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A proposed constitutional amendment pushed by Sharron Angle to require photo identification to vote comes under scrutiny as a judge hears challenges to the initiative. Carson City District Judge James Russell will hold two hearings on separate lawsuits challenging to the proposed Voter ID Initiative.

The measure supported by Angle’s political action committee, Our Vote Nevada, would require voters to have photo identification to cast a ballot. It also would require election officials to issue free cards to anyone who does not have valid photo identification issued by a government entity.

One lawsuit challenging the initiative was filed on behalf of two voters by lawyers with ties to the Democratic Party. The other was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.

About 20 Jews emerging from synagogue in mid-April, were handed leaflets ordering the city’s Jews to provide a list of property they own and pay a registration fee or else. The three hooded men handing out the pamphlets were carrying a Russian flag and the symbol of the separatist Republic of Donetsk.

The leaflet begins “Dear Ukraine citizens of Jewish nationality” and states that all people of Jewish descent over 16 years old must report to the Commissioner for Nationalities in the Donetsk Regional Administration building and “register.” The leaflets claim the reason is that leaders of the Ukrainian Jewish community supported Stepan Bandera, the leader of the Ukrainian nationalist movement that fought for Ukrainian independence at the end of World War II.

The leaflets then described which documents Jews should provide: “ID and passport are required to register your Jewish religion, religious documents of family members, as well as documents establishing the rights to all real estate property that belongs to you, including vehicles.”

Consequences for non-compliance will result in citizenship being revoked “and you will be forced outside the country with a confiscation of property,” it said. A registration fee of $50 was also required

The Donetsk Republic press office denied any involvement in the matter.

And yet anti-semantic activity in Ukraine continues to grow including in the port city of Odessa, where Jewish leaders have evacuation plans ready. With the anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany on May 9^th, leaders are considering temporarily moving Jewish residents to the countryside to avoid trouble.

Rabbi Refael Kruskal, who heads the organization Tikva, runs orphanages, schools and services for the elderly says they are prepared.

“If it gets worse, then we’ll take them [the children] out of the city. We have plans to take them both out of the city and even to a different country if necessary, plans which we prefer not to talk about which we have in place.”

Other community leaders are also establishing evacuation plans should the need arise.

Kira Verkhovsky of the Migdal International Center of Jewish Community Programs said, “If the situation will be worse, we are planning to move.”

And the Chabad Lubavitcher emissary Rabbi Avraham Wolf said that while the current circumstances do not require an evacuation, “We have a number of plans,” including armed guards and a situation check every half hour.

The International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem said it has been “raising funds from Christians worldwide over recent weeks” in order to fly 100 Ukrainian Jews to Israel.

“The unfolding crisis in Ukraine has meant an even more uncertain future for the Jewish community there, and we have acted swiftly once again to bring needy and endangered Jews home from this troubled region,” the group’s director Jürgen Bühler said in a statement.

The Jewish Agency for Israel, which provides services to Jews wishing to move to Israel, reported last week that 777 new immigrants arrived in Israel from Ukraine since the beginning of this year, a 142% increase compared with the same time period last year. Those fleeing Odessa in particular increased three-fold, the agency noted, while another 200 immigrants have registered throughout Ukraine for flights to Israel this month.

Odessa has a Jewish community of about 30,000.

Since the unrest began burning of a synagogue, vandalizing of a Holocaust memorial and the defacing of Jewish graves has occurred. The Giymat Rosa Synagogue in Zaporizhia, located southeast of Kiev, was firebombed in late February as two Molotov cocktails were thrown into the unoccupied synagogue.

The Holocaust Memorial in Sevastopol in the Crimean Peninsula was spray painted in red with a hammer and sickle and the letters USSR, and with what appeared to be other pro-Russian graffiti. The memorial was erected in 2003 at the site where 4,200 Jews were murdered by the Nazis on July 12, 1942 and has been vandalized by neo-Nazis in the past.

In Dnepropetrovsk, swastikas were sprayed on the tomb of Dov Ber Schneerson, brother of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menahem Mendel Schneerson, who headed the Chabad movement.

Ukrainian forces battled pro-Russian militants in eastern Ukraine as militants in Odessa vowed to retake buildings they were forced out of amid clashes that left 46 seperatists dead and another 200 detained. Ukrainian troops also pressed forward with an offensive against militants in Slavyansk, which has left four Ukrainian soldiers and more than 20 militants dead.

