In some big news for Rhode Island's healthcare landscape, Lifespan and Care New England are calling off their long-discussed merger. Here are excerpts from a memo dated today by Lifespan CEO and President George Vecchione:

The surprisingly close US Senate race in Massachusetts is drawing lots of attention and for good reason -- if Republican Scott Brown knocks off Democrat Martha Coakley, or even comes close, it will fuel GOP challengers in mid-term elections later this year.

That's among the findings of a new Brown University poll. Some other key highlights:

-- President Obama's 53 percent approval rating among Rhode Islanders is down 21 percent from Brown's last poll in May.

-- Governor Carcieri's 36 percent approval rating remains unchanged from May.

-- The percentage of Rhode Islanders who say the state is on the wrong track is up to 68 percent, up three percent.

The DNC-sponsored Organizing for America has a healthcare event planned tomorow in Providence, as part of a national effort:

US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse continues to express strong support for including a public option in the Democratic healthcare reform package. But the senator won't condition his support of healthcare reform on the inclusion of a public option.

As Rhode Islanders prepare to sound off on healthcare reform during US Representative Jim Langevin's Town Hall at Warwick City Hall this evening, word comes that US Senator Jack Reed will join his colleague, Sheldon Whitehouse, during a similar event at the West Warwick Senior Center tomorrow at 6 pm.

Shannon McDonald, the lead organizer for Rhode Island ACORN, says an e-mail supposedly sent on behalf of the liberal advocacy group is a fake.

Here's the text of the e-mail, as provided yesterday by Colleen Conley, president of the Rhode Island Tea Party (the location for the meeting has been changed to Warwick City Hall):