Gabby DeBenedictis

Connecticut

Arts Reporter at Freelance

Manager of Audience Engagement at The CT Mirror

audience engagement @CTMirror • alum @DJNF • forever @UConn • wannabe theater kid

Articles

'Never thought' American would be chosen

5 days ago | ctmirror.org | Connecticut Public |Gabby DeBenedictis

The election of a new pope has Connecticut Catholics talking. Robert Prevost, the Chicago-born missionary who spent his career ministering in Peru and took over the Vatican’s powerful office of bishops, was elected the first pope from the United States in the history of the Catholic Church on Thursday. Prevost took the name Leo XIV. Archbishop Christopher Coyne, head of the Archdiocese of Hartford, said he was not expecting a decision to come so soon.
20 attorneys general ask federal judge to reverse deep cuts to US Health and Human Services

1 week ago | ctmirror.org | Gabby DeBenedictis

Attorneys general in 19 states and Washington, D.C., are challenging cuts to the U.S. Health and Human Services agency, saying the Trump administration’s massive restructuring has destroyed life-saving programs and left states to pick up the bill for mounting health crises. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Rhode Island on Monday, New York Attorney General Letitia James said.
Judge orders Trump administration to undo education funds freeze

1 week ago | ctmirror.org | Gabby DeBenedictis

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Education Department to undo a freeze on the last of the U.S. relief money given to schools to help students recover academically from the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal government provided $189 billion in aid money for schools during the crisis, giving them broad latitude in how to spend it. Nearly all that money had been spent, but some school districts received deadline extensions that gave them additional time to use it.
Chris Murphy wants to block Trump from profiting off meme coins

1 week ago | ctmirror.org | Molly Ingram |Gabby DeBenedictis

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) wants to ban presidents and members of Congress from selling meme coins. He and U.S. Representative Sam Liccardo (D-CA-16) on the House side have introduced the Modern Emoluments and Malfeasance Enforcement (MEME) Act. A meme coin is a form of cryptocurrency inspired by internet phenomena, often called memes. Meme coins have been around for about a decade, and usually have a very low monetary value.
Trump’s VA job cuts prompt vets, Dems to protest in D.C.: 'Betrayal'

1 week ago | ctmirror.org | Ashley Murray |Gabby DeBenedictis

WASHINGTON — Veterans and Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill Tuesday protested the Trump administration’s planned cuts for the Department of Veterans Affairs that include slashing some 80,000 jobs, which many worry will affect the massive agency’s delivery of medical care and benefits.
CT's IRIS forges ahead in helping new arrivals, despite funding cuts

1 week ago | ctmirror.org | Chris Polansky |Connecticut Public |Gabby DeBenedictis

At the Congregational Church in South Glastonbury, Judy Doering is discussing her volunteer work on behalf of new arrivals to the country. “It kind of is a calling for me,” Doering says. She’s just spent her afternoon helping an Afghan family apply for WIC benefits. Doering’s group of church volunteers helps new arrivals with everything — finding housing, grocery shopping, English lessons, trips to the mosque.
PODCAST: A refugee family builds new life in CT amid federal immigration turmoil

1 week ago | ctmirror.org | Gabby DeBenedictis

It’s a challenging time to be navigating the United States immigration system for resettlement agencies and refugees alike. WSHU’s Ebong Udoma spoke with CT Mirror’s Laura Tillman to discuss her article, “A family of Afghan refugees arrived in CT. Here’s what happened,” as part of the collaborative podcast Long Story Short. Read Laura’s story here. WSHU: Hello, Laura.
Angela Eichhorst joins CT Mirror as first AI data reporter/product developer

1 week ago | ctmirror.org | Gabby DeBenedictis

Angela Eichhorst has joined The Connecticut Mirror in a newly created AI data reporter/product developer position. In her role, Eichhorst will develop small- and large-scale newsroom artificial intelligence tools to improve CT Mirror’s research and reporting using categorization, text-parsing and other emerging technologies.
A CT food entrepreneur was once told by his mom to stop using her kitchen. Things changed.

1 week ago | courant.com | Gabby DeBenedictis

Food and beverage entrepreneur Jason Sobocinski has been feeding New Haven for decades. As a teenager growing up in the city, Sobocinski started a subscription service of sorts for his neighbors. They would pay him around $20 a week, and he would deliver homemade loaves of bread and quarts of soup to a cooler outside of their houses. Within a month, he had gone from having five or six customers to over 40. “I had taken over the entire kitchen, and my mom was like, ‘This ends now.
New Haven's Jason Sobocinski talks Haven Hot Chicken, Olmo

1 week ago | ctmirror.org | Gabby DeBenedictis

Food and beverage entrepreneur Jason Sobocinski has been feeding New Haven for decades. As a teenager growing up in the city, Sobocinski started a subscription service of sorts for his neighbors. They would pay him around $20 a week, and he would deliver homemade loaves of bread and quarts of soup to a cooler outside of their houses. Within a month, he had gone from having five or six customers to over 40. “I had taken over the entire kitchen, and my mom was like, ‘This ends now.