LAS VEGAS —

The life of former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who rose from childhood poverty and deprivation in Nevada to become one of the nation's most powerful elected officials, will be celebrated by two American presidents and other Democratic leaders on Saturday, a testament to his impact on some of the most consequential legislation of the 21st Century.

President Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer are scheduled to speak Saturday during an invitation-only memorial for the longtime Senate leader who died Dec. 28 at home in Henderson, Nevada, at age 82 of complications from pancreatic cancer. Former President Barack Obama, who credits Reid for his rise to the White House, is scheduled to deliver the eulogy.

"The president believes that Harry Reid is one of the greatest leaders in Senate history," Deputy White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday. "So he is traveling to pay his respects to a man who had a profound impact on this nation."

Biden served for two decades with Reid in the Senate and worked with him for eight years when Biden was vice president.

Along with Obama, Elder M. Russell Ballard, a senior apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, will speak at the 2,000-seat concert hall about Reid's 60 years in the Mormon faith. Vice President Kamala Harris also will attend.

"These are not only some of the most consequential leaders of our time — they are also some of Harry's best friends," Reid's wife of 62 years, Landra Reid, said in a statement announcing plans for the Smith Center for the Performing Arts event. "Harry loved every minute of his decades working with these leaders and the incredible things they accomplished together."

Reid's daughter and four sons also are scheduled to speak.

Obama, in a letter to Reid before his death, recalled their close relationship, their different backgrounds and Reid's climb from an impoverished former gold mining town of Searchlight in the Mojave Desert to leadership in Congress.

"Not bad for a skinny, poor kid from Searchlight," Obama wrote. "I wouldn't have been president had it not been for your encouragement and support, and I wouldn't have got most of what I got done without your skill and determination."

Reid served for 34 years in Washington and led the Senate through a crippling recession and the Republican takeover of the House after the 2010 elections.

He muscled Obama's signature health care act through the Senate; blocked plans for a national nuclear waste repository in the Nevada desert; authored a 1986 bill that created Great Basin National Park; and was credited with helping casino company MGM Mirage get financial backing to complete a multibillion-dollar project on the Strip during the Great Recession.

Harry Mason Reid hitchhiked 40 miles to high school and was an amateur boxer before he was elected to the Nevada state Assembly at age 28. He had graduated from Utah State University and worked nights as a U.S. Capitol police officer while attending George Washington University Law School in Washington.

In 1970, at age 30, he was elected state lieutenant governor with Democratic Gov. Mike O'Callaghan. Reid was elected to the House in 1982 and the Senate in 1986.

He built a political machine in Nevada that for years helped Democrats win key elections. When he retired in 2016 after an exercise accident at home left him blind in one eye, he picked former Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto to replace him.

Cortez Masto became the first woman from Nevada and the first Latina ever elected to the U.S. Senate.

"Most of all, you've been a good friend," Obama told Reid in his letter. "As different as we are, I think we both saw something of ourselves in each other — a couple of outsiders who had defied the odds and knew how to take a punch and cared about the little guy."

Singer-songwriter and environmentalist Carole King, and Brandon Flowers, lead singer of the Las Vegas-based rock band The Killers, are scheduled to perform during the memorial.

"The thought of having Carole King performing in Harry's honor is a tribute truly beyond words," Landra Reid said in her statement. Reid is survived by his daughter, sons and numerous grandchildren.

Flowers, a longtime friend, shares the Reids' Latter-day Saints faith and has been a headliner at events including a Lake Tahoe Summit that Harry Reid founded in 1997 to draw attention to the ecology of the lake, and the National Clean Energy Summit that Reid helped launch in 2008 in Las Vegas.

Among other songs, Flowers was scheduled to sing the Nevada state anthem, "Home Means Nevada."

Stephen J Cloobeck, a close family friend and founder and former chief executive of a Las Vegas-based timeshare company, said he was sponsoring a gathering Friday for several hundred former Reid congressional staffers at the Bellagio resort on the Las Vegas Strip.

