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In the News… quick recap of news of the week in RI, US and beyond – Dec. 13, 2025
We scour the news daily for you – and produce this abbreviated “In the News” – interested in knowing more about anything here – just search or get in touch with us. We hope you will be up to date on important things now.
RHODE ISLAND & VICINITY
Christine Erne, weather reporter for NBC10 had her baby boy, Roman, about 6 weeks early, on Dec. 5th
Aetna Medicare Advantage individual plans will no longer cover surgical and outpatient services at South County Hospital starting Jan. 1, 2026. Could impact about 1,600 patients.
Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish will merge into Saint John the Baptist Parish; and Holy Family Parish, which consists of Saint Joseph Church and Our Lady of Consolation Church—will merge into Saint John Paul II Parish.
CVS said earnings will rise in 2026 – “I feel incredibly bullish,” CVS Health President and CEO David Joyner said.
3 non-students in PC neighborhood arrested in overdoses of 7 from Providence College
Stuffies were named the most iconic food in Rhode Island by “Only in your state” – Boston Crème Pie named in Massachusetts
Town of Warren turns down installing Flock cameras
Boston city councilor who recently got out of jail for mismanaging money said, “Remove your gloves. It’s all iron fists from here on.”
Showcase at Patriots Place will close – another company will come in, renovate it and have it open for summer
Progressive groups in Boston next week planning to dump ice into the harbor calling it the “Ice Tea Party” – showing opposition to ICE
Harrison Tuttle no longer working for RI BLM PAC – now with RI Council of Churches
Barrington Eagle Pop Warner Cheerleaders won national championships (12-13 years old)
Pawtucket will host the Annual Hanukkah Celebration, in collaboration with the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, on Monday, December 15th, at 4:30 pm. The event will be held in City Council Chambers at City Hall (137 Roosevelt Avenue, 3rd floor)
Pawtucket will host their Christmas Celebration on Wed., Dec. 18th from 4 to 6 pm at Pawtucket City Hall – Santa – caroling – hot coca – apple cider – cookies – Door Decorating Contest
RIDOT reported that several hundred thousand dollars of underground wiring were taken by thieves who removed manhole covers – they are probably being sold for scrap
Smithfield School Superintendent has resigned
Snow predictions for Saturday night could be as much as 2-4″
Boston Globe’s editor is stepping down next week, after less than 3 years at the paper’s top post. Nancy Barnes became the first woman to lead the newspaper, joining the Globe in 2023. Prior to this, Barnes was Sr. VP for news & editorial director at NPR.
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NATIONAL & INT’L
National Parks FREE days removed for: Juneteenth (6-19) and MLK Day – adds 110th anniversary of the NPS (August 25), Constitution Day (September 17), Flag Day (6-14) (also Pres. Trump’s BDay) – and President Teddy Roosevelt’s birthday (October 27). The changes will take effect starting January 1.
New architect to come in and work with existing architect on the White House ballroom
Pres Trump presents FIFA World Peace Prize
Amazon to invest $35Billion in India
62,000 children have been found that were brought across the border and lost – many were in sex trafficking situations
250 Dept. of Educ. Workers will return to help handle civil rights complaints for the department
Pipe bursting in one of the rooms of the Egyptian antiquities department’s library, soaking 300 to 400 books, visual periodicals, archaeology journals, and other works, some of which date back to the 1800s.
Australia now bans all social media to children under 16
Pepsi will eliminate 20 products and come out with new ones
Google to launch first AI glasses next year
Shooting at Kentucky State University – one student dead, one injured – 1 non-student in custody is the father of one of the students
AT&T starting to pull landlines – Illinois first state – 2029 will be its projected end
CEO of Hinge steps down to start new dating app
New ChatGPT 5.2 launch
$12B aid package released for farmers
Alina Habib resigned as counsel in New Jersey
8 Matisse works stolen from a library in Brazil
Havas on brands: “Research found that 78% of brands could disappear tomorrow and no one would notice — a figure up 5% from last year. This isn’t a failure of technology, but a failure of imagination. We’ve become so fixated on where and when to show up, we’ve forgotten why people should care.”
