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In the News… quick catch-up on the news of the week ending June 28th, 2025
This list is a quick summary of topics covered in the news since this time last week – for more information, search for the topic and learn more. We hope this helps to catch you up on news of the week in Rhode Island, the region, and national and international issues we need to know. Passings of note are also listed here.
RHODE ISLAND & VICINITY
Average median price for a home in RI over $500K and as much as $525K
RI man charged with over 12 felonies in Broward County, FL, including multiple counts of possession of child pornography and charges related to sexual conduct with animals
A Providence 68 year old lemonade vendor was beaten with a hammer by an assailant who was later captured by police
Southwick Zoo has 3 new baby cheetahs
Buttonwood Zoo lost its 16 year old cougar, Riley
1/3 of MA families said to not have enough to eat
Cranston opens splash pad early – at Bain School
Adam Greenman, the president and CEO of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, will challenge Mayor Don Grebien in the Democratic primary next year.
It’s the 30th anniversary of the Nantucket Film Festival
Amazon truck caught fire inside the Boston Tunnel
Tortilla Flats has sold to employees who have worked there, some as servers
Providence’s hottest day ever was 104 degrees on Aug. 2, 1975 – Boston’s was on July 4, 1911 – at 104 degrees
Buttonwood Zoo closed during Tues heat wave – Roger Williams Park Zoo kept animals inside
Boston Marathon raised over $50M for 176 charities
Iannotti Funeral Home announced the death of Mongo, their tuxedo comfort cat who often wandered among the most grieving at services and lived upstairs – he had wandered into the home one day in 2010
Warwick Deputy Police Chief Mike Lima to take over as Police Chief
A colony of Asian Needle Ants has been found living on the grounds of Providence College
Pocasset Manor in Providence will be renovating for affordable senior living development
Jason Thody, recently retired chief of Hartford, Connecticut, will be the next police chief in New Bedford.
Central Falls hosted a celebratory kickoff event for RI’s Summer Food Service Program
Vice President JD Vance will come to Nantucket in July for a Republican National Committee fundraiser.
Butler Hospital striking employees granted retroactive unemployment benefits by RIDLT – CNE to object
United Nurses and Allied Professionals (UNAP) Local 5098, representing the nurses and healthcare workers at Rhode Island Hospital / Hasbro Children’s Hospital, voted to authorize a strike on Tuesday.
Non-profits who sell items and want to not pay sales tax in RI must register with the state for a sales tax exemption
Gov. McKee will let the $14B+ RI budget become law without signing it
Providence City Council will mail 62,000 “know your rights” mailer on deportation to all Rhode Islanders – cost estimates of $17,000
Matunuck Oyster Bar opens July 1st, in parking lot across the street from the restaurant
Newton Public Schools announced plans to reinforce state vaccine requirements for students this upcoming fall, with the district blocking students without up-to-date vaccinations from attending school.
Scott Brown is running for a Senate seat in New Hampshire, his 2nd from NH and his 4th from MA
Harvard Kennedy School has made plans to accommodate foreign students remotely and also from Canada
RI has funded new Wavemaker Fellowship awards – refundable tax credits of up to $6,000/year for up to four years – for 153 new fellows, 76 are from STEM and design, 58 are from healthcare, and 19 from education.
RI state senator Josh Miller is in the process of selling Trinity Brewhouse – to owners of The Patio
Cat declawing to become illegal in RI
Cruise ship American Liberty Islands Tour left India Point – about 100 capacity – all for the season are sold out.
Rhode Island is #15 for Road Rage in the US
A MA doctor mails out 2,000 abortion kits per month across the country
RIPTA fares targeted to go up, with services cut – beach bus eliminated – over $18M deficit
On July 17th, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is removing the “Press 3” option, which connected LGBTQ+ youth to affirming crisis counselors through The Trevor Project and a subnetwork of 6 other contact centers with specialists – LGBTQ people can still call the line and identify with special needs to the operators
Surplus Guns are offering free AR-15 Rifles for the first 25 customers – people have been seen camping out on the weekend
The Blackstone Distribution Center in Pawtucket is being developed by JK Equities.
Philharmonic Summer Pops series: Narragansett at the North Beach Clubhouse, July 11 at 8th, in Providence at
the Roger Williams Park Temple to Music, August 6 at 7:30pm, and in Pawtucket at Slater Park on September 6, 6:30pm
Massachusetts planning to close most hotel family shelters on Monday – 4 will stay open through July – (Boston Globe)
The Uptown Theater, formerly the Columbus Theatre at 270 Broadway, in Providence, is set to reopen.
Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency awarded a 3-year contract to San Diego-based SkySafe Inc. to provide drone monitoring of airspace across the state’s airports, prisons and other high-risk sites.
4 RI cities are raising taxes higher than their cap – Providence, Woonsocket, Glocester and Little Compton
Yawgoo Valley opens Sunday – water slides, park features, pool
Woonsocket City Council voted unanimously to reject awarding a city contract to City Solicitor Michael Lepizzera’s law firm, where Allen Fung works, citing conflict of interest concerns. Fung does work for the city.
