Senator Harry Reid has been discharged from the hospital after a car crash on Interstate-15 in Las Vegas. Hospital spokeswoman Karen Gordon says the senator left less than three hours after the crash that happened jus’ after 1 p.m. Friday.
Officials from his office say he suffered bruising to his ribs and hip in the crash, and was taken to UMC by his security detail as a precaution. Reid officials say other members of the senator’s security detail and a staffer had minor injuries and were also taken to the hospital for evaluation.
Troopers say six vehicles were involved in the apparent chain reaction rear-end crash, including two police vehicles, two Capitol Police vehicles and two civilian vehicles. In May 2010, Reid’s wife, Landra, broke her neck and nose after being rear-ended by a tractor-trailer in a Washington D.C.
First lady Michelle Obama was also in Las Vegas Friday. She says it will take a lot of hard work by supporters to make sure President Barack Obama carries Nevada on Election Day.
She urged a cheering crowd to make phone calls and knock on doors to ensure a big voter turnout for a presidential race tight enough to go either way. Mrs. Obama told the crowd in a school gym to “work like you’ve never worked before,” and flashed a thumb’s up when the crowd chanted “four more years.”
The Democratic president and Republican challenger Mitt Romney were also in the Silver State this week pleading with voters to go to the polls.
Her return to Washington was delayed. A McCarran International Airport spokesman says her aircraft was held up for three hours because of mechanical problems.
The early voting message is resinating with Nevadan’s as one-quarter of active voters have already cast ballots in the November election during the first six days of early voting. The Secretary of State’s office shows nearly 317,000 people have voted either in person or by mail.
Democrats are outpacing Republicans at the polls so far by 10 percentage points. Early voting ends November 2nd.
Meanwhile politicians joined high school bands, beauty queens and others in the annual 74th Nevada Day Parade in Carson City.
Senator Dean Heller, and his wife, Lynne, kept to tradition by riding horses in the parade. His Democratic challenger, Congresswoman Shelley Berkley, was right behind him as she waved to people while riding atop a vintage red Pontiac.
Among parade co-grand marshals was Nevada Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Jeremiah Mock, who served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Carson City sheriff’s deputies estimate the parade attracted a crowd of 35,000.
Speaking of Berkley, Veteran Administration Southern Nevada Healthcare System Director John Bright is being questioned by the House Ethics Committee investigating her. The committee is looking into whether she used her position to help her family’s financial interests.
Investigators say Berkley’s husband, Dr. Larry Lehrner’s Kidney Specialists of Southern Nevada was paid nearly $1.4 million for 569 VA dialysis patient visits from 2008 through August 30th of this year.
As Berkley undergoes scrutiny, Governor Brian Sandoval is backing efforts for a federal law to regulate online poker, saying Internet gambling goes beyond what individual states can regulate, which is a split from the National Governors Association. Sandoval said the legislation is worth considering as Nevada would stand to gain if Internet poker is legalized.
And Finally, Washoe County District Attorney Richard Gammick is urged voters to join him in casting a ballot for state Senator Greg Brower, but there’s a problem: He doesn’t live in Brower’s district.
Gammick says he made a mistake and didn’t realize it until he got his sample ballot. He says he thought he was in Brower’s district after redistricting.
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