Local:
According to the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, many of the state’s dams are unsafe and could pose a large risk if they fail as a result of storms or other adverse conditions. Ninety-six of Rhode Island’s dams have been given a rating of “high hazard,” and 81 others are rated a “significant hazard” by the DEM, meaning they will likely cause either significant loss of human life or economic damage respectively. Of these, 41 were considered unsafe in a 2015 DEM report, and just seven have since been fixed.
The Providence Firefighters Union announced a tentative agreement with the City of Providence on a contract Monday night. Since mid-2015, the union has been in disagreement with the city after Mayor Jorge Elorza implemented changes to firefighter scheduling. Monday’s announcement comes a month after the mayor said that he was working to revert the changes in September.
National:
Last weekend, a Republican Party office in North Carolina was firebombed. The office was also vandalized with a threatening message to “Nazi” Republicans alongside an image of a swastika. According to local police, a flammable liquid was ignited inside the building and caused significant interior damage. None were injured in the attack, and police still do not have a suspect. In a show of support, both Democrats and Republicans have issued statements of sympathy and concern, including presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
The United States Department of State and the FBI have denied any “quid pro quo” collaboration in declassifying emails belonging to then-Secretary of State State Hillary Clinton. According to recently released documents from FBI communications, a State Department administrator asked the FBI to declassify an email found on Clinton’s email server, relating to the 2012 Benghazi incident. However, the attempt was unsuccessful, and the FBI refused to lower the classification from “secret.” The FBI has repeatedly dismissed allegations that there was a “quid pro quo” exchange between State and the FBI in return for supposedly declassifying Clinton emails.
Global:
On Monday, Russian state-run news channel Russia Today claimed that NatWest, a bank in the United Kingdom, had frozen its accounts and withdrawn its banking services. And, on Tuesday, RT posted a copy of the letter that they reportedly received from NatWest. However, the UK bank has denied that any accounts were frozen, and that RT may still withdraw funds. Although they deny the freezing of the accounts, NatWest has announced that all of RT’s accounts will be closed by mid-December.
The United Kingdom and the United States have refused a Russian proposal to “pause” airstrikes in Syria. After continued bombing of the Syrian city Aleppo, many United Nations members and much of the west, including the United States and UK, have repeatedly called for another ceasefire after the previous short-lived attempt at a cessation of hostilities in the war-torn nation. The United States said Russia’s offer of a “humanitarian pause” was “too little, too late.”