the wrong hands.”
Fully automatic fire
A semi-automatic rifle, such as the Armalite Rifle 15, or AR-15, fires a single round every time the trigger is pressed. The trigger must be released for a new round to be inserted into the chamber.
But a forced reset trigger — sometimes called FRT — allows a weapon to fire rounds as long as the trigger is held down, similar to the operation of a military-style M4 or M16 rifle. In fully automatic mode, the weapon will continue firing until its magazine is empty.
The forced reset trigger is installed internally, and it may not be readily apparent to an observer that the weapon has been modified.
Fully automatic weapons are generally prohibited to civilians, as are devices that allow semi-automatic weapons to fire at fully automatic rates, under the National Firearms Act of 1934, the Gun Control Act of 1968 and the Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986.
Banned in Nevada
After the deadly 1 October shooting in 2017, the Nevada Legislature banned so-called bump stocks, which are devices affixed externally to a rifle’s stock that use the recoil of the rifle to achieve continuous fire.
The perpetrator of 1 October used rifles equipped with bump stocks to rain gunfire on a crowd at the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas Strip.
Under Nevada law, passed in 2019, it’s illegal to import, sell or possess any device that “…materially increases the rate of fire of the semi-automatic firearm or approximates the action or rate of fire of a machine gun.”
That language applies equally to bump stocks as well as forced reset triggers.
And the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Tobacco formerly took the view that forced reset triggers were devices that turned semi-automatic rifles into illegal machine guns. Starting in 1975, the ATF classified devices similar to forced reset triggers as machine gun devices.
Changing stances
As of last summer, the ATF had taken possession of at least 11,884 forced reset trigger devices under its regulations and brought legal actions against their manufacturers.
In August 2023, however, gun rights groups and trigger makers sued the ATF, challenging the rules classifying the triggers as machine gun devices. A Texas federal judge agreed with the plaintiffs and ordered the AFT to stop enforcing its regulations and to return forced reset triggers to their previous owners, even in states where the law prohibited them, such as Nevada.
The government eventually said it would return the devices, but only in places where they were legal, an approach the gun makers objected to, saying the federal government could not be trusted with interpreting state laws.
On February 7, however, President Trump issued an executive order to protect Second Amendment rights, prompting a Justice Department review of all gun regulations. The AFT subsequently withdrew its lawsuits against the trigger makers and agreed to return all triggers previously seized from owners.
But lawyers representing Nevada and other states secured an agreement: no triggers would be returned to states where the law bans them. Ford said the deal would protect the state, at least temporarily, but that loopholes persist.
“We have said that they will not be shipped to Nevada,” said Ford. “But our borders are porous, intrastate borders are porous, to be sure. So a gun that’s delivered to Utah, or an FRT that’s delivered to Utah may very well find its way across the border into Mesquite or something. At the end of the day, these are very real issues that we have to address.”
Ford said he would make enforcement of gun laws — including possession or use of forced reset triggers — a priority for his office.
“It’s one of the highest levels of priority, because I’ve always supported common-sense gun safety measures that are going to keep the public safe, and that’s what this is about.”
That’s why Nevada is continuing as a plaintiff in the case State of New Jersey v. Bondi, which asks a court to find that the ATF’s old viewpoint — that forced reset triggers create machine guns out of regular semi-automatic rifles — is the law, and thus ban them nationwide.
Nevada
Liberty vs Nevada Prediction, Picks & Odds for Today’s NIT Tournament Game
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The Nevada Wolfpack look to stay hot when they welcome the Liberty Flames on Saturday night in the second round of the NIT.
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Vaughn Weems has been dominant of late for the Wolfpack, and my Liberty vs. Nevada predictions explain why he’s poised to have another big game.
Read on for my college basketball picks for Saturday, March 21.
Liberty vs Nevada prediction
Who will win Liberty vs Nevada?
Nevada: The Wolfpack are 16-2 at home this season, with nine wins in a row following the 14-point victory over Murray State. Liberty’s defense has been nearly non-existent in its last 10 games, and lost four of its last seven games — with all four defeats coming against Quad-3 and Quad-4 opponents. Nevada’s superior size and dominance on the glass will offset Liberty’s ability to score.
