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President Joe Biden to visit Nevada, Arizona, Texas this week

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President Joe Biden to visit Nevada, Arizona, Texas this week


WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is embarking on a three-day campaign swing aimed at shoring up his standing in the Sun Belt as part of an aggressive play to reenergize vital parts of his 2020 electoral coalition.

Much of Biden’s time on this trip this week, which includes stops in Nevada, Arizona and Texas, will be geared toward courting the Latino voters who helped power his coalition in 2020 and to emphasizing his pro-union, pro-abortion rights message.

The Democratic president’s first stop Tuesday is in Reno, Nevada, where he will meet with local officials and campaign volunteers in Washoe County before heading to Las Vegas to promote his administration’s housing policies.

Next he’ll travel to Phoenix for another campaign stop in a critical swing county paired with an event talking up what he has done to bolster the computer chip manufacturing sector.

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Biden’s push with Latino voters this week, which includes the formal launch of the Latinos con Biden-Harris (Spanish for Latinos with Biden-Harris) initiative on Tuesday, is also part of the campaign’s broader efforts to put in place the infrastructure to re-engage various constituencies that will be critical to the president’s reelection. That effort is all the more crucial as key parts of Biden’s base, such as Black and Hispanic adults, have become increasingly disenchanted with the president’s performance in office.

In an AP-NORC poll conducted in February, 38% of U.S. adults approved of how Biden was handling his job. Nearly 6 in 10 Black adults (58%) approved, compared to 36% of Hispanic adults. Black adults are more likely than white and Hispanic adults to approve of Biden, but that approval has dropped in the three years since Biden took office.

Biden’s reelection campaign, along with allied Democratic groups, has opened offices in Washoe County and in specific areas of Las Vegas that aides said will help the campaign to target Black, Latino and Asian American voters.

Bilingual campaign organizers are already in place in Arizona, and the campaign has opened an office in Maryvale, a major Latino community in Phoenix. The campaign has hired more than 40 staffers in Nevada and Arizona.

Campaign officials believe that tuned-out voters are starting to pay attention to the reality of a rematch between Biden and former President Donald Trump now that the two candidates have clinched their respective nominations. They’re trying to boost coalition-building efforts in battleground states now that the matchup is set, using the energy coming out of Biden’s State of the Union earlier this month to jolt their campaign momentum.

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That includes, for example, ensuring that chapters are in place across college campuses so that students have a place to organize and that campaign offices are open and stocked with yard signs, campaign literature and other materials. Democrats are hoping that Trump and the GOP will struggle to catch up in key states.

The campaign has already established Women for Biden-Harris, an effort led by first lady Jill Biden to mobilize female voters who were a vital part of Biden’s winning coalition in 2020, as well as Students for Biden-Harris, which will focus on getting young voters organized and active. Latinos con Biden-Harris will formally launch at Biden’s Phoenix stop on Tuesday and include other campaign events, such as volunteer trainings and house parties, in other battleground states including Nevada, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Wisconsin later this week.

“This isn’t stuff that you can just stand up. This is stuff that requires work,” Quentin Fulks, principal deputy campaign manager for the Biden campaign, said in an interview. “It does require training. It does require making sure that your volunteers and supporters have what they need on the ground.”

Meanwhile, the Republican National Committee dismissed dozens of staffers after new leaders closely aligned with Trump took over last week. Those let go include people who worked at the party’s community centers that helped build relationships with minority groups in some Democratic-leaning areas. The committee’s new leadership has since insisted that those centers will remain open.

The RNC, already strapped for cash, is also trying to bat away assumptions that it’ll pay for Trump’s ever-escalating legal bills as he faces multiple criminal cases.

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Still, the Biden campaign and the broader Democratic Party are confronting their own struggles, despite their cash and organizational advantages. On top of Biden’s weaker job performance numbers, Democrats are seeing less support from key voting blocs come election time: While Biden won 63% of Hispanic voters in 2020, that percentage shrunk to 57% for Democratic candidates in the 2022 midterms, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of the national electorate.

Despite the waning approval numbers, campaign officials say they are confident that once the contrast between the president’s agenda and Trump’s plans for a second term are presented to disillusioned members of Biden’s coalition, they will ultimately back the president.

“I can say this as a Latina, we always come late to the party. We like to make a grand entrance,” said Democratic strategist Maria Cardona. “I think that’s what you will see again because when it comes down to people making a real decision that is consequential to their future, the future of their children, the future of their communities, it’s not some random phone call from an anonymous pollster — I think that the Democratic coalition will come home.”

Alongside the campaign stops, the administration is pairing official White House events on matters that have particular significance in the two states. In Arizona, Biden will continue talking up a law he signed encouraging domestic manufacturing of computer chips, which has already spurred significant private investment in the state, especially in Phoenix.

And in Nevada, Biden will continue promoting a new housing proposal that would offer a mortgage relief credit for first-time homebuyers and a seller’s tax credit to encourage homeowners to offload their starter homes. The issue of housing is sure to resonate in Nevada, where home prices have nearly doubled since early 2016, according to Zillow, the online real estate marketplace.

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“As the president has said, the bottom line is, we have to build, build, build,” said Lael Brainard, the director of the White House National Economic Council.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., stressed that Democrats cannot take the state — which has not voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 2004 — for granted, even as she dismissed some polling that shows Trump with an edge in Nevada.

“You got to be there talking to voters, particularly in Nevada,” Cortez Masto said. “It’s still small enough, it’s 3 million people, they expect you to show up, right? It’s a swing state. It’s very diverse. And people just expect that type of engagement, so they can decide for themselves.”

