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The cost of fire trucks is climbing, according to the International Association of Fire Fighters, and local departments in Connecticut say they’re feeling the spike. “There are fire chiefs in this room right not that have been forced to put folks in pickup trucks just to go to call, because we don’t have enough fire trucks,” said East Hartford Fire Chief Kevin Munson in a room full of colleagues. In late December, Senator Richard Blumenthal wrote a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requesting an investigation into three companies that make fire trucks for antitrust violations, price spikes, and production delays. “It is no longer the kind of competitive market that existed before,” said Blumenthal. “What we need is the Federal Trade Commission to intervene here and make sure there is competition in the market.” Those companies are Oshkosh Corporation, Rosenbauer, and the REV Group, which the International Association of Fire Fighters says controls two-thirds of the market. In a statement to NBC Connecticut, Oshkosh Corporation said, “The allegations in this lawsuit are without merit, and we are defending ourselves in court. Oshkosh remains focused on delivering safe, high-quality fire trucks while continuing to reinvest in our U.S. operations to meet record demand.” Rosenbauer and the REV Group have not responded to the request for comments at the time of publication. The rising cost of trucks is forcing departments to change how they operate. In Bridgeport, crews are no longer deploying ladder trucks on medical calls, which make up the majority of their call volume, according to Fire Chief Lance Edwards. “It’s getting tougher and tougher every budget cycle,” he said. Edwards’ department recently purchased a truck for $2.7 million, but it won’t be delivered for at least three and a half years. “The fire chiefs, all of us are going to be forced to really extend the life of the apparatus by really reducing the call volume.” In South Windsor, the volunteer fire department just purchased a truck and the necessary equipment, totaling over $3 million. “We had to change our town ordinance to be able to buy a fire truck that was more than $1.5 million, which was unheard of in recent years,” said Fire Chief Kevin Cooney. The International Association of Fire Fighters says the cost of a fire truck has doubled over the last decade, costing departments millions of dollars.

As the second Trump administration reaches its first-year mark, hundreds of people from across Connecticut gathered outside the State Capitol to protest. “I have a lot of family and friends that are located in Minneapolis and just kind of sick of everything that’s been going on and really wanted to come out today and show support,” Julianne Alica of Glastonbury said. Protesters are raising various concerns, including raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), deployment of troops in the U.S., the economy, and other issues. “It’s just integrity. It’s lying to people he was going to help. It’s the economy. Health care is a big one,” Marcia Simon of Westbrook said. This protest is part of a national campaign called “Free America Walkout.” More than 1,000 events are taking place nationwide, including several here in Connecticut. Organizers encouraged people to walk out of school, work, and call legislators. “Has he done things that I don’t agree with? Sure. But I also think he’s tackled the economy. I think that he’s tackled foreign policy,” State Sen. Stephen Harding (R – Minority Leader), said. Harding also talked about inflation rising during the Biden presidency and the costs now. “Many of the people that were frustrated today had nothing to say when it comes down to the economy just crashing under President Biden, who was doing nothing about it,” Harding said. But it’s not just protesters pushing back on President Trump’s policies. Attorney General William Tong has sued the administration nearly 50 times. “He tried to cut SNAP benefits for people at Thanksgiving, take food off the table for people who desperately need food. How not just cruel and depraved is that? But we took him to court, and we beat him. We’re going to keep doing it,” Tong said. Similar protests were also planned in Canton, Granby, and New Haven.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that federal agents “make mistakes sometimes” in enforcing his immigration crackdown, an acknowledgment that comes after weeks of violent confrontations— including the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good — in the streets of Minneapolis. “ICE is going to be too rough with somebody, or, you know, they’re dealing with rough people,” Trump said of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers during a lengthy White House press room briefing focused mostly on highlighting the milestones of the first year of his second presidency. “They’re going to make some mistakes sometimes,” he said. “It can happen. We feel terribly.” Trump’s rare appearance at the press briefing marked one year since his inauguration. He expressed exasperation that Americans have been more focused on clashes between immigration agents and the public than on allegations that members of Minnesota’s Somali-American community have participated in schemes to defraud the government. It was one of many subjects on which his frustration — directed at everyone from the media, to world leaders to his own communications team — bubbled to the surface during more than an hour of uninterrupted remarks followed by a question-and-answer session with reporters. Trump also spoke specifically of Good, who was shot by ICE officer Jonathan Ross on Jan. 7, after Ross and other agents approached her stopped car and she began to drive. “I felt horribly when I was told that the young woman, who was — had the tragedy,” he said, adding that he heard her father was a Trump supporter. “It’s a tragedy. It’s a horrible thing. Everybody would say it. ICE would say the same thing.” Donald Trump 5 hours ago Trump speaks at White House press briefing to mark one year in office Trump administration 5 hours ago Trump's ICE force is sweeping America. Billions in his tax and spending cuts bill are paying for it In an interview with The New York Times hours after the shooting, Trump appeared to blame Good for her own death, citing video that he said showed Good was trying to hit Ross with her car. “She behaved horribly,” Trump said to the Times. “And then she ran him over. She didn’t try to run him over. She ran him over.” His social media post hours after the shooting also claimed Good “violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer.” Videos from that day contradict his version of events. On his Truth Social platform Tuesday, Trump also lamented that the Department of Homeland Security and ICE weren’t getting enough support, saying they needed to talk more about the “murderers and other criminals that they are capturing.” Trump started his briefing room appearance by noting that he believes he’s not getting enough credit on the economy, an issue where polls show the American public has lost faith in his leadership. “Maybe I have bad public relations people,” he said from the lectern where White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt normally addresses the media. “I think we’re doing a much better job than we’re able to promote. We’re not promoting. … It’s one of the reasons I’m doing this news conference.” Trump, who listed economic data points to argue that Americans are prospering under his leadership, said he does not believe he is repeating the error of his predecessor, President Joe Biden, who touted economic accomplishments when many voters felt squeezed by prices. “No, I hope I don’t make the same mistakes as him,” Trump said. The president spoke at length about foreign policy, giving a virtual tour of a globe that he hopes to remake and lamenting, again, that he did not win a Nobel Peace Prize for work done in his first year back in the White House. He said he believed he should have received the prize for “each…

Arteta has a tough call to make this weekend...