By Nancy Lavin | Senior Reporter
It’s Thursday!
Today’s forecast calls for hot temperatures, and potentially hot tempers, as lawmakers finish out the legislative session in a marathon night marked by votes on hundreds of bills.
Unlike recent years headlined by fiery debates over assault weapons, iGaming and special tax discounts for Citizens Bank, the 4 p.m. calendars for the final day of the 2026 session look pretty tame. The hot-button issues, like a millionaire’s tax, a charter school moratorium and extending the statute of limitations for sexual abuse claims, have been negotiated and (ostensibly) settled.
Could it be an early night? Let’s not jinx it. After all, the great cage-free chicken debate might come back.
* * *
High tide in Newport is at 5:11 p.m. Low tide is at 10:11 a.m. and 11:32 p.m. Sunset is at 8:19 p.m.
* * *
At a 3 p.m. State House ceremony, Gov. Dan McKee signs legislation amending the statute of limitations for claims of sexual abuse of a child and creating a two-year window for victims to bring otherwise expired claims against institutions like the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence accused of enabling or covering up sexual abuse.
The Rhode Island Continuum of Care board meets at 3:30 p.m.
The Rhode Island Senate will not take up Gov. Dan McKee's nomination of Donna Sams to the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission this session. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)
By Nancy Lavin
Noticeably absent from the novel-length legislative agendas of the General Assembly’s final days of session: confirmation, or even a preliminary vetting, of Gov. Dan McKee’s nominee to the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission. The Senate does not intend to advance Donna Sams before it recesses for the year.
A crane hoists a drilled foundation shaft for the new westbound Washington Bridge into the Seekonk River on Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)
By Christopher Shea
Construction on a new westbound Washington Bridge officially began Wednesday, more than two years after the old highway connecting Providence and East Providence was shut down by Rhode Island state officials.
Members of Climate Action Rhode Island show their support for the SouthCoast Wind project outside Portsmouth Middle School on July 23, 2025. The Rhode Island Energy Facility Siting Board held a hearing on SouthCoast Wind’s cable burial plan that night. (Photo by Laura Paton/Rhode Island Current)
By Nancy Lavin
The murky future for SouthCoast Wind gained a small but significant sign of clarity Tuesday with a key permit approval from the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC). The unanimous vote came after more than four hours of expert and public testimony, and objections from fishing industry representatives.
Sen. Hanna Gallo, a Cranston Democrat, speaks on the Senate floor in 2025. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)
By Alexander Castro
A new legislative study commission is one step closer to reality after House and Senate panels advanced a resolution to create a body to review the state's K-12 education funding formula. The commission would specifically examine recommendations by the Rhode Island Foundation's Blue Ribbon Commission, released in January 2026.
Slashing Medicaid coverage of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic as a weight loss treatment is projected to save the state of Rhode Island $20.3 million. But the long term consequences are expected to cost far more, research published in JAMA Network Open suggests. (Product image courtesy of Novo Nordisk; Photo illustration by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)
COMMENTARY
By Nancy Glick
The short-term savings from a decision by State House leaders to drop Medicaid coverage for GLP-1 drugs for weight loss treatment will have unintended consequences in the long term, resulting in poorer health and medical expenditures much greater than the roughly $96 million the state now spends on obesity care.
Minnesota was the first state to outlaw prediction markets, where people can bet on events. The Trump administration proposed new rules Wednesday, which some critics say are still too lax. (Photo by Alyssa Chen/Minnesota Reformer)
By Kevin Hardy, Stateline
The Trump administration Wednesday proposed new regulations for online prediction markets that would ban bets on war, assassination and other extreme events, but still allow many sports bets to operate on the growing platforms. Critics say the proposed rules don’t do enough to rein in an industry that has sparked jurisdictional battles between state and federal governments, particularly when it comes to sports betting.
ICYMI
Case against Trump weaponization fund paused following Blanche reversal | Ashley Murray, D.C. Bureau
After nursing home crises, states target private equity’s role | Anna Claire Vollers, Stateline
Inflation spiked to 4.2%, a three-year high, in May | Tim Henderson, 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.