Are these connection issues happening for anyone else taking challenges?

I use Firefox & have not had any issues. It could be a problem with your modem/ router, a compatibility issue with other software on your computer or possibly your security software is blocking those particular functions.

I've this problem. I sent TreeHouse Support an email as well a couple minutes ago. :)

Same here, at first I thought it may have something to do with my fresh install of linux, but am glad to see others are having issues. I also shot treehouse an email.

It appears to be an issue with mixed content (some of the items linked are secure, some are not) combined with an error reading the "body" property (according to Chrome Developer tools). If I enabled the insecure content and clicked on the button about 10-12 times (since it failed to respond to a first click) I could get the challenge to continue, but it's a serious usability issue and most likely needs to be addressed by the site development team.

I've been e-mailing the support team, so hopefully everything gets fixed soon. In the meantime, you can click the shield icon in the top right of Chrome (right next to the star where you would bookmark) and "Enable unsafe script" on the page to move forward.

[ETA] Team Treehouse fixed the issue, the challenge is now working correctly!