A fourth Ukrainian military helicopter was shot down near the pro-Russian rebel-controlled Slavyansk, but the pilots survived, the Defense Ministry said. The helicopter, an Mi-24, came under fire from a heavy machine gun, crashed into a river.

The other helicopters were brought down by surface-to-air missiles, leaving two crew members dead. The downing of the helicopters is being taken as proof that the pro-Russian militias are being armed by Russia, something the former Soviet Union denies.

A new memo has surfaced revealing plans for the federal government to seize more than 10 million acres from Montana to New Mexico. In Nevada, the Obama administration might make another monument in the middle of the Great Basin because it, supposedly, is a “center of climate change scientific research.”

The leaked document also lists another 17 sites in 11 states that could be designated as national monuments through the federal Antiquities Act. Over 380,000 acres in Colorado are designated in the memo under the heading “Prospective Conservation Designation.”

The memo also says, around 380,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management and private land in Colorado would be subject to a “conservation designation” under the National Monument designation of the 1906 Antiquities Act. This designation would close the areas off to multi-use activities including, mining, hunting, grazing, oil and gas development and other recreational activities.

The memo was given to Utah Congressman Bob Bishop by a Department of Interior official. President Obama could enact the plans in this memo with just the stroke of a pen, without any advice from the communities affected by it or Congress.

The memo shows the goal of the designations is to limit multiple use activities and the potential development from oil and gas companies. It says all kinds of animals would be better off under the designation, like the coyotes, badgers, prairie dogs, elk, deer and pronghorn.

Colorado Congressman Doug Lamborn introduced legislation, H.R. 4716, along with Congressman Mike Coffman that would safeguard their state from presidential monument designations, ensuring all future national monument designations occur only through a process that includes comments from local officials, residents, and stakeholders.

“Colorado has a rich supply of natural energy that if used responsibly can provide high paying jobs and reduce energy costs. But this Administration just doesn’t get it,” said Lamborn.

In 1950, Congress passed a law that prohibited the future establishment of national monuments in Wyoming except as authorized by Congress. H.R.4716 is modeled after this legislation but inserts Colorado in the place of Wyoming.

“This legislation will help ensure that any decision to further restrict access to valuable natural resources is done so with the full input and knowledge of the people of Colorado,” explained Coffman.

Interior staffers also note in the memo that Colorado’s Alpine Triangle carries about 25,000 acres of patented mining claims that could be used to support backcountry cabins and second home development, which would “threaten the landscape.”

This dovetails into the recent Breckenridge, Colorado eminent domain case involving a 10-acre parcel of private land owned by Ceil and Andy Barrie, but surrounded by the White River National Forest. The property with a rustic cabin, an outhouse, and a non-functioning and shuttered 1800s era gold mine is on the land the local government seized for “open space.”

The government became involved once officials discovered the couple had used a utility vehicle which came with the property, to reach their land. In fact, the Barries used a road Summit County did not even realize existed to travel via the ATV.

After Summit County officials asked to purchase the land and had their request refused by the owners, proceedings to condemn the property and to seize it for eminent domain began. Summit County Attorney Jeff Huntley also claimed the county only seized the property because the Barrie’s refused to stop using the ATV.

“People in this community are very intent on preserving the back country,” Huntley said.

The Barrie’s stated throughout the legal battle they had the legal right of way to the property, and could use the off-road vehicles to reach the cabin, just as the previous owners had. Both Summit County and the US Forest Service officials deny that assertion.

Legal precedent however was not on the side of the couple. The state supreme court ruled that a similar open space seizure of private property near Telluride was constitutional in 2005.

In the end, the Barrie’s accepted an $115,000 offer from Summit County to purchase the property. The so-called voluntary settlement amount only covers the legal expenses involved in fighting the eminent domain seizure.

“The cabin was condemned on the grounds of plumbing and electricity,” complained Ceil Barrie, “when it doesn’t even have plumbing or electricity,”

In a statement released by Summit County officials, they claim the settlement will “halt various commercial activities” on the Barrie land. These ‘commercial activities’ involved raking up fallen pine cones for a Christmas wreath business.

Over the last forty years, the federal government has spent nearly $13 billion adding hundreds of thousands of acres to the federal estate. In fact, an area larger than the size of Florida has been added to federal lands since John F. Kennedy was president.

Former President Carter used his National Monument “proclamation authority” to offset the perceived damage from the construction of the Trans Alaska pipeline. Using an executive order, he ‘sequestered’ more land than any other president, taking more than 50 million acres in Alaska despite heavy opposition from the public.

