RI NEWS

Marathon work shifts — and massive overtime payments — soar at R.I. state prison

Correctional officers earn plenty of overtime pay for working quads — 32-hour shifts during which they aren’t supposed to sleep. But managers, inmates, and even officers are concerned about the health and safety risks.

PODCAST | RHODE ISLAND REPORT

Black and Latino caucus leader calls for R.I. to include minority-owned businesses

On the Rhode Island Report podcast, Representative Karen Alzate talks about the group’s legislative priorities.

RI EDUCATION

In vote of confidence, Governor McKee says he wants to extend Education Commissioner Infante-Green’s contract

Governor Dan McKee said for the first time Wednesday that he would like Infante-Green to remain in her current position after her deal expires next April, a significant vote of confidence for a leader who has clashed with the Providence Teachers Union and state lawmakers for most of the last year.

Some Florida school districts defy DeSantis, require masks

Despite a ban by Gov. Ron DeSantis, two Florida school districts have decided to require masks when children return to classrooms because of dramatic rises in coronavirus infections, with the state leading the country in hospitalizations.

Florida hospitals fighting to get oxygen with ‘hands tied’

Florida hospitals are struggling to get oxygen due to a rise in Covid-19 cases attributable to the Delta variant and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s decision not to declare another state of emergency.

RI Crime

ATV and dirt bike riders drag woman out of her car and beat her while stopped at a traffic light in Providence

Council President John Igliozzi on Wednesday said he would schedule a special meeting next week to “urgently address this unacceptable outbreak of violent crime” in Providence.

COVID variants: What you need to know about Delta, Gamma, Lambda, and more

The recent surge in COVID cases due to the Delta variant has created confusion and raised questions about how variants could change the global response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Most unvaccinated Americans believe coronavirus vaccine a greater health risk than the disease, poll finds

More unvaccinated adults in the United States view the coronavirus vaccine as a greater risk to their health than the disease caused by the virus itself, a poll found.

Vaccination reduces risk of getting Delta symptoms by 60 percent, study finds

Vaccines in England were 60 percent effective at preventing symptomatic cases of COVID caused by the Delta variant, researchers reported Wednesday, a figure lower than most previous estimates that scientists nevertheless said ought to be interpreted cautiously.

WEATHER

Flash flood watch in effect in Rhode Island, up to 4 inches possible

Block Island, Bristol, Newport, northwest and southeast Providence, and other areas are expected to be hit hard Wednesday night.