Home Care In Las Vegas, NV

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A rainy New Year's Eve in Las Vegas didn't stop the fun on Thursday night — revelers took over the Strip to enjoy fireworks, concerts and everything our city has to offer to ring in 2026.

WATCH | I spoke to some people who enjoyed seeing the crowds in Las Vegas:

Seeing all of the crowds might make you forget that one of the biggest stories of 2025 was the tourism slump hitting the valley, but recently released numbers show we could be starting to move in the right direction.

People and cars still packed Las Vegas Boulevard on New Year's Day on the heels of "America's Party" — New Year's Eve celebrations in Las Vegas — which drew hundreds of thousands of people to the Strip, serving as a glimmer of hope after a year filled with questions and concerns about our local economy.

Even mired in a tourism slump, there's still something drawing visitors to the Entertainment Capital of the World, who say taking in America's Party was special.

"It's the place to be — Vegas is Vegas, there's only one Vegas in the world," said Kelbys Terron from Miami. "It was fun, it was good seeing people that active, that engaged, and such varied celebrations."

The latest tourism numbers for Las Vegas could show some signs of life: the Nevada Gaming Control Board reports increases in casino earnings statewide for back-to-back months in October and November.

The Gaming Control Board's latest report shows a 10.3% boost for Downtown Las Vegas casinos in November, while Strip casinos lagged slightly behind, with a 0.5% decrease in November.

Laughlin and the Boulder Strip also stood out as bright spots in November, with an 11% and 20% year-over-year jump in casino earnings.

Those stats reflect what casino executives shared during their fourth quarter earnings calls, which I reported on in early November.

"With stabilization in the fourth quarter and growth in 2026 and beyond, we remain very bullish on Las Vegas," said MGM Resorts President and CEO Bill Hornbuckle.

"We're seeing sequential improvements in operating trends in Las Vegas as we enter the fourth quarter," Caesars Entertainment President and CEO Anthony Carano said.

Visitor numbers have some catching up to do, however.

Through the end of November, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported 35.4 million Las Vegas visitors, down 7.4% from 38.3 million through November 2024.

Harry Reid International Airport reported a drop in passengers for the tenth straight month, too, down 5.5% through the end of November, compared to the same period in 2024.

Big holiday crowds over Christmas and New Year's in Las Vegas give some cause for optimism about a year-end boost to tourism, though, as everyone hopes to kick off 2026 on the right foot.

We'll likely find out how much the holiday travel period and America's Party affected tourism numbers later this month, as those year-end reports should be ready and released by the end of January.

Visitors who spoke to Channel 13 on Wednesday say their New Year's trip was worth it.

"Oh yeah it was — the fun's just getting started!" said Kelbys Terron from Miami.

Copyright 2026 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Nevada’s resort industry has “serious concerns” about a proposal from U.S. Customs and Border Protection that would require international visitors to provide selfies of themselves and years of social media history before being allowed into the country, according to the agency’s request for public comment last week in the Federal Register.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is also looking to, “when feasible,” add “high-value data fields” to its Electronic System for Travel Authorization application, which citizens of countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program use to travel to America.

“High-value data fields” include biometric information — such as fingerprints and DNA — as well as current and previously used email addresses and telephone numbers.

In a statement to the Sun, the Nevada Resort Association said it was closely monitoring the proposal ahead of the public comment period’s close in February.

“International visitors come to Las Vegas not only for leisure travel, but also for trade shows and conventions,” said the Nevada Resort Association, which represents the state’s major gaming and hotel-resort companies. “It is essential that our international guests continue to feel welcome when choosing Las Vegas as their destination.”

Last year, at least 1.6 million people from countries under the Visa Waiver Program visited Las Vegas, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, or 72% of all overseas travel to the city.

The program includes much of Europe, as well as Australia, Japan and South Korea.

Residents of Mexico and Canada, which account for around half of Las Vegas’ international visitors, aren’t part of the program — but also are not coming as frequently to Las Vegas in large part because of the Trump administration’s tariff and immigration policies.

The resort association also noted that international tourists “stay longer and spend more during their visits,” calling the cohort “a critical component of our overall visitor mix.”

International visitors spent 14% more on accommodations each night and 47% more on food and drinks compared to their domestic counterparts in 2024, according to the LVCVA’s yearly report.

The U.S. Travel Association, chaired by MGM Resorts International President and CEO Bill Hornbuckle, said in a statement Monday that it was “deeply concerned” by the proposal demanding travelers’ social media history.

The organization, citing security experts, also questioned whether the policy would actually “meaningfully increase America’s security,” the purported reason behind CBP’s proposal.

CBP wrote in the Federal Register that the rule change was in response to President Donald Trump’s January executive order on “Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats.”

“This policy could have a chilling effect on travel to the United States,” the U.S. Travel Association wrote. “If we get this policy wrong, millions of travelers could take their business and the billions of dollars they spend elsewhere, only making America weaker.”

U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., wrote Monday on X that, with Trump’s ongoing trade war, collecting travelers’ social media history would “double down” on the United States’ isolation.

