Washington

The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday it will keep 149 air towers in smaller airports open – at least through the summer.

That means six airports in Connecticut, including Hartford-Brainard Airport and Tweed- New Haven Regional Airport, will continue to be staffed with air traffic controllers until Sept. 30, the end of the federal fiscal year. Whether they continue on the job will be determined when Congress approves a budget for 2014.

Washington – A group of Republicans on Thursday boycotted  a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee vote on the nomination of  Gina McCarthy, President Obama's choice  to head the Environmental Protection Agency.

That prevented a vote on the nomination in the panel and sets up a bitter floor fight over the nomination of McCarthy, who was Connecticut’s environmental chief during the administration of Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell and also once worked for Mitt Romney.

Washington -– Connecticut shoppers who use eBay, Overstock and other online retailers will soon have to pay sales taxes on their purchases if the U.S. House follows the Senate in approving new Internet sales tax legislation.

The state treasury would also have a new revenue stream, estimated at about $150 million a year, to help with its embattled budget.

“It’s long overdue,” said Kevin Sullivan, Connecticut’s commissioner of revenue services. “This clearly will be welcomed revenue.”