Rhode Island
‘No kings in America’: Biden slams U.S. Supreme Court ruling granting Trump immunity • Rhode Island Current
Monday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision granting the presumption of criminal immunity for official actions taken by a president fundamentally altered U.S. democracy, President Joe Biden said from the White House Monday evening.
Speaking for less than five minutes, Biden said the 6-3 decision contradicted the spirit of the country’s founding — set to be celebrated nationwide this week on the Fourth of July — that no one is above the law.
Presidential immunity extends to some official acts, Supreme Court rules in Trump case
“This nation was founded on the principle that there are no kings in America,” Biden said. “Each of us is equal before the law. No one — no one — is above the law, not even the president of the United States.”
The immunity decision, written by Chief Justice John Roberts for the court’s conservative majority, undermined that principle, Biden said.
Biden added that the decision would almost certainly mean a jury would not decide the criminal case accusing former President Donald Trump of conspiring to illegally overturn his 2020 loss before November’s election, which Biden called a “disservice to the American people.”
Roberts opinion
The ruling tasked a federal trial court with determining which actions then-President Trump took seeking to overturn the 2020 presidential election were conducted as “official” acts of the president. Those actions are entitled to “the presumption of immunity,” Roberts wrote.
The ruling protected the power of an office that itself makes up an entire branch of government, Roberts said, and was consistent with the constitutional framers’ view that the president has broad powers and responsibilities.
“Accounting for that reality — and ensuring that the President may exercise those powers forcefully, as the Framers anticipated he would — does not place him above the law,” Roberts wrote. “It preserves the basic structure of the Constitution.”
But Biden called the decision “a dangerous precedent” that would give presidents nearly unrestrained power.
“The power of the president will no longer be constrained by the law, even by the Supreme Court of the United States,” he said. “The only limits will be self-imposed by the president alone.”
Biden invoked the example of George Washington, who he said restrained the power of the presidency, and pledged he would continue to “respect the limits of the presidential powers.”
But, he said, the ruling empowered future presidents, possibly including Trump, to ignore the law.
Jan. 6 attack
Biden said Trump was responsible for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol that disrupted the certification of Biden’s defeat of Trump in the 2020 election. Trump’s efforts to undermine the election results, culminating in the Jan. 6 attack, are the subject of the federal indictment the former president challenged by asserting presidential immunity.
“Four years ago, my predecessor sent a violent mob to the U.S. Capitol to stop the peaceful transfer of power,” Biden said. “We all saw with our own eyes. We saw what happened that day … I think it’s fair to say it’s one of the darkest days in U.S. history. Now, the man who sent that mob to the U.S. Capitol is facing potential criminal conviction.”
Biden, whose reelection campaign was still reeling Monday from a debate performance against Trump last week described even by Democrats as poor, called on voters to “do what the court should have been willing to do but would not,” and reject Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, at the ballot box.
The president endorsed Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s forceful dissent in the case, quoting her phrase that the majority opinion fueled “fear for our democracy” and urging voters, too, to dissent.
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Rhode Island
Why a Taylor Swift wedding might shut down Westerly streets
Forget limos, Taylor Swift will need buses for her wedding guests
Airline Express Limousine Owner Chuck O’Koomian tells us why.
As Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce eye possibly getting married at her Watch Hill, Rhode Island, mansion, The Providence Journal is surveying various wedding vendors about what it would take for the Ocean State to host a wedding befitting the most popular woman in the world.
Imagine a crowd of A-list celebrities descending on the village of Watch Hill in Westerly this summer to attend the wedding of mega celebrity Taylor Swift and football star Travis Kelce.
To Chuck O’Koomian, who owns Airline Express Limousine and Car Service with his wife Ginny Cauley, it’s like a scene out of a horror movie.
“It’s gonna be a logistical nightmare,” O’Koomian told The Providence Journal.
How will guests arrive at Taylor Swift’s wedding in Westerly?
While Swift has not announced when or where her wedding will be, O’Koomian talked about what would be involved in getting a large celebrity crowd to the wedding, if it were held at her Bluff Avenue mansion, the nearby Ocean House resort or the Watch Hill Chapel, where Miss Universe 2012 Olivia Culpo tied the know with football player Christian McCaffrey in 2024.
