The family of Alison Parker, the TV reporter shot to death during a live report Wednesday morning in Virginia, is asking that people donate to memorial scholarship funds and charities in her name to honor the young journalist.

Parker, 24, and cameraman Adam Ward, 27, both journalists at WDBJ7 in Roanoke, both died when police say a disgruntled former employee shot them during a live report about tourism. A third person, a woman Parker was interviewing, was injured in the shooting but survived. The suspected gunman later fatally shot himself as police closed in on him.

Parker's family is asking that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the following scholarship funds or organizations:

Alison B. Parker Memorial Fund at James Madison University
James Madison University, 220 University Blvd., Office of Annual Giving MSC 3603, Harrisonburg, VA 22807

Alison Bailey Parker Memorial Scholarship
Patrick Henry Community College Foundation, 645 Patriot Ave., Martinsvile, VA 24112

Valley Stars and Salvation Army of Roanoke

A public celebration of Parker's life is expected to be held at a later date after a private memorial service. A viewing for Ward is set for tomorrow, and a service for him will be held Tuesday morning in Roanoke.

Pope Francis asked the faithful Sunday to work together to prevent crimes against people who are forced to flee their home countries in search of a better life, NBC News reported.

The pontiff made his remarks and urged prayers at St. Peter's Square in Rome three days after the decomposed bodies of 71 refugees were discovered in a truck on a highway in Austria.

Francis prayed for God "to help us to cooperate effectively to prevent these crimes, which offend the entire human family." The pope prayed specifically for the 71 refugees — including four children — found in the truck.

A Glastonbury church that a suspected drunk driver crashed into is holding a celebration Sunday in honor of its neighbors who helped out after the accident.

Charles E. Collins 4th, 38, of Glastonbury, was arrested in November last year, suspected of driving drunk when he crashed his truck into St. Luke’s Church at 915 Main Street in Glastonbury, according to police.

Many neighbors helped the church out in the aftermath of the truck crash, so church officials want to thank them. St. Luke's is holding a free celebration open to the public Sunday, Aug. 30 from 1 to 4 p.m. The Tommy Monaghan Jazz Trio is performing. There will also be an open house, history exhibit, storytelling, pony ride and a kids sing-a-long.

More information is available on the church's website or by calling 860-633-7175.

No one was injured in the truck crash last November, but Collins’ vehicle was lodged under the foundation of the church. Collins was arrested and charged with driving under the influence, failure to drive right and driving too fast for conditions.

Route 1 (Post Road) in Greenwich has reopened after being partially closed most of Sunday after a water main break Saturday night.

The eastbound side of Route 1 reopened earlier in the day to one lane of traffic from Indian Field Road. Route 1 was closed on the westbound side at Strickland Road for most of the day, but it has reopened..

As of 2:04 p.m. Sunday, Connecticut Department of Transportation crews were still on scene "evaluating the road repair requirements," according to Greenwich Police Lt. Kraig Gray. They were determining whether to make repairs in accordance with temporary or permanent standards given the area was already rescheduled for resurfacing Monday morning.

Drivers were able to detour onto Sound Shore Drive or Interstate 95 near the Cos Cob train station to get around it.

Squantz Pond State Park in New Fairfield has closed after reaching full capacity Sunday.

The parking lot at the pond reached full capacity at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday.

The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection closed the park to further visitors as a result.

A memorial service was held at a Virginia church for two journalists who were slain on live TV this week.

WDBJ7, the station where Alison Parker and Adam Ward worked, said the interfaith service was being held at Roanoke's Jefferson Center, where station general manager Jeff Marks spoke.

"I've given many talks over the years, never with so heavy a heart," he said.

While they were filming a live segment on local tourism on Wednesday, August 26, Parker and Ward were fatally shot by a former employee of WDBJ, Vester Flanagan, who fled the scene and later turned his gun on himself. He died in a hospital later that day.

The jarring on-air shooting captured the nation's attention and deeply affected the Roanoke TV station where Parker and Ward worked – Ward's fiancee was working in the control room when the shots were fired.

At the Sunday service, Marks spoke about the need for American society to deal better and more directly with anger, and angry people, echoing comments he said he made to Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe.

Anger untreated by mental health services can have "catastrophic" consequences, as evidenced by Wednesday's shooting, Marks said.

"Services exist and we must use them for ourselves and for those we know who have uncontrolled anger. We must learn to speak directly to anger: 'You are angry and that must make you feel awful.'"

He recounted his memories of Parker, a reporter, and cameraman Ward, who he said almost never got angry, and never let it fester. Their mission was to "awaken us as to what is good and fun in life," he said.

Ward liked to play a game where he hid a candy wrapper on set in the morning, waiting to see if weatherman Leo Hirsbrunner could uncover it, Marks said.

Hirsbrunner found one Wednesday, he added.

