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Connecticut Today - October 1, 2026 · Connecticut Today

• 0:05
  P>Good morning. It's Thursday, October 1st, and this is Connecticut Today, CT
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  Insider's daily audio briefing. Catch up on Connecticut. All news, no noise
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  in under five minutes. We're starting off with a quick look at
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  the weather. After a stretch of clouds and cooler temperatures, Thursday brings
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  a return of sunshine and milder air. We'll have the full weather
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  update at the end of the briefing.
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  In today's headlines, Connecticut’s poorest cities are expected to be hit hardest
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  by upcoming changes to Medicaid policy under President Donald Trump's One Big
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  Beautiful Bill, set to take effect in January. State officials forecast that
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  108,000 residents could lose access to Medicaid, mainly through the HUSKY program,
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  which covers low-income adults. The new rules will require recipients to prove
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  they are working at least 80 hours per month or earning at
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  least 580 monthly, or to show they are students or have an
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  impairment. Non-citizens who qualified under special programs, including domestic violence victims and
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  refugees, will lose coverage starting today. Experts warn that hospitals could lose
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  more than 300 million in revenue, with Yale New Haven Hospital accounting
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  for nearly 110 million of that. The Connecticut Hospital Association has said
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  these changes will increase costs for everyone in the state.
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  Costa Diamantis, Connecticut’s former top school construction official, was sentenced Wednesday to
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  seven years in prison after being found guilty last year of 21
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  felonies. The sentencing followed Diamantis flight to Greece two weeks ago. U.S.
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  District Judge Stefan Underhill said Diamantis, quote, breached the trust of the
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  people and stressed the importance of fighting public corruption. Prosecutors said Diamantis
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  used his position to extort contractors and accept bribes. His attorney, Norm
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  Patus, read a statement from Diamantis maintaining his innocence and claiming he
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  was set up by the Le Monde administration, a claim the governor's
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  office has called absurd. Diamantis also faces another corruption case in December
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  and has requested a pardon from President Trump. A new law takes
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  effect today requiring couples who apply for a marriage license in Connecticut
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  to wait at least 48 hours before receiving the document and holding
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  their ceremony. The change comes after concerns about fraudulent marriages, including a
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  federal indictment of a group accused of arranging more than 1,000 sham
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  marriages with over 100 ceremonies in Connecticut. Lawmakers say the waiting period
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  is a small hurdle for couples marrying in good faith, but could
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  help prevent coercion and fraud. Additional provisions starting in January will increase
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  oversight of justices of them peace and hold them liable for misconduct.
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  Two O'S State Department of Transportation workers have been killed since 2024
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  by impaired drivers while performing roadside maintenance. The most recent incident happened
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  Friday, when police say Edward Myers, who admitted to using heroin, struck
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  and killed DOT worker Elvin Hernandez on Interstate 95 in Fairfield. In
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  June 2024, Andrew Di Domenico was killed in Wallingford by a driver
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  under the influence. State officials and lawmakers are calling for continued efforts
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  to combat impaired driving and improve workzone safety. New laws taking effect
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  today will classify distracted driving in work zones as reckless driving, a
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  misdemeanor, and expand the use of speed cameras at work sites. A
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  record-setting organ donation has connected Hawaii and Connecticut. John William Baird, a
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  former West Hartford resident and Army veteran, died of a stroke in
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  Hawaii in June. Honoring his wishes, his sister Diane Baird Duhaim arranged
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  for his kidney to be donated to patient on the East Coast.
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  One kidney traveled over 4,300 nautical miles to a patient in Hartford,
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  setting a record for
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  the longest documented kidney journey. The donation was made possible by a
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  specialized preservation vault, and both recipients are reported to be recovering well.
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  And now for the full weather forecast. Thursday will be mostly sunny
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  and mild, with highs in the mid to upper 70s inland and
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  low to mid-70s along the shoreline. Clouds will increase tonight with a
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  chance of showers late, especially in western Connecticut. Rain is more likely
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  on Friday and then weekend looks unsettled with cooler temperatures and periods
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  of rain possible. Thanks for listening. For more local news, visit ctinsider.com.
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  This digest was partially generated by AI and then reviewed and edited
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  by our newsroom staff.