LAS VEGAS -- We hear and see them every year. Salvation Army bell ringers and red kettles are staples of the holidays. Every penny, quarter or dollar donated goes to people who need it most.

"We're supposed to give, and we're supposed to help," said Salvation Army donor Hazel Lowery. "You can't do everything yourself, but there are organizations who can meet needs on a bigger scale than I could individually. So, that's one way of helping out."

Someone, however, is spoiling the public's generosity this year. Some time between Christmas Eve and Tuesday morning, someone entered the Las Vegas Salvation Army building and stole a bag containing $13,245. Salvation Army administrators say the culprit used a key to enter the building.

Las Vegas Salvation Army Business and Finance Director Gary Zielinski discovered the missing cash.

LAS VEGAS -- The murder trial of Victor Fakoya is the talk of the county courthouse, and not just because he was acquitted. Jurors in the case were forced to work through the night last week to accommodate the judge's vacation schedule.

The jury found Fakoya not guilty of murder after spending six weeks hearing the case. They took their service very seriously, so when Judge Valerie Vega ordered them to begin deliberations at nearly 3 a.m. after more than 13 hours in the jury box, they figured she had a good reason.

Following a mistrial in January for the death of a two-year-old in his care, Fakoya feared another jury deadlock, or worse, when deliberations began. Eric Echevarria was jury number five.

"I had to fight my way not to fall asleep," he said. "It was a little bit frustrating at times. I felt that we shouldn't have been there that long."

LAS VEGAS  -- A Nevada judge set bail at $150,000 for a former O.J. Simpson co-defendant facing a new trial in their 2007 robbery-kidnapping case.

Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass on Thursday declared Clarence "C.J." Stewart a flight risk because he knows what he faces if he's convicted again.

The 56-year-old Stewart appeared by video from Northern Nevada Correctional Center in Carson City. He told The Associated Press by telephone that he wants to prove his innocence.

The Nevada Supreme Court reversed Stewart's conviction in October. It said he shouldn't have been tried together with Simpson. Simpson and Stewart were convicted in 2008 and sent to prison for an armed confrontation with two sports memorabilia dealers at a Las Vegas casino-hotel.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)