Marks spoke of the slain journalists's families, and ended with his own lament: "I want to play softball with Adam again, and I want to see Alison dance. And I will, in the wonderful memories they gave me; [that] they gave us."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A New Britain soda company has announced some shortages in some of its flavors due to a problem with its bottling machine that have prevented the company from making soda for a week.

Avery's Soda in New Britain is a popular local soda producer that is known for its variety of flavors and often humorous and clever label names that sometimes include puns or references to current events. Their sodas are sold in some local stores, restaurants and venues and at area events.

But Avery's said that some of its customers' favorite flavors might be out of stock temporarily as employees wait for a replacement gear to fix its vintage bottling machine, which broke down.

"We are sad to report that our 60 year old (sic) bottling machine is very ill, Avery's Soda announced on its Facebook page Saturday. "The main gear that runs the bottle filler has to be replaced which involves a total dis-assembly of the machine. We have not been able to make soda for a week and it will be at least another week until a replacement gear arrives and we can get everything back together again."

So the soda company is asking for its customers' patience until the bottling machine is repaired.

"We are running very low on stock so we may be out of a number of your favorite flavors if you stop in for soda," Avery's Soda said on Facebook. "We want to thank everyone for their patience and encouragement as we work through this."

Customers have commented on the soda company's Facebook page with get well soon messages for the soda machine and expressing wishes that the problem will be resolved soon so Avery's can make more of its beloved soda.

Avery's has not said which flavors there may be shortages of, but they haven't been able to make soda for a week.

The soda company does produce the usual flavors like cream, root beer, birch beer, orange and grape sodas, but it also has its "gross sodas" like Swamp Juice, Toxic Slime, Dog Drool, Bug Barf, Kitty Piddle and Monster Mucus, according to its website.

Avery's also does private labeling where you can customize flavor names for birthdays, weddings, fundraisers, corporate functions and other events, according to its website. They also make specialized privately labeled sodas for stores and restaurants, its website states.

Just in time for this year's Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, Avery's made "Deflated Ball Brew" in reference to the so-named "Deflategate" scandal involving deflated Patriots-provided footballs in New England's AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts. The flavor was a citrus fusion of grapefruit, orange and lime and had a tag line on the label that said, "It's more fun to play with squishy balls."

During the last presidential election in 2012, Avery's launched some political flavors including Barack O'Berry and Cream de Mitt.

You can find more information on the soda company and updates on its website, www.averysoda.com and on its Facebook page.

A man is facing charges after officers found drugs and a pistol in his car during a motor vehicle stop and he admitted to firing the gun earlier in an area where police were investigating at least one gunshot fired, police said.

The Hartford Police Department's ShotSpotter system detected at least one gunshot fired in the area of 457 Park Street in Hartford. Police responded to the area at about 12:14 a.m.

Then at 12:48, police in the South Conditions Unit stopped a car at 435 Capital Avenue. They spotted narcotics and arrested driver Rafael Martinez, 33, of Hartford, as they searched his car.

Police found a Sig Sauer P226 pistol behind the passenger seat. When officers were interviewing Martinez, he admitted to firing the pistol earlier in the area of 457 Park Street, police said.

Police seized the firearm, eight small bags of cocaine packaged to be sold and $153 in cash.

Police charged Martinez with carrying a pistol without a permit, weapons in a motor vehicle, criminal possession of a firearm, reckless endangerment, unlawful discharge of a firearm, possession of narcotics, possession with intent to sell, possession with intent to sell within 1,500 square feet of a school and a stop sign violation.

Further information on the incident involving gunfire was not immediately available.

A fire broke out in a spare bedroom at a Ledyard home overnight and a smoke alarm may have saved the resident home at the time.

The only person home at 9 Pennywise Lane when a fire broke out in a spare bedroom got out safely after hearing the smoke detectors go off in the ranch-style home, Ledyard fire officials said. The resident was not in the spare furnished bedroom at the time.

The Ledyard Fire Company responded at 3:04 a.m. on Sunday, discovering heavy fire streaming through the bedroom window upon arrival, fire officials said.

Ledyard Ambulance examined the homeowner for possible smoke inhalation. Otherwise, there were no injuries reported.

The Gales Ferry Fire Company, Old Mystic Fire Department's FAST team, Mashantucket Fire Department and Ledyard Ambulance also responded to assist.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The Ledyard Fire Marshals Office is working to determine the cause and origin of the fire.

Sunday is your last chance to see the New Britain Rock Cats play ball at their home stadium in New Britain.

The Double-A minor league team moves to Hartford next season.

The team has an MLB All-Star playing with them. Justin Morneau, a former American League MVP, has been on a rehab assignment, playing in New Britain all weekend. He's on loan from the Rock Cats affiliate Major League team, the Colorado Rockies.

There's been mixed emotions about the team's move, which also includes a name change to the Hartford Yard Goats.

The team’s general manager, Tim Restall, likened it to reading a book, closing one chapter and beginning another.

