western news

A proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage is trailing in a new poll of Californians likely to vote in the November election.

The nonpartisan Field Poll released this week found that 51 percent of likely voters oppose Proposition 8, while 42 percent are in favor.

LAS VEGAS -- The Cosmopolitan, which sits half-built in the middle of the Strip, has been held up as a symbol of Las Vegas' doubtful future.

In fact, the $3 billion property -- part of the resort corridor's largest construction boom, amid its worst economic slump in recent memory -- might better serve as a symbol of the Strip's long-term economic strength.

For centuries, Indians across the Pacific Northwest navigated the area's waterways on canoes. While much has changed for the dozens of tribes in the region, a two-week event hopes to keep the tradition alive.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Alaska infants are twice as likely to be born with major birth defects as infants in the U.S. as a whole, according to a new study by the state Department of Health and Social Services -- and officials are at a loss to explain why.

LAS VEGAS -- Airlines serving McCarran International Airport have issued the bleakest economic forecast yet for Las Vegas, recommending that officials reconsider the need for a terminal that is under construction because there may not be sufficient tourism traffic to justify it.

TACOMA, Wash. -- You don't have to visit Washington's old-growth rain forests to get a glimpse of the state's living history. It's in the lustrous leaves and rugged branches of surviving Oregon white oaks, which once dominated South Puget Sound prairies and still loom over some neighborhoods in Tacoma and the region.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- If Anchorage continues killing at the current pace, the city may set a record for dead bears this year thanks to unplanned run-ins with humans.

As of Wednesday, 17 bears had been killed in Anchorage, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Fifteen were black bears; two were brown.

LAS VEGAS -- Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons had hoped for a fresh start. After an inglorious 18 months in which his public approval sank below President Bush's, Gibbons shook up his senior staff and successfuly prodded state legislators to make painful budget cuts instead of raising taxes. The governor seemed poised for a do-over.

CORONA, Calif. -- A white minivan with tinted windows recently pulled up to the CVS drug store in Corona, Calif. The 17-year-old undercover decoy slid open the door and walked inside.

Several minutes later she came out, a pack of Marlboro Reds in hand.

BERKELEY, Calif. -- One of the four tree-sitters at the Memorial Stadium oak grove descended from the foliage Monday, leaving three protesters attempting to stop the University of California, Berkeley's plans to build a sports training center.