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In the News… Quick Recap of the News of the Week ending October 9, 2026
This is a quick recap of news items of the week in Rhode Island, regionally, nationally and internationally. And, passings of note.
RHODE ISLAND & VICINITY
Dan Connors, chief of staff at RI Executive Office of Health and Human Services and a close Gov. McKee adviser, will begin as executive director of the Hospital Association of Rhode Island, the main lobbying group for hospitals
4,000 nurses at Brigham & Women’s Hospital announce open ended strike imminent
110 Grill, a chain restaurant in The Residence in downtown Providence has closed
Brown launched new concentration on philosophy, politics and economics
Hope & Main reopened new facility in West End of Providence
Brown Univ. adds 2 buildings (Elm St and Meeting St) for public safety presence
Narragansett and Jamestown school committees may merge
Bishop Lewandowski led procession & rosary for migrants jailed at Wyatt Detention Center
Debris field has been found so far in crash of medivac plane with 6 aboard off Nantucket
Former Pres. Biden attended the Audrain Newport Concours and Motor Week event
Kayaker in Providence, off Gano St. ramp found deceased. 54 yo. no foul play suspected
2 killed, 35 injured in mass shooting at Georgia block party
RI fire departments and other first responder organizations are getting more than $4.5 million in grants for new equipment, training and emergency response upgrades
Child died at Maurolou Family Farm, a campground and event venue in Little Compton when a John Deere UTV driven by a 16 y.o, overturned and 8 young people aboard were ejected. Two 5-year old girls taken to hospital, where 1 died and 1 is recovering from serious injuries. Other children treated at scene and released to parents.
Gov. Healey giving a free 100 gallons of oil valued at $680 to over 50,000 in MA with incomes less than $140,000 total
34 people arrested in New Bedford by ICE
DEM giving $15M aid to RI farm producers experiencing weather disasters in 23/24
Over $4.5 million for RI firefighters, mostly for Providence, Woonsocket & Coventry
Rhode Island’s $2.85 million hemp market faces new federal THC limits that could upend the state’s growing market for infused drinks.
Brown University fell to 16th on the list of top private universities – lowest rank in over 10 yrs
Rhode Island T. F. Green International Airport recognized among the nation’s best airports, earning 8th place in the 2026 Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards
86 yo woman found dead in her room at Golden Pond Assisted Living Center in Hopkinton, MA – her thermostat showed 99 degrees
Boston Dynamics names new CEO, Rohit Prasad, who worked for Amazon Alexa on robots
Trump administration announced it has opened investigations into Brown and eight other universities on suspicion of visa fraud and unlawfully benefiting from hiring foreign nationals
Providence Journal announces move to digital-only on Columbus Day and holidays
RI Airport staff member arrested for having a gun ID’d as “low level” employee was Director of Operations
South County Hospital affiliation with Mayo Clinic may have broader financial relationship
LaPigna returns to the Federal Hill Arch – progress towards completion reviewed
Exec. Director of RI Joint Committee on Legislative Services) is Lisa Tomasso, Sr. VP of Hospital Assoc of RI
Smithfield man arrested after DNA research on sexual assault & murder of URI female from 41 years ago
Cumberland contestant on Survivor leaves show early due to possible leg and foot infection
Blank Street coffee will open on Thayer St. in December, its first RI location
Astra Zeneca opens new R&D facility in Cambridge, MA
Presumed new Mayor of Providence, David Morales has appointed June Rose and Jenn Steinfeld to lead his transition team. Rose is currently chief of staff of the City Council and Steinfeld was field director of the Morales campaign
New website for anyone interested in working for the city of Providence: https://www.pvdforall.com/
RIDE Commissioner Infante-Green talking about mandatory summer school for students who are failing and can’t catch up
Joseph Pinion and Derek Simpson, have filed federal lawsuits against the NCAA in order to gain eligibility to play for Providence College this coming season.
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NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL
Group known as the new IRA In Ireland say they will start a civil war if all migrants are not removed from the country
Zach Bryan performs at Gillette wearing “Free Palestine” t-shirt
President of Minnesota mosque here illegally can be deported
Checks for $90 will be going out to almost 20M Medicare recipients – 90,000 in RI
Russia hits Ukraine bridges, wants Kyiv abandoned. Ukraine responds by hitting refineries
$500 checks going out to Obamacare recipients to approx. 1 million refund checks
All U.S. bombers have left RAF Fairford after the U.K. base was targeted in a foiled terror plot
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor takes police to court after Epstein files arrest
FlyDubai plane hijacker now says his intent was to fly the plane into Tel Aviv and crash it
Iranian Oil Minister has resigned. Country has no oil moving through the Strait now
Germany pledges €1.3 billion to Ukraine as Russia increases attacks
Russian death of 28 yo plague researcher prompts intense efforts to prevent spread – 200 on watch
Celeste Pizza closing d
Karoline Levitt announces she will join Fox News as a commentator – network building her a home studio
Usha Vance, wife of VP JD Vance, took a bad slip down the stairs from a helicopter with 4 military members standing at attention below her, none helping to steady her – she was carrying her 8-week old baby in a front
Thousands of students protest, some violence, on campus of Cornell condemning gang rape of student
Britainbuilding a modified version of the “Iron Dome” defense system – 1 Billion pounds a year for 10 years
Gov. of NY declares Measles emergency
Pres. Trump will pay for the black and white TV ads that are now paid for by U.S.
