Nevada briefs: Amodei named Trump Nevada campaign chairman

Amodei named Trump campaign chairman in Nevada

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Donald Trump campaign officials say they’ve named Rep. Mark Amodei of Carson City as their Nevada state chairman.

Trump said in a statement Wednesday that Amodei has resisted the pull of special interests and will help the Trump campaign keep up momentum in Nevada.

The Republican nominee has kept the race tight with Democrat Hillary Clinton, and is ahead of her in some recent Nevada polling.

Amodei explained his decision by saying the Obama Administration has damaged the country and said he’s ready for change.

Amodei is seeking re-election in a safely Republican northern Nevada congressional district that’s he’s represented since 2011.

He was an early supporter of Jeb Bush before the former Florida governor quit the race, and recently said Trump might be “a smoking black hole” or “the next messiah.”

Inmate death being investigated

(AP) — Nevada Department of Corrections officials are investigating the death of a 59-year-old inmate who was serving up to 10 years for theft at the state prison in Carson City.

Department spokeswoman Brooke Keast says guards alerted medical personnel Tuesday night when Shair Sahadat Ali reported he wasn’t feeling well. She says they moved him out of his cell and were transporting him to the prison’s medical facility when he lost consciousness. Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead at about 9:40 p.m.

Ali had been at the prison since February 2014 after he was convicted of theft in Washoe County and sentenced to four to 10 years.

Keast said Wednesday the Clark County coroner’s office will conduct an autopsy to determine the official cause of death.