Kirk Siegler

Donald Trump looks to be on his way to winning the state but votes are still being counted. Sen. John McCain won his reelection bid. And, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio lost his reelection bid.

Ammon Bundy and his followers are back with fervor, saying that constitutionally, the government does not have the right to Western lands. But scholars disagree.

The jury in the Oregon occupation trail returned a surprise verdict of not guilty on Thursday. The decision will have broader implications for Western land rights groups as well as federal employees.

The verdict is expected to have sweeping implications on the militia movement and its apparent goal of taking over millions of acres of public lands in the West.

In the wake of the Ammon Bundy wildlife refuge trial, Native Americans are refocusing national attention on the ancestral rights their tribes hold to federal lands in the West.

A juror was found to be biased and dismissed on Wednesday. The judge ordered an alternate to take his place in the trial of seven people in the armed occupation of wildlife refuge in Oregon.

In Nevada, 81 percent of the land is owned by the federal government. It's a number that's hugely controversial — and one that may not get much attention in the final presidential debate Wednesday.

The armed occupation at the Malheur wildlife refuge has renewed interest in the remote spot's natural offerings: more than 300 bird species and hiking trails. Hotels and restaurants are filling up.

The trial for the militants who seized the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon this year is close to wrapping up. The standoff traumatized and divided nearby Burns, Ore.

Correspondents, editors and producers from NPR's newsroom share the pieces that have kept them reading.

A reported spike in threats, intimidation and harassment toward federal officers in the rural West makes for a challenging work environment for one law enforcement ranger in southern Nevada.

Wednesday marks the start of the federal conspiracy trial against militia leader Ammon Bundy and six other defendants who staged an armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. The 41 day anti-federal government occupation capped decades of disputes over how federal public lands are managed in the West.

In Baton Rouge, the recovery is underway after historic floods devastated the southern part of the state. But aid is slower to reach more remote, rural areas that were also hit hard by the rains.

More than 115,000 residents have applied for aid, and at least as many homes and businesses are ruined or badly damaged. The sheer scope of wreckage and loss can be overwhelming.

You may think the greatest danger to homes from wildfires is when the wall of flames moves through. But experts say that buildings are often destroyed hours later, after the firetrucks have left.

National monument designations that bypass Congress are hugely controversial. In this presidential election year, the politics in a state like Nevada are even more sensitive.

In the late hour of the Obama administration, Native American tribes are ramping up pressure on the president to designate several national monuments on western lands that they consider sacred.

"It hit hard, it hit fast, it hit with an intensity that we haven't seen before," San Bernardino County Fire Chief Mark Hartwig says. "There will be a lot of families that come home to nothing."

The Bluecut Fire east of Los Angeles has burned 15,000 acres and shut down Interstate 15, which links Los Angeles with Las Vegas and points north.

In historically dry California, fire crews are struggling to contain wildfires that have destroyed an untold number of homes and businesses.