Posts tagged "Rhode Island"

University of Rhode Island student vanishes on way home to Pennsylvania

The parents of a University of Rhode Island student who vanished while driving home to Pennsylvania are pleading for his safe return. 

21-year-old Matthew Roye left his apartment in Rhode Island Thursday night but never made it home, authorities say. He was seen just after 2 a.m. Friday when a surveillance camera recorded him at a gas station about 35 miles from his parents’ home.

Police tell MyFoxPhilly.com they have confirmed Roye was spotted again Friday afternoon around 1 p.m. in a town about an hour and a half from his parents’ home in the opposite direction.

State police said Monday they haven’t ruled out that Royer just decided not to come home, but investigators were pursuing all leads.

“While it may be voluntary, we are still out there in force doing everything we possibly can,” Trooper Morgan Crummy said.

Royer’s parents appeared with Crummy at a news conference Monday afternoon and asked their son to call home.

“Matthew, if you can hear this, no matter what the circumstances are, your friends and your family, we all love you,” Janet Royer said according to MyFoxPhilly.com.

Authorities said he was driving a silver 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt with Pennsylvania registration.

Click for more from MyFoxPhilly.com. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report 

Gunman reported at Univ. of Rhode Island

Police are investigating reports of a gunman at the University of Rhode Island.

Steven O’Donnell, head of the Rhode Island State Police, tells The Associated Press on Thursday that there is no evidence of an active shooter.

The school in South Kingstown wrote on its Twitter feed late Thursday morning that it was investigating a possible gunman on campus. It told people to seek shelter and stay where they were.

University of Rhode Island on lockdown, investigates possible gunman on campus

DEVELOPING — The University of Rhode Island is investigating reports of a possible gunman on its campus.

Steven O’Donnell, head of the Rhode Island State Police, tells The Associated Press on Thursday that there is no evidence of an active shooter, however, the school was placed on lockdown.

State police told Fox News they received a call at 11:22 a.m. Thursday that a male knocked on the door of the school’s auditorium and said, “I’m a good guy and I have a gun.”

Police say they are investigating a call that a gunman was spotted at Chafee Hall, which houses several departments including psychology, journalism and economics and some college administration offices. The building has been fully evacuated and no gunman has been found. All other buildings on campus reportedly are in lockdown mode.

“Students on campus have been instructed to remain within the building where they are now located under lockdown and remain there until further notice,” Linda Acciardo, a spokeswoman from the school, said.

There were no immediate reports of shots fired or injuries.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

National Guard send furlough notices in error

The National Guard mistakenly sent out furlough notices to Guard members in 22 states, despite the Pentagon’s decision on Thursday to delay the notification of unpaid time off for two more weeks.

The Defense Department initially said it would be sending furlough notices to the bulk of its 800,000 civilian employees at the end of this week because of automatic budget cuts that took effect March 1. The Pentagon delayed the notices for two more weeks after Congress passed legislation moving some of the money around.

Officials are working with the states to get the notices rescinded.

The states are Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Maine, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virgin Islands, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

2 more life terms for East Coast rapes

A Connecticut man has received two more life sentences for the 2001 kidnapping and rape of a Leesburg woman that was one of many linked by authorities as being committed by the “East Coast Rapist.”

The life terms imposed Friday by a Loudoun County judge come on top of three life terms imposed March 1 for an attack on three teenagers in 2009 in Prince William County.

Police say Aaron Thomas of New Haven, Conn., was responsible for 17 rapes and sex crimes spanning from 1997 to 2009 in Virginia, Maryland, Connecticut and Rhode Island. He was arrested in 2011 after a multi-state law enforcement effort.

After Friday’s hearing, the victim in the Leesburg case said Thomas appeared to be sorry for himself more than for his crimes.

RI records spotlight double life of Legion founder

Unsealed documents in a Rhode Island lawsuit brought against the Roman Catholic order Legion of Christ describe allowances made for the order’s founder, the late Rev. Marcial Maciel.

The Vatican took over the Legion in 2010 after determining that Maciel had sexually molested seminarians and fathered three children by two women.

The documents, unsealed Friday, include testimony from the Legion’s former second-in-command who said he discovered Maciel had fathered a daughter in 2006, but never confronted him about it and didn’t share the news with the broader membership.

The lawsuit was filed by a relative of a woman who gave $60 million to the Legion. A judge has said the relative didn’t have standing to sue.

The documents were unsealed at the request of The Associated Press and other media.

Behemoth storm drops 2 feet of snow on Northeast

A behemoth storm packing hurricane-force winds and blizzard conditions swept through the Northeast on Saturday, dumping more than 2 feet of snow on New England and knocking out power to 650,000 customers in the region.

More than 28 inches of snow had fallen on central Connecticut by early Saturday, and areas of southeastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire notched 2 feet or more of snow — with more falling. Airlines scratched more than 5,300 flights through Saturday, and New York City’s three major airports and Boston’s Logan Airport closed.

The wind-whipped snowstorm mercifully arrived at the start of a weekend, which meant fewer cars on the road and extra time for sanitation crews to clear the mess before commuters in the New York-to-Boston region of roughly 25 million people have to go back to work. But it could also mean a weekend cooped up indoors.

