Swift Boat honors; new nursing school; Job Lot Crazy Deals: Top stories this week

Here's a look at some of The Providence Journal's most-read stories for the week of Aug. 13, supported by your subscriptions.

• Where do Democrats in the 1st Congressional District race stand on issues such as student loan debt, U.S.-China relations, the CHIPS Act and more? Find out in The Journal's candidate Q&A in advance of Rhode Island's Sept. 5 primary.

• You've heard of show ponies and show dogs, but show chickens? Check out the supermodel-quality birds contending for top honors at the Washington County Fair.

• Smithfield won its opener against Nevada in the Little League World Series but fell to Tennessee on Friday, making the long road to a possible championship much longer, as they now move to the Elimination Bracket. Regardless, Mark Patinkin says Rhode Island's Boys of Summer have given the state much to cheer about.

• For the latest on the Patriots' preseason match-up against the Packers, as well as high school and college sports news, go to providencejournal.com/sports.

• Did you keep up with the week's events? Take our news quiz.

Here are the week's top reads on providencejournal.com:

Unsung heroes: Vietnam-era 'Swifties' are finally getting their due

Well before Taylor Swift fans co-opted the term, there was another group of “Swifties” – Navy volunteers who conducted highly dangerous missions in Vietnam on Swift Boats.

Despite the stress and danger, Swift Boat sailors maintained unusually high morale and esprit de corps through the course of their mission. Some 125 of the boats fought in the U.S. Navy from 1965 to 1970.

Former Navy Capt. David Brown of Middletown made it his mission in retirement to correct an administrative error, with help from U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, and deliver long overdue medals to 60 Swift Boat veterans.

Veterans Voice: Unsung heroes: Vietnam-era 'Swifties' are finally getting their due

RI's new nursing school wants to graduate 'healers,' ease job stress, reduce national exodus

As a national nursing shortage drags on and burnout pushes health care workers to the point of exhaustion, Providence College has launched its first School of Nursing and Health Sciences, which will put high-tech equipment at students' fingertips and expose them to real-life scenarios.

College officials say the program aims to go beyond the standard medical education to train "healers" who focus on the whole patient, "body, mind and spirit." And just as crucial, they say, is the nursing school's "well-being and resiliency" component, which will teach students how to care for themselves as well as their patients.

Once Providence College graduates its first batch of nurses, it's hoping they'll stay in state to help address staffing shortages here.

Health care: RI's new nursing school wants to graduate 'healers,' ease job stress, reduce national exodus

A flood of political commercials leaves viewers asking 'Where's the air between candidates?'

Another barrage of campaign ads is incoming in the run-up to Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District special election.

Donald Carlson, Aaron Regunberg and Sandra Cano are all set to debut a new round of television spots this week, building on the getting-to-know-you commercials that have been circulating this summer. And Emily's List is set to provide independent-expenditure air cover for Sabina Matos, according to AdImpact Politics.

If the early ads haven't left much of a mark, expect the messages and visuals to get bolder as primary day nears.

Already, the next round of spots features at least one celebrity – Jane Fonda – and a dramatic narrative about a shooting.

What have the early commercials revealed about this crowded and chaotic campaign?

Political Scene: A flood of political commercials leaves viewers asking 'Where's the air between candidates?'

Is Ocean State Job Lot really giving stuff away free with Crazy Deals? Here's how it works

Ocean State Job Lot is particularly famous for one very good deal: the Crazy Deal.

You buy a marked Crazy Deal item and Ocean State Job Lot will give you a Crazy Deal gift card back for up to the entire price of the item you just purchased. Right now, for example, you could order a $129 Instant Pot and get a $129 Crazy Deal gift card back to spend in the store.

A What and Why RI reader wondered about the seemingly “too good to be true” factor of the Crazy Deals. Does the store lose money? We went straight to the top and asked Ocean State Job Lot's president, Marc Perlman about the art of the deal.

What and Why RI: Is Ocean State Job Lot really giving stuff away free with Crazy Deals? Here's how it works

We asked, you told us: 7 reader-favorite ice-cream spots to try in Rhode Island

The coolest dessert on a hot summer day is an ice-cream cone, and in Rhode Island, there's no shortage of places to order a cone.

To get the scoop on the best places in Rhode Island to get an ice-cream cone, The Providence Journal recently put it to readers in an unscientific poll. First, we asked readers to nominate places to include in the poll on our Instagram page @ProJoEats, which we then compiled into a true poll.

Hundreds of votes later, we have the results. Here are seven reader-favorite ice-cream shops to check out in Rhode Island.

Food: We asked, you told us: 7 reader-favorite ice-cream spots to try in Rhode Island

To read the full stories, go to providencejournal.com. Find out how to subscribe here.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Providence Journal top stories: Swift Boat honors; Job Lot Crazy Deals