Free Republic

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — A marathon session of the State Senate that began Tuesday ended early Wednesday morning with a bill banning “convertible pistols” being passed.At the state Capitol, legislators voted largely by party lines, except for Republican Tomy Hwang, who joined the Democrats in support, and Democrat Cathy Osten, who joined Republicans in opposition.

An alleged group of car thieves who worked fast and furious at night to steal over 250 cars and auto parts in the Bronx were arrested and charged Friday, investigators said. The Bronx District Attorney's office indicted 16 alleged members of the Trinitarios street gang in a nearly 1,000-count indictment with grand larceny, auto stripping, and other offenses. Nine of the 16 were arrested as of Friday morning, according to the DA's office. The suspects would allegedly lift the target car and use power tools to remove all four tires and rims off within minutes, according to the NYPD and...

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — The debate over legislation aiming to restrict U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) actions in Connecticut is expected to resume Friday. The bill was approved in the state Senate earlier this month.Discussion at the state Capitol stretched into Thursday night. There were hours of questioning from House Republicans and repeated attempts to amend portions of the bill.

The weather is warming up, which, for many parts of the country, means tick season is settling in. Unfortunately, we’re off to a less-than-ideal start this year.Emergency department visits for tick bites have reached the highest rate in nearly 10 years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced last week.So far this month, 96 out of every 100,000 emergency department visits in the U.S. have been for tick bites. That’s roughly three times as many as were recorded in March, and well over the 68 out of 100,000 recorded in April 2025.

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — The state House of Representatives voted Thursday largely along party lines to advance a bill adding new oversight to the state’s homeschooling system, with the Republican minority mounting a lengthy, if futile, campaign of opposition.The final vote count was 96-53. All 49 Republicans voted against the bill and were joined by four Democrats who defected from their caucus. Democrats hold a 102-49 majority. Two Democrats were absent.

A quiet western Massachusetts town is being torn apart by a proposed 50% property tax hike — with neighbors stealing yard signs from one another and some residents warning they could be forced to sell their homes. Residents of South Hadley, Mass., head to the polls Tuesday to vote on proposals to close the local budget gap. One would raise $11 million for the town and hike average property tax bills by about $1,700 per year, according to the Daily Hampshire Gazette. The more modest proposal would generate a cool $9 million, increasing average property tax bills by roughly $1,400....

A 26-year-old promising dental student died in a Connecticut hospital’s intensive care unit that was being overseen by a “tele-health” doctor — who pronounced him dead via a video call, a lawsuit alleges. Conor Hylton’s family slapped the wrongful death lawsuit against Bridgeport Hospital Milford Campus last month for allegedly not having a physical doctor on-site when he was admitted to the ICU in August 2024, according to the filing. Hylton, who was studying at UConn School of Dental Medicine, took a turn for the worse in the hours after he went to the hospital seeking treatment for pancreatitis and...

An Israel Defense Forces soldier was killed in a Hezbollah rocket attack on troops in southern Lebanon overnight between Friday and Saturday, the military announced early Sunday morning. Sgt. Moshe Yitzchak Katz, 22, of the Paratroopers Brigade’s 890th Battalion, was a member of the Chabad community in New Haven, Connecticut. “My oldest son, with a zest for life and jokes,” wrote Katz’s father Mendy on Facebook. “My heart is shattered and the wound is real.” ...Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also offered condolences in a post, noting that Katz had moved to Israel to join the IDF, and saying he “fought...

Henry Lee, the famed forensic scientist who helped bring modern crime scene investigation into the public spotlight through his involvement in high-profile cases like the O.J. Simpson murder trial, has died. He was 87. Lee "passed away peacefully" Friday at his home in Henderson, Nevada, following a brief illness, according to a statement from his family and the University of New Haven, where he taught for more than 50 years. Lee rose to fame after his testimony in Simpson's 1995 trial, in which he questioned the handling of blood evidence. He also served as a consultant in other well known...

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.

BRANFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — What’s known to some as “gas station heroin” will officially be illegal in Connecticut to manufacture or sell.Kratom has been described by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as more potent than morphine and, at times, addictive like opioids. Starting Wednesday, Kratom will be classified as a Schedule 1 controlled substance, meaning it’s going to be banned from gas stations, convenience stores, vape shops, and other businesses in Connecticut.

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.

Democrat Senator Richard “Da Nang Dick” Blumenthal on Sunday said ICE agents will shoot and kill families at airports. The Democrats have repeatedly voted to block funding for the Department of Homeland Security. On Friday, Democrats once again blocked funding for the DHS and TSA. Hundreds of TSA agents have quit their jobs after missing a paycheck. ... According to Reuters, ICE agents will be deployed to at least 14 major airports across the country on Monday. Senator Blumenthal said the ICE agents will shoot and kill families at the airports. “ICE agents at airports will only aggravate delays &...

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) — 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...

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) — The family of 55-year-old Steven Jones, the man who was shot nine times by a Hartford police officer while he was having a mental health crisis, will hold a press conference Monday.The family will be represented by a high-profile civil rights and personal injury attorney, Ben Crump. He’s best known for representing the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Randy Cox.

A cannibal who hacked a homeless Connecticut man to death before devouring his brain and “oyster-tasting” eyeballs stunned a courtroom by saying sorry to his victim’s family. Tyree Lincoln Smith, 35, stood up Monday seconds after being sentenced for up to 60 years in a psychiatric hospital to plead forgiveness for slaying Angel “Tun Tun” Gonzalez.“I’m really sorry for what I did, that I couldn’t be myself,” Smith told a shocked gallery. “It really had nothing to do with the other person.” His surprisingly candid confession sparked Gonzalez’s relative Talitha Frazier to break down in tears. “We waited two years...