Rhode Island

How a Newport cemetery became the final resting place for some EgyptAir crash victims

Published

5 months ago

June 28, 2025

Press Room

How a Newport cemetery became the final resting place for some EgyptAir crash victims

EgyptAir Flight 990 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on Oct. 31, 1999, killing all 217 people on board.
Newport, Rhode Island, served as the U.S. incident command center due to its proximity and resources.
The National Transportation Safety Board concluded the crash was likely caused by the relief pilot’s actions.

On Oct. 31, 1999, a flight from Los Angeles made a scheduled stopover at JFK International Airport, taking off from the runway to continue its journey to Cairo, Egypt, at 1:20 a.m. Just half an hour later, though, and minutes after the plane reached its cruising altitude, the commercial aircraft plummeted into the Atlantic Ocean, 60 miles south of Nantucket, killing all 217 people on board.

EgyptAir Flight 990 was the deadliest aviation disaster in the history of EgyptAir and the second-deadliest aviation disaster involving a Boeing 767. However, though the flight originated in Los Angeles, took off from New York and was headed to Egypt, the remains of six unidentified passengers were interred at Newport’s own Island Cemetery and the official memorial sits at Brenton Point State Park, overlooking the very body of water where those passengers perished.

The reason behind the location of the memorial is remarkably simple. A short written account from Island Cemetery’s records, obtained by The Newport Daily News through Records Manager Zachary Russell, indicated that Newport had been used as the U.S. incident command center in the immediate aftermath because it was the closest city large enough to accommodate the investigators and families of the victims. A heartbreaking report from The Standard Times in New Bedford, Massachusetts, on the unlikelihood that the investigation would recover intact remains also indicated Newport was the coordination center for search efforts and the families housed in a Newport hotel.

A New York Times report published at the time states that wreckage from the crash, as well as the bodies of victims, were brought to Naval Base Newport for investigation and identification, though the 2002 Aircraft Accident Brief from the National Transportation Safety Board makes no mention of the city, instead stating that containers of the wreckage were initially stored in a former Naval air hangar at Quonset Point.

Still, Newport served at least as the gathering site for those in mourning. An interdenominational memorial service was held at Brenton Point State Park that November, alongside members of the U.S. Coast Guard, Red Cross, Salvation Army, National Transportation Safety Board and several public officials.

The granite memorial would be erected a year later, rough-hewn on three of its four sides to represent the mourners’ pain, according to an article on the memorial by AP reporter David Rising, also stored in Island Cemetery’s records. The inscription reads, “They are not gone from us,” in French, Arabic and English.

The incident itself was under investigation for two years by the National Transportation Safety Board, which determined the probable cause of the incident lay in the actions of the relief pilot, First Officer Gameel Al-Batouti, who was left in charge of the cockpit while Captain Ahmed El-Habashi went to the bathroom. It concluded that Al-Batouti, a former Egyptian Air Force major and chief flight instructor, manually disengaged the plane’s autopilot during this time, causing it to begin a nosedive. Though El-Habashi had returned and attempted to recover the plane, the NTSB’s investigation into the Cockpit Voice Recorder and Flight Recorder indicated that Al-Batouti did nothing to help the situation, only calmly repeating a phrase in Arabic that translates to “I rely on God.” When El-Habashi managed to pull the plane’s nose up, the report states that Al-Batouti was putting in opposite inputs to turn the plane’s nose down again.

Though initially deferring responsibility of the investigation to the NTSB, the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority disputed the NTSB report’s conclusion as the result of a “flawed and biased” investigation. It launched a separate investigation in the following weeks, which argued that the probable cause for the incident was not Al-Batouti’s actions, but instead a mechanical failure.

In a later interview with former NTSB Director of Aviation Safety Bernard Loeb, conducted by the Canadian TV series “Mayday,” Loeb said none of the mechanical failure scenarios presented by the Egyptian investigation matched the flight profile and that the evidence showing the plane had been intentionally flown into the ocean was irrefutable “to anyone who knows anything about investigating airplane accidents.”

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Rhode Island

3 RI teachers surprised with STEAM Educator Awards

Published

3 hours ago

November 18, 2025

Press Room

3 RI teachers surprised with STEAM Educator Awards

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Three Rhode Island teachers have been recognized for sparking curiosity and creativity in their students through innovative and engaging lessons.

The R.I. Department of Education (RIDE) and the STEAM Center at Rhode Island College surprised the recipients of the 2025 RI STEAM Educator Awards on Tuesday. The annual awards honor educators who integrate Science, Technology, Engineering, Art + Design, and Mathematics into their classrooms.

This year’s honorees are Tiffany Risch of Coventry High School, Christopher Colson of Goff Middle School in Pawtucket and Erin Giuliano of Park Elementary School in Warwick.

Each educator received a $1,000 classroom grant and a $500 personal award, which were funded by the PPL Foundation and Rhode Island Energy.

According to RIDE, the awards are presented in memory of Carol Giuriceo, who served as the STEAM Center’s director for nearly a decade.

Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green attended Tuesday’s presentation to congratulate the elementary division’s recipient. Giuliano said it is a key personal priority to bring every element of STEAM into her second-grade classroom.

“We work on teamwork, perseverance, trying to act like engineers and solve problems,” Giuliano said. “It’s definitely a highlight of what I do as an educator and it teaches them so much I’ve seen them grow and learn so much from the activities we do.”

