A Medal of Honor-winning soldier's remains were received Wednesday prior to his reburial with full military honors scheduled for Thursday — nearly a century after his death.

Sgt. Charles Schroeter, a Civil War-era soldier born on July 4, 1837, will be laid to rest Thursday at Miramar National Cemetery. Officials spent nearly two years poring through archives, reports and even graves in search of clues about Schroeter's remains, before he was finally discovered an unmarked mass grave.

“We wanted to honor him with all the proper military ceremonies he was due at Miramar,” said Bill Heard, a public information officer for the Miramar National Cemetery Support Foundation.

Schroeter's remains were received at 9 a.m. Tuesday with the help of an honor guard of the 11th Armored Cavalry from Fort Irwin, lead by Brig. Gen. Joseph M. Martin and the Miramar National Cemetery Support Foundation. 

A rifle squad fired a salute and the soldier's urn was buried at the foot of a white marble gravestone marked with golden inscription.

It was almost a century ago when Schroeter was cremated and placed in an unmarked grave with other soldiers at Greenwood Cemetery in San Diego, according to research done by Heard and others.

Schroeter received the Medal of Honor, the United States' highest military honor, for his valor in battle against the Apaches in an 1869 Arizona fight, the Campaign of the Rocky Mesa.

As to how his cremated remains ended up where they did, however, “that is a mystery,” Heard said.

Ten years ago, the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation set about locating all the graves of Medal of Honor recipients. They found almost 500 graves, but not Schroeter’s remains, Heard said. 

Those involved in the search, including those at the Miramar National Cemetery Support Foundation, the San Diego History Center and the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation, spent nearly two years trying to decode the mystery.

Heard’s job was doing the research to connect the Medal of Honor recipient to the man buried in the unmarked grave. He spent two months of a nearly two year process researching the details of Schroeter’s life. In late April, he finally traced Schroeter’s past to Greenwood Cemetery, where Heard found the soldier's remains.

“We were a little shocked that the remains of a Medal of Honor recipient were in an unmarked crypt with a dozen or more containers of remains of other unclaimed persons,” he said.

A native of Germany, Schroeter immigrated to the U.S. and first enlisted in St. Louis, Missouri, at age 25.

He spent 25 years serving his adopted homeland, where he fought with the U.S. Cavalry’s 1st Division during the Civil War and, once that war ended, with the 8th Cavalry Regiment fighting in the Indian Wars.

Schroeter re-enlisted in the armed forces multiple times throughout his life, including in the Grand Army of the Republic and the Marine Corps, before his retirement as a sergeant.

He never married or had children but did live in San Diego, Heard said. When he died, Schroeter left behind $200 in life insurance. In those days, it was enough for a proper burial. That money was never used for a burial, Heard said.

Until April 21, his remains were stored at the Greenwood Cemetery in an unmarked grave. Though it is unclear when he was born, Heard said it was likely from 1834 to 1837. 

Schroeter, the first Medal of Honor recipient to be buried at Miramar National Cemetery, will be laid to rest on July 9, just days after his birthday on the fourth of July.

A Massachusetts woman appeared in court Wednesday to face charges after she allegedly hit an officer with a bag of dog feces last month.

Margaret Greer, 63, a successful financial adviser from Wellesley, is charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and assault and battery on a police officer. She requested a continuation at Wednesday's pre-trial hearing because her attorney couldn't be there and is now scheduled to return to court on July 23.

Wellesley Police said they responded to a report of a woman who was verbally harassing two teenage boys who were fishing at a pond in Centennial Park on June 19. The boys told police the woman was giving them a hard time and throwing their fish back in the pond, saying they were protected.

As police were interviewing the two teens, they said Greer emerged from the woods with her dog. The police report said she appeared agitated and then began "ranting" about how the park is a game reserve and the fish and wildlife there are supposed to be protected. Police said they observed signs that Greer may have been drinking, and noticed she was carrying a clear plastic bag in her hand that contained what appeared to be dog feces.

But Greer has a very different story.

"They weren't doing this with a hook, line and sinker," she said of the fishing boys. "They had a 6-foot casting net that they were pulling fish by the dozens."

