In Chinese astrology, The Year of the Dragon is marked by excitement, exhilaration, and intensity. This January, Las Vegas hopes to capture enthusiasm surrounding it.

The Year of the Dragon fills people with energy, vitality, and unbridled enthusiasm,” said Cathy Tull, senior vice president of marketing for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA). More >

Muffled sobs erupted Friday in a courtroom packed with supporters of a Roman Catholic priest who was sentenced to more than three years in federal prison and ordered to repay $650,000 he acknowledged embezzling from his northwest Las Vegas parish to support his gambling habit.

Monsignor Kevin McAuliffe, 59, stood straight and offered no reaction as U.S. District Judge James Mahan credited him for accepting responsibility for looting parish votive candle, prayer and gift shop funds for eight years, but faulted him for “hedging his bet” by blaming it on a gambling addiction.

A keynote speech by a YouTube executive will be a highlight Thursday at the International Consumer Electronics Show, the largest trade show in the Americas.

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The International Consumer Electronics Show, the largest trade show in the Americas, opens its doors Tuesday.

More than 140,000 people are expected to visit the 2,800 or so exhibitors.

Originally focused on living-room electronics, the show has become the big annual U.S. event for all consumer technology after the demise of big computer-focused shows such as Comdex.

Downtown Las Vegas needs more than just a steakhouse named for former Mayor Oscar Goodman if the market is going to rebound following gaming revenue declines in five of the last six years.

That extra help is on the way.

2012 is a transition year for downtown, in advance of online retailer Zappos’ 2013 relocation of some 1,000 employees into the soon-to-be reconfigured former City Hall, providing a new source of business.

Houston Rockets guard Kyle Lowryis facing a misdemeanor battery charge amid accusations that he threw a basketball at a referee and threatened her during a game at a Las Vegas training gym. More >

With computing power and internet connectivity spreading to everything from televisions to cars, it’s no wonder the annual Consumer Electronics Show – which kicks off in Las Vegas on Jan. 9 – is expected to usher in the “year of the interface.”

The big electronics companies – Sony, Panasonic, Samsung and the like – have for the past few years been showing off so-called smart TVs, or flat panels that connect to the internet and run applications such as Facebook, YouTube and even email. TV remote controls are already complicated enough, so manufacturers are having to think up better input options.

Some are likely to use CES, one of the world’s largest technology shows, to demonstrate them.

In the branding world, Las Vegas stands out as a city so well known that it is in a class by itself. The hotel brands that occupy the Vegas strip are just as famously iconic, so it’s a rare event when one of them changes its name. More >