In the News… quick recap for the week ending August 28, 2026

A quick recap of the news of the week in Rhode Island, the region, nationally and internationally – with passings of note:

RHODE ISLAND & VICINITY

Vic Mellor and Stephen Skoly, candidates for Congress in RI will debate, to air on Sept. 5 & 6 on NBC10

Magnet fisher at Rocky Point pulls up 2 granades within weeks of each other

Lanternflies are at their peak in the RI area

Block Island Chamber of Commerce sells anti-tick, permethrin-treated socks

RI Commerce will vote on $325 Million for Superman building to create 308 “residences

HBO’s “The Gilded Age” based architecturally on many features of the Newport Mansions

Providence Ferry terminal at Fox Point to get a multi-million dollar renovation

Drier conditions for the fall/winter predicted because of El Nino path. Good foliage this year

Two juveniles severely burned along Providence Amtrak tracks as Police used a drone to locate them. Amtrak’s overhead wires carry 25,000 volts.

Cambridge-based Moderna and New Jersey-based Merck having success in a large-scale trial of an mRNA vaccine designed to reduce the risk of recurrence and spread of the potentially lethal skin cancer, melanoma.

Boston Symphony Orchestra musicians voted unanimously to strike

Sandpiper Landing, a planned 40-unit condominium development. The project includes 10 affordable units and a mix of detached units, duplexes and larger buildings being built on Route 1 in Westerly (South County Star)

The Mystic Drawbridge malfunctioned while the Tall Ship Kalmar Nyckel was navigating to Mystic Seaport, leaving the ship tied up waiting for bridge repairs to be made.

The Chophouse Grille, a new steakhouse will open as Acqua Pazza

RI Trucking Assoc wants Gov. candidates to pledge to not enact truck tolls as the economy doesn’t need it

Olneyville Library closed and relocated at Joslin Recreation Center and Olneyville Resilience Hub

Canonicus Camp bought by Canonicus Ministries for ½ million dollars

Superman building: RI Commerce approved up to $4.5 million in tax rebates and another $5 million in financing. The projected redevelopment cost has risen to more than $326 million, and the developer still needs major federal funding.

Superman building has no option but to come down. That from stone consultant, Kenneth Castellucci, who has worked on the building and many others. He said the anchors are rusted and expanding and the facade is cracking and falling limestone. Say it cannot be restored unless it was hundreds of millions of dollars. Disputed by building owners who say it can be repaired.

16 teams of girls’ flag football will begin competition in the spring of 2027

Superior Court nominees (1 to be named in Sept) – Angelyne Cooper-Bailey, Family Court Magistrate Denise Cassisi Finkelman, labor attorney Carly Iafrate, Superior Court Magistrate Amanda Valentino, and Assistant Attorney General Ania Zielinski

Electric Boat plans a major training campus at New England Tech. The 100,000-square-foot shipbuilding institute will train welders, machinists, pipefitters and other workers. Electric Boat and the Navy are investing about $45 million, to train thousands of new hires – goal of 8,000 new hires

First days of school mark school zone speed cameras turning back on at nearly every school area in RI, from 7am to 6pm on school days. Thousands of tickets are sent out automatically.

New Johnston Elementary School—a state-of-the-art learning environment and flagship school for the Johnston community ribbon cutting set for 8/31

RIPTA riders, including students who ride daily, spoke out against moving the hub. 

Famous CITGO sign in Boston being reconstructed. Framing, up for days, looks like a middle finger

5 men, who lived as children in Prospect Heights in Pawtucket, suing the Catholic Diocese over assault charges by a priest at St. Theresa’s on Newport Ave in Pawtucket

6 finalists picked for the RI Inspector General position: Stuart Robinson, David Harper, Jim Kirdar, Mark Priebe, Thomas Whetstone, and Steven Krueger.

Vincenzo Mazza, manager and owner of Bar Lazio, will now own Caffe Itri.

