Woonsocket Radio News Room

 

Rhode Island’s COVID-19 data reporting will go into effect next week. We will be transitioning from reporting COVID-19 data Monday through Friday to reporting data weekly, on Thursday afternoons. Other states have already moved in this direction. (For example, Massachusetts transitioned to weekly reporting in early July.) And the CDC is on a weekly reporting cadence for its assessment of community risk levels by county. This change is reflective of the larger shift Rhode Island has made from a pandemic response to endemic management, informed by COVID-19 data trends over a period of weeks. However, our data team and COVID-19 leadership team will still be reviewing hospitalization trends and other key metrics daily to monitor for any significant shifts. We have the ability to move back to daily reporting, should it be warranted at any point in the future.    

 

One last note on these monkeypox vaccination clinics this weekend. Pre-registration is required. All appointments have been taken. There is no vaccine at these clinics for walk-ups. Eligible people can get on a notification list for when additional vaccine comes into Rhode Island through a link on this page: health.ri.gov/monkeypox

 

Joseph Wendelken | Public Information Officer

Rhode Island Department of Health

 

 

The Supreme Court is considering arguments about presidential immunity. The case before the high court on Thursday centered around Donald Trump's claims of immunity in his federal election interference case. The special counsel attorney argued that the Constitution does not grant a president absolute immunity. The justices are expected to rule in June.        Hundreds of people have been arrested on college campuses in the past two weeks for protesting Israel's bombing of the Gaza Strip. Anti-Israel protests have sprung up across the country since the NYPD arrested over 100 demonstrators at Columbia University on April 18th. Since then, protesting students have been setting up tents at campuses across the country.       A new report says the company that owns TikTok would rather shut it down in the U.S. than sell it. According to "The Guardian," sources at ByteDance say the algorithms that the social media app relies on are considered too important to the company's overall operations, and that TikTok accounts for only a small share of ByteDance's total revenue.        Librarians in Alabama could face criminal charges if a newly-passed bill becomes law. Republican lawmakers in Alabama passed a bill where librarians at public libraries or public schools can be arrested if accused of distributing material considered obscene. House Bill 385 now goes to the state Senate.       Home prices in the U.S. are at an all-time high. A new report from Redfin found the median home price in the U.S. is now at a record high of over 383-thousand-dollars. Economic researchers say prices may drop slightly in the coming months, but buyers should accept that housing costs are "likely to remain elevated for the foreseeable future."        Disney World is reportedly waging a war against Crocs. The Disney fansite "Inside the Magic" says visitors to the theme park are no longer allowed to wear the popular shoes while riding on escalators at the Magic Kingdom. Photos and videos on social media show different styles of Crocs getting stuck on escalators at the EPCOT Center.       

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