Horsford also emphasized the depressed number of international travelers at Harry Reid International Airport, which he attributed to Trump’s trade war.

“There is no upside to snooping through years of social media posts from people who simply want to visit the U.S.,” the Southern Nevada representative wrote. “But there is a clear downside: fewer and fewer people will visit destinations like Las Vegas.”

Nevada State University is making progress on plans for a new 30,000-square-foot campus in the Downtown North Las Vegas area. This campus will allow for more people to obtain an education, as well as strengthen workforce development and the potential for long-term economic growth. The three-story building will be constructed within the 19-acre North Las Vegas Gateway mixed-use development at Lake Mead Boulevard and Las Vegas Boulevard North, an area already home to retail, medical services, and electric vehicle infrastructure. Construction is expected to begin in the spring.

Funding for the project includes approximately $7.5 million from the City of North Las Vegas, $2.5 million allocated by the Nevada Legislature, and additional philanthropic support from NV Energy and an anonymous donor. NSU has received approval from the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents to lease the building, initiating the campus development process.

“This campus will fundamentally transform our downtown core and open doors to better career paths for our residents,” said North Las Vegas Mayor Pamela Goynes-Brown. “I am so proud to have Nevada State University as a partner in bringing educational opportunities to the heart of our community.”

The campus is expected to serve about 2,500 North Las Vegas residents and offer access to more than 240 degree programs per term. Academic offerings, workforce development pathways, and student support services will be designed to reduce commute times, improve class availability, and help students graduate on time. Officials also plan to expand partnerships with local high schools and explore future collaboration with potential middle school programs as the area grows.

“Our partnership with the City of North Las Vegas is a bold investment in Nevada's future. Through an innovative public-private model, we are building a next-generation Nevada State University campus that expands access to higher education, drives workforce development, and strengthens long-term economic growth,” said Dr. Amber Lopez Lasater, Acting President of Nevada State University. “This collaboration shows what's possible when public institutions, local and state governments, and private partners come together to unlock innovation and opportunity for every learner and every family,” she added.

“The North Las Vegas Campus for Nevada State University reflects the system's commitment to expanding access, supporting student success, and strengthening Nevada's workforce,” said NSHE Board of Regents Chair Byron Brooks. “This collaborative effort lays the groundwork for long-term economic growth by bringing higher education opportunities closer to communities that have long been underserved.”

Clark County lawyers gave positive feedback on most judges in the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s 2025 Judicial Performance Evaluation, but they thought five should be forced to hang up their robes.

The survey, which aims to inform voters by identifying the best and worst on the bench, asked questions about 101 judges from the Nevada Supreme Court, state Court of Appeals, Clark County District Court and multiple lower courts.

“I think lawyers in this community, especially those who have practiced here for a long time and have had the opportunity to participate in multiple previous Judicial Performance Evaluations, recognize the importance of this project in judicial election years,” Review-Journal Executive Editor Glenn Cook said. “These ratings are not meant to overly praise or embarrass judges, but simply to provide information to voters where, for the most part, there’s a gigantic void.”

Judicial candidates may file to run for office from Jan. 5 to Jan. 16. The field is expected to be crowded in 2026, when all District Court and Family Court judgeships will be on the ballot.

Highlights of the survey are rolling out in print today and next Sunday.

This year, 790 attorneys weighed in anonymously on judges, out of 5,666 who received the evaluation, yielding a rate of return of nearly 14 percent.

UNLV’s Center for Research, Evaluation and Assessment conducted the survey, which the Review-Journal has spearheaded 14 times since 1992. The most recent poll was conducted in 2019, when respondents thought 11 judges should be voted out of office.

The UNLV center director, Bradley Marianno, said most judges performed well this year.

Attorneys rated them on a five-point scale via questions that fell into three main buckets: administrative ability, legal ability and integrity. The retention score — or percentage of attorneys who wanted a judge to stay on the bench — is also key to the survey.

Respondents recommended retention for over 95 percent of judges, and the average retention score was 75.6 percent. Responses also were positive for the categories of administrative ability and integrity but were “harsher” for legal ability, the UNLV researchers noted in a report.

“Attorneys clearly believe that a good portion of our judiciary is doing a very good job and that the number of exceptionally poor judges is quite low, and I think that’s good news for the community overall,” Cook said.

Administrative ability included categories like attentiveness and familiarity with the case record. Legal ability addressed questions related to applying the law with accuracy, weighing evidence and arguments fairly, and clearly explaining decisions. Integrity dealt with questions like whether judges’ behavior was free from the appearance of impropriety and whether they showed bias.

Marianno said survey questions grouped cleanly into the three constructs.

“When you’re administering a survey, you actually want multiple questions to measure a given idea or concept,” he said.

Though few judges failed to receive a retention recommendation, some others came close, which Marianno said could raise alarm bells.

Even with a retention score of 60 percent, a judge is below average.

When a judge is at or below that score, “that’s signifying that something’s going on there, that this isn’t just due to chance, that perhaps, there’s some real performance downsides going on there that need to be looked at,” Marianno said.