50,000+ individual plans targeted by Neighborhood Health Plan for 20%+ increase and Blue Cross Blue Shield by 9%+

Johnston and Cranston opened for school with new modern elementary schools

Busing problems in Johnston with new ZUM bus company that left children on buses for hours – next week will incorporate electronic tracking “badges” for children and company officials in RI for the weekend to work on system

Cranston had school bus problems with 1-hour late buses at some schools

Asbestos remediation in select Roger Williams University dorms after building repair

New Bedford City Council meeting held again with FLOCK suspension upheld while a potential ban was sent to committee

Bellingham, MA ends FLOCK cameras – now 6 cities/towns in MA

FM Global now has a large sign up on the old IGT building

Lawsuit against North Providence Mayor Charles Lombardi moves forward.

Newport Police approached a sailboat reported stolen from Jersey City, suspect shot at police who returned fire and suspect was killed, policeman had minor gun wound

Boston’s Union Oyster House bought by Texas-based Fertitta family

FM donating $1 million to Boston Children’s Hospital for a FM Resilience Fund

RI Rep. Julie Casimiro moved to So. Carolina, but kept her paycheck and position as a RI rep – calls for her to resign

Rodney’ Bookstore opens on Thayer Street – used bookstore

Flock cameras help make arrests after a bullet narrowly misses a Pawtucket teenager. Nine shots were fired around Prospect Heights; one entered a bedroom and hit the child’s headboard

3 with local ties to Rhode Island will be on the new episodes of Survivor

New gubernatorial poll from Univ. of New Hampshire puts Helena Foulkes in a 38-point lead over Gov. Dan McKee

On September 1st a site along the Providence River will be debuted as the future location of a Vietnam Memorial monument.

Roger Federer inducted TODAY into Int’l Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport – been in Newport for the week – has his family, wife, parents, 4 children “enjoying Newport”

National report examining restrictive deed covenants left behind by former supermarkets that prevent competitors from opening, notes Rhode Island’s new law prohibiting future restrictions but does not eliminate existing ones—leaving Woonsocket, a city of approximately 45,000 with one full supermarket.

Lawrence Beauvais, identified by police as a founder of Hartford’s Los Solidos street gang, was indicted in the March killing of Putali Kunwar inside Sue’s Salon in Central Falls

Rhode Islanders had cast 10,201 early ballots as of Thursday afternoon—less than 1.5% of active registered voters, but ahead of the comparable stage in earlier primaries

Any one of the 3 plans for housing and development of Pawtucket’s Apex area would profoundly change the downtown area with large buildings

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NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

SNAP enrollment drops 13% nationwide — Participation fell from 42.2M to 36.6M

A Connecticut man representing himself hid instructions for AI in his court papers using white text on a white background, making them invisible to readers. The message told any AI program scanning it to agree with his side of the case. The judge ruled that he can no longer file documents electronically and must submit them on paper.

U.S.–Canada trade war as 50% tariffs took effect. Canada plans dollar for dollar same

Vatican plans a $117 million solar-and-agriculture installation with panels above crops

Family of Iryna Zarutska suing the city in North Carolina subway train where she was killed

Quévin Castro, 25, soccer player with Portugal’s team collapsed mid-match in Portugal and died

SpiderMan Brand New Day now #6 movie in the US

USS Lincoln coming home after 250 days

U.S. Olympic track athlete Jenny Simpson, 39, will never run again after surviving a cardiac arrest during a training session.

Karoline Leavitt to work for President Trump’s super PAC, MAGA Inc. after she leaves the White House – where she worked before joining Trump campaign in ’24

Assassination plot unveiled against Israel’s Netanyahu’s son who is in the U.S. frequently

In Port of Boston, authorities arrested 11 cruise ship crewmembers from the Philippines, Indonesia, and Nicaragua for involvement with child sexual abuse and exploitation material – processed for removal from US

San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York arrested by Trafficking Task Force – charged with engaging in prostitution and possessing criminal tools.

