Fallout from the assassination of Charlie Kirk in Utah continues to roil American politics, media and entertainment.

The most prominent example is ABC’s decision to suspend late-night host Jimmy Kimmel “indefinitely” following conservative criticism for these remarks: “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”

Closer to home, a Barrington teacher faced conservative scorn for his remarks about Kirk, and the School Committee appointed an outside lawyer to review the matter. In a statement, the Rhode Island ACLU condemned political violence since it chills and erodes the First Amendment.

“At the same time,” the civil liberties group added, “stifling controversial, and even offensive, speech in response to that violence also erodes those principles.”

Kirk has been cited as an exemplar of free speech – “Charlie Kirk was practicing politics the right way,” argued Ezra Klein – so the idea of suppressing speech in his memory strikes some as ironic. President Trump continues to wage legal fights against media organizations, even as the response of Trump’s FCC chair to Kimmel discomfited GOP senators.

Big TV corporations with local operations figure in the fallout: WPRI owner Nexstar (which is seeking FCC approval of a $6.2-billion deal) said its ABC affiliates would preempt Kimmel’s show. Sinclair (which owns WJAR and recently acquired the non-license operations of WLNE) went further, calling on the FCC and ABC to take additional action after Kimmel’s suspension.

Back in the Ocean State, the RI ACLU said the probe of the Barrington teacher highlights the danger of stifling speech: “While speech directly intended to provoke violence is not protected by the First Amendment, the ability to speak freely in one’s private capacity about public issues – including the right to criticize, challenge and denounce opposing political views, however crudely – must be safeguarded, especially when that speech is considered unpopular or provocative. Otherwise, everybody’s free speech is at risk, dependent on the political tides.” 

THE CHALLENGER: Helena Buonanno Foulkes sat down with me last week for a lengthy video interview. Here are some key highlights.

***Gov. Dan McKee’s campaign has made clear that Foulkes’ role at CVS Health will be a key issue in the governor’s campaign. Asked why the central claim made in a federal lawsuit against CVS is wrong – that the company failed in its role as a gatekeeper of highly addictive drugs – Foulkes blamed the opioid crisis on Purdue Pharma and said CVS was a leader in responding. “We cut off over 600 pill-mill doctors. We did the biggest drug takeback movement the country’s ever seen. And I personally led an effort where I got together with other chain drugstore leaders to make sure we advocated for legislation to reduce the number of pills you could get when you left minor surgery,” she said. CVS, WalMart and Walgreens have paid out millions in settlements related to opioids, so should there have been more skepticism about surging opioid prescriptions? “I think it’s really easy to Monday morning quarterback,” Foulkes responded. She said pharmacists tried their best to assess whether patients had a legitimate need for medication.

***During her campaign announcement, Foulkes pledged to work energetically to grow jobs in Rhode Island. Her rhetoric on that sounded a lot like what Gina Raimondo said when she ran in 2014. Data from the St. Louis Federal Reserve shows that Rhode Island’s labor participation rate remained largely flat under Raimondo until the COVID pandemic. So why would things be any different with Foulkes? She said she would target better-paying jobs.

***Asked if she could invite anyone to a dinner party from throughout the course of human history, Foulkes picked Rosa Parks, Nancy Pelosi, George Washington, Gandhi and one of the founders of Salve Regina University.

THE INCUMBENT: Gov. McKee, not surprisingly, appears to be aiming to elevate his profile as we edge into campaign season: He urged the Public Utilities Commission to deliver at least $25 million in additional energy rate relief; McKee also directed the Office of Health Insurance Commissioner to make an aggressive review of what is driving health insurance premium increases and identify ways to confront them. McKee announced the availability of an additional $500,000 to support RIPTA; he signed on with fellow governors in a joint letter urging Congress to help reduce health insurance costs; McKee was interviewed for a PBS NewsHour piece on economic fallout from the Trump administration’s stop-work order on Revolution Wind.  

THE SPEAKER: As he ponders his possible entry to the race for governor, House Speaker Joe Shekarchi said Hasbro was hell-bent on leaving Pawtucket for the bauble of Boston’s Seaport District.