Those flying to Las Vegas will arrive at the newly renamed Harry Reid International Airport. It was formerly named for Pat McCarran, a former Democratic U.S. senator from Nevada who once owned the airfield and whose legacy is clouded by racism and antisemitism.

____

Associated Press writer Colleen Long in Washington contributed to this report.

WAUKESHA, Wis. — The tragic events Sunday at the Waukesha Christmas Parade tragedy has shaken the city, the state of Wisconsin and beyond. Among the victims were grandparents, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and friends.

Each one of them will be remembered forever. Below is a list of those who have died and a short description of their life.

Jane Kulich

Kulich Family

Jane Kulich, 52, worked at Citizens Bank. A tribute posted to GoFundMe says Jane was "a loving, beautiful and charismatic mother, grandmother and friend to so many. The world is a much darker place without a woman like this in the world."

"My mother was a wonderful beautiful soul," her daughter said in a statement. "She lit up everyone's lives. This woman was an absolute gem. She loved her family so much. She has a sister, husband, 3 children, 3 grandchildren, niece and nephews, a whole bunch of friends. She was so kind and sweet and loving. She was dedicated, motivated, and comforting. One of the best people to ever walk this earth.. My mom was just such a wonderful human that positively impacted everyone she met. We will miss her so much."

Tamara Carlson

Submitted

Tamara Carlson, 52, was a member of the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies, a dance group of senior women performing at the Christmas Parade on Sunday.

"She was a proud mom, a phenomenal grandmother, a proud member of the Waukesha community and overall just one of the most kind-hearted people there were," a tribute to her on a GoFundMe page said.

Wilhelm Hospel

Submitted

Wilhelm Hospel, 82, is the husband of Lola, who is another member of the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies.

According to his niece, he was the youngest of four brothers and would get together with them a few times a year to reminiscence.

Leanna Owens

TMJ4

Leanna Owens, 71, was a member of the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies.

Virginia 'Ginny' Sorenson

Sorenson Family

Virginia Sorenson, 79, was affectionately called 'Ginny' by her family. She was a member of the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies.

"Her spirit was fierce and never aged. Everyone who knew Ginny knows she had a special soul, one that radiated with love," read a tribute to her on GoFundMe. "She was a caregiver through and through, whether caring for patients, family, and especially in caring for her beloved furry friends. She always reminded us that 'angels watch over you,' and we are blessed to have her watching over us all now."

Jackson Sparks

GoFundMe

Jackson Sparks, 8, is the son of Aaron and Sheri and the younger brother of Tucker. According to a GoFundMe campaign, Aaron and Sheri are "people of faith."

The family has asked the community to continue to lift them in prayer.

This story was originally published by Scripps station TMJ4 in Milwaukee.

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. — A woman who died in a crash in Boone County on Monday is being remembered for her friendship, humor and dedication to her craft this week.

Twenty-one-year-old Allyson Davis, who hailed from Floyd County, Kentucky and was a senior musical theatre student at Northern Kentucky University, died Monday morning in a crash on I-75 near Walton.

"She was a wonderful young lady and it is an understatement that we will miss her greatly," NKU School of the Arts leaders said in an online statement.

Davis was recently the lead in “Tick Tick Boom!” and played Little Buttercup in “HMS Pinafore” at NKU.

“Her talent was only matched by the size of her heart and her infectious smile, which could light up any room. Ally was loved by her classmates and a true friend through the best and hardest of times. The dedication to which she pursued her craft was an inspiration to all of us,” the statement continued.

“In class, on stage, or passing in the hallways, Ally made you feel as if you'd been friends for a lifetime. She represents the best in all of us, and we will forever be lucky to have enjoyed her artistry, friendship, and love of life.”

A GoFundMe set up by students for a memorial for Davis and to support her family has already raised over $8,300 as of Wednesday afternoon. To donate to the GoFundMe, click here.

A visitation for Davis will be held from noon to 2 p.m. at the Mountain Arts Center in Prestonsburg. A memorial service will follow at 2 p.m.

