By Janine L. Weisman | Editor-in-Chief
Good Wednesday morning!
WPRI’s Tim White asked this of Gov. Dan McKee and his main Democratic rival Helena Buonanno Foulkes before the two made their closing statements during Tuesday night’s live television debate at Rhode Island College: “What is something you admire about your opponent?”
The two had spent much of the previous hour trading accusations and talking over one another. Their answers granted a few seconds of reprieve from the night’s tension.
“I think we all admire family, and certainly Helena does a great job with her family,” McKee said.
“Yeah, I agree with that about the governor too,” Foulkes replied. “I think he’s a real family man, and I appreciate that.”
* * *
High tide in Narraganset is at 1:32 p.m. Low tide is at 6:17 a.m. and 7:31 p.m. Sunset is at 7:39 p.m.
* * *
Attorney General Peter F. Neronha and Hopkinton Police Chief Mark J. Carrier hold an 11 a.m. press conference to announce an update on a “significant cold case” investigated by the Office of the Attorney General and Hopkinton Police Department with assistance from the Woonsocket Police Department and Connecticut State Police.
U.S. Sen. Jack Reed is at Park Square Children’s Center in Woonsocket at 11 a.m. to join Head Start providers and advocates in opposing the Trump administration’s proposed reforms to the preschool program. Changes to Head Start would eliminate federal requirements regarding “curriculum implementation, parent committees, family engagement procedures, and service delivery structures.”
U.S. District Court Judge Mary S. McElroy will oversee a naturalization ceremony inside the Providence federal courthouse at 1 p.m.
Gov. Dan McKee provides an onsite update on the Washington Bridge rebuild project at 1:15 p.m. on the Providence side of the bridge construction site by Gano and India streets.
The Council on Postsecondary Education meets at 5:30 p.m.
Gov. Dan McKee emphasizes jobs during a Aug. 25, 2025, press conference at Quonset point in North Kingstown demanding the Trump administration reverse the Revolution Wind stop work order. (Photo by Laura Paton/Rhode Island Current)
By Nancy Lavin
Gov. Dan McKee often touts the 37,000 jobs added since he took office in 2021. Democratic gubernatorial challenger Helena Buonanno Foulkes called the statement "a lie." Federal labor market information reveals a more nuanced answer.
The Tiverton Town Council voted last month to add more Flock automated license plate readers in town. But Gov. Dan McKee has called for a pause on new cameras for 60 days pending a statewide review. (Photo by Nolan Page/Rhode Island Current)
By Nolan Page
Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee has paused new Flock camera installations as communities debate privacy, public safety and the growing statewide network of automated license plate readers.
Kim Ahern, a Democratic candidate for Rhode Island attorney general, holds a plaque she received on her final day as a prosecutor in Peter Neronha’s office. Neronha has endorsed one of Ahern’s opponents. (Screenshot/Kim Ahern for Rhode Island)
By Christopher Shea
Democratic attorney general candidate Kim Ahern’s latest campaign ad prominently features a plaque given to her by her old term-limited boss Peter Neronha when she left the AG’s office. There’s just one problem: Neronha has endorsed her opponent, Keith Hoffmann.
A crane on the construction site of the planned White House ballroom, where the East Wing used to be, during the early morning of Thursday, June 11, 2026. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
By Ashley Murray | D.C. Bureau
More than 30 Democratic U.S. senators, including Rhode Island’s Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, signed a brief filed in support of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing irreparable harm would result if construction continued on President Donald Trump’s $400 million White House ballroom on the grounds of the demolished East Wing.
A family waits in line to apply for asylum at the southern border between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, in 2023. The number of refugees admitted to the United States during the first 10 months of the fiscal year is on pace to hit its lowest level on record. (Photo by Corrie Boudreaux for Source NM)
By Shalina Chatlani | Stateline
U.S. refugee admissions are on pace for a record low under President Donald Trump, with 10,258 refugees admitted in the first 10 months of fiscal 2026. Nearly all of them were white South Africans.
ICYMI
Violent crime in US fell at record pace in 2025 | Amanda Watford, Stateline
Thanks for reading Swell. Did you know our weekend digest is also free? Sign up here. And if you enjoyed today’s edition, please forward to a friend. Increasing our readership helps us cover more news.