Jude Joffe-Block

As the number of Americans living in Sunbelt states grows, air conditioning is increasingly becoming a necessity — not a luxury — for a larger swath of the population. Yet the main federal energy assistance program uses a formula that favors cold weather states for heating help over hot weather states that need cooling help.

The number of people in Nevada who aren't fluent English speakers jumped 49 percent between 2000 and 2010, according to census data. And with that increase, comes a growing demand for language services in Nevada courtrooms. Yet state courts are dealing with severe budget cuts. That fiscal reality means the Clark County Public Defender's office can only afford to have one Spanish interpreter on staff.

Exhibits at the Las Vegas Mob Museum explore the notorious, 20th-century rivalry between coppers and mobsters. Visitors can listen to wiretaps, practice FBI-style surveillance, spray pretend bullets from a Tommy gun and even participate in their own police lineups.

In Las Vegas, the housing market continued to struggle this year, but investors from Asia see opportunity there. They're taking advantage of housing prices that have plummeted in recent years, buying foreclosed homes for less than it would cost to build them.