By Janine L. Weisman | Editor-in-Chief

Good Thursday morning!

A sunny day is in the Providence forecast today with a high of 62.

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High tide in Jamestown is at 11:28 a.m. and 11:55 p.m. Low tide is at 5:02 p.m. Sunrise is at 6:57 a.m. Sunset is at 6:04 p.m.

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Gov. Dan McKee gets his flu shot at the Flu Vaccination Campaign Kickoff at 1 p.m. at the Rhode Island Department of Health. Then at 2:15 p.m., McKee joins the girls’ and boys' soccer teams at West Warwick High School to ceremonially sign legislation (H7027/S2079) expanding the requirement for automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in middle and high schools. The new law also establishes a cardiac emergency response plan for athletic venues and activities.

A special legislative commission to study how Rhode Island school districts can share services in the face of funding and operational challenges meets at 4 p.m.

A new House commission to study the use and impacts of digital technology on children, public education and mental health meets for the first time at 4 p.m.

A discarded Suboxone wrapper on a rain-soaked sidewalk in June 2025. The medication, which contains buprenorphine and naloxone, is used to treat opioid use disorder. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)

By Alexander Castro

A recent state audit of 100 Medicaid claims over a two-year period by all five opioid treatment providers that billed Rhode Island Medicaid during that period found at least one problem with every single claim. But the state agency that oversees these providers failed to flag these problems consistently, despite visiting facilities every other year, according to the Oct. 7 report by Rhode Island’s Office of the Auditor General.

Independent Ken Block, left, has received the endorsement of MAGA Republican Elaine Pelino, right, in the race for Rhode Island governor. Pelino lost the Sept. 9 GOP primary to Aaron Guckian. (Photos by Michael Salerno and Nancy Lavin/Rhode Island Current)

By Nancy Lavin

Five weeks after narrowly losing Rhode Island’s Republican gubernatorial primary, Elaine Pelino is urging her supporters to cross party lines and vote for independent Ken Block in the Nov. 3 general election instead of her GOP opponent Aaron Guckian.

A sign hangs in the window of the Ever Hope Center, a federally funded resiliency center for people affected by the mass shootings in Pawtucket and at Brown University. The center run by Family Service of Rhode Island officially opened Oct. 14, 2026. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)

By Christopher Shea

The new Ever Hope Center, a federally funded resiliency center in Providence run by Family Service of Rhode Island, held its official opening Wednesday. The center offers free, ongoing trauma support for survivors, families and others affected by the Pawtucket hockey rink and Brown University shootings.

Turbine installation for Revolution Wind is shown. The Trump administration had ordered construction stopped. A court ordered work resumed while the full case plays out in court. (Photo courtesy of Ørsted)

By John Moritz | Connecticut Mirror

The Trump administration is once again seeking to interrupt the development of the nearly completed Revolution Wind offshore wind far. In a federal court filing on Friday, attorneys representing the U.S. Department of the Interior sought permission to rescind the agency's three-year-old approval for the construction of the project off Connecticut and Rhode Island.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., speaks as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., looks on during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 8, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

By Shauneen Miranda, Ariana Figueroa, Ashley Murray and Jonathan Shorman| D.C. Bureau

A slew of pressing policy debates are on tap for Democrats if they take control of Congress, including healthcare, immigration, voting rights, the war in Iran, oversight, education and beyond, as they aim to reverse many of President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans’ actions since January 2025.

ICYMI

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