Free Republic

A church in Enfield was having a Pride celebration during their Sunday morning service when two men disrupted the ceremony with hate speech. Pastor Greg Gray of Enfield’s Congregational United Church of Christ wants to make it very clear: this is not okay. The church is decorated with rainbow banners, balloons, and flags to show support for the LGBTQ+ community. “Hate has been strong in this blue state of Connecticut. Hate is strong, and we’re going to love louder,” said Pastor Gray. ... Gray says the church is vocal about its support for the LGBTQ+ community. Because of that, he...

After hours of debate and hearing from residents, Hamtramck City Council has passed the resolution to ban LGBTQ+ Pride flags unanimously. The meeting started at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 14, followed by hours of public comment. There were big displays of public disapproval of the proposed resolution, which was followed by public displays of affection as two women kissed each other after speaking on the podium. The resolution proposed by Mayor Pro-Tem Muhammad Hassan stated the city would not allow any religious, ethnic, racial, political, or sexual orientation group flags to be flown on the city’s public property. The...

The Senate Homeland Security Committee has launched an investigation into the surprise merger between the PGA Tour and its Saudi rival LIV Golf. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, sent a letter to LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman on Monday requesting all records relating to the agreement, including communications between the two organizations. LIV has until June 26 to respond to the records request. Democrats in Congress have for years scrutinized Saudi Arabia for its human rights abuses, in particular its role in the civil war in Yemen. The kingdom has sought to rehabilitate its...

Multiple Connecticut delegates are responding to the news of former President Donald Trump's indictment. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said that "no person is above the law," and Trump should be punished because it doesn't matter how powerful a person is. "A grand jury has decided to charge former President Trump after an intensive investigation lasting many months. Our justice system has an obligation to pursue the facts and law wherever they lead. Former President Trump will have the same rights as any criminal defendant and the justice system will presume him innocent until proven guilty.” Representative Jim Himes (D-4th District) also...

The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or on the next. It was the deep knowledge — and pray God we have not lost it — that there is a profound, moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest. You were here to liberate, not to conquer, and so you and those others did not doubt your cause. And you were right not to doubt.IMHO, one of...

Some masking and testing precautions are back in place at the State Capitol Building as positive COVID-19 cases escalate. According to Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, there had been several positive COVID-19 tests in the State Senate over the past few days. The measures have been put in place to "ensure the Senate continues to operate effectively," said Looney. Looney did not say if the COVID-19 cases were among legislators, staffers or visitors. Going forward, all visitors and guests must mask up in the common areas on the third floor of the State Capitol and in the Senate Gallery....

The town manager wants a review of how the state police handled a street takeover last weekend when officials say as many as 200 people drove recklessly, blocked an ambulance and surrounded, kicked and jumped on a woman's car. Connecticut State Police troopers were aware of at least three takeovers that occurred Sunday night and watched as the car stunts were pulled off in Vernon, Manchester and Tolland, according to a report obtained Tuesday by Hearst Connecticut Media Group. ... The Mustang, whose driver state police later identified as Duron, left the Vernon lot and headed farther east to Route...

Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna on Wednesday unveiled a resolution to remove California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff from Congress. Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna on Wednesday unveiled a resolution to remove California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff from Congress. "Schiff lied to the American people. He used his position on House Intel to push a lie that cost American taxpayers millions of dollars," she wrote in a Tweet from her official account. "He is a dishonor to the House of Representatives." On her personal account, Luna included a different statement in a post that included the resolution. "Knowingly using...

New Haven’s Union Station has no seating for travelers due to reports of bed bugs. It was partially shut down on Monday, but was expected to reopen on Tuesday. The New Haven Parking Authority said it cleaned surfaces on Monday. “Overnight, licensed exterminator and cleaning vendors [were] on site to address the hard scape surfaces and reopen the area to the public in the morning,” the parking authority said. Travelers said they were surprised to find that the seating at Union Station blocked off when they arrived. “Never heard of bed bugs on tile and wood floors ever before,” said...

Far-left Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez thinks Mayor Eric Adams gave away the store this month when he greenlit raises for cops under City Hall’s recent agreement with the Big Apple’s largest police union – after the thin blue line went seven years without a raise. “We are in New York City, and you’re talking about funding violence prevention outside of the police and yet Eric Adams has just increased police wages by 28%. Is that misplaced?” “The Daily Show” host Jordan Klepper asked the “Squad” member Monday. “I think so,” the pol agreed while touring Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx....