The law allowed Former President Clinton to single-handedly create 19 new national monuments, expand three others and prohibit recreational use over 5.9 million acres without ever consulting anyone. He unilaterally closed the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah to oil and gas development, without ever consulting the public or state, local and federal officials. Prior to the designation, the 135,000 acre region was responsible for producing 65,000 barrels of oil a year.

Congressman Bishop says he released the document because he does not want to see another land grab like what happened under previous administration.

One of Las Vegas’ biggest casinos says movie star Ben Affleck was card counting. Affleck was asked to stop playing at the Hard Rock Casino on April 28th, “due to moving his money with the count,” according to an alert from a local security firm.

The alert goes on to read Affleck “uses perfect basic,” a common term for introductory card counting, “…but also takes insurance according to the count. Uses $100 chips to keep track…while playing.”

Another alert issued the following day claims that Affleck was “currently suspected of advantage play,” according to the document.

“He has been observed playing blackjack at multiple Las Vegas Strip properties, and is suspected of moving his wagers with the count,” the report notes. “He was reportedly backed off at one off-Strip casino,” referring to the Hard Rock incident.

An April 22nd internal email from Games Protection Manager Rob Olivetti at the Wynn and Encore casinos warned that “Ben Affleck…was informed that he was being way too obvious moving his money with the count. He was spreading $100 -10K on the double decks and $0-20K on the shoe games. As of now, he is still being allowed to play per casino management.”

According to the New York Daily News, “Card counting isn’t illegal, but is frowned upon by every casino. The betting tactic involves adding card values to decide when, and when not, to place big wagers.”

In the old day’s anyone caught counting cards in Vegas or Reno would have been escorted to the casino basement, leaving only after their fingers were broken and kneecaps fractured. Instead, the casino hailed Affleck and his wife, Jennifer Gardner a cab and sent them on their way back to their hotel.

Sources say the pair was in town for a quick getaway before the he begins shooting “Batman vs. Superman.” Affleck has been cast as Bruce Wayne in the upcoming film.

Contrary to some reports, the Hard Rock Casino says Affleck, “is not banned from our property and is welcome back any time.”

Senator Harry Reid is congratulating the NBA for banning Los Angeles Clippers’ owner Donald Sterling for life. Sterling was caught in an audio recording making racist comments about blacks.

Now he says it’s time for the NFL’s Washington Redskins to change their name. He’s accusing Redskins owner Daniel Snyder of hiding behind tradition in retaining his team’s name.

The senator says it’s time for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to follow the NBA’s lead and rid his league of bigotry and racism. Meanwhile, Reid claims Nevada has 22 tribes and that the only tradition behind the Redskins’ name was one of racism.

Reid knows a thing or two about racism. In January 2010, Reid had to apologize after he privately described then-candidate Barack Obama during the presidential campaign as a black candidate who could be successful thanks in part to his “light-skinned” appearance and speaking patterns “with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.”

Recently, Reid called Southern Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy a racist following the release of a video taken during an outdoor church service purporting to show Bundy making disparaging remarks about ‘the Negro.’

“Today, Bundy revealed himself to be a hateful racist,” Reid stated. “But by denigrating people who work hard and play by the rules while he mooches off public land he also revealed himself to be a hypocrite…”

Reid has proven himself to be both a hypocrite and a racist. On August 10, 2010, Reid commented to reporters, “I don’t know how anyone of Hispanic heritage could be a Republican, okay? Do I need to say more?”

Reid also slandered Nuclear Regulatory Commission member Bill Magwood in August 2012 saying Magwood is “one of the most unethical, prevaricating, incompetent people I’ve dealt with,” and calling Magwood a “treacherous, miserable liar,” “a first-class rat” and a “sh-t stirrer.”

Magwood is Black.

And speaking of Bundy, Nevada Senator Dean Heller now says the rancher should pay the Bureau of Land management more than $1 million in grazing fees the agency says he owes. The BLM claims the cattle are trespassing on fragile Gold Butte habitat set aside for the endangered desert tortoise, and that Bundy owes $1.1 million in fees and penalties since 1993.

“I am very quick in calling American citizens ‘patriots,’” Heller said in an interview, “Maybe in this case, too quick.”

Heller added: “I want to make it very clear that I never called Bundy a patriot.”

But earlier this month in a joint Las Vegas TV interview with Reid and Heller, the Republican senator defended Bundy’s supporters against Reid’s charges that they were acting like terrorists.

“What Senator Reid may call domestic terrorists, I call patriots, “he said during the April 18 televised interview. “We have a very different view on this.”