Greer says she told the kids to leave, but they called police. She says while she tried to explain what happened to one of the fathers who had arrived at the park, she was accosted by an officer.

"He immediately carried me around, picked me up under my arms, off the ground, kicked my feet out from under me, and threw me face down on the ground," she said.

Police said Greer became extremely agitated while talking to the officers and attempted to leave. When one of the officers said he needed to speak with her first, they said she continued to walk away.

Police admit using an arm bar takedown to gain control of the Greer, who says she ended up bruised and with a broken wrist. According to police, she then turned back toward the officer and swung the bag of feces at his face. The officer said he moved out of the way and tried to grab her arm to control her. She began to rub the bag of dog feces on the officer's left arm and continued trying to pull away. As officers tried to restrain Greer, they said she continued to pull away, while screaming obscenities. Police say they were eventually able to subdue her and handcuff her.

As she was taken to the police station in a cruiser, police say Greer became belligerent, listing off the names of various town officials and influential residents she knew. She later allegedly refused to leave the cruiser and enter the police station, and police say they had to pull her out of the vehicle forcibly.

Police say Greer appeared drunk.

"I had not been drinking," she told necn.

If her name is familiar, this isn't her first brush with the law.

In 2009, she was accused of trying to run over a state trooper while he was writing her a parking ticket at Logan Airport.

Necn reached out to Wellesley's police chief, but has not heard back. Greer says she thought fishing was prohibited in this park and that's why she confronted the boys, but fishing is legal here.

A U.S.-based robotics company has thrown down the metallic gauntlet and goaded a Japanese competitor into a heavy metal battle of mechanical proportions. 

"Suidobashi, you have a giant robot, we have a giant robot. You know what needs to happen," said co-founder of MegaBots, Inc Matt Oehrlein—along with his partner Gui Cavalcanti both draped in an American flag—in a YouTube video challenging Suidobashi Heavy Industries' Kuratas.

Megabot, the U.S.-based company, is confident in its Mark 2 model: a towering 6-ton metal beast. 

"We just finished tightening the last bolts on the Mark 2—America's first fully functional giant piloted robot," Oehrlein says in the video to the Japenese robotics company.

The massive robot is operated by a team of two people and can shoot three pounds paint balls at from its cannon at 100 milers per hour, according to Oehrlein.

"And because we're American, we added really big guns," co-founder Cavalcanti added with dramatic pause. 

Suidobashi's CEO responded to MegaBots' gentlemen's duel in his own video: "Come on guys, make it cooler," Kogoro Kurata said, with shots of him wrapping the Japanese flag around his shoulders.

"Just building something huge and sticking guns on it," Kurata continued. "It's super American."

Suidobashi launched The Kurata, named after the CEO and designer, in 2012. At 4.5 tons, it was a little less than Mark 2, a full heads-up display (HUD), and guns controlled by an advanced targeting system. 

No venue or date for the battle of the death metals, but the challenge has been accepted. 

A Long Island man battling cancer had his wish fulfilled when he wed his girlfriend at his hospital bed Wednesday. 

Keith Borum of Lake Ronkonkoma has been battling non-Hodgkin's lymphoma for the past year, and during his frequent stays at Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip, he often mentioned to the staff that he wanted to save for an engagement ring to propose to his girlfriend of three years, Nina Scott, a hospital spokeswoman said. 

Touched by his wish, the nurses, aides and others who looked after Borum decided to take up a collection for a wedding.

They purchased wedding rings with the $400 they raised, and the local community donated a bouquet and a cake. Staffers brought in homemade treats for a reception. 

On Wednesday afternoon, Borum and Scott were married in Borum's hospital room. 

"I feel great," said Borum. 

The couple said they're grateful to the hospital and the staffers who made it happen. Scott said Borum has a special bond with his caregivers. 

'"They're loving, they're nurturing. They cater to him," said Scott.

There are nearly 80,000 new cases of lymphoma diagnosed in the U.S. each year --- about 9,000 Hodgkin's, and 71,000 non-Hodgkin's, according to the hospital. About 20,000 people die from lymphoma each year (about 1,100 from Hodgkin's and 19,000 from non-Hodgkin's). 

