Rhode Island Current

A pile of voter registration forms is seen at the booth of Fairfax County Republican Committee during the annual KORUS festival, a Korean cultural festival, in Tysons Corner, Virginia, in October 2016. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)Before Wyoming elections, the state’s League of Women Voters tries to get voter registration information into the hands of residents at events and gatherings. But under state law, League volunteers can’t sign up voters themselves — only local election officials can

Providence City Council President Rachel Miller speaks during an April 1, 2026 event in Providence where council leaders unveiled the BUILD Act, a separate affordable housing proposal introduced as the council continued advancing its rent stabilization ordinance. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)A proposed rent stabilization ordinance that would cap annual rent increases in Providence at 4% for certain properties in the capital city has secured the first of two votes needed before

Baskets of ballots sit at a new ballot processing center in Thurston County, Washington, on Oct. 30, 2025. (Photo by Jake Goldstein-Street/Washington State Standard)President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting mail ballots faced a fresh challenge on Friday, as a coalition of Democratic states filed a lawsuit seeking to block an order that experts say is an extraordinary attempt by the president to assert authority over elections. More than 20 states — led by California, Massachusetts, Ne

Newport Hospital announced Friday, April 3, 2026, that the Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center will remain open after completion of an independent assessment and review of its financial situation. (Photo by Janine L. Weisman/Rhode Island Current)Newport Hospital’s Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center will remain open, Brown University Health announced on Friday. The commitment comes amid doubts over the award-winning labor and delivery unit’s future, which appeared in jeopardy due to decreasing

Superior Court Justice and former Senate President Joseph Montalbano testifies before the Senate Committee on Judiciary on March 31, 2026. His unanimous confirmation by the full chamber came two days later. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)The man who once presided over the Rhode Island Senate will now oversee the operations of the state’s Superior Court network. The Senate on Thursday voted 36-0 to confirm Associate Superior Court Justice Joseph Montalbano as presiding justice of

Plumes of smoke rise following an explosion on March 5, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)WASHINGTON — A U.S. fighter jet went down over Iran Friday and one crew member has been rescued, according to several media reports. Iranian state media reported the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was responsible.   The attack marks the first time Iran has shot down U.S. military aircraft since the war’s start. Reuters and the New York Times have cited U.S. off

Cortney Nicolato, president and CEO of United Way Rhode Island, has witnessed how 401Gives has deepened the culture of philanthropy in the Ocean State. (Photo by Janine L. Weisman/Rhode Island Current)I remember the first time I heard the phrase, “Rhode Island punches above its weight class.” To me, it’s a simple truth: We are small, but mighty. That strength is real and it shows up when it matters most. If you’ve lived here for more than a minute, you’ve seen it. During the COVID-19 pandemic, R

An aerial view of the Pentagon on May 12, 2021. (Department of Defense Photo/Air Force Tech. Sgt. Brittany A. Chase)WASHINGTON — The Trump administration released its fiscal 2027 budget request Friday, asking Congress to increase spending on defense programs by 43% and decrease funding for non-defense accounts by 10%.  The proposal kicks off what will be a monthslong process on Capitol Hill as lawmakers write the dozen annual government funding bills ahead of the Oct. 1 deadline.  Cong

Shipping cranes stand above container ships loaded with shipping containers at the Port of Los Angeles on Feb. 20, 2026 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)WASHINGTON — One year after President Donald Trump announced his now-illegal “Liberation Day” tariffs, he marked the anniversary by signing executive orders adjusting duties on pharmaceuticals and metals as Democratic critics slammed economic fallout from Trump’s trade policies. Last April 2, Trump shocked American businesses an

North Smithfield High School sophomore Quinn Crowshaw asks visiting Rhode Island Supreme Court justices on the stage a question about preliminary injunctions on Thursday, April 2, 2026. Left to right are Justice Melissa A. Long; Justice William P. Robinson III; Chief Justice Paul A. Suttell; Justice Erin Lynch Prata; and Justice (Retired) Francis X. Flaherty. (Photo by Ethan Shorey/Rhode Island Current)More than a hundred North Smithfield High School students watched attorneys present oral argum

Ken Block announced his third bid for governor of Rhode Island on April 2, 2026. (Courtesy photo)A Barrington software engineer who searched for voter fraud on behalf of the Trump campaign — and found none — is making his third attempt to run for the governor’s office. This time, Ken Block is running as an independent candidate. “My flavor of politics doesn’t align well with either political party,” Block, 60, said in a phone interview. “Political parties by definition imply a healthy dose

Providence City Council Deputy Majority Leader Mary Kay Harris speaks during a press event announcing the proposed Providence BUILD Act outside an affordable housing development in Providence on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. The ordinance would create a new tax stabilization structure for eligible affordable housing developments. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)Providence City Council leaders have a plan to make affordable housing easier to build in the capital city via a new tax str

Attorney General Pam Bondi listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a lunch with the Kennedy Center board members in the East Room of the White House on March 16, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)WASHINGTON — Attorney General Pam Bondi is leaving the Department of Justice and will be replaced for now by President Donald Trump’s former personal defense lawyer, the president announced Thursday. “Pam Bondi is a Great American Patriot and a loyal friend, who faithful

The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., amid fog on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate approved legislation Thursday that would end the shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security, sending the same bill it passed last week to the House, which didn’t take any action during a brief session. But it appeared the shutdown also could be affected by executive action. President Donald Trump wrote in a social media post later in the mo

Rhode Island General Treasurer James Diossa sits for an interview at his State House office in 2023. (Photo by Michael Salerno/Rhode Island Current)James Diossa is officially running for a second term as Rhode Island’s general treasurer. Diossa’s campaign on Wednesday released a video of the incumbent and his partner, Sandra Cano, with their two young children in their Pawtucket home announcing his campaign to continue leading the office that oversees the state’s pension investments and other fi

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks from the Cross Hall of the White House on April 1, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images)WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said during a primetime address Wednesday that the U.S. military’s “little journey” in Iran will conclude “very shortly.” “We are systematically dismantling the regime’s ability to threaten America or project power outside of their borders. That means eliminating Iran’s navy, which is now absolutely

A voter drops off a ballot in a drop box at the Salt Lake County Government Center in Salt Lake City on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)Democrats sued over President Donald Trump’s executive order clamping down on mail ballots on Wednesday, signaling the start of another fight with the White House over elections. The order, which would create a national list of voting-age American citizens and directs the U.S. Postal Service to place limits on

A mail ballot drop box is seen at a polling station on Nov. 4, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order on Tuesday that attempts to restrict mail-in voting, a White House priority certain to face significant legal challenges. The order directs the U.S. Department of Homeland Security along with the Social Security Administration to compile a list of voting-age American citizens in each state and share it with state el

Amanda Zimmer holds a framed photo of her son, Owen, while speaking during a March 31, 2026, State House press event on legislation aimed at protecting children from digital harm. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)What were you doing on Nov. 4, 2023? Amanda Zimmer remembers. She went for a walk that night, and left her phone at home. When she returned, a text message was waiting. “The message came from my younger child,” Zimmer said, “And it stated, ‘Owen is dead. Owen committed su

Democratic attorneys general held a town hall on March 5, 2025, in Phoenix to discuss how they were opposing President Donald Trump. From left to right: Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes. (Photo by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy/Arizona Mirror)Democratic attorneys general this week filed their 100th lawsuit against the Trump administration, part of a coordinated legal strategy.  An