The Daily Rundown: November 6, 2026
📜 There’s been much ado about the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence this year, and rightly so. It’s a huge national milestone. However, this celebration unfolds as the country is in turmoil.
Families struggle. The U.S. is at war. A controversial leader is in the White House. Racial animosity runs rampant. And a major election has just taken place. In many ways, the 2026 election mirrors that of 1864, when the country was enmeshed in the Civil War, and President Abraham Lincoln sought reelection with Republican majorities large enough to pass his legislative agenda.
It’s also the year Nevada gained statehood — largely to support that agenda. Read the full story by Paul Boger here.
🩺 Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield has pledged $2 million to establish a permanent endowment for UNLV’s rheumatology fellowship. According to reporting from KNPR’s Anne Davis, this is expected to improve Southern Nevada’s physician shortage.
The health insurance company made the donation to UNLV’s Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine, two years after the school launched its rheumatology fellowship in July 2024.
The program is the first of its kind in the state, aimed at training future medical professionals to treat autoimmune and inflammatory conditions.
Alison Netski, interim dean of the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine, said she doesn’t expect the impact of the program to be immediate, given the nature of medical education.
Netski said, “What we hope to see is in years to come, we’re going to be able to point to 10, 20, 30 practicing rheumatologists in Southern Nevada that are graduates of our program, that are benefactors of this gift that we’re celebrating here today.”
According to the journal Arthritis Care & Research, by 2037, Nevada is expected to have a rheumatology provider adequacy rate of only 44%, meaning the demand for rheumatologists in the state will far outnumber supply. That rate would be the third-worst in the country.
🗳️ The Silver State is among the many states that achieved historic firsts during the midterm elections on Nov. 3. Nevada's Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford was elected as the state's first Black governor. He is also the first Black governor elected west of the Mississippi River.
Ford is among five Black governors who will serve simultaneously beginning in January. Before Nov. 3, the U.S. had elected only three Black governors in its 250-year history. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, chair of the National Governors Association, is the only current Black governor and won reelection.
He has called the presence of so many Black gubernatorial contenders “a unique moment.” Democrat Teresa Benitez-Thompson won election to the U.S. House in Nevada's 2nd Congressional District. Her win made history in a district that had never elected a Democrat and that President Trump won by 14 points in 2024.
The Nevada Secretary of State's Office reports nearly 147,000 people turned out to vote in Clark County on Election Day. About 220,000 people voted early, and close to 376,000 mail-in ballots have been accepted so far. Mail-in ballots will be accepted until Nov. 7.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that some voters waited nearly three hours to cast their ballots after polls closed on Election Day.
🎭 A nonprofit arts and media campus in the Las Vegas Arts District has received a major financial boost. The Las Vegas City Council approved $4.2 million in conditional reimbursement funds for the Third Street Arts and Media Incubator.
The group still needs to raise an additional $3 million in construction funding, with projected costs coming close to $8 million.
Funds are expected to help Third Street renovate the former theater located in a three-story building on the corner of Third Street and Gass Avenue. Four organizations founded the project, which is slated to open in spring 2028.
🏀 Nevada has gained several new sports venues over the last decade, and more are coming. But how many more? While the Athletics' baseball stadium has already begun to rise above the Strip, it's still uncertain if Las Vegas will gain an additional arena for its expected NBA expansion team.
It's possible the team could be worked into the T-Mobile Arena calendar, though arena co-owner Bill Foley says hundreds of millions of dollars need to be spent on renovations if that happens.
Several new arena proposals have been floated over the years, but LVSportsBiz publisher Alan Snel told KNPR's State of Nevada that he likes one plan in particular.
Snel said, "My thought is about this Diamond Arena project, which is across from the Mandalay Bay. It's on the Strip. Keep in mind that sports is very associated closely with tourism. It would be accessible to people on the Strip."
Read the full story by KNPR's Mike Prevatt here.
Part of these stories are taken from KNPR's daily newscast segment. To hear more daily updates like these, tune in to 88.9 KNPR FM.