Massive demonstrations grow at Cornell in reaction to gang rape allegation
Paramount-Warner Brothers merger will now be known as Skydance
Bermuda patient & son on lost medivac plane: Marilyn Bean, 66, Sergio Lottimore, 41
Supreme Court (SCOTUS) begins new term – first up is a climate issue
Washington DC testing paying $50/week to students if they go to school
Pope Francis’ journal to be published this year
Amazon investing $1B in communities with data centers
10s of thousands in Paris, France going from plaza to plaza burning and destroying – over 6,000 arrested, hundreds injured
Fox News celebrating 30 years on air
CIA agent, David Rush, 49, arrested for siphoning off gold bars worth tens of millions of dollars from investigations – and buying luxury items such as 35 watches, 4 luxury coast properties, and possessing large quantities of cash
Mayor Mamdani just allocated $8.9 million into transgender puberty blockers and hormones for children
Nobel Prize Winner for Literature is Anne Carson, age 76, who becomes the third Canadian-born writer to win the prize
No Cornell students facing criminal charges in the group rape case of underage student
Trump Accounts auto-enroll all children in qualifying years; parents need to activate
NYC Mayor Mamdani criticized by Jewish community for lack of Oct. 7th support, later shouted at in the streets by Palestinian supporters for lack of support for Gaza
Chemistry Nobel Prize awarded to Henri Kagan (France) and Kenso Soai (Japan)
SCOTUS Alito says he thinks he knows who the leaker was in the abortion debate/ruling
Tennessee woman who was set to be executed is now recovering in-hospital, is awake and speaking
Marco Rubio announced that Iran has no control over the Strait of Hormuz, and oil ships are flowing freely, with US protection
FBI thwarts terror plot on Mall of America by 18 yo radicalized US Somalian
Amazon investing $1B in communities with data centers
Pope Francis’ journal to be published this year
Washington DC testing paying $50/week to students if they go to school
Mike Tyson credits 3 years in Juvenile Detention with developing discipline & success
20 million Medicare recipients with Plan B and no income-reduced payment will receive checks for $90
Execution of man who killed 13 people and injured 32 others in a shooting at the Fort Hood military base in 2009 will be before a firing squad on Dec. 3rd at Fort Hood – reports are it will be public and could be live-streamed, which may be opposed by court. A psychiatrist, he said he did it to protect Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan
VP J. D. Vance told The Republican about the potentially streamed live execution by firing squad: , “I don’t know that that’s actually going to happen,” when asked about the plans that the Pentagon confirmed Thursday – in any case he said he would not be watching.
Sylvester Stallone sharing information about his early struggles with bulimia
National Medal of Science award presented to Elon Musk — SpaceX and Tesla; Sergey Brin — Google co-founder; Jensen Huang — Nvidia CEO; and Lisa Su — AMD CEO
National Medal of Technology and Innovation presented to Michael Dell and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella
Nobel Peace Prize presented to Navanethem “Navi” Pillay for promoting peace and international law
Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar, who was attacked on the plane to Israel will be conferred with Israel’s Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism
New research published in The Lancet says that the global burden of cancer was attributable to infections. Implicated statistically are: Helicobacter pylori, human papillomavirus (HPV), hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C viruses (HCV), Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus, Schistosoma haematobium, human T-cell lymphotropic virus, Opisthorchis viverrini, Clonorchis sinensis, Merkel cell polyomavirus, and HIV.
Hurricane Isaias to hit the Florida and Louisiana area Sat/Sun and make its way up with rain for Monday in New England
Katie Zacharia named new Press Secretary at the White House – attorney, former spox for DHS, political commentator featured often on Fox, CNN, MSNBC, etc.
President Trump was seen wearing a new suit, which fit him better than his recent looks – when he held the jacket open the label said Jos. A. Bank – from the exclusive collection – made in New Bedford, MA
8.8 Earthquake hits Panama, tsunami warning isssued
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PASSINGS
Jim Bakker, 86, televangelist
Kim Burgesss, 79, died – long time RI publisher, writer, founder of newspapers, publication
Mike Ditka, 86, football coach, player, Hall of Famer, Super Bowl winner
Tan Ping Fung, mother of former Cranston Mayor Allan Fung, died
Freddie Jackson, 70, singer
Robert Kelker-Kelly, 62, actor, best known for his role as Bo Brady on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives
Eva Marie Saint, 102, actress