For a group of stranded European business travelers, it meant making the best of downtime in a hotel restaurant Friday night in downtown Boston, where snow blew outside and drifted several inches deep on the sidewalks.

The six Santander bank employees found their flights back to Spain canceled, and they gave up on seeing the city or having dinner out.

“We are not believing it,” said Tommaso Memeghini, 29, an Italian who lives in Barcelona. “We were told it may be the biggest snowstorm in the last 20 years.”

The National Weather Service says up to 3 feet of snow is expected in Boston, threatening the city’s 2003 record of 27.6 inches.

In heavily Catholic Boston, the archdiocese urged parishioners to be prudent about attending Sunday Mass and reminded them that, under church law, the obligation “does not apply when there is grave difficulty in fulfilling this obligation.”

Halfway through what had been a mild winter across the Northeast, blizzard warnings were posted from parts of New Jersey to Maine. The National Weather Service said Boston could get close to 3 feet of snow by Saturday evening, while most of Rhode Island could receive more than 2 feet, most of it falling overnight Friday into Saturday. Connecticut was bracing for 2 feet, and New York City was expecting as much as 14 inches.

Early snowfall was blamed for a 19-car pileup in Cumberland, Maine, that caused minor injuries. In New York, hundreds of cars began getting stuck on the Long Island Expressway on Friday afternoon at the beginning of the snowstorm and dozens of disabled motorists remained early Saturday as police worked to free them.

About 650,000 customers in the Northeast lost power during the height of the snowstorm, most of them in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth, Mass., lost electricity and shut down Friday night during the storm. Authorities say there’s no threat to public safety.

At least four deaths were being blamed on the storm, three in Canada and one in New York. In southern Ontario, an 80-year-old woman collapsed while shoveling her driveway and two men were killed in car crashes. In New York, a 74-year-old man died after being struck by a car in Poughkeepsie; the driver said she lost control in the snowy conditions, police said.

Forecasters said wind gusts exceeding 75 mph could cause more widespread power outages and whip the snow into fearsome drifts. Flooding was expected along coastal areas still recovering from Superstorm Sandy, which hit New York and New Jersey the hardest and is considered Jersey’s worst natural disaster.

In Manhattan, streets normally bustling after midnight, were quiet Saturday but for the hum of snow blowers, the scrape of shovels and the laughter from late night revelers who braved the snow.

Bill Tavonallo, 39, said he walked home on purpose from a Manhattan bar to enjoy the snow falling.

“With Sandy, we were scared. But this is wonderful,” he said, his glasses crusted with ice. “It’s nice to have a reason to slow down.”

In Massachusetts, Gov. Deval Patrick enacted a statewide driving ban for the first time since the Blizzard of ’78, a ferocious storm that dropped 27 inches of snow, packed hurricane-force winds and claimed dozens of lives.

In New York, Fashion Week, a series of designer showings with some activities held under tents, went on mostly as scheduled, though organizers put on additional crews to deal with the snow and ice, turned up the heat and fortified the tents. The snow did require some wardrobe changes: Designer Michael Kors was forced to arrive at the Project Runway show in Uggs.

For Joe DeMartino, of Fairfield, Conn., being overprepared for the weather was impossible: His wife was expecting their first baby Sunday. He stocked up on gas and food, got firewood ready and was installing a baby seat in the car. The couple also packed for the hospital.

“They say that things should clear up by Sunday. We’re hoping that they’re right,” he said.

Said his wife, Michelle: “It adds an element of excitement.”

___

Associated Press writers John Christoffersen in Fairfield, Conn., Samantha Critchell and Colleen Long in New York and Sylvia Wingfield in Boston contributed to this report.

Monopoly fans vote to add new piece, get rid of older one

The end is near for the shoe, wheelbarrow or iron in the classic Monopoly game as fans vote in the final hours on which token to eliminate and which piece to replace it.

The eight tokens identify the players and have changed quite a lot since Parker Brothers bought the game from its original designer in 1935. The latest changes mark the first time that fans have a say on which piece to add and which one to toss.

The voting on Facebook is scheduled to close just before midnight Tuesday.

So far, the wheelbarrow, shoe and iron are neck and neck for elimination. Pawtucket, Rhode Island-based toy maker Hasbro Inc. will announce the new addition Wednesday morning.

Fans from more than 120 countries have voted.

Rhode Island lawmaker introduces legislation to save father-daughter dances

A Rhode Island lawmaker has a plan to save events like a father-daughter school dance that was canceled because of concerns that gender-specific events violated state anti-discrimination laws.

Sen. Hanna Gallo announced legislation Tuesday that would allow schools to provide activities specifically for students of one gender as long as similar activities are open to students of the opposite gender.

School officials in Cranston canceled the father-daughter dance last year. The school committee asked lawmakers to look at tweaking the law to allow such events in the future.

The Cranston Democrat says she understands why some parents and students were unhappy with the decision to cancel what she calls an important tradition.

She says her legislation would ensure gender-specific events can continue without weakening state law.

Penn State will reportedly not play Rhode Island in 2013

Rhode Island athletic director Thorr Bjorn tonight shot down rumors of a 2013 matchup with Penn State, according to a Providence Journal report. URI coach Joe Trainer had earlier told RICentral.com that there was a "strong possibility" the two teams …
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