A Manchester woman is accused of abusing an 18-month-old boy in her care.

Police arrested Quandasia Hansley, 24, on Wednesday.

Detectives launched an investigation on June 19, after being contacted by doctors at Connecticut Children's Medical Center about a child with injuries to his neck and body. Doctors said the 18-month-old had significant bruising and abrasions.

According to police, the injuries occurred while the boy was with Hansley during an overnight stay at the Dobb's Crossing Apartment Complex at 1170 Hartford Turnpike in Vernon.

Hansley was in a relationship with the child's mother at the time of the alleged incident, police said.

She is charged with cruelty to persons, third-degree assault and risk of injury to a minor. She is being held on $25,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.

The boy spent two days in the hospital before being released to a family member, police said.
 

Commuters were evacuated from New Haven's Union Station after a person fell onto the tracks Tuesday evening, according to a spokesperson for the Metro-North Railroad.

The woman fell sometime before 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, prompting authorities to de-energize the track and evacuate the station, according to Metro-North spokesperson Meredith Daniels. 

The train arriving on that track had not yet reached the station when the woman fell, Daniels said. It was held for about 30 minutes while medical personnel rescued the woman and provided treatment.

Daniels was unsure of the woman's condition Tuesday night.

A hazmat crew from Waterbury has been called to the scene of a fire at a business on Depaolo Drive in Southington, according to the Southingon Fire Department.

Firefighters said they received an emergency call around 10:20 p.m. Wednesday.

It's not clear what caused the fire or why the hazmat team is responding.

Check back for updates.

A child was airlifted to the hospital Wednesday night after being run over by a car in Scotland, Connecticut, according to emergency dispatchers.

State police spokesman Trooper Kelly Grant said the child was conscious at the scene and was taken by LifeStar to Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford. 

A person who answered the phone at Quinnebaug Valley Emergency Dispatch said the incident happened at 140 Pudding Hill Road.

The Scotland Fire Department and a paramedic crew also responded to the scene.

Balitmore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake fired Police Commissioner Anthony Batts on Wednesday amid a spike in the city's homicide rate.

The news comes the same day that the city police union released its 32-page after action review of the city's handling of the riots in April. Many Baltimore police officers reported they lacked the proper equipment, training and leadership to adequately respond to the riots and unrest in the city following the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody. 

• Read the full report here (PDF)

The union placed the responsibility largely on Police Commissioner Anthony Batts.

However, Gene Ryan, president of the Baltimore Fraternal Order of Police, said the results of the review were not "a recommendation for [Batts] to leave."

"This is a recommendation for improvement," Ryan said.

Ryan said that the Baltimore Police Department still remains unprepared for future riots. He also said the riots and unrest were preventable and that the injuries to more than 200 officers could have been avoided or at least minimized, according to WBAL-TV.

"This after action review came about because the police officers, sergeants and lieutenants of the Baltimore Police Department do not want to see Baltimore burn again," Ryan said in a news conference.

Officers were told not to intervene or engage with rioters, not to wear their issued riot helmets, and that all arrests had to be given approval by civilians who worked in the Baltimore Police Department legal section, Ryan said, WBAT-TV reported.

The information contained in the report came from surveys, firsthand accounts, a radio transmission, focus groups and emails.

Since the riots, the city has suffered from a sharp increase in violence, with 155 homicides this year, a 48 percent increase over the same period last year, reported the Associated Press.

"We need a change," Rawlings-Blake said Wednesday during a news conference. "This was not an easy decision but it is one that is in the best interest of Baltimore. The people of Baltimore deserve better and we're going to get better."

Deputy Police Commissioner Kevin Davis will become the interim commissioner, Rawlings-Blake said.

The father of a 7-month-old baby boy found dead in the Connecticut River on Tuesday night has been charged with the murder of his son.

Police said Tony Moreno, 21, of Middletown, threw his son off the Arrigoni Bridge in Middletown late Sunday night before attempting to commit suicide by plunging off the bridge.

Moreno admitted to throwing the boy over the railing and has been charged with murder and murder with special circumstances, according to police.