Biden’s three-day trip will wrap up in Texas, where he will host a trio of fundraisers in Dallas and Houston.

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Nevada

Planetary parade this weekend — when to see it in Northern Nevada

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Planetary parade this weekend — when to see it in Northern Nevada


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Skywatchers across the U.S. are about to be treated to a dazzling weekend filled with not only two active meteor showers, but a celestial alignment starring the moon.

For two nights, Earth’s only natural satellite will host a cosmic party with three planets — Mars, Saturn and Uranus.

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The phenomenon, often called a planet parade, presents spectators with a rare opportunity to see not only multiple planets, but also the moon, appear close together in the night sky — at least, from Earth’s vantage.

The best part of the show? Most of the striking spectacle — with the exception of Uranus — will be visible to the naked eye.

Here’s everything to know about the rare sight, as well as when, how and where you can see it across the United States.

Moon to appear in sky with Mars, Saturn, Uranus

The moon will appear in the night sky before sunrise on Saturday, July 11 and Sunday, July 12, NASA said in a monthly skywatching guide.

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What is a planet parade?

While the term “planet parade” is not an official astronomy term, it is an unofficial way for astronomers and stargazers to refer to certain celestial events.

The planets in our solar system orbit the sun essentially along a line across the sky in a flat disc-shaped plane called the ecliptic.

Another term for a certain kind of planetary alignment, planet parades are what happens when planets line up along the ecliptic in a straight line and appear to us on Earth to be marching across the night sky, according to NASA. So, while planetary alignments themselves aren’t special, it is notable to have an opportunity to observe multiple planets at once.

How full will the moon be? What to know about lunar phase

During the celestial alignment, the moon will be entering a waning crescent phase before we have a new moon, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. That means Earth’s only natural satellite is getting less and less full and bright each night as its crescent gets thinner and thinner, NASA explains.

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That’s good news for stargazers, as the moon will still be visible without outshining the planets nearby.

Where to see the planet parade in Nevada

Look toward the eastern sky to catch the cosmic lineup in the early morning.

While the moon will of course be the easiest to locate, Mars will look like a small reddish point of light, while Saturn is also bright and easy to spot, NASA explained in a video.

For the clearest views, there are several places that are an easy drive from Reno where you can get a clear view of the stars, including:

  • Lake Tahoe: Multiple locations around the lake are excellent for stargazing that are less than an hour from Reno.
  • Fort Churchill State Park The park on Alt. 95 south of Silver Springs provides a dark night sky ideal for evening astronomical events among the ruins of Fort Churchill. Park entrance costs $5 for Nevada residents and $10 for non-residents.
  • Pyramid Lake: A popular spot for Renoites seeking a night of stargazing, the lake is less than an hour from The Biggest Little City. It offers beautiful natural wonders and dark skies that give a clear view of lunar eclipses, meteor showers and full moons.

Northwestern Nevada weather forecast for planetary parade

Cloudy conditions may bring relief from the recent heat wave, but they could spoil the early-morning view of the planetary parade in much of northwestern Nevada.

Reno, Carson City and Minden

  • Friday: Clear and breezy overnight; lows 56-66.
  • Saturday: Partly cloudy, then mostly cloudy overnight; lows 60-70.
  • Sunday: Mostly cloudy overnight; lows 61-71.

Lake Tahoe and the central Sierra

  • Friday: Clear and breezy overnight; lows 45-55.
  • Saturday: Partly cloudy, then mostly cloudy overnight; lows 48-58.
  • Sunday: Mostly cloudy overnight; lows 49-59.

Do you need a telescope to see celestial alignment?

Mars and Saturn are among the five planets in our solar system visible without optical aid — along with Mercury, Venus and Jupiter. Telescopes certainly will enhance the view but spectators don’t need any equipment to spot those planets joining the moon in the pre-dawn sky.

As for Uranus, the planet is typically not as bright — despite being the third largest in our solar system — and will require a telescope to see, NASA said.

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Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com. The Reno Gazette Journal’s Carly Sauvageau and Brett McGinness contributed to this report.



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Nevada climber dies after fall while climbing in Oregon

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Nevada climber dies after fall while climbing in Oregon


A Nevada man is believed to have suffered a deadly fall while climbing in Oregon.

He’s been identified as 77-year-old Robert Pickering.

Search and rescue crews say they found his body along Mount Washington, northwest of Bend, according to a social media post from the Linn County Sheriff’s Office.

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A climbing guide reported hearing a rockslide near the summit after Pickering passed his group.

The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office was one of several groups that assisted in the search.



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Murder suspect from Montana takes own life when surrounded by police in Nevada

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Murder suspect from Montana takes own life when surrounded by police in Nevada


RENO, Nev. – A homicide suspect from Montana took their own life on Thursday night after police surrounded their car in northwest Reno, reports KTVN 2 News Nevada.

The incident happened in the area of Sharlands Avenue around 9 p.m., according to a spokesperson for the Reno Police Department.

Officers located the suspect and surrounded their car, blocking them in. They then heard a single gunshot and backed away.

Reinforcements were called, and a drone was brought in by UNRPD. It was then confirmed the suspect was in their car, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the news agency reports.

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The suspect has not been identified pending the notification of next of kin, and no additional information has been released at this time.

In addition to the Reno Police Department, the Regional Narcotics Unit and Washoe County Sheriff’s Office also responded.

The investigation is ongoing.





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