Good morning. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Pete Ricketts (R-NE) introduced legislation to give international student-athletes access to branding opportunities at the collegiate level.
Currently, international students on F-1 visas are barred from receiving profit from their NIL due to outdated student visa laws. The University of Connecticut and the National College Players Association support the Name, Image, and Likeness for International Collegiate Athletes Act.
Here’s a bite-sized look at what else we are hearing:
Nearly 50 public transport companies in New York are “unacceptable,” according to the state Department of Transportation. Buses, limos and vans were regularly inspected for passenger safety throughout the year. If 25% of a company’s vehicle catalog failed inspections, the company is deemed unacceptable, including five companies on Long Island. Three companies had failure rates over 60% including Empire Coachlines in Western New York, Golden Ring Transportation in New York City and Leatherstocking Trolley in Mohawk Valley.
A Connecticut man accused of child sexual abuse on Long Island has stepped down from his position at Yale New Haven Health. YNHH confirms Russell Hullstrung, 55, no longer works there as a registered nurse and director of e-learning. Hullstrung was the son of the pastor at the United Methodist Church of Woodbury — where Kristian Chestnut and his two brothers allege Hullstrung sexually abused and raped them when they were boys in the 1980s.
Danbury’s former postmaster has pleaded guilty to wire fraud in federal court. Ephrem Nguyen defrauded the U.S. Postal Service of $875,000 through cash bribes, embezzled USPS credit cards and overpayments to an unapproved vehicle maintenance vendor. Nguyen admitted to abusing his position to provide his family and friends free vehicle maintenance since November 2020. He was released on a $100,000 bond but will return for sentencing in January. Nyguyen faces up to 20 years in prison.
Tweed New Haven Regional Airport has been operating without a license since 2022. Three-year licenses are issued by the Connecticut Airport Authority. A CAA letter said the airport hasn’t applied for a new license since the spring of 2019. According to Hearst Connecticut Media, the CAA set a deadline of Friday, Nov. 3 to apply for a license before legal action is taken.
New London schools have agreed to make changes to the way the district handles Title IX complaints, according to the U.S. Department of Education. The Office of Civil Rights said the district violated Title IX by not independently investigating sexual harassment claims by students that involved employees. The agency also said the school district failed to provide support to victims and the school community. The district will revise grievance procedures, provide the Office of Civil Rights with records detailing its responses to complaints of sexual harassment from 2020 to 2022, conduct annual training for all district employees and survey students in grades 6-12 to assess a need for additional changes.
Teen driver fatal car crashes are on the rise in Connecticut. According to AAA, 33 fatal car crashes involving teen drivers occurred last year, killing 44 people. Eighteen were teenagers. This is the highest number of teen driver crashes since 2007. Most crashes were caused by drivers failing to yield to the right-of-way, driving too fast or being run off the roadway.
New York has extended the deadline to apply for a license to sell recreational marijuana. The Office of Cannabis Management said a high volume of applications have been submitted to the board since early October. Applications for cultivation and processing licenses were given an additional two weeks, due on Monday Dec. 18, and non-provisional retail and micro business licenses are now due Friday, Nov. 17.
A former World Wrestling Entertainment writer dropped her lawsuit against the company. Britney Abrahams sued Stamford-based WWE for alleged racial discrimination and a hostile work environment earlier this year. She was fired in 2022. Abrahams claimed other writers often pitched racist dialogue to be spoken by Black wrestlers. The lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, meaning she can no longer sue the WWE on discrimination or hostility claims.
A nor’easter is expected to hit the region this weekend. The storm is developing along the coast of the Carolinas, and expected to travel North on Saturday and move to the Northwest on Sunday. Flash floods and strong winds are to be expected. This could be the seventh consecutive weekend of rainfall around the New York City area.