SOUTHGATE, Ky. — More than 40 years after a fire tore through the Beverly Hills Supper Club, killing 165 people, the public will be able to discuss plans for a new development on the site of the fire Tuesday night.

In May, plans were announced to build a $65 million residential development on the site of the former restaurant. The 80-acre development, called Memorial Point, would include luxury apartments, single-family homes and an assisted-living center as well as a memorial to 165 people killed in the fire, officials said in a release.

The city of Southgate approved Ashley Builders and Vision Realty Group for the construction of the development.

"We're very excited about it," Southgate Mayor Jim Hamberg said. "I've been on this for 15 years, to get it this far, and it's very very satisfying, almost satisfying, to know we're almost there."

And while the development might look good to people from the outside, one survivor of the fire isn't convinced it's a good idea.

David Brock was there the night the Beverly Hills Supper Club caught fire and he said he will never forget that night.

"We couldn't get the door shut," Brock said. "By the time I was outside, the whole building was up in flames."

Brock said the developers of the site reached out to him in March for his opinion on the construction.

"I told them I didn't think they should build on top of where the people had perished," Brock said.

After speaking with Brock, the developers made some changes to their plan so they wouldn't be building on a particular portion of the site.

The Campbell County and Municipal Planning and Zoning Commission are holding a hearing at 6 p.m. Tuesday night to listen to other concerns people might have about the construction. The public can watch the hearing live on Facebook here.

Non-lethal baton shells still litter the driveway at 74 Bolling Road in Portsmouth, the scene of a tragic and bizarre murder-suicide Friday night.

"He bought the house sight unseen from Alabama, moved in here Thursday, and called a real estate agent Friday to return the house," a neighbor told Scripps station WTKR.

According to Portsmouth police, the incident happened around 5:59 p.m. Friday at a resident on Bowling Road.

When officers arrived on the scene, they found 84-year-old Albert A. Baglione armed with a weapon.

Baglione told police that he had killed his realtor, then closed his door. Police said they then heard a gunshot from behind the door.

According to the neighbor, Baglione had just moved into the home. Soren Arn-Oelschlegel, a real estate agent, drove to the house to help the man displeased with his home purchase.

Authorities secured a perimeter around the home before SWAT entered and found Baglione dead.

Police said they also located 41-year-old Soren Arn-Oelshlegel, a Norfolk-based realtor, inside the residence with a fatal gunshot wound.

"He called his son after he shot the real estate agent," said the neighbor.

"The LGBTQ community of Hampton Roads has lost a vibrant person [who's] hard to replace," said Rudy Almanzor.

Almanzor is president of Hampton Roads Pride. Arn-Oelschlegel had been a member of the LGBTQ non-profit for more than a decade, an avid volunteer active in the LGBTQ community.

"He always had tons of energy. I never saw him not smiling, laughing, and wanting to have fun. He worked hard, played hard," said Almanzor.

Almanzor was stunned hearing the news, confused as to why and how this could have happened.

"I had to read it four to five times and was like, 'This does not make sense,'" he said. "We are here to build up the community, and one of our building blocks is missing."

Hampton Roads Pride will be planning a memorial service set for this week to honor Arn-Oelschlegel.

Chelsea Donovan, Leondra Head, and WTKR web staff contributed to this story.

CINCINNATI — A memorial for a missing child and a murdered mother was set up on Friday near the place where a key piece of evidence in the case was located.

Lit candles, a small Christmas tree, and a stuffed bear were arranged alongside a picture of Nylo and Nyteisha Lattimore near the Purple People Bridge on Christmas Day.

Twenty-nine-year-old Nyteisha Lattimore was found stabbed to death along Pete Rose Way in the early hours of Sunday, Dec. 13. Her boyfriend, 20-year-old Desean Brown, is currently being held at the Hamilton County Detention Center, charged with murder in the woman's death.

