WICC The Voice of Connecticut

Host Paul Pacelli kicked off a new week on "Connecticut Today" wondering if many Americans know about the number of criminal illegal aliens currently in the U.S. (00:40). CBS News correspondent Robert Berger joined us live from Jerusalem to chat about the current tense situation in the Middle East (06:27). Yankee Institute Director of Policy & Research David Flemming broke down a new study on the current "fiscal guardrails" being adhered to by the General Assembly (11:36). CTNewsJunkie columnist and Substack.com blogger Terry Cowgill talked about a developing problem with Connecticut's marijuana marketplace (19:38)

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About 100 motorcyclists were involved in a street takeover on Interstate 95 earlier this month. The chaos stretched from New Haven to Stratford on the southbound side of the highway. It’s the latest example of a large-scale problem in our state. We spoke with Senator Paul Cicarella, Ranking Senator on the Public Safety and Security Committee, about what more can be passed in legislation to combat this issue.

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Federal law enforcement officials in Connecticut have announced criminal indictments against seven people in a case they're calling one of the largest counterfeit pill busts ever in New England. Last week, it was discovered inside a local garage that a New Haven man manufactured hundreds of thousands of counterfeit pills being shipped around the U.S. State Senator Jeff Gordon, who also is a practicing doctor, talked about the health implications of this shocking bust and why tougher penalties may be a solution to the problem.

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There’s an effort to get Connecticut residents eating 30 percent New England-grown food by 2030. According to an article in the Stamford Advocate, Connecticut spent an estimated $708 million on local food in 2022. A New England-wide partnership is hoping to increase that number dramatically in the coming years. What do local farmers think of this? We asked Kaitlyn Kimbell, co-founder of Sunset Farm in Naugatuck.

For more information: https://www.sunsetfarmct.com/

 

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Today, Mike Cerulli chats with former state senator John McKinney (0:00), and keeps the conversation going with state senate Democratic candidate Rob Blanchard (39:20), and state rep Chris Rosario (1:19:30).

Host Paul Pacelli wrapped up another big week on "Connecticut Today" wondering if former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton went too far during a recent event in her criticism of former President Donald Trump (00:38). CBS reporter Aaron Navarro talked about covering Vice-President Kamala Harris' White House campaign (07:40). We also welcomed Karl Weber, editor of, "Why Books Still Matter: Honoring Joyce Meskis," to chat about national "Banned Books Week" (12:54). WICC Meteorologist Paul Piorek discussed the ferocity of Hurricane Helene (21:29)

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Connecticut has seen a record number of entries into homes by bears this year.  State environmental officials say there have been 64 bear home entries so far in 2024.  In addition, there have now been bear sightings in all 169 Connecticut cities and towns. State Senate Minority Leader Steve Harding talked about the possibility of bringing bear hunts to Connecticut.

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A new Muck Rack survey released this week revealed that more than half of U.S. journalists considered quitting their jobs this year because of exhaustion or burnout. What do the findings mean for the quality of our news coverage and the quality of journalism? We spoke with Ben Bogardus, associate professor and chair of journalism at the Quinnipiac University’s School of Communications.

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According to state records, the state struggles with more than 1,300 overdose deaths each year. State lawmakers are now looking at a possible solution: safe injection sites for drug users. We talked about the controversial option with the co-chair of the Legislature’s Public Health Committee, Rep. Cristin McCarthy Vahey.

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The Yale Cancer Center was just awarded a grant to utilize artificial intelligence to find older women with low-risk breast cancer who might be candidates for active surveillance rather than immediate treatment. We got a better understanding of the work being done to avoid overtreatment for some cancer patients from Dr. Sanjay Aneja, physician scientist and researcher at Yale Cancer Center.

For more information: https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/yale-cancer-center-team-receives-yosemiteamerican-cancer-society-award/

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