Matt Dwyer

Thousands of students in one of the largest school districts in the state are returning to in-person classes 5 days per week, starting today. Hartford students in ninth grade and younger have been hybrid learning, with some of their classes in person, and some online. Older high school students in Hartford will continue to split their time between online and in-person learning for the time being. Hartford has had problems with many student not engaging with online learning.

White people in Connecticut are more than twice as likely as Black and Hispanic people to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. That's according to numbers released Thursday by the state Department of Public Health. Eight percent of white people are fully vaccinated. Less than four percent of Black and Hispanic residents are fully vaccinated. But the state health department says there is some uncertainty in those numbers.

Ministers, police, and the mayor of New Haven are speaking out today, after a violent weekend in the Elm City. Police Chief Otoniel Reyes says officers are working around the clock to solve these most recent acts of violence.

The shooting death of Yale grad student Kevin Jiang brought the total number of homicides in New Haven to six, Just five weeks into the year. The Yale School of the Environment is holding a community gathering today.

A Connecticut COVID-19 shot appointment phone service is extending its hours. Starting Monday, the Vaccine Appointment Assist Line will be available from 8 am to 8 pm, seven days per week. It is run by the state Department of Public Health and the United Way of Connecticut. Officials say the extra hours will be needed in the coming weeks as Connecticut begins to receive more vaccine supply, and as eligibility for the shots is opened up to include everyone over the age of 65. The phone number for vaccination scheduling is: 877-918-2224. Appointments can also be scheduled online.

Connecticut congressman Jim Himes has been promoted to be the next chair of the House subcommittee on National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy. He was previously a member of the panel. Among other things, Himes says his committee will focus on protecting the U.S. financial system from attack. Some of that work might overlap with Himes' other assignment on the Intelligence Committee. Himes serves Connecticut's fourth district.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong is urging lawmakers to make it easier for his office to crack down on price gouging during emergencies. Tong says the existing law limited his ability to go after some of the people and businesses that took advantage of shortages in protective equipment and essential goods last year. Tong says his office received more than 750 price gouging complaints related to the pandemic. He wants the law expanded beyond retail sales to apply to suppliers that sell items to retailers. He also wants price gouging rules applied to leases and rental items.

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York heard arguments this week from the Connecticut Parents Union, in their lawsuit against the state Education Department. A panel of federal judges will now decide if the group can bring a lawsuit challenging a state policy that sets aside seats for racial integration in magnet schools. The schools were set up as a way to bring Black and Hispanic students together with white students.

Connecticut's employment recovery is stalling out. Numbers released Monday show the state shed jobs in December. It's the second straight month of job losses, after Connecticut had begun to gain back some of the staggering number of positions that went away during coronavirus shutdowns in the spring. Connecticut is still more than 100,000 jobs short of its employment level a year ago, before the pandemic. State labor officials said they do see a silver lining; the largest December declines were in businesses directly affected by the pandemic including restaurants and hotels.

Acting Connecticut Health Commissioner Diedre Gifford said Monday the number of people working on the state’s vaccination sign-up phone service has been doubled. There have been complaints about seniors who are now eligible for the vaccine having difficulties with the sign-up process. Gifford spoke at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, where officials gathered to celebrate the first week of operation for the mass vaccination site. The unused Pratt & Whitney Runway can accommodate more than 1,000 cars a day. Gov. Ned Lamont called the lines of vehicles there "lines of hope."

Two people who listed their homes as being in Connecticut were among those arrested at the U.S. Capitol yesterday. Mauricio Mendez and Victoria Bergeson were both charged with unlawful entry and violating a curfew. They were arrested in the same area at the Capitol.

Meanwhile, U.S. Attorney for Connecticut John Durham today issued a statement urging people with information related to the incident at the capitol to use an FBI tips web site.

New Haven-area Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro today announced that part of the House Appropriations Committee will review the law enforcement response to what she called a coup attempt at the capitol yesterday. In a statement, DeLauro says there was a severe failure in securing the building. DeLauro is the chair of the Appropriations Committee. A subcommittee oversees funding for the capitol police.

Connecticut has signed on to a regional effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and generate revenue. The Transportation and Climate Initiative Program will require gasoline and diesel suppliers to purchase emission allowances for air pollution created by the fuels they sell. The plan would gradually reduce the number of allowances sold each year. Supporters of the plan say that will reduce the amount of greenhouse gases generated. That could also make each allowance sold at auction more valuable. Its opponents say it will raise gas prices.

Changes went into effect over the weekend for Connecticut's anti-coronavirus policies for travelers. The quarantine-or-test requirements now apply to people traveling to Connecticut from all other states except Rhode Island, New York, or New Jersey. Previously, Connecticut had posted a list of states to which the travel advisory applied. As of last Tuesday, the list included 48 states and U.S. territories. The order allows essential workers to cross state lines for their jobs without quarantining or testing.

Connecticut senator Chris Murphy agreed to be part of a demonstration by officials at NATO, to show how easily misinformation in social media can be promoted. Murphy says social media companies are not doing enough to combat misinformation and paid manipulation. The NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence paid less than $400 to Russian companies that generated more than 300,000 fake likes, shares, and posts of social media content on Murphy's account, and the account of Republican Senator Chuck Grassley.

A new survey from Quinnipiac University finds that people in the Northeast are the most likely in the country to be very concerned that they or someone they know would become infected with coronavirus. Northeasterners are also most likely to say they will get vaccinated, and most likely to be very confident in the federal government's ability to oversee the safety of the vaccines. People in this region are also likely to report they see compliance with mask-wearing protocols.

A court-created panel is suggesting improved social distancing in Connecticut prisons. CT News Junkie reports that the committee wants Correction Department officials to move bunks farther apart in dormitories. The panel said social distancing guidelines seemed to be "sparsely implemented" in some facilities, even though more space was available in some dorm areas. Prison dorms have been a source of concern for possible transmission of coronavirus.