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Liberty vs Nevada best bet: Vaughn Weems Over 15.5 points (+100)
Vaughn Weems is primed to have a big game against the Liberty Flames. He’s averaging 16.6 points over his last eight games, and has made seven baskets at the rim in each of his last two.
That will likely be his primary focus against a Liberty team whose starting lineup averages a hair over 6-foot-2 and struggles to rebound.
Weems has four offensive boards in the last two contests, leading to second-chance points and FT attempts.
This is a perfect spot for him to continue to assert himself and get whatever he wants at the rim.
Covers
COVERS INTEL:
The Flames have allowed a staggering 118 close-range baskets over their last seven games.
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Liberty vs Nevada same-game parlay
Liberty’s defensive struggles will be exacerbated by the Nevada Wolf Pack’s outside shooting.
The Wolfpack rank 54th in the country in 3-point accuracy, bad news for a Liberty defense allowing opponents to hit better than 38% from deep. Add in Nevada’s height advantage, and it’s a spot where the Flames will fail to cover for the ninth time in 11 games.
Both teams have been clearing their recent totals. The Over is 12-6 in Nevada’s last 18, while the Over has cashed in 10 of 13 for Liberty.
Liberty vs Nevada SGP
Our beyond the arc SGP: The Weems and Price show
Elijah Price pulled down 13 rebounds in the win over Murray State and leads the Wolfpack with 8.4 boards per game.
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This ties into the same narrative I’ve discussed with the interior defense and height issues on the Liberty side. Price hasn’t hit double-digit scoring in four straight games in part because he can’t stay out of foul trouble.
Liberty shoots a lot of outside efforts and doesn’t draw fouls at a high rate. Extra minutes for Price will lead to elevated scoring, and I expect he’ll flirt with a double-double.
Liberty vs Nevada SGP
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Vaughn Weems Over 15.5 points
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Elijah Price Over 11.5 points
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Vaughn Weems Over 5.5 rebounds
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Elijah Price Over 8.5 rebounds
Liberty vs Nevada odds
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Spread: Liberty +7.5 | Nevada -7.5
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Moneyline: Liberty +300 | Nevada -400
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Over/Under: Over 146 | Under 146
Liberty vs Nevada betting trend to know
Liberty has hit the Over in 10 of their last 13 games (+6.70 Units / 47% ROI). Find more college basketball betting trends for Liberty vs. Nevada.
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How to watch Liberty vs Nevada
|
Location |
Lawlor Events Center, Reno, NV |
|
Date |
Saturday, March 21, 2026 |
|
Tip-off |
9:00 p.m. ET |
|
TV |
ESPN+ |
Liberty vs Nevada key injuries
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
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Nevada
Nevada pastor William O’Neill McCurdy Sr. dies at 75, family says
LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — William O’Neill McCurdy Sr., a longtime Nevada pastor, entrepreneur and influential community figure with decades of civic and political ties across the state, has died, his family announced.
McCurdy Sr., the father of Clark County Commissioner William McCurdy II, passed away Friday. His family says he was surrounded by family and loved ones, and was “held high by the thoughts and prayers from all those who cared about him throughout our community.”
Born in 1950, McCurdy Sr. graduated from Valley High School and attended Western Nevada College in Carson City. He served as a pastor in Nevada beginning in 1978.
Although he never held public office, McCurdy Sr. was described as a significant influence in the community and in Nevada politics dating back to Grant Sawyer, with connections spanning governors, senators and judges statewide.
McCurdy Sr. was an entrepreneur and a former constable for the Las Vegas Township. He served on numerous boards and committees, including the Citizens’ Advisory for Regional Transportation, Habitat for Humanity’s board of directors, the Mineral County Economic Advisory Committee, the City of Las Communities Block Grant Advisory Board and as a Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority commissioner.
He was named a Distinguished Nevadan by the Nevada System of Higher Education in 2021 and became an inaugural inductee into Historic Westside Legacy Park in 2022.
McCurdy Sr. was the owner of McCurdy & McCurdy Media Group, a business he and his wife, Billie, built beginning in 1992. The family has been a fixture on the Historic Westside and in Nevada for more than seven decades.