Police responded to the bridge after receiving a 911 call at 11:45 p.m. on Sunday from Moreno's mother. She said her son was threatening suicide and a baby was heard cooing and crying in the background.

"(C)ome down to the Portland bridge and get my phone and the stroller so you have pictures of the baby," he said, according to court paperwork. "Sorry, just tell everyone I'm sorry."

Officers rushed to the scene and arrived just before Moreno jumped into the river. Police said Moreno was not holding the baby when he jumped, but officers noticed an empty stroller nearby. 

Moreno did not respond to questions regarding his son's whereabouts was after Middletown firefighters pulled him from the water. With no one to confirm baby was also in the water, police issued a Silver Alert for Aaden.

Police said Moreno later admitted to throwing his son over the railing before officers arrived.

A person in a canoe found Aaden's body in the Connecticut River in East Haddam on Tuesday night. Authorities had searched nearly 48 hours for the boy, who was presumed dead Monday morning.

"Our community suffered an indescribable tragedy this week," Middletown Mayor Daniel Drew said during a news conference Wednesday, "one that we'll never really be able to make sense of."

Moreno was arraigned Wednesday morning at Hartford Hospital and is being held on $2 million bond. Police said a public defender is representing him.

Moreno was also charged with two counts of violating a restraining order on June 25. According to court paperwork, the restraining order expired on June 29. A judge denied the mother's request to renew it.

Aaden's mother applied for the restraining order because she feared for her baby's safety, according to court documents. She wrote in a statement that Moreno told her he could make her or her child "disappear" at any time.

Six days later, Moreno jumped off the bridge.

Moreno is in the custody of the state Department of Correction and will continue to receive medical care.

A vigil for Aaden was set for 6 p.m. Wednesday on the south green in Middletown.

Police in New Haven are investigating the deadly shooting of 44-year-old man and have taken a person of interest into custody.

The man, whose name has not been released, was found dead in the home at 162 Franklin Avenue after someone called 911 to report the shooting around 8 p.m. Wednesday, according to police.

Police said the shooting appears to be connected to a domestic incident.

Authorities have recovered what they believe to be the murder weapon. Police are interviewing the person of interest but have not filed any charges.

New Haven police said they are withholding the names of the people involved because a child is involved in the investigation. Police said the child is neither the suspect nor the victim.

A man who beat his pregnant wife to death in front of their son in 1998 will be discharged from oversight of the Connecticut Valley Hospital in Middletown, but will remain under the state Psychiatric Security Review Board’s legal jurisdiction.

David Messenger was found not guilty by reason of insanity after beating his pregnant wife, Heather, to death in front of their 5-year-old son inside their home in 1998 and was committed to CVH for 20 years.

When he was up for conditional release in 2011, Middletown residents attended a Psychiatric Security Review Board meeting to voice opposition to Messenger’s release from the hospital, fearing he was still a threat.

However, Messenger was allowed in June 2013 to transition into a residential treatment center in Hartford, and stay there overnight, but he was required to wear a GPS monitor and stay in Hartford County.

On Friday, the board rejected a proposal to allow Messenger to leave Hartford County.

The Middletown Press reports that Capitol Region Mental Health Center has taken over providing Messenger with psychiatric care.

Part of the Bridgeport Correctional Center, known as the Fairmont Building, will close by the end of July.

The Department of Correction said in a news release that the number of inmates is shrinking and closing of the 204-bed facility will save more than $2.1 million per year.

Officials cited Second Chance Society policy changes with smaller population.

The high-security facility once housed 19,894, but that number is now 16,064, which is down 360 inmates from last year.

“With the passage of the Second Chance Society Bill, I am confident that this downward trend in the prison population will continue,” Commissioner Scott Semple said in a news release. “The agency will continue to work collaboratively with key stakeholders to help support successful reintegration of offenders back into their communities. This is not a soft on crime approach, this is a smart approach to encourage successful reentry.”

In January 2010, the department closed the Webster Correctional Institution in Cheshire. It closed Gates Correctional Institution in Niantic in June 2011 and closed Bergin Correctional Institution in Storrs, in August 2011.

