The Hitherto Hollywood Handout district

The price of gas "could be the same" or "a little bit higher," by the time people are voting in this year's midterm elections, Trump said earlier this week. Since who knows when the opportunity will next present itself, if ever, let us acknowledge that in this instance, Trump is, uncharacteristically, right.

And let's also acknowledge (again) that today's — and tomorrow's — gas prices are nobody's fault but Trump's.

When he comes to Las Vegas tomorrow Trump's not doing a rally, but a "roundtable," designed to sing the praises of a tax deduction on tipped income that will benefit a tiny fraction of the 1.6 million people in Nevada's workforce.

Hopefully, the tax deduction, for those lucky enough to get it, will translate into tax breaks large enough to cover a meaningful amount of the extra money they're spending on gas, thanks to Trump.

Meanwhile, rest assured the "roundtable" will be sanitized for Trump's protection, and some heavy vetting and/or training is going on to guarantee no one says anything other than what Trump wants to hear.

IN THE NEVADA CURRENT

Remember that film tax credit inanity? The Democrat who currently serves in this Assembly District sharp-elbowed her way to the front of that Hollywood handout parade. Now she's hoping to transition from an elected office that can occasionally be relevant to one that never is (that's right, she's running for lieutenant governor). Three Democrats are vying for the chance to keep the competitive seat blue, and it seems they all can make a fair claim to being Assembly material (and yes I mean that in a nice way). April Corbin Girnus reports: Open Assembly seat in competitive district attracts strong field in Democratic primary

It's only fair that in addition to its long-honored sway over city of Las Vegas government, Howard Hughes Holdings gets its own dedicated seat on the Las Vegas City Council, no? Just kidding. Except not really. Jeniffer Solis reports: Three candidates vie for Summerlin area Las Vegas City Council seat

Easy-peasy Nevada choices for Trump. Self-funding video game soundtrack composer Marty O'Donnell's closest competition, if you want to call it that, in the Republican CD3 primary was the similarly (but not as generously) self-funding Jeff Gunter. In addition to being the worst U.S. ambassador to Iceland ever, Gunter reached across the aisle to disgust Republicans and Democrats alike with his sickening attacks on Sam Brown in the 2024 Republican U.S. Senate primary. Yes, Trump appointed Gunter to that ambassadorship. And Trump didn't endorse Brown in that race until a couple days before the primary, by which time it was clear Brown would win it. But endorsing Gunter this year wasn't an option, because even with Trump's endorsement Gunter stood an excellent chance of losing the primary — he's that horrible a candidate. And Trump prefers to endorse winners.

Meanwhile in the CD1 Republican primary, state Sen. Carrie Buck is facing no serious competition, so endorsing her is (of particular convenience in Trump's case) a no-brainer.

So now we get to watch O'Donnell and Buck try to defend All The Things that Trump has wrought while striving to offend neither Trump nor the growing number of voters who can't stand him. In other words, Gov. Joe Lombardo finally has kindred spirits with whom to form a support group. Trump unveils endorsements in two NV House races

Also...

Trump’s DOJ wants personal voter data for ‘improper purposes,’ Michigan official says. Improper? Trump? You don't say. Via Stateline.

States change custody laws to keep children of detained immigrants out of foster care. Nevada lawmakers expanded a guardianship law last year to include immigration enforcement, but it requires parents to file paperwork with the secretary of state’s office, which might dissuade immigrants out of fear that ICE might access their information and target them. Via KFFHealthNews.

Good Luck