Authorities have been searching for 3-year-old Nylo Lattimore, who was last seen on Dec. 4. According to police, a stroller belonging to Lattimore was found near the bridge and later identified by her family, but no other sign of Nylo's presence had been discovered. Police suspect foul play in the boy’s disappearance.

A team of divers with the Hamilton County Police Association Underwater Search and Recovery Unit searched the Ohio River near Yeatman's Cove but, so far, have found no evidence related to the case.

Cincinnati's Homicide Unit is investigating Lattimore's death. Anyone with information is asked to call 513-765-1212.

A statue honoring George Floyd in New York City’s Union Square Park was vandalized on Sunday, police said.

According to police, a video showed an unidentified man on a skateboard throwing paint on the statue at approximately 10 a.m. then fleeing. Nearby statues of late Congressman John Lewis and Breonna Taylor, a Louisville, Kentucky, woman shot and killed by police last year, apparently weren’t touched.

Police have not released the video.

Sunday's act wasn't the first example of vandalism to the statue memorializing Floyd, whose killing at the hands of police in Minneapolis last year galvanized a racial justice movement across the country.

The statue was unveiled on the Juneteenth holiday in a spot on Flatbush Avenue, in Brooklyn, and it was vandalized five days later with black paint and marked with an alleged logo of a white supremacist group.

Members of the group that installed the statue cleaned it, and local residents and one of Floyd’s brothers gathered in July as it was prepared to move to Union Square, in the heart of Manhattan.

BOSTON (AP) — A memorial honoring Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King is moving forward in Boston. The civil rights couple met and studied there in the 1950s.

Organizers say fabrication of a towering bronze sculpture depicting arms embracing is expected to start in March.

Imari Paris Jeffries is executive director of the group King Boston. He says the effort also includes an economic justice center and annual racial equity festival in Boston.

“It’s not only how symbols and monuments represent this commitment to equity and inclusion,” Jeffries said. “It’s also about how research, data and policy work to find new solutions, and how we use the arts and humanities to ground us.”

He hopes to demonstrate how public works can serve as a call to action following the national reckoning on racism sparked by George Floyd's killing last year.

When unveiled late next year, “The Embrace” will be one of the country’s largest new memorials dedicated to racial equity, King Boston says. It will be installed on Boston Common near the site of a 1965 rally and march led by MLK, who would have turned 92 on Friday.

BOSTON (AP) — A memorial honoring Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King, is moving forward in Boston.

The civil rights couple met and studied in the New England city in the 1950s.

Organizers say fabrication of a towering bronze sculpture depicting arms embracing is expected to start in March.

The monument would be entitled “The Embrace” and would consist of four 22-foot-high intertwined bronze arms. Organizers hope to place it at the site of a 1965 civil rights rally that MLK led on the city's historic Boston Common.

Imari Paris Jeffries, executive director of the group King Boston, says the effort also includes an economic justice center and annual racial equity festival in Boston.

Jeffries hopes to demonstrate how public works can serve as a call to action following the national reckoning on racism sparked by George Floyd's killing last year.

Organizers also want the memorial to be the largest in the country dedicated to racial equity.

CINCINNATI —

An entire community is wrapping its arms around the family of a 3-year-old boy who died after a tragic fire in the West End.

Amari Campbell was pronounced dead after the fire at an apartment near Winchell Avenue and Wade Walk yesterday.

Many have been mourning the loss of a sweet child, by leaving messages, flowers and balloons at a memorial outside the apartment.

Dozens of firefighters and neighbors rushed to help Amari.

His family is struggling with the loss but also grateful for so much support.

"I'm all out of cries, man. I'm just all hurt now," Amari's father Robert Eubanks said.

Eubanks shared his heartbreak at a memorial for his young son.

"Everybody loved him man, everybody loved him," he said.

Eubanks thinks of the fear his son must have felt as Cincinnati firefighters said he played with a lighter and incense and lit a couch on fire at his grandmother's West End apartment.

They said he hid under a bed as flames raged.

A neighbor helped his grandmother out.

Another tried to help Amari, but it was too hot.

