The scandal that emerged last week in the Providence Police Department comes at a bad time for Mayor David Cicilline and highlights the challenges mayors face when running for higher political office. WRNI Morning Edition host Bob Seay and Political Analyst Scott MacKay discuss those obstacles.

By IAN DONNIS -- In what's shaping up to be a year of dramatic political changes in Rhode Island, one of the big questions is, who will succeed Patrick Kennedy in Congress?  Another one is, what will it mean to Rhode Island when Kennedy leaves office next January?   The state could be hit hard -- since Kennedy is a senior member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee. 

By ELISABETH HARRISON -- Providence school officials have picked a reform plan aimed at addressing low test scores at five city schools. Four of those schools will implement a so-called re-start model that calls for district and union officials to work closely on re-design plans.  

By FLO JONIC -- Stop and Shop customers won't have to make a decision about crossing a picket line.  The supermarket chain's 40,000 New England workers have unanimously okayed a new contract, ending months of tense negotiations and averting a strike.

By MEGAN HALL -- Three Providence Police officers have been arrested in a state police drug investigation.

By FLO JONIC -- The Bristol Town Council chamber was packed to overflow last night, with opponents of the proposed liquefied natural gas terminal in Fall River, as Hess corporate Vice President Gregg Landes tried to address their concerns one by one.

By FLO JONIC -- It would be the biggest construction project since the completion of the Iway in Providence, with environmental, economic and public safety implications for every community from Newport to Fall River. Weaver's Cove Energy, a subsidiary of Hess, wants to build a 20 story liquefied natural gas terminal in Fall River.

By ELISABETH HARRISON -- Central Falls, R.I., is at the center of one of biggest battles in education today: how to turn around failing public schools. As part of a federal program, the city is planning a major overhaul of its long-troubled high school. But the process erupted in controversy last week over a plan to fire the entire faculty.

By FLO JONIC -- A man who once labored in the textile mills of West Warwick has been approved for sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church.

Many hospitals in the state belong to one of two big parent companies -- Lifespan and Care New England.  Others are community based, and run independently.  It's like the difference between a chain restaurant and an independent mom and pop diner.   A new report shows that independent hospitals face some of the same struggles small restaurants do - including more debt, more trouble borrowing money, and big questions about their future.