The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (commonly known as Rhode Island) is the smallest state by land area in the United States, and the state with the longest official name. Rhode (pronounced "Road") Island is part of the New England region, and was the first of the thirteen original American colonies to declare independence from British rule, signaling the start of the American Revolution.

The state's common name, Rhode Island, actually refers to the largest island in Narragansett Bay, also known as Aquidneck Island, on which the city of Newport is located. Aquidneck Island is also locally referred to as Newport - though it in fact has three distinct townships on it. The origin of the name is unclear. Some historians think that Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, upon discovering Block Island, just southwest in the Atlantic Ocean, named it Rhode Island because of its similarity in shape to the Greek island of Rhodes. Later settlers, mistaking which island Verrazzano was referring to, gave the name to Aquidneck Island instead. Other historians believe that the name is derived from Roodt Eylandt, old Dutch for "red island," given to the island by Dutch explorer Adriaen Block due to the red clay on the island's shore.

Despite most of the state being part of the mainland, the name Rhode Island leads some out-of-staters to believe—mistakenly—that the entire state is an island. Rhode Island is nicknamed "The Ocean State".

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USATODAY.com Nation - Top Stories

Southern coasts watch Hanna
Thu, 04 Sep 2008 04:28:05 -0000
Many Atlantic Coast residents battened down their homes as Hanna headed their way.
Report: Americans more likely to have tried illicit drugs
Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:09:26 -0000
Cocaine and methamphetamine use among young adults declined significantly last year as supplies dried up, leading to higher prices ...
Detroit mayor may make plea deal
Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:54:15 -0000
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, his lawyers and the Wayne County prosecutor appeared briefly in court before going behind closed ...
Fire retardant chemicals found in toddlers' blood
Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:45:07 -0000
A new study finds that young children have high levels of chemical fire retardants in their blood. Toddlers and preschoolers ...
Jesse Jackson hospitalized after stomach pains
Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:51:24 -0000
The Rev. Jesse Jackson is being treated at a Chicago hospital after experiencing stomach pains.
Jury awards $55M to kin of 4 Marines who died in '04 crash
Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:00:47 -0000
A jury has found a utility negligent in the deaths of four U.S. Marines who were killed when their helicopter hit an unlit tower ...

The Economist: United States

The campaign trail: Conventional wisdom
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:35:37 -0000
Gilding the lily“To give them haircuts and make them all spiffed up for the Democratic National Convention, because they’re part of our community as well.” ...
The Democratic convention: Flags, cheers, discipline and doubt
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:35:37 -0000
Barack Obama struggled this week to unite his partyTHERE were two conventions in Denver this week. One was a joyful event. Cheered on by throngs of jubilant activists, the Democratic Party’s brightest and most boisterous speakers praised Barack Obama extravagantly and rejoiced that in a mere four months the Bush-Cheney tyranny will be over. The other convention, which took place mostly behind the scenes, was more bitter. Some of Hillary Clinton’s supporters still cannot believe that Democratic primary voters spurned their brilliant and battle-tested candidate for a smooth-talking novice. And despite the party’s heroic efforts to present a united face to the cameras, the cracks kept showing. ...
Lexington: Joebama
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:35:37 -0000
Joe Biden brings both strengths and weaknesses to the Democratic ticketHIS first run for the presidency collapsed, in 1987, after a bizarre act of plagiarism. Bizarre because Joe Biden not only borrowed the words of another politician, Neil Kinnock, the leader of the British Labour Party. That is par for the course in modern politics. He borrowed his life-story, too. He claimed that he was the first Biden to go to university and that his ancestors had worked down a coal mine, both untrue. The only thing he did not claim was to be Welsh. This was doubly damaging because Mr Biden, like the man whose identity he tried to purloin, is a notorious wind-bag. He loves nothing more than the sound of his own voice. And when he talks the sentences and paragraphs tumble over each other with no obvious end in sight. Members of the audience just have to cross their fingers and hope. ...
Swing states: Missouri: Show me a showdown
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:35:36 -0000
Who can win the state whose capture traditionally leads to the White House?AT A park in downtown St Louis, three women are drinking Bud Light and watching a demonstration of Scottish tossing-the-caber. It is a peaceful scene at the Festival of Nations, but worries simmer beneath the surface. The women supported Hillary Clinton, and are now undecided. Barack Obama is “a wonderful young man”, but inexperienced in foreign policy. John McCain is “honourable”, but perhaps not up to the task. These are typical concerns from an average undecided voter in this state. Missouri has 5.8m people and 11 electoral votes. Its moderate size belies its traditional role in presidential elections. There are ways to win the White House without winning Missouri, but few candidates have managed it. The state has voted for the victor in 25 of the last 26 elections. The exception was in 1956, when America went for Dwight Eisenhower, a popular Republican war hero, in a landslide. Missourians gave it to Adlai Stevenson, a cerebral Democrat from neighbouring Illinois. ...
After Katrina (1): Half-empty streets
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:35:36 -0000
New Orleans is recovering its energy, but not its peopleTHREE years since Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, the shape of the post-flood city is starting to emerge. Demographers put the city’s current population at about 325,000, two-thirds the size that it was before Katrina, and expect no dramatic change for the next few years. The Census Bureau thinks the number is quite a bit lower than that.The loss of so many residents, possibly permanently, has created a raft of problems for a city that already had plenty. A new study notes that about a third of the 50 districts that flooded have yet to regain 50% of their households. And that sorry statistic begets another. A second recent report has found that New Orleans has the country’s highest percentage of vacant residential addresses. Most of those vacant units cannot be lived in. ...
After Katrina (2): The trailers that smelt bad
Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:35:36 -0000
After the storm, the poisoningWHEN Hurricane Katrina displaced more than 1m people on the Gulf coast, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) put in a rush order for 120,000 trailers. They were intended as temporary housing. A year ago, more than 50,000 trailers were still in use in Louisiana and Mississippi; today, about 15,000 remain. As the time passed, complaints emerged. The trailers had a funny smell, and residents were coming down with nosebleeds, asthma and headaches. Some shrugged this off: any shelter after a storm. But as early as 2006, tests showed that some of the trailers contained dangerously high levels of formaldehyde, a carcinogenic chemical used in building materials. The sweltering summers made it worse. FEMA knew about the problems, but ignored them. ...

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