"To the guy who tried to go in there and get my son. I love you for that man because I would've ran to get yours. I wish I was here because I would've been in there," Eubanks said.

The fire spread quickly and eventually claimed Amari's life at the hospital.

Family members said he was a bright, sweet young boy, who loved his 12 brothers and sisters.

"That picture right there explains it all. Joyful. Fun. He loved to eat apples," Eubanks said.

Outside of the apartment, there were many balloons, stuffed animals, flowers and candles.

Family members, neighbors, adults and children, all left something to show how much they loved Amari.

His aunt, Caroline Eubanks, said she struggles with the loss.

"He was a sweet boy, you know, just, he's full of laughter and just funny, you know. That's Amari, you know, he's my baby," she said.

"I love you" was part of several messages written by family members on plywood at the apartment.

It's something Amari's father said every parent should tell their child often as they hold them close.

"Amari, man, I love you, man. You hear me? Daddy loves you, man. I pray for you every minute and every second, man," Robert Eubanks said.

Fire officials said this appeared to be a tragic accident.

Amari's father said he is thankful for all the help and support.

He said he could use as many hugs as possible.

His father has also launched a GoFundMe page to help cover the unexpected funeral expenses for his young son.

You can find more information about the GoFundMe page here.

BOULDER, Colo. — Flowers lined the fence separating the public from the scene where 10 people were slain on Monday in a senseless act of violence at a Boulder grocery store.

Hundreds visited the makeshift altar to lay flowers, play music, and offer words of comfort.

"We are just here to spend some time to reflect and think about some of the lives," one mourner said. "You never think about these things are gonna happen so close to home."

Some mourners knew victims inside the King Soopers store where the shooting place, others were there to grieve a community loss.

Vigils in Boulder honor the lives lost

"It makes you really realize how precious life is and how quickly it can be taken away," another visitor to the memorial said. "You see this type of thing happen all the time. You just never expect it to hit so close to home."

Other memorials across the city of Boulder took place on Tuesday night. One surrounded a police car parked outside of the station where the one law enforcement victim, Boulder police Officer Eric Talley, once worked.

Eric English/Denver7

"I think he is a hero and I feel so heavily for him and his family and the other officers that have to do their job tonight," said a visitor at the site. "It is heartbreaking."

Louis Saxton was outside the King Soopers store when the shooting started. He brought his cello to comfort visitors to the memorial.

"I am feeling grateful to be alive today and doing as much as I can to share my condolences with everyone who lost someone," Saxton said. "I think music is one of those very rare universal languages even without words you are able to get a feeling from it."

Vigils across Boulder pay tribute to the 10 lives lost at the King Soopers shooting

This story was originally published by Sloan Dickey on KMGH in Denver.

MINNEAPOLIS —

A family-friendly street festival, musical performances and moments of silence were held Tuesday to honor George Floyd and mark the year since he died at the hands of Minneapolis police, a death captured on wrenching bystander video that galvanized the racial justice movement and continues to bring calls for change.

Floyd’s sister Bridgett and other family members held a moment of silence at a "Celebration of Life" event at a downtown Minneapolis park that included music, food trucks, an inflatable bouncy house and a vaccination stand. A few miles away, at the site of the intersection where Floyd died, dozens of people kneeled around a steel fist sculpture for several minutes — symbolizing the 9 minutes, 29 seconds during which Floyd was pinned down.

"It’s been a troubling year, a long year," Bridgett Floyd told the crowd downtown. "But we made it. ... The love is here. George is here."

Other members of Floyd’s family met in Washington with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who urged Congress to quickly pass a law in Floyd’s name that would bring changes to policing. A moment of silence to honor Floyd was also held in New York and a rally was held in Los Angeles. Globally, a rally took place in Germany and Floyd's death was marked by U.S. embassies in Greece and Spain.

Hours before the Minneapolis festivities, the intersection where Floyd died was disrupted by gunfire.