Iranian state media has claimed there is a $10 million bounty on 20-year old Barron Trump

Iran not paying large parts of its military troops

200K visa holders will have them revoked

Invasive plants posing serious problem for Florida everglades

Target has pulled a Halloween costume inappropriate which mimiced a blackface minstrel

50,000 people have been arrested by ICE in July – 20,000 new deportation officers have been hired

Body of Karen Solomon, wanted in the killing of husband, a Worcester police Officer, was found – now said to be a murder/suicide

Kyle Kirkwood wins the DC 250th Indy race; 300,000+ attend – event marks end of most US 250th celebrations

Tens of thousands evacuated in Reno, Nevada due to out of control wildfires approaching

Serena Williams will participate in the US Open

US Capitol Police arrested a man driving a pick up truck with a guillotine in the truck bed

Massive landslide, glacier fall, flood swarm over Nepal and Tibet area killing hundreds confirmed and over 1,900 missing, with numbers to soar – mass destruction deemed not rebuildable – over 100 Americans

Behr Paint names 2027 Color of the Year – calming neutral that falls somewhere between moss and olive, with brown undertones, fittingly named “Grounded”

Sen. John Fetterman (D) favored by 72% of Republicans – sparking talk of a party switch

First U.S. measles deaths of 2026 reported. However, reporters discover it was a baby who died with measles but unrelated to it. Both in Pennsylvania Amish/Mennonite area. Both unvaccinated, though baby too young to have been vacccinated 2nd case unknown.

US Navy says it has removed all underwater mines from Strait of Hormuz

US CIA Director traveled to Moscow, first time a CIA official has traveled there

Darline Graham wins primary in South Carolina to continue forward to election

Gov. Newsom home listed for $7.5M, complete with 5,000 bottle wine cellar he says he didn’t know was there

Trial date finally set for alleged 9/11 mastermind. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

Nvidia quarterly revenue more than doubled to $96.2 billion, including $89 billion from data centers.

Many are skipping Florida for booming beach towns in southern Delaware.

NFL first team group to end Pro-Bowl games

Person arrested for stalking at Pres. Trump’s golf course was actually stalking Melania – found with books and memorabilia of her

Vanity Fair drops journalist Brittany Romano after video of her smiling, posing and winking at a courtroom camera during the Lindsay Clancy murder trial

National emergency declared over an “unusual and extraordinary foreign threat” to the US bulk-power system.

Tesla Megapacks, grid-scale lithium-ion battery energy storage systems built at aCalifornia Megafactory are trucked to utility, military, and commercial sites nationwide to stabilize the US power grid. Roughly 200 a week.

Pres. Trump renames Lake Ontario on the US side as Lake America

113 Dick’s Sporting Goods/Foot Locker stores to close

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation orders journalists not to refer to the 9/11 attacks as “terrorist attacks.”

A U.S. Space Academy will be formed for the use of the U.S. Space Force, NASA and the civilian space flight industry at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston

Pfizer , NovaVax COVID vaccines approved

Solo-Agers (those without spouses, family or children) said to be among those most at risk in their senior years, per AARP

A Canadian survey says top career aspirations are: Realtor, Pharmacist, Doctor, Firefighter, Veterinarian

US signs oil deal with Venezuela which will more than double US oil reserves

No verdict in Lindsay Clancy trial – jury released for weekend; asked to see pill bottles and the knife Clancy used

Roger Federer inducted TODAY into Int’l Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport

Walmart settles federal opioid case for $50 million after government had sought billions over allegations that Walmart pharmacies filled invalid prescriptions and failed to report suspicious activity. Walmart admitted no wrongdoing – CVS committed about $5 billion in the national opioid settlement; Walmart committed $3.1 billion, then added Friday’s separate $50 million federal settlement.

Iran is acknowledging economic hardships are severe

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PASSINGS

Debbie “Storm” Clark, 61, of American Gladiators, pacemaker failed

Peter Cullen, 85, voice of Optimus Prime in the “Transformers”

Tim Curry, 80, Rocky Horror Picture Show fame

Shelly Fabares, 82, actress best known for The Donna Reed Show, of pneumonia

King Harald, 85, of Norway

Yayoi Kusama, 97, pop artist known for large works featuring circles

Jaye P. Morgan, 95, actress and singer

Dolly Parton, 80, singer, actress and philanthropist