Ex-mistress' husband says Ensign paid severance
LAS VEGAS (AP) - The husband of Sen. John Ensign's former mistress says the Nevada Republican paid the woman $25,000 in severance when she stopped working for the senator.
The Las Vegas Sun says Doug Hampton described the payment in a taped interview with columnist Jon Ralston on Wednesday.
Ensign last month acknowledged the affair with Cindy Hampton, a former treasurer for his campaign committees. Committee records do not show such a payment to Cindy Hampton.
Neither Ensign's spokesman nor his attorney returned a call seeking comment.
The newspaper did not immediately post the transcript of the interview. It is scheduled to air later Wednesday the local television news program "Face to Face with Jon Ralston."
1 dead in Reno house fire, explosion
RENO (AP) - An explosion and fire destroyed a Reno house on Wednesday, killing one person and shaking an entire neighborhood.
Reno police, fire officials and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms were investigating the cause of the blast that blew out the windows of the single-family home at about 10 a.m., sending shards of glass across the street.
Reno Fire Department spokesman Steve Frady said they're trying to determine the cause and circumstances of the death.
The explosion caused significant structural damage to the house on the city's northwest side, making it difficult to battle the blaze that firefighters were able to keep from spreading to neighboring homes, he said.
"At one point, firefighters were pulled out of the house because of the potential for collapse of the room," he said.
Joe Stoltz, a neighbor, said the initial explosion was followed by a series of smaller ones that rattled windows.
"The initial explosion was big," Stoltz told a Reno newspaper. "It shook the neighborhood. It shook the floors. Absolutely, I was freaked out."
Authorities said they had not identified the victim. Neighbors said a man in his early 40s lived in the home alone.
Public gets chance to comment on Ruby Pipeline
RENO (AP) - The public can comment through Aug. 10 on a draft environmental impact statement for a proposed pipeline that would run through four states.
The Ruby Pipeline Project, a natural gas pipeline, would stretch from Wyoming through Utah and Nevada to Oregon.
Between July 21 and July 30, seven public meetings will be held to gather comment on the proposal.
Two public meetings will be held in each of three states - Oregon, Nevada and Utah - and one meeting is scheduled in Wyoming.
After the comments are reviewed, any significant new issues will be investigated and a final environmental impact statement will be issued.
Several federal and state agencies are working with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in preparing the impact statement.
New state Wildlife Commission members named
(AP) - Three of the nine members of the Nevada Wildlife Commission, including David McNinch of Reno who recently urged panel members to be open about any potential conflicts, have been replaced by Gov. Jim Gibbons.
Gibbons named Daryl Capurro of Reno to replace McNinch. Capurro for years headed the Nevada Motor Transport Association, and is a member of the Izaak Walton League and the National Audubon Society.
The governor also named Charles Howell, a gambling industry retiree from Las Vegas, to replace Dan Swanson; and Bruce Korbin of Las Vegas, a Wirtz Beverage Nevada executive, to replace Ron Lurie, a former Las Vegas mayor.