Justin Kenny

Before Boston dumped tea into its harbor, Rhode Island colonists set a British ship on fire. On a June night in 1772, a group of Rhode Islanders rowed out from Pawtuxet Village, boarded the British revenue schooner HMS Gaspee and left it burning in Narragansett Bay. The attack happened 18 months before the Boston Tea Party and nearly three years before the first shots at Lexington and Concord.

A three-alarm fire displaced multiple residents and injured two firefighters Friday morning after flames tore through a multi-family home in Providence’s Federal Hill neighborhood and spread to two neighboring buildings, according to city officials. Providence firefighters battle three-alarm fire on Federal Hill.

A new year has arrived, and 2026 is expected to bring major political, institutional and cultural developments across Rhode Island. From statewide elections and the fate of key hospitals, to international soccer and celebrity speculation, here are six stories to watch: Rhode Island voters will head to the polls in what could be one of the most consequential election cycles in decades. Gov.