By Janine L. Weisman | Editor-in-Chief
Good Friday morning!
Rhode Island’s business climate is one of the worst in the country, but at least Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport is the fairest in all the land.
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High tide in Narragansett is at 4:36 p.m. Low tide is at 9:48 a.m. and 11:41 p.m. Sunset is at 9:20 a.m.
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Gov. Dan McKee speaks at the 10 a.m. groundbreaking ceremony for the renovated North Smithfield Public Safety Complex on Smithfield Road in North Smithfield.
Today is the day all candidates who filed paperwork to run for office to turn in their nomination forms to local canvassing boards. The deadline is 4 p.m.
Local boards of canvassers have until Thursday, July 16, to certify nomination papers to the Department of State. By mid-day Friday, July 17, the Department of State should finish certifying signature counts of federal, statewide, and General Assembly candidates.
A section of the the ramp connecting Route 10 to Interstate 95 North was closed for over a week after a concrete barrier collapsed on to the train tracks below on the evening of April 24, 2026. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)
By Nancy Lavin
Rhode Island’s business climate is one of the worst in the country, according to CNBC’s 2026 Top States for Business list published Thursday. The annual ranking puts the Ocean State 48th in terms of business-friendliness above only Alaska and Hawaii. Rhode Island finished dead last in the infrastructure category. The state finished in the top half of states for quality of life, ranking 16th.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said the Trump administration’s attempts to restrict homeless service grants ‘will cause tens of thousands of people to lose their homes.’ (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)
By Christopher Shea and Nolan Page
The latest federal lawsuit in the battle over homelessness service funding involves nearly the same coalition of Democratic-led states, the same Rhode Island federal judge, and advocates’ hopes of the same outcome: stopping the Trump administration from changing its grant rules. The case was filed Tuesday by Rhode Island and 21 other states and the District of Columbia in U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island.
Flowers are shown in the women’s restroom at Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport on June 2, 2026. (Photo by Janine L. Weisman/Rhode Island Current)
By Christopher Shea
For the second consecutive year, Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport has landed Travel + Leisure magazine's top honor as the nation's best airport — scoring higher than its first stop at No. 1 spot.
The Rhode Island House of Representatives debates the fiscal year 2027 state budget at the Rhode Island State House in Providence on Friday. June 5, 2026. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)
COMMENTARY
By Matt Ulricksen
Most Rhode Island lawmakers are running unopposed, giving the state one of the nation's highest rates of uncontested legislative races. Research suggests low legislative pay, one-party dominance and redistricting all contribute to weak electoral competition.
The National Museum of American History sits on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. (Photo courtesy National Museum of American History)
By Amelia Twyman | D.C. Bureau
President Donald Trump's latest criticism of the Smithsonian Institution has sparked debate over how American history should be presented, with scholars defending the museum's scholarship and accusing the administration of promoting a political vision of the nation's past.
ICYMI
Wyatt Detention Facility board chair resigns | Philip Eil
Gun homicides declined in 2024 as firearm suicides hit record high, data shows | Amanda Watford, Stateline
Food stamp changes will cost states billions, raising fears about SNAP’s future | Kevin Hardy, Stateline
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