Karen Read has a deal to adapt case into a scripted project
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NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL
Kroger to close 60 stores nationwide
Voice of America lays off 640 employees
Hot Air Balloon ride ends in tragedy in Brazil, 8 dead, 13 injured
The United Nations turns 80
ISIS suicide bomber in Syria kills 20 in church
SCOTUS will allow the Trump administration to resume the deportation of convicted criminals to “3rd world countries” to which they have no previous connection
Pres. Trump announced a total ceasefire between Israel and Iran on June 23rd, calling it the end of the 12 day war. Qatar assisted the US in the negotiations
150+ women were stabbed with needles at a French music concert – 12 people arrested
Prosecutors in the Dominican Republic seek five-year prison sentence for Tampa Bay Rays star Wander Franco, who is on trial for sexual abuse of a minor
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul directs state’s public electric authority to build first major zero-emissions nuclear power plant in the US in over 15 years
NATO countries agree to allocate 5% for defense, attributed with saving NATO’s power and relevance among countries
A federal prison for illegal migrant detainees is being built on the Alcatraz area in Florida
MIT secures a revolving loan approval to borrow up to $500M at a time
1/2 Million Haitians will have their deportation protection ended, citing improvements in their country
Iran suspends its cooperation with the IAEA – International Atomic Energy Agency
Mark Levin has been appointed to the Homeland Security Advisory Council by President Donald J. Trump and Secretary Kristi Noem.
Nearly 20 Iranian nationalists have been arrested in the US since last week
Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old state assemblyman won over Andrew Cuomo, who conceded the race. Cuomo left the door open to running in the general election as an Independent
By presidential EO: Truck drivers who cannot read and speak English immediately placed out of service
HUD relocating its 2,700 employees to Virginia
Diddy case – prosecutors dropped attempted kidnapping, attempted arson & aiding sex trafficking charges – pushing for clearer jury instructions on the main sex trafficking & forced labor counts, calling them complex.
Bumble laying off 30% of its employees
Iran may meet with US next week
Love Island is experiencing cyberbullying of its contestants
Nestle cutting artificial dyes – says 90% are already dye free
Jet Blue will pull out of Miami Int’l Airport due to low use
Anthony Bernald will be subpoenaed to Congress for a closed-door interview on the status of Pres. Biden’s health – he is considered Jill Biden’s “work husband” and is now refusing to attend.
A mail carrier in Dallas died in the summer heat while on his route
Iranian authorities are pivoting from a ceasefire with Israel to intensify an internal security crackdown across the country with mass arrests, executions and military deployments.
44 US soldiers from the ages of 21 to 28 were left behind in Qatar to defend the base – which they did completely and totally
Bezos getting married over 3 days in Europe
3 Mile Island in PA is set to restart and be active by 2027
RFK Jr. on fluoride: CDC to stop recommending fluoridation of water supplies. Fluoride’s benefit is topical (prevent cavities). No systemic benefit from consuming it. Babies w/out teeth don’t benefit at all. Fluoride associated w/increase to 1 in 8 women w/thyroid issues.
General Electric invests $500,000,000 to move production from China to Kentucky
U.S. gas prices have dropped to a four-year low, averaging $3.20 per gallon, per NYT.
Anna Wintour stepping down as Vogue U.S. Editor-in-Chief after 37 years
Harvard researcher who was taken into ICE custody at Boston Logan for allegedly smuggling biological items has been indicted
Brad Pitt’s home was broken into
Rapper 50 Cent offers to pay socialist Zohran Mamdani over $250,000 to leave New York City
UnitedHealth Group names Patrick Conway CEO of Optum Health. Amar Desai had been CEO since 2023 and will become president of Optum integrated care and vice-chair of Optum Health
North Korea’s Kim Jong Un to open a beach resort to boost tourism.
The DOGE member known as “Big Balls” left the White House team this week only to have the Trump administration bring him back on
V.J. Edgecombe, drafted to the Philly 76ers – lived off a generator for 7 years – as his mother “poured into him” all she had
The entire Duke starting 5 from last season is headed to the NBA
The Pentagon is now reinstating Service members who were discharged for refusing the COVID-19 Vaccine
Tariff deal signed with China, per President
France to ban public smoking – on beaches, in parks, outside schools, and in public locations beginning July 1s
Texas Instruments to invest $60 Billion moving production to the United States.
Booksmith bookstore in San Francisco will no longer sell JK Rowling books due to her political views
Meta hires top OpenAI researcher, Trapit Bansal, to help lead new “superintelligence” unit; poaching is the latest in a reported multi-hundred-million-dollar hiring spree by Meta to jump-start lagging AI program
A probe reveals that the US military spread disinformation for decades, including doctored photos and fabricated stories about UFOs and alien technology, to conceal secret weapons programs of the US
19% of our food and drink supply has artificial dyes
Copenhagen took the crown as the world’s most livable city.
The Pentagon will create two new military zones along the U.S.-Mexico border, giving troops authority to detain migrants without invoking the Insurrection Act. One zone will span 250 miles of the Rio Grande in Texas, the other will be located near Yuma, Arizona
Big Beautiful Bill is working toward a July 4th deadline
Trade talks ended with Canada
Peace document signed with the Congo and Rwanda at the White House – includes precious minerals to US
Stock Market closed at an all time high at the Friday close.
In one’s lifetime, 6% of us will experience PTSD – July is PTSD Awareness Month
Barricades are being put up at the White House and the Treaury
Senate blocks attempt to have President go to Congress for “war power” authority
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PASSINGS
Armeather Gibbs, former Rep in RI – retired to Georgia
Lynn Hamilton, 95, ‘Sanford and Son’ and ‘The Waltons’
Richard Hurst, 79 actor, Dukes of Hazard
Joe Marinelli, 68, actor General Hospital, Santa Barbara, more
Daniel R. Mechnig, former President of the Providence Art Club and longtime member
Bill Moyers, 91, journalist and former White House press secretary
Bobby Sherman, 81, after being a teen heartthrob he became an LA EMT
Frederick W. Smith, 80, founder of FedEx, philanthropist, patriot
The prison in Florida is in the Everglades. Another act of cruel and inhumane treatment by this administration.
Thousands of people live in the Everglades. The facility was originally going to be the “largest airport in the world” – but never was completed. People will be brought there temporarily as they are processed and flown out to their country of origin, in most cases.