CBS News
Las Vegas expects this New Year’s Eve will set a wedding record — and a pop-up airport license bureau is helping with the rush
If you’re having a destination New Year’s Eve wedding in Las Vegas, you could get your marriage license as you step off the plane.
Clark County has taking an unconventional step to help handle the thousands of weddings expected to be held in the city on New Year’s Eve by opening a temporary marriage license bureau at Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport.
The thousands of weddings expected on what is normally a big holiday could even set a record — thanks in part to the date, which this year creates a repeating numerical sequence of 1-2-3-1-2-3.
In the industry, that repeating date is known as a “specialty date,” according to the Associated Press. There were similar lines on April 3, 2021 (4/3/21) and Dec. 13, 2014 (12/13/14), according to county clerk Lynn Goya in a 2021 interview with the Associated Press. These dates are “always immensely popular,” said Goya, noting that more than 1,800 tied the knot on Dec. 13, 2014.
The number to beat this New Year’s Eve is 4,492. That record was set on July 7, 2007 – or 7/7/07.
The Associated Press said that since 2018, the city typically records between 450 and 550 New Year’s Eve marriages, but multiple wedding venues and planning companies said they are expecting far more ceremonies this year.
“It’s a double whammy,” said Melody Willis-Williams, president of Vegas Weddings in an interview with the Associated Press. “Anytime you get these specialty dates, they’re always hugely popular. But tie that in with New Year’s Eve and it’s a showstopper.”
Willis-Williams said the company expects to marry more than 120 couples on New Year’s Eve, with some of those couples waiting for the final countdown to midnight to say “I do.” Willis-Williams said that the company’s multiple venues are all fully booked at midnight.
The pop-up marriage bureau at the airport is a simpler affair, located in one of the airport’s terminals near a baggage pickup carousel. Those looking to get their marriage licenses or vow renewal certificates there can do so between Dec. 26 and Dec. 31, with the pop-up closing at 5 p.m. local time each evening.
Thanks for reading CBS NEWS.
Create your free account or log in
for more features.
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
CBS Philadelphia
Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.