Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
Boston, MA
With Hasbro heading to Boston, R.I. lawmakers want to scrap the Mr. Potato Head license plates
Local News
A new bill would end the specialty plates that raise money for the Rhode Island Community Food Bank.
Mr. Potato Head may soon be peeled off Rhode Island license plates. After Hasbro announced last year that it was shifting its headquarters to Boston, state lawmakers are now pushing a bill to retire the toy-inspired tags, framing the effort as an overdue act of “self-respect.”
As first reported by the Providence Journal, Rhode Island Reps. Brian Newberry and Thomas Noret co-sponsored a bill introduced last Wednesday to remove the specialty plates.
“Hasbro abandoned the State, causing untold economic harm and loss of tax revenue,” Newberry said in a statement to Boston.com on Friday. “There is no reason we should be advertising their products on our license plates.”
He continued, “It may seem trivial compared to many other things, but it’s a matter of self-respect.”
Neither Noret nor Hasbro returned a request for comment Friday.
According to the legislation, drivers who already purchased the special plates would be allowed to keep them. However, they wouldn’t be allowed to transfer them to a new car or a family member’s vehicle.
Half of the proceeds from the plates, which say “Help End Hunger” and cost $40, goes to the Division of Motor Vehicles and the other half to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank.
According to the food bank’s website, the state began issuing Mr. Potato Head plates in 2002. Designers made the plates to commemorate the toy’s 50th anniversary. The food bank has raised more than $50,000 from them since.
The food bank was not pleased to hear that the Legislature may soon scrap the plates, saying in a comment to Boston.com on Friday that the demand for emergency food assistance reached historic highs last year.
“With additional federal cuts and policy changes on the horizon, the need will be greater than ever moving forward,” Kate MacDonald, a food bank spokesperson, said. “Every source of support for the Rhode Island Community Food Bank — and by extension our network of 137 member agencies — matters.”
MacDonald said the nonprofit is eager to engage key stakeholders to explore opportunities to maintain this source of income.
Rep. Newberry said he’d be open to a different license plate design, suggesting “perhaps the Big Blue Bug or Del’s Lemonade or some other RI institution.”
Boston, MA
Delta flight returns to Logan after smoke scare in cockpit – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News
A smoke scare on a Delta Airlines flight from Boston caused it to turn around.
The flight, with more than 250 people on board, was headed to Nice, France, when the pilots reported smoke in the cockpit.
As a precaution, the flight was treated as an emergency and was given priority once it returned to Logan Airport.
The plane landed safely and the passengers were reaccommodated.
(Copyright (c) 2026 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Boston, MA
3 arrested after trying to break into downtown building, Boston police say – The Boston Globe
Three males were arrested while fleeing from an alleged break in at property in downtown Boston Thursday evening, police said.
A call reporting a breaking and entering in progress across from 7 Water St. came in at 7:33 p.m., a police spokesperson said.
The call prompted nearly a dozen marked squad cars to race to the scene in the Financial District.
The three males were wearing black ski masks when they allegedly ran from officers near Water and Washington streets toward Court Square, police said.
All three were arrested.
No other information was immediately available.
This breaking news story will be updated as more information becomes available.
Tonya Alanez can be reached at tonya.alanez@globe.com. Follow her @talanez.
President Trump holds up an executive order to limit mail-in voting as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick looks on in the White House’s Oval Office in March.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Alex Wong/Getty Images
President Trump’s executive order to limit voting by mail has hit a legal hurdle.
On Thursday, a Boston-based judge blocked parts of the order that, at least so far, has not directly affected mail-in voting for this year’s midterm primary elections.
The legal fight, however, is likely to continue. The order pushes the boundaries of Trump’s authority under the Constitution, which gives state legislatures and Congress — not the U.S. president — the power to set the rules for federal elections.
The Trump administration is expected to appeal the new ruling by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, a nominee of former President Barack Obama, as a separate appeal of an earlier ruling by another federal judge moves forward in a similar set of lawsuits based in Washington, D.C.
Among other directives, Trump’s order from March calls for the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Postal Service to create lists of adult U.S. citizens or eligible voters in each state. It also calls for USPS, which is independent of a president’s administration, to deliver mail-in ballots only to people on those lists.
In response, USPS has proposed using information from state election officials to create voter lists. Postmaster General David Steiner told lawmakers Wednesday that under the proposal, the Postal Service would not deliver the mail ballots of any states that refuse to turn over their absentee voter lists to the federal government.
For the D.C.-based cases, the judge found in late May that it was too early for an emergency ruling that would block directives that the Trump administration has yet to carry out. Democrats are appealing that judge’s ruling to the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia.
Editor’s note: USPS is a financial supporter of NPR.
Edited by Benjamin Swasey
-
Lifestyle33 minutes ago‘Supergirl’ has a solid hero but could use a better villain : Pop Culture Happy Hour
-
Technology43 minutes agoOf course Meta thinks gambling is the future
-
World48 minutes agoDeath toll from Venezuela earthquakes rises to at least 589, with thousands reported missing
-
Politics55 minutes agoMcCarthy says Trump will use ‘everything he can’ to force Senate action on SAVE America Act
-
Health58 minutes agoSwitching from cigarettes to vapes linked to higher risk of major eye diseases, large study finds
-
Sports1 hour ago2026 World Cup Odds: Which Nations are Favored to Reach Semifinals?
-
Technology1 hour agoWorld Cup ticket scams target desperate fans
-
Business1 hour ago
Snap sued by parents of girl who was raped by man she met on Snapchat
