If Stephen Colbert ever winds up in a fight, he wants R.I. Congressman Patrick Kennedy on his side.  It seems C-SPAN just can’t contain Kennedy, who has appeared on both The Colbert Report and The Daily Show this week.

On Monday night’s Colbert report, Kennedy’s infamous outburst on the floor of the House was featured during a segment on Afghanistan.

An agitated Kennedy was shown waving his arms and exclaiming a high-pitched ”And no press!” regarding the relative lack of coverage of the war in Afghanistan compared to the Eric Massa scandal.

And on Tuesday’s The Daily Show, Kennedy appeared in a clip on the Catholic Church allowing an accused pedophile and friend of the pope to go free while Patrick Kennedy was barred from taking communion in Providence for supporting abortion rights. [Read more →]

Patrick Kennedy let loose on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday, calling American policy in Afghanistan “shameful.”  He lambasted the press for paying more attention to the Eric Massa scandal than to the soldiers deployed overseas.  Check out the video to see the C-SPAN drama firsthand.

The NYPD has arrested a suspect in the hit-and-run accident that left Brown alum Erinn Phelan in a coma and injured Brown medical student Alma Guerrero.  The woman police believe to be at fault was charged yesterday.

Note to all who’ve been enjoying the recent bout of beautiful weather: things are about to change.  The karmic price of our five days of sun is what looks like five days of rain and clouds.  The spring showers won’t last forever though, and forecasters say the sun will be back by Tuesday.

Rhode Island education officials will announce the proposed details of  a school funding formula next week.  Rhode Island is the only state without a formula to distribute funds to schools districts. While the measure still needs to be passed in the General Assembly, it has widespread support among lawmakers.

Jobless benefits for thousands of Rhode Islanders will begin to phase out Monday due to Congress’ failure to pass an extension. Senator Jack Reed pledged to fight for continued benefits, which Rhode Island provides to approximately 39,000 people according to the Department of Labor and Training.

Outgoing Representative Patrick Kennedy roasted himself at the Providence Newspaper Guild Follies and offered 10 fictitious reasons for not seeking re-election.  Kennedy’s top reason: “It’s just so hard to maintain my sobriety around a party animal like Jack Reed.”

The Providence Journal is reporting late Thursday night that Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., will not be running for re-election in November. After eight terms in Congress, the last Kennedy in Congress has decided to step aside, he announced in a video. More to come in next week’s Herald about the race.