Bridgeport Correctional Center originally opened in 1958 and houses pretrial and sentenced offenders.

Inmates from the prison will be moved to other facilities within the state.

Emergency crews are responding to the area of 122 Crystal Avenue in New London, where a car and motorcycle collided late Friday afternoon, according to the local firefighters' union.

An ambulance has been dispatched, the union wrote on Twitter.

There has been no word on injuries.

Check back for updates.

Pat Schottler didn’t think much about a large bruise on his leg and five puncture wounds after a day of water skiing, but during a visit to the doctor a few days later, things took an unusual turn.

Schottler, 35, said he assumed he hit a stick while skiing on Medicine Lake in Minnesota, NBC affiliate KARE 11 reports.

It wasn’t until his wife encouraged him to visit an emergency room that he found out what the bruise actually was.

Doctors ordered an X-Ray of his leg, which they thought would show a broken fibula, but instead showed a “foreign object embedded in his leg,” Schottler’s wife Julie Schottler told KARE.

That foreign object was something the couple never expected—fish fin.

Schottler told the station doctors removed four pieces of from fish his leg, the longest one being nearly three-fourths of an inch. He said the fin likely came from a bluegill. 

Reddit's embattled interim CEO, Ellen Pao, has stepped down from her lead position at the popular social media site, the website announced Friday. 

"In my eight months as reddit’s CEO, I’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly on reddit. The good has been off-the-wall inspiring, and the ugly made me doubt humanity," Pao wrote in a post on the site.

"I just want to remind everyone that I am just another human; I have a family, and I have feelings. Everyone attacked on reddit is just another person like you and me. When people make something up to attack me or someone else, it spreads, and we eventually will see it. And we will feel bad, not just about what was said. Also because it undercuts the authenticity of reddit and shakes our faith in humanity."

The announcement was made through a post from Sam Altman, a Reddit board member. Atlman also announced Pao's replacement: Reddit's co-founder and original CEO Steve Huffman.  

"Ellen Pao resigned from reddit today by mutual agreement. I'm delighted to announce that Steve Huffman, founder and the original reddit CEO, is returning as CEO. We are thankful for Ellen’s many contributions to reddit and the technology industry generally. She brought focus to chaos, recruited a world-class team of executives, and drove growth," Sam Altman, a Reddit board member, wrote on a Reddit thread. 

Last week, multiple sections of Reddit were locked down in protest on July 2 after Victoria Taylor was fired. Taylor was Reddit's former director of talent responsible for the sites' popular AMA (Ask Me Anything) series.

Pao became interim CEO of Reddit in November 2014, replacing Yishan Wong. She received push-back from unhappy users in an effort to make the website more inviting, NBC News reported. 

In May, Pao again drew flak for limiting comments that the site perceived as harassment, then shut down some communities that were seen to be harassing people a month later, according to NBC News.

As part of its commitment to gender equality, Reddit doesn't take part in salary negotiations with job candidates, Pao revealed in an April Wall Street Journal interview that drew some criticism.

"She brought a face to reddit that changed perceptions, and is a pioneer for women in the tech industry. She will remain as an advisor to the board through the end of 2015. I look forward to seeing the great things she does beyond that," Altman said in the announcement. 

The former Reddit leader first made headlines in March 2015 when a jury decided that a venture capital firm Pao had worked for did not discriminate or retaliate against a female employee in a case that debated gender imbalance in the workplace. The lawsuit claimed Pao was fired when she complained about discrimination at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. 

"I have told my story and thousands of people have heard it. If I helped to level the playing field for women and minorities in venture capital, then the battle was worth it,'' Pao said, adding that she will return to her career, family and friends.

The U.S. Women's Soccer Team made history with its third World Cup win, and again when they were honored with a a ticker tape parade in New York on Friday.

This was the first group of women to be honored in a parade in more than three decades.

While ticker tape parades are common place (the most recent was celebrating the 2012 Giant's win in the Superbowl) women have not been honored in a parade since 1984. Men and women were feted after their summer Olympic win in Los Angeles.

