The Wheelhouse

Two famous Connecticut families have their names enshrined on buildings and roads. Both are back in the news for different reasons this week.  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’ve been searching for months to find the right words to describe what’s it’s been like watching state lawmakers and the governor try to come together on a budget deal for the state. Senator Martin Looney, Democrat from New Haven has likened it to the process of having a prolonged tooth abscess that's finally being extracted. "A combination of exhaustion, pain, and relief," he said.  Suppor...

The President is in a heated back and forth with Senator John McCain, about comments McCain made at an event Monday night -- warning the United States against turning toward "half-baked, spurious nationalism." Trump's also getting pushback for not reaching out sooner to the families of soldiers who died in a recent attack in Niger. Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listen...

A feud between President Trump and "Liddle Bob Corker," Republican Senator from Tennessee, is creating tension between the president and the GOP. This is on top of reports that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called Trump a "moron."  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A massacre at a country music festival in Las Vegas over the weekend left 59 dead and more than 500 injured. It reignites  the frustrating debate over gun regulations, a fight largely led by Congressman Chris Murphy .  President Donald Trump made his long-awaited trip to Puerto Rico on Tuesday; and the Supreme Court took up a case on partisan gerrymandering. Support the show: http://wnpr...

Hurricane Maria has left Puerto Rico devastated, without electricity, running water and months if not years of recovery ahead. If you were watching cable news, though, the crisis was overshadowed by President Trump's rally speech and tweetstorm denouncing NFL players protesting during the national anthem. Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...

President Donald Trump vowed, during a speech at the United Nations on Tuesday, to "destroy North Korea" if it threatens the U.S.  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The early feedback for Hillary Clinton's new book What Happened  is rolling in. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said  it's "sad,"  and Bernie Sanders is understanding about her criticisms towards him. Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cleanup and damage control has just begun in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, and already another potentially catastrophic hurricane, Irma, is headed straight towards Florida.  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott called Hurricane Harvey "one of the largest disasters America has ever faced." The devastating storm has dumped more than 40 inches of rain on Houston, the most "extreme rain event" in U.S. history. It has displaced thousands, and rescue efforts continue.  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Connecticut Republicans and Democrats seem closer to a budget proposal  -- but it's not without controversy.  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, we talk about the neo-Nazi rallies in Charlottesville, VA, where one person was killed and many injured after a driver plowed into a crowd of counter-protesters.  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal has become the center of President Trump's recent vacation tweet-storm -- and it's not the first time Trump has called the senator out for misrepresenting his service in Vietnam.  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Can you believe President Trump’s transgender military ban "tweetstorm" was one week ago today? That attempt at tweets-as-policy-change didn’t quite work, and was soon overshadowed by John McCain’s rogue “thumbs down” on the critical GOP health care vote.  And as soon as we got used to the foul-mouthed Anthony Scaramucci, he’s out.  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnys...

Republicans in Washington finally got closer to the goal they’ve had for about seven years - the repeal and replacement of Obamacare. Well, at least the repeal part. Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was a big week for Trumpcare. The GOP-led health care bill collapsed on Monday, when Republican's Jerry Moran of Kansas and Mike Lee of Utah said they wouldn't support the bill . Soon after, the Republican's "Plan C" -- repeal without a replacement -- was dead as soon as it hit the ground, losing support from GOP Senators almost immediately .  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See o...

All along, we knew it was all about the emails. We just didn't know it was going to be these emails.  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last year’s election was exhausting, for a lot of reasons. Not the least of which was the endless stream of narratives trying to explain the motivation of voters who, to be frank, seemed pretty pissed off.  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re inching closer to the end of the fiscal year and Connecticut lawmakers at the state capitol still haven’t been able to reach a budget agreement. Meanwhile at the nation’s capitol, Senate Republicans are postponing a vote on their controversial health care bill. This hour: a tale of gridlock in Hartford and Washington.  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener...

A special election in Georgia has been called the "most expensive, highest profile, most hyped special election" for a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. So with the Republican win, does it really tell us anything about the state of the electorate during the Trump administration?  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, we pull apart Attorney General Jeff Sessions's  testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee .  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s always a lot of last-minute action at the state capitol when the legislative session’s about to end. But in the middle of a budgetary crisis - that action has ramped up. Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With one week left in the legislative session, the pressure's on for lawmakers to come up with a budget. This week, Governor Dannel Malloy teamed up with Republican leader Len Fasano  to come up with a plan . Malloy wrote a letter to lawmakers on Tuesday morning urging immediate action.  Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Monday, 22 people died and more than two dozen were injured in a horrific terrorist attack at a concert in Manchester, England. President Trump took time out of his whirlwind international tour to respond to the tragedy. "I call them losers because that's what they are," he said, speaking about the ISIS-claimed attackers. "They are losers and we'll have more of them. But they're losers, ju...

We started this week with revelations that President Trump -- while meeting with Russian officials in the White House -- spilled classified information from a Middle East ally, which we now know to be Israel. This was seen by Israel watchers as a breach of trust, which could endanger its intelligence personnel and increase a threat from Iran,  a close ally to Russia.  Support the show: h...