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Rhode Island's Democratic governor faces a spirited but poorly funded challenge in Wednesday's primary, while the mayor of the state's second-largest city is seeking the GOP nomination for another shot at the governor's seat in November. First, he has to defeat a state lawmaker making her first gubernatorial run.
The Trump administration's proposal to open vast portions of US coastline to oil drilling was met with ferocious opposition from a number of the coastal governors it would affect. That move by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke drew accusations of favoritism, which have been denied.
The Attorney General of the United States Jeff Sessions changed the rules for states that have -- or want to -- legalize the sale of marijuana. Under President Barack Obama, the Department of Justice policy had been not to enforce federal marijuana laws against individuals or businesses in states that are complying with state medical or adult-use marijuana laws, provided that one of eight federal priorities is not implicated.
Some 150,000 individuals on Rhode Island's voter rolls are not Rhode Island residents, the state's top elections administrator has found. The Providence Journal reports that Rhode Island Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea conducted an audit of the state's voter registry and identified some 150,000 non-Rhode Islanders registered to vote in the state.
U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse , who is opposing President-elect Donald Trump's pro-school choice nominee for Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, has had substantial financial interests in for-profit charter school outfit Edison Schools dating back to 2000. Rhode Island State Ethics filings show that Whitehouse held a 10% or greater ownership interest, or a $5,000 or greater ownership investment interest in Edison Schools a for-profit company that was launched by Christopher Whittle and whose leadership included Benno Schmidt - the former President of Yale.