Free Republic

A tipsy Long Island teen went for a passed-out joyride in a Tesla — which he switched into autopilot mode on a busy Connecticut highway before going to sleep and being busted by cops, state police said. Garden City native Guido Reinoso-Gallegos, 19, was slumped over the steering wheel as the self-driving vehicle rolled down I-91 south in Wethersfield at just 30 miles per hour with its hazard lights flashing when he was arrested around 12:30 am Friday. Despite not having his hands on the wheel, Gallegos was charged with driving under the influence because he still needs the awareness...

BETHLEHEM, Conn. (WFSB/Gray News) – A father in Connecticut was arrested after he said he shot a bear in self-defense to protect his family. The shooting happened at Todd Topicz’s home in August. He said that the bear entered the home through the garage, where his two kids were at the time. “He [the bear] walked right into the garage with people in there. He didn’t care. So, who knows what would’ve happened next time,” Topicz said.

Is there a serial killer hunting in small towns across New England? A growing number of people believe this is happening. Human remains have been discovered in various places in the region and there is enough evidence to suggest that the crimes are connected. It’s creepy to think that there is some evil person out there stalking and killing people for no reason but studies have shown that there are serial killers operating in the country at any given time. Every once in a while, law enforcement connects the dots on certain cases and speculation grows. The Daily Mail reports:...

Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas is urging all residents to oppose the federal Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE Act. In a release from her office Thursday, Thomas says the legislation is “bad for Connecticut, bad for voters and bad for taxpayers.” The U.S. House passed the bill this week. If it passes the Senate and goes into effect, the bill would require in-person voter registration with physical proof of citizenship and eliminate online and mail-in registration. Thomas warns everyone that the measure would place costly, unfunded mandates on municipalities, burden local election offices and open the door...

Despite a disclaimer stating, “All content is filmed in Mexico” with “no affiliation to the poster”… …police determined the helmet-cam footage was filmed in Connecticut on Interstates 84 and 91, between New Haven and Hartford Bennett was arrested at his Bloomfield home and charged with reckless endangerment, reckless driving, and failure to drive in the proper lane

A 100-year-old World War II veteran traveled from Bristol, Connecticut, to Iwo Jima to mark 80 years since the U.S. fought on the small Japanese island. Joseph Caminiti, a 100-year-old WWII veteran who still goes to the gym daily, joined U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, military officials, and families of those killed in the battle of Iwo Jima to visit the island for the combat’s 80-year anniversary, according to a report by WTNH. Caminiti is among the estimated three remaining living survivors of the battle of Iwo Jima, where the iconic photograph was captured of U.S. Marines raising the...

Air Force Gen. Timothy Haugh had been both the head of U.S. Cyber Command and the director of the NSA, a role he'd held since February 2024. The director and the No. 2 official at the National Security Agency were ousted from their positions Thursday, according to a defense official and three sources with knowledge of the matter. It was not immediately clear why Air Force Gen. Timothy Haugh and his deputy were dismissed, the sources said. The White House National Security Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday night. Haugh was both the head of...

Taxpayer-funded abortion is increasing at the state level as pro-abortion lawmakers work to expand abortion since the reversal of Roe v. Wade. Federally, the Hyde Amendment prohibits most taxpayer funding of abortion, allowing funding only in cases of rape, incest, or when the physician determines the pregnant mother’s life is at risk. But while the Hyde Amendment prevents most abortions from being paid for by federal tax dollars, each state can determine its own taxpayer funding for abortion. According to the pro-abortion organization KFF.org (The Kaiser Family Foundation), “There is tremendous variability in how much states reimburse for abortion services...

Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said on Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Deadline” that the Signal group chat on military strikes against the Houthis between Trump administration officials might be a violation of the “Espionage Act as well as the Federal Records and Presidential Records Act.” Blumenthal said, “I’ve talked to some of the pilots who have undertaken these missions against the Houthis. They have very seriously threatening air defense systems that can shoot down our planes and the early warning that might have been given them about the targets, the human targets that were on the list, about the weather, about the...

WASHINGTON (AP) — As congressional lawmakers scramble to respond to President Donald Trump’s slashing of the federal government, one group is already taking a front and center role: military veterans. From layoffs at the Department of Veterans Affairs to a Pentagon purge of archives that documented diversity in the military, veterans have been acutely affected by Trump’s actions. And with the Republican president determined to continue slashing the federal government, the burden will only grow on veterans, who make up roughly 30% of the federal workforce and often tap government benefits they earned with their military service. “At a moment...

Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., erupted over Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) while delivering remarks to colleagues on the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday. During a markup of bills related to providing the House with information on DOGE access to Treasury Department payment systems and the Social Security Administration, Larson turned red and shouted at Republican colleagues, "You will do whatever Elon Musk and Donald Trump tell you to do. "Where's the independence of the committee? Where's the legislature? We're an equal branch of government," an enraged Larson yelled, "Look at the empty seats here....

WATERBURY, Conn. (WTNH) — A woman has been arrested in Waterbury after allegedly kidnapping her stepson and holding him captive for over 20 years, according to police. On Feb. 17, crews responded to a fire at a home on Blake Street in Waterbury. Two people, 56-year-old Kimberly Sullivan and a 32-year-old man, were inside the home at the time. Sullivan was able to evacuate safely, and firefighters helped the man out. While being evaluated by EMS for smoke inhalation, the victim allegedly disclosed to first responders that he intentionally set the fire in his upstairs room by using a lighter,...

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — In one week’s time, Gov. Ned Lamont went from vetoing nearly $3 million in funding for nonprofit organizations to signing a revised bill that provided the exact same funding – only by a slightly different mechanism.The $3 million in funding that the governor vetoed and then ultimately signed will go to an array of nonprofit organizations including Planned Parenthood, various LGBTQ+ groups around the state and agencies providing services for immigrants and refugees.

WASHINGTON — Sen. Chris Murphy was spotted at a Washington, DC, watering hole on a date with a progressive media mogul and strategist who’s boosted his efforts as a leading anti-Trump politician in Congress — just months after the Connecticut Democrat announced he and his wife were separating. Murphy, 51, was caught “cuddling” with Courier Newsroom publisher Tara McGowan, 39, last Monday by the bar at the Red Hen, located just one mile north of Capitol Hill in the district’s Bloomingdale neighborhood, a source told The Post, sharing a photo of the pair’s romantic rendezvous. The source said Murphy wrapped...

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — A federal lawsuit has been filed against Capt. Tyrell McCoy, the former appointee for Hartford police chief, according to documents from the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.McCoy, who is a Captain with the Philadelphia Police Department, withdrew his name from consideration on Feb. 1, just one week after being appointed by Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam.

"You never know what you're going to get every day when you get down here." ================================================================= Texas ranchers are facing devastating losses after fertilizer contaminated with dangerous per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances poisoned their livestock and land. A recent article in The Texas Tribune highlighted growing concerns about these toxic chemicals entering the food supply. What's happening? Multiple Texas farming families have discovered that their land and animals were poisoned by fertilizer containing PFAS, human-made chemicals found in everyday products. The fertilizer, made from processed sewage sludge called biosolids, was promoted as an environmentally friendly option for years. "This is destroying...

Ten House Democrats joined Republicans in voting to censure Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) on Thursday, rebuking the 11-term congressman for his disruptive protest during President Trump’s speech to Congress. The chamber adopted the censure resolution in a 224-198-2 vote, less than 48 hours after Green stood up, waved his cane in the air and yelled at Trump during his speech, prompting his eventual removal from the chamber. The vote made him the 28th member of the House to be censured. House Democratic leadership did not whip on the Green censure resolution, allowing lawmakers to decide on their own whether to...

Connecticut Democrats are attempting to “fight back” against President Donald Trump’s landslide national election and a White House agenda that has already included multiple pro-life initiatives. One of two bills passed by the state legislature last week through an emergency certification process awarded $800,000 in Connecticut taxpayer funding to Planned Parenthood of Southern New England for the purpose of stockpiling abortion-inducing drugs. The other emergency bill – which provides funding to organizations impacted by the Trump administration’s policies – awards yet another $2.8 million to Planned Parenthood, making the abortion vendor “the biggest nonprofit beneficiary of the legislation,” reported CT...

A Connecticut student who graduated with honors in June is now suing her former high school, claiming she can't read or write and is failing college as a result of her alma mater's poor curriculum. Aleysha Ortiz was born in Puerto Rico and moved with her family to Hartford, Connecticut, when she was 5 years old. She graduated through the school program despite reading at a kindergarten or first grade level as a sixth grader, according to reporting by CNN. During her last month at Hartford Public High School, after she disclosed she was attending the University of Connecticut in...

Democrats are facing new charges of election fraud going back to 2021, despite their party pushing back on election integrity and voter fraud claims since the 2020 presidential election. While Democrats have long criticized Republicans who are concerned about election integrity by smearing them with the pejorative label “election deniers,” new allegations regarding election fraud are being made against Democrats. Five Democratic Party members in Bridgeport, Conn., and Philadelphia have been criminally charged with numerous counts of voter fraud on both the state and federal levels regarding mail-in ballots. Bridgeport had to redo primary and general elections last year after...