Las Vegas Justice Court and Clark County District Court had the lowest ratings for retention, administrative ability, legal ability and integrity, according to Marianno, but they are also the courts in which most attorneys practice.

“It does seem like changes on those two courts are warranted,” he said.

The lawyers who filled out surveys reflected a broad range of practice specialties, but most were male — 57.6 percent — and the respondents had an average of over 11 years of experience.

Data from the State Bar of Nevada shows that 36.3 percent of members are female and 63.6 percent are male. Marianno said those statistics indicate that survey respondents are “generally representative.”

He noted that female judges were slightly less likely to be recommended for retention than their male counterparts.

“What we found is that there is an 86 percent chance that a respondent would answer yes to retain a female judge and a 93 percent chance that a respondent would answer yes to a male judge,” Marianno said.

Disclosure

The Review-Journal has civil cases pending before the Nevada Supreme Court and the following local judges who were rated in the survey:

District Judge Timothy Williams

District Judge Jasmin Lilly-Spells

District Judge Anna Albertson

District Judge Erika Ballou

Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Elana Lee Graham

Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Jessica Goodey

Brian Sandoval harked back to one of the darkest days of his tenure as Nevada’s governor.

In 2013, a student brought a gun to Sparks Middle School in Washoe County, killing a teacher and injuring students before turning the weapon on himself. In the aftermath, Sandoval said he learned that the shooter had been bullied and “didn’t have anywhere to go.”

“That was the only way that they felt they could solve this issue,” said Sandoval, now the UNR president.

He said Senate Bill 165, legislation signed into law in June to bolster Nevada’s languishing workforce tackling children’s mental health, will make sure Nevada students have the resources they need.

Education leaders, lawmakers and local business executives celebrated this bill Tuesday during an event at the Raiders’ practice facility.

“SB 165 does more than adjust policy,” Nevada System of Higher Education Chair Byron Brooks said. “This bill opens the door for an entirely new generation of professionals dedicated to mental health promotion, early intervention and wellness.”

The legislation goes about that in a few different ways. First, it creates a bachelor’s-level degree for a job largely unique to Nevada: behavioral health and wellness practitioner.

Tara Raines, a senior director at the University of Oregon’s Ballmer Institute, which helped develop the new role, compared it to what already exists in the United Kingdom. There, if a child is experiencing emotional distress, a bachelor’s-level professional can screen them, provide information on managing what they’re dealing with and refer them up the chain if necessary.

That early mechanism, which can reduce the load of professional psychologists, doesn’t exist in the United States, Raines said.

The new role “will serve as that screener, that early assessment, that skill builder,” she said. It’s “what you can go to when you’re in distress while waiting for your appointment with a higher-level professional.”

UNLV, as well as UNR and Great Basin College in Elko, will run bachelor’s programs for that new role, each receiving just under $600,000 to get the effort rolling and fund related scholarships.

Nevada will start to see license-eligible graduates in May 2028, according to a tentative timeline from Raines’ presentation during Tuesday’s event. However, lacking an advanced degree, the practitioners will be supervised and cannot make diagnoses or administer psychotherapy.

“You will have all of the weight and capability and talent and energy that you will need from the University of Nevada to make sure that this is a success,” Sandoval said.

UNLV Interim President Chris Heavey, also a professor of psychology, called the day a “double Halley’s Comet moment.” Not only is it rare to see such an eclectic group backing a bill, Heavey said, but meaningful innovation in mental health is just as uncommon.

Beyond the health benefits, state Sen. Rochelle Nguyen, D-Las Vegas — who sponsored the legislation — hopes people recognize the new line of work as a “professional option.”

“You will be able to make a living, and you’ll be able to have that real impact with that bachelor’s-level degree,” she said, adding later that “we have to create that workforce for ourselves” in response to a question on the state’s health care worker shortage.

It’s a desperately needed service in Nevada. Around a fifth of American children have a major mental disorder, and only a fifth of that group receives treatment, Raines said. Even fewer end up being served in Nevada, she said.

About half of the state’s children who try to get support “find it very difficult to impossible” to get that care, Raines added.

The practitioners “should reduce the number of people who escalate to full-blown depression, because when you start feeling those symptoms, the BHWPs will give you skills to reduce your symptoms,” Raines said. “It’ll also offer support to prevent clinician burnout.”

While the state is still a few years away from seeing the practitioners in action, another major section of the legislation is further along, Nguyen said. SB 165 puts $1.2 million toward establishing an in-state child psychology internship program accredited by the American Psychological Association.

Currently, any Nevadan who wants to complete a degree in child psychology has to leave the state to do so. After people leave to complete their education somewhere else, it can be difficult to get them to come back, Raines said.

The new program will draw people from across the country to Nevada, she said. Nguyen said recruiting was already occurring for those internship positions.

“Instead of watching our future clinicians leave the state to train elsewhere, we will now cultivate and retain them here at home,” Brooks said. He added later that “this bill is not just policy, it’s progress, it’s innovation, it’s compassion and it’s a strategic investment in Nevada’s long-term mental health.”