Erin Giuliano of Park Elementary School in Warwick named 2025 RI STEAM Educator of the Year. – Nov. 18, 2025 (WPRI-TV)
Erin Giuliano of Park Elementary School in Warwick named 2025 RI STEAM Educator of the Year. – Nov. 18, 2025 (WPRI-TV)
Erin Giuliano of Park Elementary School in Warwick named 2025 RI STEAM Educator of the Year. – Nov. 18, 2025 (WPRI-TV)

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Rhode Island

Meet the cast of ‘The Real Housewives of Rhode Island’

Published

21 hours ago

November 18, 2025

Press Room

Andy Cohen announced the “Real Housewives of Rhode Island” cast — including a former local NBC news anchor, a URI alum, and a Cranston pizzeria co-owner.

Andy Cohen attends the PAC NYC Icons of Culture Gala at Perelman Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, in New York. Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

A former local news anchor. A pizzeria co-owner. Rhody’s “Cannabis Queen.”

New England, meet your Real Housewives.

Executive producer/dedicated Deadhead/Anderson Cooper’s BFF Andy Cohen revealed the cast and trailer for the first-ever New England-based “Housewives” Nov. 16 at BravoCon.

Bravo announced the Rhody-set show in May. “The Real Housewives of Rhode Island” will premiere in 2026, with no specific date given. But, ’26 marks the 20th anniversary of the Real Housewives franchise.

The new trailer packages the Ocean State as a tiny, everybody-knows-everybody state full of secrets and drama. “Smallest state with the biggest attitude,” one cast member says in the official trailer, which debuted this weekend.

Rhode Island is “teeny. It’s a blip. But to us, it’s the center of the universe,” another cast member says.

The trailer is packed with all the shots you might expect— Newport mansions, polo games, tony beach shorelines, Adirondack chairs, sailboats in a harbor.

“Welcome to Rhode Island where nobody tells anybody the truth,” says a cast member, as we see, presumably, a Newport polo match. “Everybody just lies to each other’s faces and talks s*** behind their back.”

“It’s Rhode Island!” one cast member exclaims. “When someone says something, we all hear it!”

“You may not know Rhode Island, but here, secrets don’t stay buried for very long.”

It’s interspersed with classic Housewives drama and gossip (“Her husband’s a foot doctor, but I think he’s doing more than rubbing foot.”)

So pop the popcorn and grab coffee milk, reality fans. This looks juicier than a Del’s lemonade. (And yes, you’ll notice a shot of one cast member drinking a can of Narragansett’s Del’s Shandy.)

Meet the cast for the “Real Housewives of Rhode Island” premiere season:

— Early risers may recognize Rosie DiMare, a former local “news anchor/reporter.” A scroll through her Instagram shows her with NBC 10’s Mario Hilario with the caption, “It’s like we’re real professionals or something.” Looks like she was part of Turn to 10’s “Sunrise Crew.”

She’s “not afraid to call people out,” we’re told. We then see her on pink bouncing sneakers gossiping about someone’s affair.

— Alicia Carmody: “Welcome to Rhode Island, b****, this is how we roll,” she says from an Adirondack chair, talking to someone off-camera in the trailer. Carmondy and her fiancé, Billy Kitsilis, run his restaurant, Pizza Mamma in Cranston.
— Liz McGraw: the “dominant figurehead here,” we’re told in the trailer, as we see her in black leather boots driving a boat. (“I’m scary,” she tells the camera. “Boo.”) Per Bravo, McGraw is “Rhode Island royalty… the state’s very own Cannabis Queen.” With her husband, Gerry, she owns and operates The Slater Center, a pot dispensary in Providence.
—Ashley Iaconetti: she’s “not from here,” we’re told. “This is not the kind of people I’m usually around,” she says in the trailer. Iaconetti married Warwick, R.I. native Jared Haibon, on “Bachelor in Paradise,” and is now “acclimating to her new life in her husband’s home state,” per Bravo.
— Jo-Ellen Tiberi, who we’re told in the trailer “knows everything.” Per Bravo, “Self-proclaimed town gossip Jo-Ellen knows everyone and everything worth knowing in Cranston.” The “aesthetic practice development manager … juggles a busy career with family life” with her husband Gary and their three kids, per Bravo.
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— Rulla Nehme Pontarelli: “She’s a boss,” we’re told in the trailer. Per Bravo, Pontarelli “helms a financial empire as a Certified Financial Planner and Wealth Manager to some of the East Coast’s most distinguished families.”
“I opened my own branch office, Royal One Financial Group, in the historic downtown area of Providence,” she says, per her website.
— Kelsey Swanson says in the trailer she’s not with a sugar daddy: “My boyfriend is, like, actually attractive. The money’s just a plus.” The former Miss Rhode Island and University of Rhode Island alum is now a makeup artist, her Bravo bio says.
“Kelsey has been in a 10-year relationship with one of Rhode Island’s most notable figures, enjoying the lap of luxury while keeping her social calendar full,” the bio notes, without naming her boyfriend.
Watch the full trailer here.
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Lauren Daley is a freelance culture writer. She can be reached at [email protected]. She tweets @laurendaley1, and Instagrams at @laurendaley1. Read more stories on Facebook here.

Lauren Daley is a longtime culture journalist. As a regular contributor to Boston.com, she interviews A-list musicians, actors, authors and other major artists.

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Rhode Island

RI Lottery Lucky For Life, Numbers Midday winning numbers for Nov. 16, 2025

Published

2 days ago

November 17, 2025

Press Room

The Rhode Island Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Nov. 16, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Nov. 16 drawing

03-11-26-32-45, Lucky Ball: 02

Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Numbers numbers from Nov. 16 drawing

Midday: 9-5-9-1

Evening: 8-1-4-7

Check Numbers payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Wild Money numbers from Nov. 16 drawing

01-04-09-12-25, Extra: 19

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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