Rhode Island Current

A worker is pictured at the Chrysler plant in Toledo, Ohio. The Buckeye State’s automobile industry could be hit particularly hard by President Donald Trump’s ongoing trade war with Canada. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)President Donald Trump’s escalating trade war with Canada is creating headaches for Republicans ahead of November’s midterms as high prices remain a top concern among voters. Responding to Trump’s increased tariffs, Canadian officials have said they’re deliberately targeti

Voters waited in line outside The Salvation Army in Providence Wednesday morning, Sept. 9, 2026. (Photo by Nancy Lavin/Rhode Island Current)At least half a dozen polling sites in Providence opened late on primary day due to unexpected staffing shortages, according to the Rhode Island Board of Elections. The capital city hired 480 people to staff polling sites across the city. But more than 100 of them called out sick, or simply didn’t show up Wednesday morning, Miguel Nunez, elections dire

Gov. Dan McKee, shakes hands with poll workers at Bear Hill Village in Cumberland where he voted Wednesday morning, Sept. 9, 2026. (Photo by Michael Salerno/Rhode Island Current)Up and down the ballot, the incumbent advantage is at risk today in Rhode Island’s primaries. If polls, campaign cash and endorsements piling up behind Helena Buonanno Foulkes prove an accurate predictor, Democratic Gov. Dan McKee could be the first incumbent to lose his primary reelection bid in Rhode Island in more tha

A cropped Hubble Space Telescope image of the Messier 4 star cluster. (Photo by NASA, ESA and others )The University of Rhode Island (URI) is looking to the stars — and beyond — for its annual fall lecture series this year. For the 2026 edition of the yearly Honors Colloquium, the Kingston campus is inviting a dozen scientists, astronauts and other guests whose expertise covers all things outside Earth’s orbit to give lectures starting Tuesday, Sept. 15, and running through Dec. 8. The 63rd ann

Chris Pappas (left) and John Sununu (right) will face off in what promises to be a very expensive U.S. Senate race. (Left: Photo by Will Steinfeld/New Hampshire Bulletin; Right: Photo by William Skipworth/New Hampshire Bulletin)Democratic U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas will face off in November against Republican former Sen. John E. Sununu to be U.S. senator, after the two candidates prevailed in their respective primaries Tuesday. The results, projected by the Associated Press shortly after 8 p.m., sol

The U.S. Supreme Court on April 9, 2026. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)The hotly contested U.S. Postal Service rule restricting mail-in voting usurps Congress’ authority, as well as states’ power to administer elections, more than 250 current and former members of Congress said in a filing to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday. All 47 members of the U.S. Senate Democratic Caucus, 199 current House Democrats and 15 former House Republicans signed the friend-of-the-court brief opposi

President Donald Trump has targeted Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier in his trade war with Canada. In this photo, an Air Canada Express Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft departs Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. (Photo by Getty Images/Yassine Bahammou)WASHINGTON — Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on American goods kicked in Tuesday, escalating a trade war with one of the largest U.S. trading partners that President Donald Trump continued to antagonize over the holiday weekend. Trump poste

More than 37,000 Rhode Island voters cast ballots early at designated in-person polling places, including East Providence City Hall, pictured, as of noon on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026. (Photo by Nancy Lavin/Rhode Island Current)More Rhode Islanders than ever before are casting ballots early at designated in-person polling sites open before the Sept. 9 primary, according to the Rhode Island Department of State’s online turnout tracker. The 37,444 early, in-person ballots cast as of 4 p.m. Tuesday  —

The needs of children and teens who have lost a loved one can easily go unseen. Camp BraveHeart brings them together for support and connection. (Photo by Emily Conde courtesy of HopeHealth)Children who lose a close family member grieve differently than adults, and their grief changes as they grow. A loss experienced at 8 can take on an entirely different meaning at 12, 16 or 25. A child can be deeply sad and still want to swim, make art, play games and laugh with friends. HopeHealth makes room

Computers line the walls of a reentry center inside the Women’s Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Vandalia, Mo. Incarcerated women preparing for release can use the computers to search for employment and other resources while on parole. (Photo by Amanda Watford/Stateline)Women on parole report higher rates of housing instability, poor health and serious mental health and substance use disorders than men on parole and women who weren’t on parole, according to a new analysis

