Rhode Island, Providence | featured news

WASHINGTON, D.C. —  Longtime federal agent Wing Chau has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Rhode Island's U.S. marshal, according to a news release Thursday from Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse.Chau, a special agent and criminal investigator with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, replaces outgoing U.S. Marshal Jamie Hainsworth, a former Glocester police chief who was nominated by President Barack Obama in 2012. [...]

Mayor Elorza issues a statement opposing Ruggerio's bill.

PROVIDENCE — A Central Falls man faces six years in prison after he pleaded guilty to charges of trafficking fentanyl from his apartment and being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Providence.Dennis Rivera, 31, pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and two counts of possession of a firearm after having been convicted of a crime [...]

Three Bryant University student-athletes were arrested Monday following an assault at a townhouse on campus Sunday, according to the Smithfield police.The three are Joseph Kasperzyk, 19, a basketball player from 155 Halper Avenue, New Haven, Connecticut; Zahir Williams, 20, a football player from 680 Beck Street, Bronx, New York; and Shelton McNeal, 20, also a football player, of 1741 Washington Avenue, Lakeland, Florida.They have been charged with breaking and entering, [...]

PROVIDENCE — In the wake of revelations in the national college admissions cheating scandal and separate reports of preferential treatment for wealthy students, Brown University will conduct a comprehensive review of its policies governing admissions and campus life.“Preferential treatment, real or suspected, for students based on wealth or privilege is corrosive to our community,” wrote Brown President Christina Paxson in an email announcement distributed to all [...]

PROVIDENCE — Five people are getting help from the American Red Cross after a fire on Sharon Street in Providence Sunday, the nonprofit said.Three families were affected by the fire, and got help for their “immediate needs,” the Red Cross said. The Red Cross is also providing comfort kits with personal care items, like toothbrushes, deodorant and shaving supplies.A spokeswoman for the Providence Fire Department said the call came in at 9:17 a.m., and the [...]

PROVIDENCE — Newly released data indicates that overtime has raised fire protection costs by as much as 30 percent in some of the cities and towns that have already moved to the overtime threshold that the Rhode Island House of Representatives will debate and vote on Tuesday night.One of the two bills would eliminate the current exemption for firefighters from the state's overtime-pay law.  The other would [...]

PROVIDENCE — A Providence police officer has been placed on paid administrative leave, pending the outcome of an internal investigation.Public Safety Commissioner Steven M. Paré confirmed that patrolman James E. Lewis Jr. was placed on leave Friday afternoon. He declined to say what prompted the investigation, or whether it is connected to other investigations.Lewis was hired in October 2014.Sources have told The Journal that the internal-affairs [...]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Music superstar Taylor Swift says the efforts of a Tennessee LGBTQ advocacy group to fight a handful of contentious bills moving inside the state's Republican-controlled General Assembly inspired her to make a sizeable donation.According to the Tennessee Equality Project, Swift donated $113,000 to the organization on Monday. The group posted a handwritten letter from Swift, who cited a recent petition of Tennessee faith leaders who oppose a [...]

PROVIDENCE -- When the city shuttered a Federal Hill restaurant and bar in the wake of allegations that an owner tried to bribe a Providence police officer, the Acorn Street establishment appealed the decision and its two-month timeout from doing business.That turned out to be a mistake on the part of the DaVinci restaurant and cigar bar: Not only did [...]