Print edition for December 4, 2007

Does lead make gaming chips hazardous to your health?: By Liz Benston; Four weeks after a Phoenix TV station reported that some gambling chips manufactured by a Las Vegas company contained exceptionally high lead content, anxious casino dealers say they still don't know if they're handling toxic materials for a living.

Another celebrity graces the courthouse with his presence: By Brian Eckhouse; If Tony Curtis really ran a courthouse, story time probably would figure prominently in each day. After all, the 82-year-old actor, a resident of Henderson, has a million of them.

Inviting public distrust: The Board of Regents, which sets policy for the Nevada System of Higher Education, voted Friday to continue an existing policy that keeps all outside work by professors cloaked in secrecy.

Letter: U.S. is in an abusive relationship with China: For reasons both known and unknown, the Bushites have bent over backward in dealing with China. China enjoys favored trade status with the United States, and our government simply looks the other way when it comes to holding China responsible for doing the right thing in terms of trade. The Chinese ignore international patent laws, ship unsafe goods, including food, into the United States and consistently take the stance that they will do whatever they please when dealing with us. If this is what a "free trade" global economy is all about, then I guess that makes me an opponent ...

FLASHPOINT for Dec 04, 2007: Talk about testing a message. In brief remarks Monday before Gov. Jim Gibbons shocked the Republican Men's Club by saying "No new taxes," state Sen. Joe Heck fired up the crowd with a sure-to-please refrain: "The only thing that scares me as much as Hillary Clinton as president is Dina Titus as majority leader." Are Republicans here ready to run against Titus as eagerly as the national GOP wants to run against Clinton? Hard to believe, but I can see it happening with a campaign atmosphere that may seem quite noxious to GOP candidates. Titus eventually will find a candidate ...

More than a mere marathon: Story and Photographs Tiffany Brown; In Sunday morning's darkness runners emerge and gather, walking briskly, rubbing their arms to keep warm in the parking lot of the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. They wear sweat suits from Goodwill that will be shed as they begin to run, and garbage bags with holes ripped to pull over heads, arms mummy-like inside in an attempt to keep warm.

Editorial: Father knows best?: The rookie governor is missing out on the expertise of those who have significantly more experience with state budgets than he has. He also is missing the voices of Nevadans who will be affected by any budget cuts.

Holmes, Holmes, Holmes for the holidays: Kelly Clinton: 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, Suncoast Showroom, $22 to $33, 636-7075

Glamour girls of the streets: Kristen Peterson, Las Vegas Sun; The models in Jonnie Andersen's recent photographs emit joy, dignity, sensuality and strength.

Slum gets a second chance: A long dispute over who owns a neglected, empty downtown Las Vegas housing complex is over and the city lost - or maybe won, depending on your point of view.

Soft-spoken Reid criticizes Bush, and it comes through loud and clear: By Lisa Mascaro; WASHINGTON - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid took on President Bush on Monday, calling him the most stubborn official he has ever worked with, and stopped just short of using the L-word (rhymes with fire) that got him in so much trouble the last time he used it to describe the commander in chief.

LOOKING IN ON: ENTERTAINMENT: Since closing at the Venetian more than three years ago, Michael Flatley's "Lord of the Dance" has been Irish step dancing around the world.

Editorial: Paying too much: A new analysis by The New York Times shows Medicare routinely overpays for such products and services as home oxygen equipment, motorized wheelchairs, orthotics, nutrition supplements and supplies for diabetics.

LOOKING IN ON: CARSON CITY: CARSON CITY - The hammer has already fallen and budget cuts have started.

Letter: Military can help turn lives around: I would like to offer a different perspective. When I was a young man, I was headed down the wrong path, and I could easily have ended up being a burden on society.

To know candidates, know their advisers: By J. Patrick Coolican; When voters take their measure of presidential contenders, they should also consider who is whispering in the candidates' ears. Here's why:

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