WICC The Voice of Connecticut

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)

Image Credit: REUTERS

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.

Image Credit: Getty Images

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.

Image Credit: Getty Images

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.

Image Credit: Reuters

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/

Image Credit: Getty Images 

Former NFL quarterback, Brett Favre, made a bombshell announcement this week that he is battling Parkinson’s Disease and it stems back to his career injuries. We asked Glenn Lungarini of the CIAC about protecting young athletes from debilitating head injuries.

Image Credit: Reuters

Host Paul Pacelli opened Thursday's "Connecticut Today" with disturbing numbers from a new poll measuring "climate anxiety" with young Americans (00:32). CBS News reporter Wendy Gillette explained the criminal indictments facing New York City Mayor Eric Adams (05:20), while "Only In Bridgeport" blogger Lennie Grimaldi talked about the area lawyer appointed to be a receiver in the Success Village investigation (10:29)

Image Credit: iStock / Getty Images Plus

A newly-published report says there's a likely link between COVID and diabetes.  It suggests the virus is creating inflammation in the pancreas. Baylor infectious disease expert Dr. Peter Hotez says this study comes as a growing number of parents question the impact of COVID on kids and aren't getting them vaccinated.  We asked Dr. Browne about the credibility of the study. We also looked at the recent announcement from The U.S. Postal Service, restarting its free at-home COVID-19 tests offer by the end of the month.

IMAGE CREDIT: Dr. Fred Browne / Griffin Hospital

Vaping has continued to be a real health concern for young people in America. Right now, national statistics show close to 6% of middle and high school students are using e-cigarettes regularly. While there are a lot of efforts to combat vape-use among pre-teens and teens, one company founded by young adults, has created vape-detection technology. We spoke with Garrison Pathemore, co-founder of Triton Sensors, to learn more now that six Connecticut school districts have adopted the technology this year.

For more information: https://tritonsensors.com/

IMAGE CREDIT: Garrison Pathemore / Triton Sensors

Host Paul Pacelli opened Wednesday's "Connecticut Today" with news of another major political figure failing to "turn down the political rhetoric" in this election season (00:38). Blogger and columnist Chris Powell dropped by to discuss whether or not any books are really "banned" in Connecticut or in the U.S. (06:18). Hearst Connecticut Media columnist and senior editor Dan Haar joined us to chat about the continued power issues in the state and rumors that New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart might be eyeing the governor's mansion in 2026 (14:10)

Image Credit: iStock / Getty Images Plus