WASHINGTON — Families of those massacred in an Orlando nightclub are weighing whether to follow the Sandy Hook families that have filed a lawsuit against makers of assault rifles like the one Adam Lanza used to kill 20 first graders and six adults.
Ana Radelat
Ana has written about politics and policy in Washington, D.C.. for Gannett, Thompson Reuters and UPI. She was a special correspondent for the Miami Herald, and a regular contributor to The New York TImes, Advertising Age and several other publications. She has also worked in broadcast journalism, for CNN and several local NPR stations. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland School of Journalism.
Posted inJustice
State police don’t mirror CT when it comes to blacks, Hispanics
Nearly 30 years ago Connecticut’s state police signed a legally binding agreement to boost the number of black and Hispanic troopers to 10 percent of the force so it would mirror the proportion of minorities in Connecticut’s population. The state police met that goal decades ago, but there hasn’t been much change since, though minorities now represent about a quarter of the state’s population.
Posted inPolitics
Larson plotted House revolt clandestinely with Lewis
WASHINGTON – Civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis was the face of the unprecedented uprising by House Democrats seeking votes on gun control measures, but it was Rep. John Larson who was the behind-the-scenes planner of the insurrection and who kept it on course for more than 16 hours.
Posted inPolitics
GOP cuts off Dems’ revolt, CT lawmakers say they won’t quit
Updated at 2 p.m.
WASHINGTON — House Republicans pulled the plug on a revolt by Democrats led by Connecticut Rep. John Larson and civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis by adjourning in the middle of the night for the long July 4th break. Larson and other Democrats vowed to continue fighting for votes on gun control measures.
Posted inPolitics
Trump’s fundraising woes extend to Connecticut
Washington – Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump has raised less than $50,000 in political cash in Connecticut, while Democratic rival Hillary Clinton pulled in $3.6 million, the latest filings with the Federal Elections Commission shows. Trump’s money deficit in the state is in line with the yawning gap with Clinton he has in fundraising across the nation
Posted inHealth, Politics
Blumenthal asks DOJ to stop Aetna-Humana, Anthem-Cigna mergers
WASHINGTON – Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and six other Democrats on the Judiciary Committee asked the Justice Department on Wednesday to block two proposed mergers involving Connecticut health insurers, Aetna-Humana and Anthem-Cigna.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Aetna-Humana, Anthem-Cigna facing different merger obstacles
WASHINGTON – So far, Aetna appears to be clearing the regulatory and antitrust hurdles it faces to merge with Humana more easily, while Anthem’s proposed marriage to Cigna has faced more troubles. Neither has yet cleared the hurdle of antitrust approval from the U.S. Justice Department.
Posted inPolitics
New chance for ‘terror gap’ gun bill
WASHINGTON – After the Senate voted down four gun control bills inspired by the Orlando massacre, a compromise emerged that would prevent those suspected of terrorist ties from purchasing weapons – and Connecticut’s senators say that’s encouraging.
Posted inJustice, Politics
Senate rejects Murphy background-check provision and ‘terror gap’ bill
Updated at 9:28 p.m.
WASHINGTON — For the second time since the slaughter at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the U.S. Senate has rejected an effort to expand FBI background checks of gun purchasers. Lawmakers also killed an effort to bar those on the terrorist watch list from purchasing weapons, as well as two competing GOP proposals.
Posted inPolitics
With talkathon, Murphy gambled – and won
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy gambled that he was up to the physical and intellectual rigors of an open-ended filibuster aimed at pressuring Senate GOP leaders to hold votes on gun safety issues – and he won. But there was always a risk of failure.
Posted inPolitics
Murphy ends filibuster saying two gun measures will get votes
WASHINGTON — Nearly 15 hours after he launched a filibuster to pressure GOP colleagues to allow votes on gun safety measures, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy said there had been an agreement to vote on measures barring those on a terrorist watch list from purchasing firearms and expanding background checks.
Posted inEducation, Politics
State official says federal policy changes cut 6,100 from subsidized day care
WASHINGTON — The move to improve a child care subsidy program that helps low-and-moderate income families has also made it more expensive and forced Connecticut to cut 6,100 children from the rolls, a state official told a Senate panel Wednesday.
Posted inNews
CT ethics board to consider Common Cause petition seeking Wade investigation
Connecticut ethics officials will consider a petition filed by Common Cause late Monday that asks them to rule on whether Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Katharine L. Wade’s ties to her former employer, Cigna, require her to recuse herself from reviewing a proposed merger of Cigna and Anthem. The Citizen’s Ethics Advisory Board will vote Thursday on whether a review will be done.
Posted inPolitics
Push intensifies for terror-list gun bill backed by CT lawmakers
WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats, including those representing Connecticut, escalated the pressure on GOP colleagues Tuesday to revisit and pass legislation that would prohibit those on the federal terror list from purchasing a gun.
Posted inPolitics
CT lawmakers hope Orlando is a ‘tipping point’ on gun control
WASHINGTON — Gun control advocates in Congress, with Connecticut’s lawmakers taking a lead, are hoping the massacre in Orlando is a “tipping point” that overcomes the deep resistance in Congress to strengthening the nation’s federal gun law. Political points may be scored, but it’s not likely Congress will budge.