Nevada AP News Digest

Here are the top Nevada stories in sight at this hour for PMs of Tuesday, Jan. 1. If you have questions about stories, call Tom Gardner in Reno at (775) 322-3639 or Angie Wagner in Las Vegas at (702) 382-7440. For reruns, contact the AP Service Desk at (212) 621-1595.

HEADLINES:

Las Vegas celebrates New Year's Eve with fireworks, security

Races for gov, new House seat top Nevada races in 2002

California rapist Singleton dies on Florida death row

Number of traffic fatalities in Nevada on decline

Couple defends turning over tapes, questions penalties

Downtown Las Vegas post office to close

POLITICS:

Races for gov, new House seat top Nevada races in 2002

CARSON CITY, Nev. - Nevadans will have a big election year in 2002, voting for governor and several other statewide elective officials and deciding some key U.S. House and legislative races. The outcome of three U.S. House races, including a new one added because of Nevada's huge population growth in the past decade, could figure in the national battle between Democrats and Republicans for control of Congress.

BC-NV--Nevada Elections. 975 words.

By Brendan Riley.

With BC-NV--Nevada Elections-Glance.

CRIME AND COURTS:

California rapist Singleton dies on Florida death row

TAMPA, Fla. - Lawrence Singleton, who chopped off a Nevada teen-age hitchhiker's forearms in California and was on death row in Florida for killing a prostitute, has died of cancer. He was 74.

BC-Killer Dies. 650 words.

By Vickie Chachere.

Localizes national version with Nevada angle.

AP Photos FLTAM201, WXS601.

TRANSPORTATION:

Number of traffic fatalities in Nevada declines

CARSON CITY, Nev. - State traffic safety officials have their fingers crossed as the year comes to a close. If motorists continue their careful driving habits, Nevada will see fewer than 300 fatalities on state roads for the first time since 1994.

BC-NV--Traffic Fatalities. 500 words.

AROUND THE STATE:

Las Vegas celebrates New Year's Eve with fireworks, security

LAS VEGAS - Lured by cheap hotel rooms and a half-million dollars worth of fireworks, New Year's Eve revelers flocked late Monday to Las Vegas' glittery Strip to ring in 2002. "We expect crowds and lights," said Rory Scanlon, 28, a lobbyist from London, England, ending a three-week visit to the United States with a visit to Las Vegas. "And fireworks," said his girlfriend, 28-year-old Tara Roberts.

BC-WST--New Year's-Nevada. 600 words.

By Ken Ritter.

AP Photos.

Downtown Las Vegas post office to close

LAS VEGAS - One week from Monday, Alice Pretasky will serve her customers for the last time in a little-known post office inside the Foley Federal Building. U.S. Postal Service officials have decided to close the office, which has operated inside the downtown Las Vegas building since 1967, as a cost-cutting measure.

BC-NV--Post Office Closure. 400 words.

Couple defends turning over tapes, questions penalties

RENO, Nev. - A Gerlach couple who turned over damning videotapes of incidents on a high school basketball road trip that cost the team its season and the coach his job still think they made the right decision.

But Connie and Mitchell Ugalde say the Washoe County school district went too far in its sanctions against the team on which their son played.

BC-NV--Gerlach Suspensions. 680 words.

The AP

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