WICC The Voice of Connecticut

Ahead of Donald Trump's second presidential inauguration this Monday, Mike breaks down Connecticut politics on this week's show.

The American Cancer Society released a new report this week showing younger women are nearly twice as likely to have cancer than men. It also showed middle-aged women are at a higher risk for cancer too. Medical oncologist and the director of the early onset cancer program at Yale Cancer Center, Dr. Veda Giri, shared what could be leading to these new trends and what women should be doing to prevent a cancer diagnosis.

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A republican led bill titled Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act reportedly passed in a 274-145 vote yesterday with more than a quarter of Democrats voting in support. That included Connecticut Congressman Jim Himes. We got a better understanding about the difference between this act and the proposed Laken Riley Act.

Image Courtesy of Congressman Jim Himes

The FDA is banning red dye number three in food, drinks and ingested drugs.  Wednesday's move comes more than 30 years after scientists found links between the dye, which is made from petroleum, and cancer in animals. We spoke with Dr. Andrew Wong with Hartford Healthcare about the banning and what products are impacted.

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Host Paul Pacelli kicked off Thursday's "Connecticut Today" with news that a bill to outlaw the sales of "nip" bottles of alcohol in Connecticut has been introduced in the General Assembly (00:50). State Senate GOP leader Steve Harding explained this week's disclosure of an extra $340 million dollars of revenue in state coffers (14:20). CBS News correspondent Aaron Navarro dropped by with the latest on the Trump transition (22:14). Washington Times online opinion editor and author of, "God-Given or Bust: Defeating Marxism and Saving America with Biblical Truths," Cheryl Chumley, talked about the growing trend of using executive orders to govern (26:15)

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January is Firefighter Cancer Awareness Month. Is Connecticut doing enough to support our firefighters and address the concerns of cancer-causing chemicals on scene of disasters and even in the clothing firefighters wear? We spoke with Caitlyn Pereira of the Fairfield Firefighters Association IAFF local 1426 and Pete Brown, the President of the state association of firefighters, about laws currently on the book and what else can be done during the 2025 legislative session.

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A Connecticut youth basketball coach allegedly rammed his car into a parent following an argument they had during a game. The way both parties acted prompted a conversation with CIAC Executive Director, Glenn Lungarini. He shared when the shift in behavior started getting so bad and how bad behavior among coaches and parents has led to new rules put in place.

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Speeders and wrong-way driving are among the top problems we see on Connecticut highways. What was accomplished to curb the issue last year and what are goals for 2025? We spoke with Josh Morgan from the Connecticut Department of Transportation.

To vote in the Snow Plow Naming Contest: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=-nyLEd2juUiwJjH_abtziwwsSPGQLy1EiXUlyKOrSGxUMk01UTZXMjExT1JBWktPVU5EUUY2RjVCNy4u&route=shorturl

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Patients young and old can benefit from artificial intelligence being used in our hospitals. We spoke with Dr. Fred Browne from Griffin Health to learn about ‘hospital-at-home’ programs as well as AI-monitors for babies.

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Host Paul Pacelli opened Wednesday's "Connecticut Today" chatting about two controversial bills at the State Capitol, one of which would pay unemployment benefits to striking workers (00:44). GOP State Sen. Rob Sampson talked about that bill and also discussed a controversy regarding a state agency not cooperating with federal immigration officials (14:11). University of New Haven Senior Criminal Justice Lecturer and retired FBI Special Agent Ken Gray commented on an announced ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas (24:53). We wrapped things up with Hearst Connecticut Media columnist and senior editor Dan Haar on breaking news about a possible tax cut in Connecticut (30:39)

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