Associated Press video from 38th Street and Chicago Avenue — informally known as George Floyd Square — showed people running for cover as shots rang out. Police said a man, who they believe was injured in the shooting, went to a nearby hospital with a gunshot wound. Police said he was in critical condition but was expected to survive. There were no immediate arrests.

Philip Crowther, a reporter working for AP Global Media Services, which provides live video coverage, reported hearing as many as 30 gunshots about a block from the intersection. Crowther said a storefront window appeared to have been broken by gunshots.

"Very quickly things got back to normal," Crowther said. "People here who spend a significant amount of time, the organizers, were running around asking, ‘Does anyone need a medic?’"

Like other major cities, Minneapolis has been struggling with rising gun violence, a problem made worse, in part, by many officers leaving the embattled force since Floyd's death. A 6-year-old girl was fatally shot and two other children wounded in recent weeks. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey last week unveiled sweeping public safety proposals aimed at fixing the problem. Other groups are pursuing a more radical remaking of the police department.

The intersection of 38th and Chicago has been barricaded since soon after Floyd's death. It quickly turned into a memorial — and also a challenging spot for the city, with police officers not always welcome.

The square was transformed Tuesday into an outdoor festival, with food, children’s activities and music. At times, people danced in the street. Artwork and signs from protests after Floyd's death also were on display. One group hosted an open mic next to a greenhouse that community members constructed earlier this year to house flowers left by mourners. Nearby, a brass band played for passersby.

The celebration also includes a candlelight vigil and caps several days of marches, rallies and panel discussions about his death and confronting racial discrimination.

Xavier Simmons, 24, from Racine, Wisconsin, chanted "Say his name!" as people kneeled. Simmons said he hopes people taking part in the festivities will both honor Floyd’s life and legacy and continue to "uplift and empower this movement."

"We got the verdict that we needed, but it’s never going to change until we make a change,” he said.

Floyd, 46, who was Black, died May 25, 2020, after then-Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck, pinning him to the ground for about 9 1/2 minutes. Chauvin, who is white, was convicted last month of murder and faces sentencing June 25. Three other fired officers still face trial.

Earl Vaughn, 20, of Minneapolis, attended the downtown event and said despite its celebratory atmosphere: "For all this a Black man had to die, so that’s really unfortunate."

In New York City, elected officials, including Mayor Bill de Blasio and U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, joined the Rev. Al Sharpton in kneeling for 9 minutes, 29 seconds. "As we took a knee, imagine how long that was on a human being’s neck," Sharpton said. "Never switched knees, just dug in. It’s time we correct policing in this country."

On Tuesday evening, activists and demonstrators gathered with some families of people who had died in interactions with the New York Police Department at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. They called for defunding the police, holding officers accountable and removing police officers from schools. Following the rally, they set off on a march through Brooklyn streets.

Several Floyd family members, including his young daughter Gianna, met with Biden and Harris earlier Tuesday. Biden, who previously pledged to continue fighting for racial justice, said he hopes the Senate can quickly pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and get it to his desk.

"We have to act," he said of the legislation that would ban chokeholds and no-knock police raids and create a national registry for officers disciplined for serious misconduct.

Floyd’s brother Philonise told CNN he thinks about George "all the time."

"My sister called me at 12 o’clock last night and said 'This is the day our brother left us,'" he said, adding: "I think things have changed. I think it is moving slowly but we are making progress."

Also Tuesday, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Kristen Clarke as assistant attorney general for civil rights, the first Black woman to hold the position. In the last few weeks, the Justice Department under Biden has announced sweeping investigations into the police in Minneapolis and Louisville and brought federal civil rights charges against the officers involved in Floyd’s death.

Separately, the Floyd family announced the launch of a fund that will make grants to businesses and community organizations in the neighborhood, as well as broader grants "encouraging the success and growth of Black citizens and community harmony." The money comes from $500,000 earmarked as part of the city's $27 million civil settlement for the Floyd family.

___

Associated Press writer Amy Forliti and Deepti Hajela in New York City contributed to this report.