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Trump Appoints Pence To Lead Government's Coronavirus Response

Updated at 10:17 p.m. ET Hours after the White House rejected the idea of appointing a coronavirus czar, President Trump on Wednesday put Vice President Pence in charge of the administration's response to the disease. "We're doing really well, and Mike is going to be in charge," Trump said, noting that Pence's experience as governor of Indiana made him adept at working with state and local health authorities. "This is not a czar," the president later added. The president's remarks came as the...

Frankie Graziano / Connecticut Public Radio

'Moving Into The Unknown': Connecticut Prepares For Coronavirus

Connecticut officials and health experts say it’s only a matter of time before the global outbreak of a novel coronavirus reaches local communities in the state, but Gov. Ned Lamont said Wednesday the state is ready.

Ryan Caron King / Connecticut Public Radio

State Regulators Threaten Fines For Electric Utilities Over Rollout Of 'Shared Solar'

'Melody Poet' Mike Casey Returns To Connecticut

Better Late Than Never? Big Companies Scramble To Make Lofty Climate Promises

By Camila Domonoske • 4 hours ago

Jet fuel-guzzling Delta Air Lines and fossil fuel-pumping BP are vowing to go carbon neutral.

Researchers Step Up Efforts To Develop A 'Universal' Flu Vaccine

By Shahla Farzan • 5 hours ago

Sarah King isn't afraid of having the flu — in fact, she considers herself an "excellent sick person."

"I have a pretty high pain tolerance," King says. "I'm not a person that whines a lot. I just kind of suck it up."

So when she heard about a medical study that pays volunteers about $3,000 to be infected with the live flu virus, King thought the offer sounded too good to pass up. Last fall, she checked in for a 10-day stay at Saint Louis University's "Hotel Influenza," a quarantine unit where researchers study how the human immune system fights the flu.

'Moving Into The Unknown': Connecticut Prepares For Coronavirus

By Staff • 15 hours ago

'Melody Poet' Mike Casey Returns To Connecticut

By Ray Hardman • 15 hours ago

Jazz saxophonist Mike Casey returns to his old Connecticut stomping grounds for a performance in Old Lyme this week. The performance coincides with the release of two new singles.

State Regulators Threaten Fines For Electric Utilities Over Rollout Of 'Shared Solar'

By Patrick Skahill • 16 hours ago

If you rent or can’t put solar panels on your roof but you want to support solar energy, you can subscribe to what’s called “shared solar” and get a credit to lower your electric bill. But regulators in Connecticut say the state’s two biggest electric utilities are dragging their feet on developing rules for the program.

Coronavirus: More New Cases Are Now Reported Outside China Than Inside

By Bill Chappell • 23 hours ago

Updated at 2 p.m. ET

"Yesterday, the number of new cases reported outside China exceeded the number of new cases in China for the first time," the head of the World Health Organization said Wednesday in an update on the coronavirus disease COVID-19.

"Outside China, there are now 2,790 cases in 37 countries, and 44 deaths," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a briefing in Geneva.

Insurers Sank Connecticut's 'Public Option.' Would A National Version Survive?

By Shefali Luthra • 23 hours ago

Health care costs were rising. People couldn't afford coverage. So, in Connecticut, state lawmakers took action.

Their solution was to attempt to create a public health insurance option, managed by the state, which would ostensibly serve as a low-cost alternative for people who couldn't afford private plans.

Immediately, an aggressive industry mobilized to kill the idea. Despite months of lobbying, debate and organizing, the proposal was dead on arrival.

Joe Biden Gets Boost With Endorsement Of Influential South Carolina Democrat

By Susan Davis • Feb 26, 2020

Updated at 12:30 p.m.

House Majority Whip James Clyburn offered an emotional presidential endorsement of Joe Biden on Wednesday, just three days ahead of South Carolina's Democratic primary — a contest that could be make-or-break for the former vice president's campaign.

"I've known for a long time who I was going to vote for. I'm voting for Joe Biden. South Carolinians should be voting for Joe Biden," Clyburn said at an event in North Charleston.

Connecticut Woman Explains Why She’s Suing Harvard For Family Photos

By Robyn Doyon-Aitken , Lucy Nalpathanchil & Ryan Caron King • Feb 26, 2020

Renty -- an enslaved man whose photograph was commissioned by Harvard professor Louis Agassiz in 1850. — Courtesy of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University

When Tamara Lanier’s mother died in 2010, the Norwich, Connecticut, resident remembered a promise she made to her: to document who her ancestors were.

Lanier says she grew up hearing her mother’s stories about her great-great-great grandfather, Papa Renty, an African-born enslaved man in South Carolina.

4 Takeaways From The South Carolina Democratic Debate

By Domenico Montanaro • Feb 26, 2020

The Democrats debated for the 10th time Tuesday night and it was a bit of a mess. There was shouting. There was overtalk. There were lots of attacks.

So what to make of that muddle? Here are four takeaways that emerged as the dust settled.

1. Joe Biden was focused on the win in South Carolina

South Carolina is a must-win for the former vice president after disappointing finishes in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. He came into the debate with a game plan and executed it the best he could.

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New Chief State’s Attorney Talks Goals And Challenges Of The Job

Richard Colangelo Jr., recognized most recently as the prosecutor in the Fotis Dulos murder case, is Connecticut’s newest chief state’s attorney. The former Stamford state’s attorney is settling into his role as the state’s top prosecutor and administrative head of the Division of Criminal Justice. He replaced Kevin Kane, who recently retired as the state's longest-serving chief state’s attorney after 13 years in the position.