Election workers sort ballots at Contra Costa County's election operations facility on May 27, 2026 in Martinez, California. (Photo by Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images)A U.S. Postal Service rule restricting mail-in voting, like the executive order from President Donald Trump that spurred it, is unconstitutional, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani said in a Friday order extending a freeze on the policy. The Trump administration quickly appealed the order to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Fr

A phone displays a text message from Dynata inviting the recipient to participate in a 'short survey' on Aug. 10, 2026. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) The missed call log in Dr. Eric Bai’s iPhone has a sea of phone numbers with unfamiliar area codes. Some of them are likely from pollsters wanting to ask him about the upcoming Rhode Island primary elections.  A few times, he’s answered only to end up staying on the line to complete a survey. “I felt bad,” Bai, 32, of Providence,

Members of Virginia Professional Firefighters association hold signs during their biannual convention in May to protest Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s veto of collective bargaining legislation. New research found a significant spike in labor union membership, but growth is highly dependent upon state politics. (Photo by Charlotte Rene Woods/Virginia Mercury)Labor union membership continues to climb in the United States, though the increase remains sharply divided by the politics of individ

The Rhode Island Elections Project website aims to help the state's voters better understand the candidates for the General Assembly and the issues facing the state. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)On paper, Rhode Island does not share many characteristics with the ruby-red states of the South. Yet when it comes to one important measure of electoral democracy, Rhode Island feels very similar: Too many elections offer voters little or no meaningful choice. Two University of Rhode

Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine tours the Maine Energy Marketers Association Technical Education Center in Brunswick on Sept. 3, 2026. (Photo by Emma Davis/ Maine Morning Star)A Republican consulting firm working to reelect Maine’s U.S. Sen. Susan Collins received the second largest share of spending from Elon Musk’s super PAC last month.  America PAC has spent just over $170,000 in Maine’s U.S. Senate race, which Democrats view as a key pickup opportunity to gain control

WJAR NBC 10's Gene Valicenti, left, moderates the first and last debate between the two Republican candidates in the 2nd Congressional District race on Friday at the station's Cranston studio on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. At center is Dr. Stephen Skoly. At right is Vic Mellor. (Photo courtesy of WJAR NBC10)With just five days to go before the primary, the two Republican candidates hoping to seize Rhode Island’s 2nd Congressional District seat in November met for their first, and last, debate at WJAR

Olympian David Hearn, center left, walks out of District of Columbia Superior Court with his attorneys after a hearing on Sept. 4, 2026. (Photo by Ariana Figueora/States Newsroom)WASHINGTON — A District of Columbia Superior Court judge Friday seemed inclined to bar any new felony charges against former Olympian David Hearn, after the Trump administration accused the Maryland man of damaging part of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. D.C. Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman raised concerns about

Gov. Dan McKee, shown at the Rhode Island Department of Transportation's Highway & Bridge Maintenance Headquarters in Warwick, declared a state of emergency and ordered a travel ban on the afternoon of Sunday Feb. 22, 2026, ahead of the storm that dumped over 3 feet of snow on the state. (Photo courtesy of Office of the Governor) Gov. Dan McKee and Rhode Island’s congressional delegation are blasting the Trump administration after the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) again rejected

Jose Palma holds the work authorization cards of a Salvadoran member of the National TPS Alliance. The individual has renewed work permits 14 times since Temporary Protected Status was granted for El Salvador in 2001, submitting a background check and fingerprints with each renewal cycle. (Photo by Ariana Figueroa/States Newsroom)WASHINGTON — For years, Jose Palma has advocated for immigrants with Temporary Protected Status who hail from countries deemed too unstable for return. But as the Trump

The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 9, 2024. (Photo by Jane Norman/States Newsroom)The Trump administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to overturn a lower court and allow it to enforce a U.S. Postal Service rule restricting mail-in voting. The trial judge, Indira Talwani of the U.S. District of Massachusetts, prejudged the rule before it was final when she issued a temporary restraining order last month and upheld it last week, U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote. The rule o