“They were not interested” in subsidies and land being offered by local officials in Rhode Island, Shekarchi told the Law 401 podcast from Roger Williams University School of Law. “They wanted to move for two reasons [for things] that we don’t have around: they wanted to go to a talent pool, an employment pool, that had a lot of experience in online gaming …. The other issue moving to Boston, they wanted to be near Lego .… The handwriting was on the wall for Hasbro. They really didn’t want to stay here.” That’s a contrast from May, when lawmakers made a change requested by FM to help keep the big insurer in Rhode Island. 

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL: Amid news that commercial health premiums for nearly 175,000 Rhode Islanders will climb next year, AG Peter Neronha offered this comment via Bluesky: “These increases are awarded by the Health Commissioner in a vacuum – without any appreciation of the overall health care crisis in RI – and where he has offered little. Rhode Islanders have every right to be upset with the Gov for ignoring the crisis that we have been speaking about for so long.”

PVD: Providence Mayor Brett Smiley has scaled the heights of state and city government since he came to Rhode Island to manage Charlie Fogarty’s gubernatorial campaign way back in 2006. For now, Smiley remains an odds-on favorite to win reelection next year. But state Rep. David Morales (D-Providence) argues Smiley isn’t doing enough to tackle the capital city’s affordability crisis, and he announced his challenge to Smiley this week.

“It’s time City Hall worked for us,” Morales, 27, said while unveiling his run via video this week. “For too long, politicians like Brett Smiley have asked us to trust their experience while working families are struggling to get by. The cost of living is crushing us.” (Smiley’s campaign said he’s focused on governing and touted his experience in finance, management and government.) Smiley has a big edge in campaign fundraising, and he’s built his recognition and political relationships over time. Morales hopes to channel the paradigm-shift of Zohran Mamdani. Will it be enough to build a citywide coalition and chip away at the incumbent’s East Side base? (You can watch my recent interview with Morales to get a better sense of him.) For now, it’s worth noting how one of the candidates for an open Ward 2 seat, Jill Davidson, worked with Morales before his recent departure from the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council.

DISMAL SCIENCE: A few economic notes ….

***With President Trump pursuing a remake of the Federal Reserve, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will keynote the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Outlook Luncheon on noon Tuesday at the Crowne Plaza in Warwick.

***The Rhode Island Life Science Hub, per spokeswoman Sarah Sutton, “announced the investment of $4 million in nondilutive funding to 5 companies either relocating to Rhode Island or building their businesses in the state. With these most recent awards, RILSH has now deployed a total of $16M since its launch to RI-based companies.” However, there are more grim tidings about Boston’s “biotech winter,” as Kara Miller reports in the Globe.

***The number of Rhode Island based jobs rose by 500 from July to August, as the state’s unemployment rate fell from 4.8 to 4.6%, per the RI Department of Labor and Training.

***Paige Parks from Rhode Island KIDS COUNT warns that greater efforts to address childhood poverty in the state are vital “since children who live in poverty, especially at a young age, have worse outcomes as adults.”  

HOUSING: House GOP Leader Michael Chippendale (R-Foster) led the charge last week in asserting that RIHousing, the state’s housing finance agency, spends too much on administration and not enough on developing housing. He said there should be an audit to dig deeper. The quasi-public agency rejects Chippendale’s criticism.

RI PEOPLE IN THE NEWS: Jim Rosenberg, aka Jim Martin, longtime spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Rhode Island, longtime former Boston Bruins PA announcer and a former WJAR staffer, is retiring. Jim is a class act and we wish him well …. Andrew Roos, a former chief of staff during Gina Raimondo’s time as governor, was named this week as the new head of the Employees Retirement System of Rhode Island. Roos previously worked for two Rhode Island general treasurers, for Google and he pursued a doctorate in philosophy at Brown. Roos takes on the role formerly held by the esteemed Frank Karpinski. In a statement, he said, “It is an honor to return to public service for the next stage of my career and to have the opportunity to work with the great employees at ERSRI and partner closely with the general treasurer’s office to make sure we are providing the best, most transparent and responsive experience to our partners that is possible.” …. The Rhode Island Airport Corp. approved a three-year contract extension for airport President/CEO Iftikhar Ahmed, who is beginning his tenth year on the job. According to a RIAC news release, his tenure has coincided with an increase to 37 nonstop routes, from 17, nearly $1 billion in capital investments at the airport, and financial improvements …. While she remains undecided on another run for public office, Ashley Kalus likes being part of the conversation, as seen by a series of recent appearances on WPRO.