US seizes oil tanker off coast of Venezuela
Thailand and Cambodia engaged in battles again
Federal Reserve cuts interest rates by ¼% – 3rd cut in a row – Pres. Trump did want a larger cut – stock market surges
Unconfirmed report that the United States has just helped to evacuate Venezuelan Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner this year, Maria Corina Machado, from Venezuela. Machado has been living in hiding for a long time, fearing for her life. Developing
Gold Visa Card active – pay $15K to get extreme vetting – then pay $1M if approved. Companies pay $2M for sponsored employee
Time Magazine Person of the Year – AI
Anheuser Busch closing plants in New Hampshire, California and New Jersey – 475 employees impacted
Tyson plant in Nebraska to close in January. 3,200 jobs lost in a town of 11,000
Australia social media ban – Reddit suing on civil rights – as well as two teenagers challenging country’s constitutionality to do this.
NBC’s Rehema Ellis is leaving network TV
US govt now switching back to Times New Roman typeface over use of Calibri typeface
Congressman Fetterman has come up with a perfect event for the holidays – The 15 Minute Christmas Party
Portugal has been chosen as “economy of the year” by British magazine The Economist, which has compiled data on the economies of 36 of the richest countries in the world for the second year running.
One of Portugal’s most beloved pastries – the pastel de Belém – has been elected the Best Sweet Pastry in the World for 2026 by TasteAtlas, an online food and travel guide
Gun rights activist Kyle Rittenhouse, who made national headlines for being acquitted in an August 2020 shooting that killed two men when he was 16 years old, announced his marriage at the age of 22 – the two posed for photos carrying guns – he says he is now back on social media
BLM-DC charged with money laundering, fraud
BLM Oklahoma – wire fraud and money laundering
Denmark moving to restrict social media among young people, similar to Australia
Outbreak of measles in So. Carolina leaves those infected or exposed in quarantine
Representative Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee used the term “unfortunate accident” about the DC shooting of Nat’l Guard
In England they are tracking asylum seekers falsely self-identifying as children
52, 53 days hitting record highs in a row in the Dow
King Charles set to release a message today about his cancer
53% of CDL holders (truck licenses) in the state of New York are illegal people.
White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles has been named to Forbes’ 2025 list of the World’s Most Powerful Women, standing out as the only American woman in politics to be included this year.
$900 BONUSES going to 18,000 Amtrak workers…
Trump Accounts: Children under the age of 10, not eligible for new savings accounts ARE eligible for the Dell family $250 starter gift if they live in zip codes with less than $150 median income. In RI, only two cities/towns don’t qualify – Saunderstown (02874) and Barrington (02806)
Dick Van Dyke turns 100 TODAY
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PASSINGS
Wenne Alton Davis, 60, actress
Anthony “Tony” DiCicco, founder Tony’s Italian Market, Federal Hill, Prov
A.T. Wall, 72, former director of the RI ACI, longest serving correctional director in US, has passed
Welcome to the world, Roman. We’re trying to make it a better place.
Stuffies – no. Pizza strips – yes.
Barrington cheerleaders – You rock!
Boston’s Ice Tea Party – Love the idea!!!
Snow – Bite your tongue ❄️❄️
Happy 100th Birthday, Dick Van Dyke! Thank you for the humor
Social media bans – There are parental codes on devices. Use them and send them out to play.
As to the above – Please get your kids vaccinated. It’s the right thing to do. Take it from an old lady – no kid should have to go through that.
The President gets the 1st FIFA Peace Prize. In the meantime, Thailand and Cambodia are fighting again.
Susie Wiles is named one of the most powerful women. Maybe she can get the President to watch his language. Not everyone uses the parental codes on their televisions.
Happy Holidays!
TY for reading, Lesley!
Nice comments; gently expressed.
One observation, if I may. Neither side in the immigration matter is exercising a responsible degree of discrimination. Discrimination in the sense of recognizing differences. The feds/ice are not being careful enough. The stories are numerous — and they are true — of ice detaining, even deporting, fathers of families working at regular jobs, who pose no threat. But ice also has been successful in their useful function — arresting some very bad criminals.
The progressive groups are just indiscriminate in their denunciation of the ice operations. Most progressive protestors make it plain they want no action, no arrests, no ice. They fail to acknowledge that arresting dangerous criminals, in the country illegally, is a good thing. They are failing to discriminate.
And the latest stunt (the ice tea party) one shouldn’t approve, because to co-opt a historical event with its own context and meaning to attempt to gain some credibility for your own agenda is just cheap and shabby, immature and distorting. It reflects a lack of adult discrimination.
So, other than ice, I got several smiles from the comments.