It's been even longer since a sole woman was honored with her own parade: Figure skater and gold Olympic medalist Carol Heiss Jenkins, 55 years ago.

And the U.S. women's team are blazing the trail for women's parade involvement even further: they were the first all-women's team to ever receive the ticker-tape treatment.

It was a quick turnaround for the parade; the record-breaking win against Japan came Sunday night, and an official announcement of the parade went out Tuesday.

On Monday, Manhattan borough president Gale Brewer wrote an open letter to New York Mayor Bill De Blasio, calling on him to commemorate the win.

"New York City has a strong history of honoring sports achievements in the Canyon of Heroes, but has never held a parade to honor a women's team," she wrote. "Our newest soccer champions represent an opportunity for New York to recognize that heroes and role models come in all genders."

The next day it was official.

Each person or team to walk the "Canyon of Heroes" earns a metal plaque to be placed along the parade route. Dignitaries, astronauts, and war hero names fill the expanse. The U.S. women will soon have their own plaque to join the others.

The parades have become less frequent as the costs and trash produced by them continue to rise. It's estimated the parade honoring the women's soccer team will cost $2 million. The Giant's parade had workers cleaning up 34 tons of trash, according to the New York Department of Sanitation. 

There's no better way to enjoy a summer day than with a Slurpee, and this weekend it won't cost you a thing. 

To celebrate July 11 — or 7-Eleven Day — the convenience chain will be giving away their signature slushy drinks. Stop in the 7-Eleven nearest to you on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. to get a free small Slurpee drink.

This day marks the company's 88th birthday, which has become more popular over the years as the stores dubbed it Free Slurpee Day.

Last year, 7-Eleven Day included a week-long celebration of freebies including Big Gulps, cookies, and Twinkies.

Although this year will not be as generous, customers can receive up to $2 worth of food or drink daily if they buy a 7-Eleven drink and are members of the 7Rewards program, which can be downloaded through the mobile app. 

A Tolland letter carrier will be honored with a national hero award for helping a woman who slipped on ice and fell over the winter in single-digit temperatures.

Officials with the U.S. Postal Service will present Paul Horton with the award at a ceremony Tuesday.

Horton is credited with helping save the life of a woman along his route who had fallen in her icy driveway on a 7-degree day.

She had been lying on the ground for nearly an hour when Horton, who had arrived to deliver her mail, heard the woman calling out for help and rushed to her side, according to the USPS.

Horton called emergency responders and kept the woman warm until help arrived. Had the woman spent another 15 or 20 minutes alone outside, she could have died, doctors told the USPS.

"We are so proud of Paul and happy to honor him for his quick response to our customer. And we are proud of all of our Tolland postal employees who go above and beyond to provide great service to our customers each and every day," Tolland Officer in Charge Pat Paskewitz said in a statement Friday.

Horton will receive the award at a ceremony scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday, July 14 at the Tolland Post Office on Tolland Stage Road.

Despite initial controversy over the name, the Hartford Yard Goats are suddenly hot.

"Everyone’s talking about it," said Danbury resident Monika Burger – "it" being the new logo, with Whalers colors – which is apparently a big hit with the fans and a homerun for the team.

Burger was shopping at the team store in Hartford along with friend Marie Schweitzer, of Berlin.

"A lot of the sizes in the hats are already gone. I was afraid to not get T-shirts, so I grabbed three right away," Schweitzer said.

The team's general manager, Tim Restall, called the response phenomenal and told NBC Connecticut the team kept its store on Trumbull Street open an extra two hours Thursday night to accomodate all the shoppers, who each have their own reasons for now buying in.

"I like the Whalers colors," said Paul Cicero, a Hartford police officer. "Not to sound silly, but it's kind of cute and I wouldn't mind sporting the hat."

Since the logo was unveiled Wednesday, more than 1,000 customers have made purchases, according to Restall, who said the company making the gear called the sales unprecedented.

"They've never seen any team start out with this kind of reaction," Restall said.

Hartford Yard Goats gear can be purchased at the team store on Trumbull Street next to the XL Center in Hartford, at the Rock Cats stadium in New Britain or online at YardGoatsBaseball.com.