Following the flap over Bundy’s comments, and before the full video had been released, Heller sought to distance himself saying through a spokesman he “completely disagrees with Mr. Bundy’s appalling and racist statements, and condemns them in the most strenuous way.”

Heller’s comments come as the U.S. Capitol Police continue to look into threats made to Reid, which the senior Senator has ‘hinted’ and the press has ‘helped cultivate,” came from supporters of Bundy. Authorities refuse to discuss the ongoing investigation.

Since then, Congressman Steven Horsford has raised concerns that an “armed militia” of Bundy’s supporters have set up checkpoints to decide whether individuals live in the region before allowing them to pass. He has called on local police to investigate.

Finally, former Federal Judge and first time Governor, Brian Sandoval sat down for an interview with Sam Shad, the host of ‘Nevada Newsmakers.’ where part of the conversation turned to the Cliven Bundy standoff.

“I didn’t want any shots to be fired,” Sandoval told Shad. “I didn’t want anybody to get hurt, I didn’t want any innocent by standers to get hurt, so that’s why I was very aggressive in terms of getting folks to stand down.”

The first time Governor added, “As I said, any type of loss of life is not worth a cow.”

Sandoval said locals are worried after seeing several militia groups in the area.

“So that’s the part where I rely upon on Sheriff (Doug) Gillespie,” Sandoval continued. “I know that he’s monitoring the situation. We continue to have conversations, we talked yesterday the law enforcement memorial about what was going on out there and I trust in his judgment.”

When asked if Gillespie plans on trying to move militia groups out of the area, the Governor said, “No, and even if he had said that, I wouldn’t share that with you, because certainly that’s a conversation between the two of us. I just know that he is monitoring the situation and he’s very aware of what’s going on out there.”

Officials say a veteran pilot who appeared at the Reno Air Races many times has died in a crash while performing at the ‘Thunder Over Solano Airshow’ at Travis Air Force Base in Solano County. Officials say Eddie Andreini was flying his vintage 1945 Stearman biplane upside down when it slammed into the ground.

The 77-year-old Andreini started flying while in high school at the age of 16, from Frank Silvestri, a World War II P-47 fighter pilot. He was inducted into the International Council of Air Shows Hall of Fame in December of last year at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas.

No one on the ground was injured and the rest of the airshow is cancelled.

Senator Harry Reid, Democrat from Nevada, has has numerous unethical activities during his stint as Senator and as the Senate Majority leader for the Democrats.

Very little has been mentioned about Reid’s misdeeds in the main stream media in the past.  For some reason most of his ethical violations have remained hidden from the public.

Here are some of the issues and bullying that Reid has committed:

1. Attempting to run a Nevada rancher off his land using the BLM for Chinese solar panels

2. Called the Nevada rancher a “domestic terrorist“

3. Numerous insults at the Tea Party: Anarchist and Terrorist

4. Huge Obamacare support even though a majority of Nevadans don’t support it

5. Many verbal attacks against the conservative billionaire Koch Brothers

6. Using taxpayer funded Twitter account (see Talking Points) for political attacks against the Kochs (which is illegal)

7. Used campaign fund money to pay for gifts to his granddaughter (illegal)

8. Sold Nevada land to the Chinese for 10% of its appraised value (a 90% discount) for a solar panel business

9. In 2006 in the same area where Bundy lives, Reid made changes to Federal EPA laws so a friend could develop land in an area called Coyote Springs. This land was protected and off limits to anyone. He also had the BLM remove endangered turtles from the area so his friend, Harvey Whittemore, could develop 10,000 acres in to homes and golf courses.

And still Nevada keeps electing this crook.

Star Wars Day is an unofficial holiday in May celebrating Star Wars. The line “May the Force be with you,” is spoken several times in the films by members of the rebel alliance, who are the good guys, before they embark on a mission against the evil Empire.

May 4th is considered a holiday by Star Wars fans to celebrate the franchise’s film series, books and culture. The date was chosen because ‘May the 4th’ sounds like the series’ popular phrase.

According to StarWars.com the reference was first used on May 4, 1979 when Margaret Thatcher’s political party placed an advertisement in The London Evening News following her taking office as Prime Minister that stated: “May the Fourth Be with You, Maggie. Congratulations.”

In 2011, the first organized celebration of Star Wars Day took place in Toronto, Canada at the Toronto Underground Cinema. The festivities included an Original Trilogy Trivia Game Show; a costume contest with celebrity judges; and the web’s best tribute films, mash-ups, parodies, and remixes on the big screen.