O’Koomian, who has provided transportation for comedian Jay Leno, who has a home in Newport, said there would be three distinct phases of ground transportation:
- Getting people from airports to their hotels
- Getting people from their hotels to the wedding activities
- Getting them back to the airports
The middle phase, delivering people to wedding activities, very well may not be just a one-day affair. Many say Swift won’t have a wedding day; they’re expecting a wedding week.
While some guests, especially those in New York or Connecticut, would probably just have their drivers bring them to Westerly, others would fly in by private jets, probably landing at Westerly State Airport or Quonset State Airport, whose military runway is long enough to handle larger jets. From there, guests would need a ride to where they are staying.
What Westerly residents have to say
Folks in Westerly have surmised that, even if it’s not the site of the ceremony or reception, the Ocean House, along with its sister property the Weekapaug Inn, plus several rented, private mansions would be needed to accommodate guests.
O’Koomian expects that a large limousine company – such as Boston Corporate Coach or Carey Limousine, in Massachusetts, or Hy’s Limousine, in Connecticut – with more than 120 cars each, would get the contract to serve Taylor Swift’s wedding. “There’s not even 120 cars in Rhode Island, all the companies combined,” he said, adding that, as a subcontractor, he would hope to get a piece of the business.
Could a fleet of private cars filled with stars snarl traffic in Westerly?
This first phase of local transportation would involve many trips of smaller parties. “They may come in two, three, four at a time,” he said.
While that is suitable for limousine service, getting from hotels to the ceremony, reception and other events, would require a different strategy for that second phase. “It’s like they’re transporting a football team,” he said.
That would mean “coaches,” the upscale version of buses. They would ease the traffic burden that would be created by limousines ferrying some 300 wedding guests around the tiny village of Watch Hill.
“It’s gonna take a lot of coordination if it’s Westerly,” O’Koomian said. “They’re going to have to shut down half the city. Police would have to shut down streets.”
Rhode Island
Rhode Island man crashes into house in Raynham after apparent medical episode
A car crashed into a home in Raynham Tuesday afternoon.
Police said they responded to a report for a vehicle that crashed into a home shortly before 1 p.m. on Broadway Street.
Officers at the scene said they found a sedan that had crashed into the lower brick portion of the home.
Investigators said a man from Rhode Island appeared to suffer from a medical episode before leaving the roadway and crashing into the home.
Police said the driver suffered non life-threatening injuries. He was transported to Boston Medical Center – South in Brockton.
Officers said the home was empty at the time of the crash.
The Raynham Building Department responded to assess the home for structural damage.
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The crash is under investigation.
Rhode Island
RI Lottery Powerball, Lucky For Life winning numbers for Jan. 12, 2026
The Rhode Island Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Jan. 12, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from Jan. 12 drawing
05-27-45-56-59, Powerball: 04, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Jan. 12 drawing
21-23-24-28-39, Lucky Ball: 01
Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Numbers numbers from Jan. 12 drawing
Midday: 3-5-2-8
Evening: 4-3-6-1
Check Numbers payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Wild Money numbers from Jan. 12 drawing
05-08-09-22-30, Extra: 11
Check Wild Money payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize
- Prizes less than $600 can be claimed at any Rhode Island Lottery Retailer. Prizes of $600 and above must be claimed at Lottery Headquarters, 1425 Pontiac Ave., Cranston, Rhode Island 02920.
- Mega Millions and Powerball jackpot winners can decide on cash or annuity payment within 60 days after becoming entitled to the prize. The annuitized prize shall be paid in 30 graduated annual installments.
- Winners of the Lucky for Life top prize of $1,000 a day for life and second prize of $25,000 a year for life can decide to collect the prize for a minimum of 20 years or take a lump sum cash payment.
When are the Rhode Island Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 10:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 11:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky for Life: 10:30 p.m. ET daily.
- Numbers (Midday): 1:30 p.m. ET daily.
- Numbers (Evening): 7:29 p.m. ET daily.
- Wild Money: 7:29 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Rhode Island editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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