Chris Murphy

FILE - In this Feb. 11, 2020, file photo, a panel of witnesses, from left, Big 12 Conference Commissioner Bob Bowlsby, National Collegiate Athletic Association President Mark Emmert, University of Kansas Chancellor Dr. Douglas Girod, National College Players Association Executive Director Ramogi Huma and National Collegiate Athletic Association Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Chair Kendall Spencer, listen during a Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing on intercollegiate athlete compensation on Capitol Hill in Washington. The NCAA, the Power Five conferences and their $2 million platoon of lobbyists had a pretty good year on Capitol Hill in 2020. With Republicans controlling the Senate, the power brokers in college sports were on track to secure a way for athletes nationwide to earn money from endorsements while otherwise maintaining the status quo of amateurism. Now that Democrats control Congress and the White House, 2021 is shaping up to be a much bigger challenge for those who don

NCAA, Power Five play defense with Dems controlling Congress

Jan. 26, 2021 1:37 PM EST

The NCAA, the Power Five conferences and their $2 million platoon of lobbyists had a pretty good year on Capitol Hill in 2020. With Republicans controlling the Senate, the power brokers in college sports were on track to secure a way for athletes nationwide to earn money from endorsements while otherwise...

Lawmakers: Prison denied entry to responders during gas leak

Jan. 8, 2021 12:04 PM EST

DANBURY, Conn. (AP) — Federal lawmakers from Connecticut demanded answers Friday from the warden of the federal prison in Danbury after they say they learned first responders were denied access during one of two natural gas leaks within the past two months. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy and...

FILE - In this Monday, Oct. 12, 2020 file photo, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, uses his smartphone during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. Researchers from NATO StratCom, a NATO-accredited research group based in Riga, Latvia, paid three Russian companies 300 euros ($368) to buy 337,768 fake likes, views and shares of posts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok, including content from verified accounts of Senators Grassley and Chris Murphy. Both senators consented to participate. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

Report: Social media manipulation affects even US senators

Dec. 21, 2020 10:08 AM EST

BRUSSELS (AP) — The conversation taking place around two U.S. senators’ verified social media accounts remained vulnerable to manipulation through artificially inflated shares and likes from fake users, even amid heightened scrutiny in the run up to the U.S. presidential election, an investigation...

Michigan man gets prison for threatening call to congressman

Dec. 18, 2020 7:47 PM EST

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan man who left a threatening voicemail for a Georgia congressman was sentenced Friday to a year and a day in prison. Martin Osborn, 60, of Bangor referred to U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson's sponsorship of gun control legislation and said he would attack him at his bedside. Osborn...

Veterans Affairs Police guard the entrance to a maintenance facility after an apparent steam explosion in a maintenance building at a Veterans Affairs hospital in West Haven, Conn., Friday, Nov. 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Robert Bumsted)

Senator seeks VA facility probe amid whistleblower claims

Dec. 15, 2020 5:37 PM EST

Connecticut U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Tuesday he's seeking an investigation by the Veterans' Administration Office of the Inspector General into alleged unsafe working conditions at the West Haven VA hospital, where two workers were killed last month by the rapid release of hot water vapor during...

Sandy Hook victims remembered in online vigil on anniversary

Dec. 14, 2020 1:20 PM EST

NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) — The 20 children and six educators killed in the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School were remembered Monday on the eighth anniversary of the massacre during an online vigil hosted by gun violence prevention advocates. The victims' names were read aloud, as were the names of more...

In this Aug. 5, 2019, photo released by the U.S. Air Force, an F-35 fighter jet pilot and crew prepare for a mission at Al-Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates. The Trump administration has formally notified Congress that it plans to sell 50 advanced F-35 fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates as part of a broader arms deal worth more than $23 billion. (Staff Sgt. Chris Thornbury/U.S. Air Force via AP)

Senate falls short of halting Trump's $23B arms sales to UAE

Dec. 9, 2020 7:39 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate fell short Wednesday in trying to halt the Trump administration's proposed $23 billion arms sales to the United Arab Emirates, despite bipartisan objections to the package of F-35 fighter jets and drones stemming from a broader Middle East peace agreement. Senators argued the...