San Francisco hired cops without documenting their citizenship or whether they graduated high school—requirements at the time of their hiring—state records newly obtained by The Standard show. Additionally, several officers worked for more than a year before the department screened their psychological preparedness, another hiring requirement, for a job that gives them power over life and death. California’s law enforcement licensing agency, Peace Officer Standards and Training, identified those among myriad other issues while looking at all Bay Area police hires since 2016. The regional audit last year came after an Alameda County sheriff's deputy killed two people, prompting questions...

Connecticut has an alcohol problem when it comes to driving. In 2020, 40-percent of all crashes involved drinking. Lawmakers are deciding whether to lower the legal blood alcohol limit. Only one other state, Utah, has done this. New York and a few others are considering it. The transportation committee heard strong testimony on why this will save lives. “To be frank, Connecticut has a drunk driving problem,” said Garrett Eucalitto, Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner. Eucalitto said what we are doing isn’t working. He supports legislation to lower the legal blood alcohol level from .08 to .05. That same message...

Vanderbilt University has apologized for using artificial intelligence to write a 297-word email to students after the Michigan State University mass shooting, causing two deans to temporarily step down. The Peabody Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion sent students an email on February 16 reminding them to 'take care of each other' after the MSU shooting. Although the email came off as kind and offered students ways to help promote a caring environment with their peers, at the very bottom, it revealed it wasn't written by a human. ... Since the outrage begun, two deans who signed off on the...

Students at Morgan State University returned from their holiday break to find new metal detectors at the dorms they had to pass through to enter. The metal detectors have been placed in all on-campus dorms at Morgan. Students said they are torn on the topic. ... The school has seen shootings both around and on campus, including an on-campus shooting during homecoming weekend in October 2021, an off-campus shooting at the Marble Hall Gardens housing complex in September 2022, and a third shooting off-campus at a gas station in Northwood Commons in December 2022. ... In a statement, Morgan officials...

One suspect in an attempted armed robbery in East Hartford is dead after a clerk who was shot during the ordeal shot back, according to police. Police said two people wearing black ski masks went into Humble & Paid Co. at 1285 Main St. just after 10:30 p.m. Thursday, intending to rob the business. The store clerk struggled with one of the suspects, who pulled out a firearm and the suspect shot the clerk in the back, police said. The store clerk returned fire with two of his legally registered firearms, striking one of the suspects several times, according to...

The Biden administration is fighting to maintain a federal mask mandate for air travel and other methods of transportation even after President Biden said months ago the pandemic is "over," and despite calls from travel associations to end mask mandates. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments on Tuesday from the Biden Justice Department on behalf of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to reinstate a mask mandate for air travel, after a federal judge in Florida struck down the mandate last April. "The Department continues to believe that the order requiring masking in the transportation corridor is...

(WFSB) – The Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) is recommending six Connecticut counties to mask up after they reached the “High” community level for COVID-19. Hartford, Litchfield, Middlesex, New Haven, Tolland, and Windham Counties have a “High” community level of COVID-19, the CDC said. Fairfield and New London Counties are listed in the CDC’s “Medium/Yellow” category. The CDC is recommending people in those counties to wear high-quality masks or respirators in indoor spaces. The State Department of Public Health (DPH) said Connecticut is experiencing a COVID-19 surge. DPH is recommending all residents to mask up indoors. According to...

A record number of illegal guns were taken off streets in Hartford in 2022. The city also saw an increase in the number of homicides. With that year in the books, Channel 3 dug into the capital city’s crime statistics. Three hundred sixty-seven illegal guns were taken off Hartford’s streets during the calendar year. Fifty-eight of them were ghost guns, according to police. With a new year underway, they said their efforts will continue to try to keep illegal guns off streets. ... The number of non-fatal shootings in Hartford decreased. In 2022, there were 136, compared with 148 in...

One of New Jersey’s largest public school districts is requiring masks starting Wednesday due to rising COVID-19 cases. Passaic Public Schools has 17 schools, including Passaic High School, and enrolls approximately 14,000 students. Superintendent Sandra M. Diodonet told parents on Tuesday that, under a school board policy, masks are required “during periods of a High Activity Level” of COVID-19 as documented by the state health department. “Therefore, effective Wednesday, December 21, 2022, all employees, Pre-K through grade 12 students, and visitors are required to wear face coverings in all district facilities, school grounds, and buses,” Diodonet wrote in a letter...

Los Angeles County reported more than 10,000 new COVID-19 infections from a three-day period ending Monday, continuing an upward trend in cases that has also pushed up virus-related hospitalizations. The county Department of Public Health logged 5,106 new cases on Saturday, 3,270 on Sunday and 1,713 on Monday. Sunday and Monday figures tend to be lower due to delays in weekend reporting. Overall numbers are also believed to be an undercount of actual virus activity in the county, since many people rely on at-home tests without reporting the results to health officials, while many others don't get tested at all....