With regards to the upcoming new installment of Star Wars: Episode 7, the official cast was recently announced. Actors from the original franchise including Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher will reprise their respective characters and is scheduled for release in December 2015.

A horse owned by Steve and Carolyn Coburn of Topaz Lake has won 140th Kentucky Derby. California Chrome, based at Los Alamitos racetrack in Los Angeles, was the early 5-2 favorite for the race.

Coburn, who co-owns the horse with Perry Martin bred an $8,000 mare to a $2,500 stallion to win the world’s most famous race with their one-horse stable. He won four straight races by a combined 24 ¼ lengths under Victor Espinoza, who won the Derby in 2002 with War Emblem.

California Chrome pulled away down the stretch for a dominant win the Derby at Churchill Downs. Taking charge at the top of the lane, California Chrome and Espinoza made a decisive move and quickly sprinted clear.

They finished the 1 1/4 miles in 2:03.66, stretching his winning streak to five and making 77-year-old Art Sherman the oldest winning Derby trainer.

Nevada Congressman Steven Horsford says out-of-state militia groups have established an armed presence that is scaring people in his district caught in the middle of a feud between a rancher and the federal government. He made the claims in a letter to Clark County Sheriff Douglas Gillespie asking his office to investigate.

Horsford say armed militia groups have set up checkpoints where residents are required to prove they live in the area southwest of Mesquite before they are allowed to pass.

“I am greatly concerned about the safety and well-being of my constituents after meeting with local community members this past week,” writes Horsford. “I urge Sheriff Gillespie to investigate these reports, as this sort of intimidation cannot be tolerated.”

“We must respect individual constitutional liberties, but residents of and visitors to Clark County should not be expected to live under the persistent watch of an armed militia,” he adds. “Residents have expressed their desire to see these groups leave their community. I urge you to investigate these reports and to work with local leaders to ensure that their concerns are addressed in a manner that allows the community (to) move forward without incident.”

A spokeswoman for Clark County Sheriff Douglas Gillespie said while police are looking into Horsford’s request, there hasn’t been a criminal allegation to investigate.

“We would need a victim to come forward and file a complaint,” said Officer Laura Meltzer, department spokeswoman.

Bundy’s wife, Carol said Gillespie and Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval has “ignored” the family’s calls for protection.

“Nobody has really backed down on either side,” she said. “We don’t plan on getting violent. We’re not out to overstep the bounds of our local government. But it’s our constitutional right to protect ourselves.”

Last week as Horsford toured the area, commented on Bundy’s supposed ‘racial’ comments made and recorded during a church service.

“Those words were hateful and belong in the dustbin,” Horsford said. “They were spoken by a man who doesn’t understand the Black way of life.”

Horsford is himself Black.

Bundy, in an interview in the New York Times said “Negros are enslaved by government subsidy, who abort their children and put their young men in jail because they never learned how to pick cotton.”

Horsford said Bundys’ comments were shocking.

“This district is a microcosm of our diverse country, and he is not a man who represents the American West’s way of life,” Horsford said. “It is beyond unfortunate that from this diverse community a loud voice of intolerance has been given a megaphone.”

Meanwhile, authorities in the nearby town of Mesquite also released a statement addressing safety concerns.

“During the Bundy and Bureau of Land Management dispute, there were indeed a few criminal incidents that did take place in Mesquite,” Chief of Police Troy Tanner wrote, “however they were few in number and never was anyone or their safety at immediate risk.”

Tanner added, “None of the events that occurred between the BLM and the Bundys occurred in Mesquite, Nevada, but rather along a stretch of Highway 170 where the Bundy Ranch resides and is counted as a part of the Bunkerville area.”

Finally, in Washington, D.C., Capitol Police are investigating threatening statements made against Nevada’s senior Senator, Harry Reid. Police declined to give further comment on the threats.

However Reid told reporters: “Each day that goes by, it’s hard for me to comprehend how ugly, vile, vulgar, and threatening people are sending letters to my home, and making other threats. So I don’t know who is mad at me. But it’s a long list, I guess.”

As for the battle between states and the federal government, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is accusing the BLM of overreaching as the agency updates its management plans for a 90,000-acre segment of land along the Texas-Oklahoma border.

“We are seeing unprecedented overreaching action by the federal government,” Abbott, who’s running for Texas governor. “Now we see, through the Bureau of Land Management, a hijacking of private property rights across the entire United States of America.”