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Do recent GOP text leaks mean extremism is on the rise?
USA TODAY’s Will Carless gives his analysis of recent leaked text messages from Republican Party members that have antisemitic and racist language.
The mother of a Jewish football player told the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island that five Smithfield football players, all seniors, trapped her son in a bathroom and sprayed him with Lysol while yelling anti-Jewish slurs, according to a representative of the alliance.
The Alliance staff member, Stephanie Hague, says the woman told her the entrapment involved a chair pushed against a door, but it wasn’t clear from the woman’s comments if her son was trapped in a bathroom, or in a particular area of a bathroom.
Hague said she could not further clarify the specific circumstances of the Lysol-spraying but as she understood it, the player was exposed to the spray during the entrapment and other hazing.
“The reason I am not sharing the slurs is because they are, one, not suitable for print, but also because there is some dispute of exactly the phrasing,” said the Alliance’s president, Adam Greenman.
“But we do know that they were anti-Jewish, anti-Semitic slurs and the incident was witnessed by 20 other football players,” Greenman added.
Hague said that Greenman’s comment is “correct.” She emphasized that she is not a lawyer or police investigator, but as part of her job at the Alliance, she responds to matters of antisemitism.
Greenman said the organization has talked to the student’s mother and to others who witnessed what took place.
“We feel fairly confident that we understand the details of what happened,” he said.
Hague and Greenman made those comments on Monday, Oct. 27 as the student’s mother and the Jewish Alliance made plans to bring attention to the situation at an anticipated meeting of Smithfield’s school committee.
Both the Alliance and the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center have condemned the school district’s handling of the incident, asserting that five seniors were initially kicked off the team but were then reinstated to the team on Wednesday, Oct. 22.
The players’ return to the team was in time to participate in Friday night’s game against Exeter-West Greenwich/Prout, which the team won 16-6.
On Thursday, Oct. 23, the school district’s Superintendent Dawn Bartz, gave a one-sentence statement in an email seeking comment on the situation: “The disciplinary process has concluded, and we will not be discussing details involving students.”
“The fact that the school district has reversed course on consequences for the students is just egregious,” Greenman said.
“We all know that if a consequence is taken away for something like this, it encourages that behavior moving forward,” he said. “We’re very concerned that the students involved were reinstated. We’re very concerned that it seems like the school district is not taking this seriously.”
Later on Monday, it became clear that Smithfield Town Council had canceled its Tuesday, Oct. 28, joint session with the School Committee.
An executive assistant to the town manager in Smithfield confirmed that the meeting had been canceled, noting that there are plans to reschedule the meeting, but no date has been set at this time.
The town clerk later said that based on the volume of queries from members the public and news media, the town determined it needed to move the joint meeting from the Town Council’s chambers to a larger venue, according to Donna Corrao, who is an executive assistant for Town Manager Robert W. Seltzer.
The cancellation came hours after the Alliance sent a press release encouraging the public to attend the meeting to “express your outrage and desire to act” after a “horrific antisemitic hazing incident at Smithfield High School.”
SMITHFIELD, R.I. (WLNE) — Special Olympics Rhode Island said it celebrated the completion of the sixth annual Law Enforcement Torch Run at its Fall Festival Sunday.
Organizers said the 70-mile, 24 hour run raised funds and awareness for Special Olympics athletes in the state.
The six members of law enforcement who took part in the run were:
The over $10,000 raised by the event will go towards the organization’s sports, health, and leadership programs.
The Rhode Island Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Oct. 25, 2025, results for each game:
02-12-22-39-67, Powerball: 15, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
21-32-34-35-44, Lucky Ball: 05
Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Midday: 0-6-0-5
Evening: 4-2-5-4
Check Numbers payouts and previous drawings here.
05-09-18-25-37, Extra: 29
Check Wild Money payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
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.
Real Estate News
One of America’s largest private homes is for sale in Newport, Rhode Island — and it comes with ocean views, Gilded Age glamour, and a few ghost stories.
Seaview Terrace, a mansion that sits on a 7.7-acre lot at 207 Ruggles Ave., includes 29 bedrooms, 18 bathrooms, and 11 stone fireplaces among its 60-plus rooms. The estate, currently listed at $28.50 million, was even featured Monday on the popular Instagram account Zillow Gone Wild.
The mansion was built in 1925 for industrialist Edson Bradley as a summer “cottage,” marking the tail end of Gilded Age architecture in Newport. The sprawling estate was among the last of its kind before the Great Depression brought such elaborate construction to a halt. Early preservationists Millicent and Martin Carey purchased the property for around $285,000 in 1974, according to their daughter and current property owner, Denise Carey Bettencourt, who spoke with The Wall Street Journal. Bettencourt told the publication that taxes on the mansion are roughly $80,000 per year.

Inside, the home is filled with many unique features: soaring Venetian Renaissance ceiling frescos, a sprawling ballroom, 15th-century German stained glass, a 64-foot-long library, a private chapel, an organ room, and a “whispering gallery” — where faint sounds can reportedly travel 80 feet.

Located in the Ochre Point-Cliffs Historic District, Seaview Terrace cannot be torn down, though the land can be subdivided to to allow for additional buildings.

After Martin Carey’s death, Denise Carey Bettencourt listed the property in 2021 for $29.9 million.
“My love for the house is so great that I’m willing to sacrifice my part in it,” Bettencourt told WSJ. She said that she hopes the next owner uses it as a home or turns the first floor into a museum for the public.


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