WQRI News– The 88 Second Update

45 degrees and sunny in Southern New England. The complete WQRI forecast in a moment. It was an eventful holiday weekend, not necessarily for the best reasons. 

An Easter brawl at an East Providence apartment complex lands four people in jail. The brawl involving nearly two dozen people erupted Sunday afternoon at Bullocks Point Village. One woman was taken to the hospital with stab wounds. Police say they have stepped up security in the area. Six anti-war protestors appearing in court today after disturbing Easter mass at a Chicago church. The demonstrators squirted fake blood on themselves and parishioners as they were escorted out. 

The US death toll in Iraq reached 4,000 Sunday, after four soldiers were killed in a Baghdad roadside bombing. The war now in its sixth year. Gas prices are at an all-time high. A national survey just released shows prices surging nearly 7 cents over the past two weeks to an average of $3.26 a gallon. 

And Arkansas preparing for some massive flooding as torrential rains hammer the region. Officials say some of the levees there have been neglected, which could mean the worst flooding the state has seen in 50 years. WQRI SPORTS 

Roger Williams University men’s baseball. The Hawks lose two to Minnesota’s Augsburg College over the weekend. Baseball plays Gordon College tomorrow at 2 p.m. 

Get your brackets ready. Eight games in the NCAA College Basketball Tournament, a few being broadcast on ESPN starting at 7 tonight. Check your local listings. WQRI Forecast 

The sun stays with us throughout the day, highs in the mid 40s. Then cooler tonight, mostly clear with the low near 30. 

Looking good tomorrow, too, highs back in the 40s. A respite from the rain. 

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts [1:47m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (200)

Read Full Post »

52 degrees in southern New England. The complete WQRI weekend forecast in a moment.

Police identify the contractor who was struck and killed by an Amtrak train at Providence Station yesterday. Gary Graves was inspecting the tracks just outside the terminal when he was hit by the Amtrak express. Two other workers seriously injured and rushed to a local hospital.

Police stepping up security in Woonsocket after the brief abduction of a high school student. Residents being urdged to report any suspicious activity. The girl told police she was walking to school when a man forced her into a car. She escaped a few minutes later.

A foundation created by former Roger Williams board chairman Ralph Papitto announcing nearly 2 million dollars in gifts to local organizations. Papitto resigned from the board of trustees last summer after admitting he used a racial slur at a meeting.

Rhode Island lawmakers looking over a loophole in state law that essentially permits prostitution as long as it takes place indoors. This on the heels of New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer’s involvement in a prostitution ring. Spitzer resigned earlier this week.

Meanwhile, more is becoming known about the prostitute Spitzer hooked up with in Washington DC last month. Millions of people visiting 22-year-old Ashley Dupre’s Myspace page after her identity was revealed Wednesday. She says she doesn’t want to be thought of as a monster.

Sen. Barack Obama’s pastor and adviser under fire this week for some controversial comments he’s made in sermons, including saying God should damn, not bless, America. Obama saying he disagrees with the statement but still supports his pastor.

 WQRI SPORTS

Roger Williams Baseball facing Hope College Saturday and Springfield College Sunday.

Busy weekend for the sailing team, too, at Salve Regina University and Boston and Providence colleges all weekend.

The Boston Red Sox release catcher Doug Maribelli.

Curt Schilling placed on a 60-day disabled list while his right shoulder heals.

WQRI FORECAST

Cloudy today, temperatures in the high 30s tonight.

Some rain tomorrow morning, high 45.

Cloudy all weekend with a possible snow shower on Sunday.

 Click below to play today’s update.

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts [1:55m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (192)

Read Full Post »

Please play the update below.

Thanks!

ADDITIONAL NEWS NOT IN TODAY’S UPDATE

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts [1:45m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (190)

Read Full Post »

The woman’s lacrosse team will face off against UMASS  Dartmouth this afternoon at 4pm at UMASS.

The Junior Senior Dance show will be held in the barn tonight at 8pm

Everyones favorite material girl was accepted into the rock n roll hall of fame yesterday. Madonna was inducted by Justin Timberlake. The star is honored to be amoung the great in the hall of fame.

The Mississippi primary is today and senator Barrack Obama is planning on taking home the gold. Polls show Clinton and Obama in a tight race with Obama having a slight lead over Clinton. 33 delegates are at stake.

Late last night the space shuttle Endevour launched for a rare night launch. It has departed with a crew of seven for a sixteen day stay at the international space station.

Yesterday the list of the top payed municipal workers in Rhode Island was released. Amoung the top payed workers are school superintendents, firefighters, and police chiefs some of them racking in up to $200,000 a year!!

It will be partly cloudy today with a high of 40 degrees.

Read Full Post »

Providence police arrest the alleged shooter of another man Friday afternoon in the pedestrian tunnel between Waterplace Park and the skating rink at Kennedy Plaza. The arrest of Johabanny Rosado, 19, of Providence, was announced at a news conference on Saturday, less than 12 hours after Justin Lawrence, 18, suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the back. He has been treated and released from Rhode Island Hospital.

New studies show the flow of blood in Iraq may be ebbing, but the flood of money into the war is steadily rising. In 2008, its sixth year, the war will cost approximately $12 billion a month, triple the “burn” rate of its earliest years.

Pharmaceutical drugs found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans.  Drugs include antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones.  To be sure, the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose. Also, utilities insist their water is safe.  But the presence of so many prescription drugs - and over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen and ibuprofen - in so much of our drinking water makes scientists think that there could be long term health issues to worry about. 

 CAMPAIGN 2008

Barack Obama wins the Wyoming Democratic caucuses Saturday, seizing a bit of momentum in the close, hard-fought race with rival Sen. Hillary Clinton for the party’s presidential nomination. Obama generally has outperformed Clinton in caucuses, which reward organization and voter passion more than do primaries. The Illinois senator has now won 13 caucuses to Clinton’s three.  

John McCain sees one downside to having clinched the Republican presidential nomination: There’s less attention focused on him than on the volatile contest between Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.  McCain understands he must compete for the spotlight. He comments, “I think it’s going to be very exciting to watch.”  He also says “It makes me have to work harder, obviously, to make sure that we maintain the visibility.” 

 WQRI SPORTS

This weekend, the Roger Williams men’s tennis team started its spring campaign with a bang, defeating UMass-Dartmouth in indoor play 9-0.  All six singles victories came in straight sets.

 WQRI WEATHER