The family described McCurdy Sr. as “a husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, pastor, mentor, and friend.”
The McCurdy family also expressed gratitude to the medical staff at University Medical Center, particularly the UMC Critical Care Team, citing their “professionalism, grace, and compassion” during McCurdy’s final days.
The family thanked the community for its thoughts and prayers.
Nevada
How to watch Nevada basketball vs. Liberty in second round of NIT
Nevada will try to advance to the quarterfinals of the NIT when the Wolf Pack hosts Liberty in a second-round NIT men’s basketball game on Saturday at Lawlor Events Center.
Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
Nevada got a huge second-half effort to beat Murray State, 89-75, on Wednesday in a first-round game.
The winner of the Nevada-Liberty game will face the winner of the Auburn-Seattle University game (3:30 p.m. Sunday; TV- ESPN2).
If Auburn wins Sunday, the No. 1 seed Tigers would host a quarterfinal game on either Tuesday or Wednesday. If Auburn loses to Seattle U on Sunday, and No. 2 seed Nevada wins, the Wolf Pack could host the quarterfinal game.
How to watch Nevada vs. Liberty
Liberty (26-7; 17-3 CUSA) at Nevada (23-12; 12-8 MW)
- When: 6 p.m. Saturday
- Where: Lawlor Events Center
- TV/Stream: ESPN-Plus (Play-by-play Derek Jones; Analyst: John Williams)
- Radio: 95.5 KNEV (Play-by-play: John Ramey; Analyst: Nick Fazekas)
- Tickets: nevadawolfpack.evenue.net
- Line: Nevada favored by 7.5
Last time out
Nevada beat Murray State 89-75 on Wednesday to advance.
As a team, the Pack shot 51 percent from the field, 33 percent from three, and 89 percent from the free-throw line. Vaughn Weems led the Pack offense with 23 points, and grabbing five rebounds. Corey Camper Jr. scored 17 points and was one rebound short of a career high with eight.
Elijah Price led the Wolf Pack with 13 rebounds, 12 on the defensive end. He also had three steals, while Kaleb Lowery had two.
Nevada had just five turnovers while forcing 15 from the Racers, and outscored Murray State in points off turnovers (24-5), points in the paint (44-28), second-chance points (12-9) and fast-break points (17-9).
This is the first meeting between the Nevada Wolf Pack and the Liberty Flames.
Liberty finished 17-3 in Conference USA regular season, earning the outright regular season title in the league for a second straight year.
Zach Cleveland earned Conference USA Player of the Year, while head coach Ritchie McKay garnered CUSA Coach of the Year, along with four total All-CUSA performers and an All-Defensive team member.
Alford: Crowd was into it and really loud in win over Murray State
Nevada basketball coach Steve Alford says the crowd was a big factor in Wednesday’s win over Murray State in the NIT
About Liberty
Nevada head coach Steve Alford said Liberty should have received an invitation to the NCAA Tournament. The Flames won Conference USA’s regular season by three games.
“We know we have a really, really good basketball team coming in here Saturday,” Alford said. “We’ve got a really tough matchup with Liberty.”
Liberty broke a tie game with 1:18 left to beat George Mason 77-71 on Tuesday in their first-round NIT game.
The game was tied at 67 with 1:18 to play in the game, but the Flames scored 10 of the next 12 points to close out their second-ever NIT victory and second victory over an A-10 foe this season.
Liberty improved to 26-7 overall. It was the Flames’ 11th road win of the year.
For Liberty in Tuesday’s win, Josh Smith, making his first start since Dec. 16, turned in his best performance in a Flames jersey with a season-high 23 points along with nine rebounds. Smith was 7-of-9 from the field, 2-of-2 from three-point territory and 7-of-8 from the foul line. Brett Decker Jr. added 17 points, and Zander Carter notched career highs in points (10) and rebounds (6).
The Flames average 78.1 points per game while Nevada averages 76.3.
The Flames average 10,6 3-pointers per game while the Wolf Pack averages 6.6
Liberty University is a private, evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia, founded in 1971.
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