Print edition for July 7, 2007

Letter: Life at conception is hardly arbitrary: The tortured logic of Mr. Kaun would have mothers responsible for all the acts of their offspring (good or bad) simply because she gave birth. Perhaps he also believes that since crime is committed in America , the cause of crime is democracy , with all of its liberty and freedom. What was really telling in his letter was that he held God responsible for miscarriages; God is a killer.

Compromise tweaks terror center plans: Moving toward a compromise, state and local homeland security officials drafted a plan Friday to incorporate "fusion centers" in Las Vegas, Reno and Carson City in the state's intelligence-gathering efforts in the war on terrorism.

Editorial: Luck lines up today: To the superstitious, this is a big day. Three sevens are like a trunk full of lucky charms to those who believe in such things. Break a mirror? Walk under a ladder? Don't worry. Apparently nothing can disturb three sevens. So some people are testing their luck, crossing their fingers and taking a leap of faith, hoping that their lucky stars, along with the sevens, have aligned.

Letter: Corporations' taxes skew reported data: Adding corporate taxes to those paid by individuals is dishonest.

Opening day of the main event of the World Series of Poker: AP; BIG NEWS: Only 1,287 players registered for the first of four starting days of play in the $10,000 buy-in World Series of Poker main event. That put the tournament on track to enter about 5,150 players, far fewer than the 8,773 that took part last year. If the trend continued, the top prize would be about $7.6 million, less than the $12 million awarded to last year's winner, Jamie Gold.

Ensign's tactics on immigration get dissected: WASHINGTON - Just before the Senate squashed immigration reform last week, Nevada Sen. John Ensign's office quickly arranged a conference call to announce his position on the legislation.

Whispers at poker table: The blind guy's winning: Hal Lubarsky lifts his three gold rings an inch from his face; two are stone-studded, one is a fat band hammered flat and carved to look like a playing card. The ace of inlaid diamonds.

TAKE FIVE: 'FIREWORKS IN THE CAGE' MIXED MARTIAL ARTS FROM THE INTERNATIONAL FIGHTING ORGANIZATION: Principals: Marvin Eastman (13-7-1) vs. Rob Kimmons (16-2) in a 185-pound title fight, plus two other title fights and a seven-bout undercard in the International Fighting Organization's inaugural mixed martial arts promotion

Letter: Offering a lesson in good salesmanship: I enjoy reading the Las Vegas Sun and agree with most of Mr. Greenspun's columns. However , I completely disagree with the way that he presents them.

For a 7/7/07 anniversary, love waits in line but doesn't wilt: By Sam Skolnik; They came from all over America this week, thrilled to be sweltering in the relentless heat outside the Regional Justice Center in downtown Las Vegas.

Editorial: Heart of the matter: As reported Sunday in the Las Vegas Sun by Tony Cook, that conflict manifested itself when the Legislature dealt with a bill to reduce the tax breaks for environmentally friendly construction projects. The county wanted to cut the tax incentives because those breaks cut deeply into tax revenue . But MGM Mirage, which is building the massive CityCenter and other potentially eligible casinos , wanted as much of a tax break as possible. Ultimately, although the Legislature lowered the "green" tax break, the county was left to shoulder much of the burden in lost revenue.

Letter: Using science to save lives a moral obligation: William F. Brennan, in his June 28 letter, offers us a spate of reasons why embryonic stem cell research is impractical and unnecessary. Indeed, there is an ongoing debate in the scientific community about many of these things. But his most forceful argument is a "simple" moral one, which states that it is wrong to kill a fertilized human egg because it will inevitably develop into a person.

Editorial: World travelers shun U.S.: Alarmingly, however, visits to the United States from those countries - Britain, Japan, Germany, France, South Korea and Australia - dropped 15 percent during those years.