Free Republic

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — In a series of exchanges spanning over three days, Connecticut’s top Democratic leaders appeared divided over whether or not to move forward with Gov. Ned Lamont’s proposal for a one-month gas tax holiday to address rising costs triggered by the war with Iran.The Democratic House speaker and House majority leader both signaled on Wednesday that their 102-member caucus is not clamoring for a gas tax holiday. A reprieve from the 25-cent-per-gallon tax, they reason, will not deliver sufficiently targeted savings.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — The Trump administration is using Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to help with a shortage of Transportation Security Administration agents at certain U.S. airports.This comes as Connecticut lawmakers propose new limits on what ICE agents may do in our state. There has not been word about the federal government sending ICE officers to Bradley International Airport. But there have been ICE raids in Connecticut.

Connecticut Democrats recently rushed through an emergency anti-fraud law requiring bottle redemption centers to collect a copy of a person’s driver’s license when they cash in more than 1,000 cans or bottles in a day — a document demand that Republicans say undercuts the party’s attacks on voter-ID rules. Earlier this month, an emergency certification bill, SB 299, was introduced by top Democratic leaders in the state's legislature. It was later passed in both chambers in late February and was signed by Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, on March 3. It requires people wishing to recycle cans for money to...

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — Former New Haven Police Chief Karl Jacobson, who was arrested last month for allegedly embezzling $85,500 from public funds, is due in court Thursday.Jacobson faces two counts of first-degree larceny.He abruptly retired on Jan. 5, hours after three assistant police chiefs confronted him about the missing funds from the police department’s confidential informant fund.

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — Legislators heard public testimony on legislation that would implement a 2024 ballot measure greenlighting universal access to absentee ballots. The ballot measure, which was put before voters by Democratic efforts in the legislature, passed overwhelmingly. Now, Democrats are pushing to implement it before the statewide election this fall.

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — Lawmakers in Connecticut met Wednesday for a public hearing on a bill to ban Glock pistols because of how easy they are to convert from semi-automatic to fully automatic.The Hartford Police Department said it has seized dozens of Glocks that have been converted to fully automatic through the use of a relatively inexpensive modification known as a “switch.”

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — Two hot-button political issues converged Wednesday in the state capitol, drawing a crowd well over 1,000 parents and children opposed to proposed regulations on homeschooling and changes to Connecticut’s vaccine policies. The day began with a scathing press conference staged by the General Assembly’s Republican caucuses. GOP legislators took particular issue with the fact that Democratic members of the Public Health Committee voted to cap public testimony at midnight on Wednesday.“No elected official that casted a vote today to silence your voices deserves to be re-elected to office again,” State Sen. Steve Harding, the leader of...

The Judiciary Committee will host Public Testimony on March 11th on these anti-gun bills. We need YOU to tell the legislature NOT to pass these bills! CCDL Outreach will also be deploying all across the state to host testimony-writing sessions at FFLs and Clubs. 1. Register to deliver oral testimony in opposition to H.B. 5043 and H.B. 5436. Plan to arrive for 9AM and wear CCDL/2A Merch to sport your affiliation. Let’s flood the capitol! 2. Submit written testimony in opposition to H.B. 5043 and H.B. 5436. Double-check our notes below and the bill language for facts, and your individual...

The husband of former Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin is under investigation over a campaign ad that heavily featured Secretary Kristi Noem. Days before President Donald Trump’s decision to relieve her of her duties, Noem testified before Congress to discuss her department’s funding. During this hearing, multiple members of Congress grilled Noem on the $220 million that went to subcontractors to fund an ad campaign. The ads, starring Noem, largely focused on the department’s deportation efforts. Her alleged ties to the recipients of the contracts led to questions about potential conflicts of interest. In a letter published Tuesday, Senators Peter...

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — Gov. Ned Lamont announced Tuesday that all U.S. and Connecticut flags on state property are to be lowered to half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Saturday, March 7, to honor Rev. Jesse Jackson, who died earlier this month.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The killing of a Minnesota woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer is reverberating across Capitol Hill where Democrats, and certain Republicans, are vowing an assertive response as President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation operations spark protests nationwide.Lawmakers are demanding a range of actions, from a full investigation into Renee Good’s shooting death and policy changes over law enforcement raids to the defunding of ICE operations and the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, in what is fast becoming an inflection point.“The situation that took place in Minnesota is a complete and total disgrace,” House Democratic...

HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) - Hartford officials launched an investigation Thursday after video showed the drivers of a car and a van drive through crowds at an ICE protest outside the federal courthouse. The video, obtained by CT Insider, showed the vehicles inching forward through people before driving off. As the van driver pulled away, someone ran after it, throwing what appeared to be chains at the back window and smashing it.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — New Haven Police Chief Karl Jacobson admitted theft and misuse of public funds, Mayor Justin Elicker announced during a press conference Monday. Jacobson allegedly admitted to taking money from a city fund used for confidential informants, according to Elicker. The fund is used to provide money to people who share information with police during criminal investigations.

WARNING: This story contains graphic information. Viewer discretion is advised. STAMFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — A man who opened fire on police during a standoff last week in Stamford was wearing a military uniform shirt with a Nazi insignia on the collar, according to the Connecticut Office of the Inspector General’s preliminary report. A state marshal arrived at a home in the 200 block of Oaklawn Avenue around 9 a.m. on Dec. 2 to evict 63-year-old Jed Parkington and his wife following a foreclosure. Police find decomposing body in Stamford home where barricaded suspect took his life According to the report,...

It’s unclear whether the measure will pass after administration officials tried to reassure Republicans who signaled they may support the effort.The Senate will vote Thursday on a bipartisan measure to block President Donald Trump from attacking Venezuelan territory in a new test of Republicans’ willingness to oppose his use of military force in Latin America. It is unclear whether the largely symbolic effort will attract enough GOP support to pass, or whether a recent push by the administration to walk back Trump’s repeated threats of escalation has reassured those lawmakers who have suggested they might join the effort. On Wednesday,...

Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Chris Jansing Reports,” Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), who serves as the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said MAGA voters who cheer the Trump administration’s military strikes on alleged drug boats in the eastern Pacific would not like who a potential President Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez chooses to kill. (snip) "And all my MAGA friends who are cheering on these illegal killings need to imagine who gets killed when President Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says that it doesn’t matter what the law says,"

Ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee Rep. Jim Himes (Conn) took issue with the Trump Administration policy of having the US Navy blow up drug smugglers boats, saying "Sen Graham (SC) and other Republicans say it's okay to kill suspected drug smugglers, just so long as the American public supports it. What will they say when President Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez orders a strike on a MAGA demonstration or suppresses the speech of individuals who disagree with her policies? Do they really want to establish a precedent that the president can do whatever he or she wants?" "What precedent is he...

A Connecticut son bludgeoned his mother to death with a hammer, then ran out into the woods behind his ritzy family home, screaming out for his “Mama.” Police arrested 20-year-old Sebastian Van Stockum on Oct. 24 after he admitted to fatally attacking his mother, Laura Williams, 55, with his fists and a hammer inside their nearly $2 million home in New Canaan — about 10 miles outside of Stamford, according to the New Canaan Police Department. Officers said they responded to a report of a man shouting “Mama” from the woods at around 10:36 p.m. that evening when 911 received...

A Yale cafeteria worker has resigned after smashing a historic stained glass window in Yale’s notorious Calhoun College residence hall, which is named after the 19th century white supremacist John C. Calhoun. The stained glass depicted two slaves picking cotton. The worker, Corey Menafee, is black. He told the New Haven Independent that the dining hall window was “racist” and “very degrading” and that last month, while working an event for the college, he decided to use a broomstick to smash the window.

Rep. Katherine Clark (D-CT), the number two ranking House Democrat, is admitting that allowing families to suffer under the shutdown is all about leverage. “Shutdowns are terrible, and of course there will be families that are going to suffer,” she told Fox News Thursday. “We take that responsibility very seriously. But it is one of the few leverage times we have.” She added: “It is an inflection point in this budget process where we have tried to get the Republicans to meet with us and prioritize the American people.” So there you have it. Even though Republicans have made clear...