Local News:
Convicted child rapist, Richard Gardner, was released from prison again last week after few weeks for allegedly using the wrong address on an official document. WJAR reported that he was released due to a judge finding him not in violation of his probation. It was also reported that neighbors responded harshly to a peaceful protest Saturday night, put together by Gardner and his family in an attempt to get people to stop rioting in front of his house. This has happened on multiple occasions ever since Gardner was first released from his 30-year sentence in October.
Sports betting is now officially legal in Rhode Island. WPRI reports that Twin River Casino in Lincoln is the first location in the state to offer sports betting as of Monday. The Casino has even opened up an entirely new space of the third floor with over 100 televisions to accommodate the addition. The Twin River Casino in Tiverton will reportedly offer sports betting starting next month. Fifty-one percent of the revenue is expected to go to the state.
National News:
The latest U.S. climate assessment was released last Friday. According to the New York Times, the report says global warming is continuing to occur as the average temperature rises. The report also predicted that flooding along the coasts will continue to get worse, and crop failures may occur in the Midwest. It has also put emphasis on how the air quality may change to contain more ozone. Meanwhile, many of the predictions established in the last report from 2014 have already come true, the Times said, including intense weather, rising sea levels, effects on wildlife populations and wildfires. The report comes just after the most devastating fire in California history killed more than 80 people in and around the town of Paradise. Officials say the fire is now 100 percent contained as of last weekend.
A few hundred Central-American migrants have reached the border in Tijuana, Mexico and are trying to cross into U.S. territory. The Washington Post reported that the situation began to escalate Sunday when Border Patrol responded by closing off all legal ports of entry in the area and firing tear gas to push back the migrants. Officials claim that while some of the migrants assembled peacefully at the border, others were throwing bottles, rocks and other projectiles at officers. At least 42 were arrested after they crossed into U.S. territory, most of which were adult males. The legal ports of entry have reportedly opened back up since the incident.
International News:
The British Broadcasting Company reports that European Union leaders have officially approved the withdrawal of the U.K. from the EU, commonly referred to as Brexit. The negotiations have been taking place since March 2017, but they ended after a short meeting last week. The next step is to get the British Parliament to also approve the deal, BBC said. This is expected to not be as easy, however, as many British civilians have expressed their disapproval of Brexit, claiming the government has no idea what it is getting itself into and should remain in the EU.
A young American missionary was shot and killed with a bow and arrow by an isolated Tribe in on a remote island in India last week. The New York Times reports that John Allen Chau was attempting to explore the closed-off island of North Sentinel in the Andaman Sea. It is believed that Chau wanted to convert the tribe to Christianity despite many in India warning him not to go. Fishermen near the island claim the Tribe has threatened to harm outsiders in the past, and that they are even more hostile to them than other rival tribes in the area. The Times said two fishermen were killed by the same tribe in 2006 and that the Indian government has banned civilians from going to the island, and has even gotten their Navy involved in order to keep people away.