The first fans arrived at the stadium at 8 a.m. Sunday morning from Boston.

Joe Secheyco said he's been to minor league games up and down New England.

"I've been to almost every minor league park in New England when it opened and if they close I go there to watch them also,” Secheyco said.

The first pitch was at 1:35 p.m. and tickets are still available.

Three neglected and emaciated horses were discovered earlier this month with over-grown hooves after Maryland officials called animal welfare workers to check on the animals, NBC News reported. 

A chestnut mare with hooves over three feet long was euthanized at the site because her legs were badly damaged after years of neglect, the Days End Farm Horse Rescue explained on its website.

The three horses had to have been locked in a stall for at least 15 years, the animal rescue stated. 

Two other stallions had their excess hooves removed and a vet took x-rays of their feet to plan for rehabilitation. Both animals are still in critical condition and will need months to become healthy again, the website explained. 

In the video put out by NBC News, a horse appears to be in good-spirits, prancing around outside.

The mother of the suspect in the fatal stabbing of a kitchen worker at the P.F. Chang's in Peabody, Massachusetts, says her son "snapped" and was just one week away from taking anger management classes.

On Saturday evening, 38-year-old Elivelton Dias was working in the restaurant at the Northshore Mall when he was attacked. Police say 23-year-old Jaquan Huston is responsible for the homicide and is charged with murder.

"Just like the show called "Snapped," my son snapped," said Shawn Maron-Huston. "That is not him. He's not a murderer."

Fighting back tears, the suspect's mother told necn her son didn't deny stabbing Dias. She knew something was wrong when he came home from work earlier than usual. She gave Jaquan money for bus fare and went to watch him leave her Salem home from her window. Instead of seeing him get on the bus, a police cruiser came to pick up her youngest child.

"When I went downstairs, I said, 'What happened, what happened? I thought you were going to Lynn?' Police said, 'Your son was involved in a stabbing,'" said Maron-Huston. "And I said, 'Really?' I said, 'What happened, Jaquan?' He said, 'He threatened me, Mom. He threatened to stab me and I did what I had to do.'"

Maron-Huston says for years, she has tried to work with her son and his anger issues. Raising four kids on her own, she worked hard to give her children the best, even encouraging her son to enroll in anger management classes.

His first one was scheduled in a week. But it didn't come in time stop Saturday's tragedy.

"The sad thing is that the individual is gone, and I feel sad for him, I really do. If I could change anything, I would change that," said Maron-Huston.

Even knowing her son could face jail time, she wants the public to learn, from the pain this incident has caused, a lesson she says she's tried to teach her own child.

"Whatever you're going through, even if you can't come to your parents, confide in somebody," she said. "Get it out. Because when you keep it bottled in, it causes nothing but stress and for you to snap and make a decision that is going to cost you a lot of years of your life."

Police are looking for a woman wearing a hospital gown who escaped police custody Sunday night after being taken to the hospital complaining of a medical issue.

Tiffany Neumann, 23, slipped out of her handcuffs and fled New York-Presbyterian Hospital in Lower Manhattan around 9:10 p.m., the NYPD said.

She was arrested Saturday on the Upper West Side on charges of petit larceny, theft of service and criminal possession of stolen property.

Police say she gave them a fake name and told them she was pregnant. Officers took her to the hospital, where she was able to get her hands out of the cuffs. It wasn't clear if Neumann was actually pregnant.

The circumstances regarding the charges against Neumann were unknown.

Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS.

The Chicago Cubs were on a four game losing streak, but their best pitcher was at his best Sunday as Jake Arrieta pitched a no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The no-hitter is the first in Arrieta’s career and the first for the Cubs since the 2008 season, when Carlos Zambrano no-hit the Houston Astros in a game at Miller Park in Milwaukee. It is the 14th no-hitter in Cubs team history. 

Arrieta only faced 29 batters in the game, with one walk and a Starlin Castro error giving the Dodgers their only baserunners of the game. Arrieta struck out 12 batters total and struck out seven of the 10 batters that reached 0-2 counts against him in the contest.

While everyone in the stadium and on social media was buzzing, there was one person in the ballpark that was apparently unaware that Arrieta was on the verge of history. 

"Everyone know what was going on except Justin Grimm," Maddon said. "He had no idea it was a no-hitter, even after the game concluded." 

The victory gives the Cubs a five and a half game lead over the San Francisco Giants for the second wild card spot in the National League. The Pittsburgh Pirates also lost on Sunday afternoon, moving the Cubs to within five games of the top wild card spot.

The game marks the first time that the Dodgers have been no-hit at Dodger Stadium since Kent Mercker threw a no-hitter for the Atlanta Braves in April 1994.

The remnants of Tropical Storm Erika continued to push toward Florida Monday, threatening to bring strong winds and heavy rain to the region, NBC News reported.

Though the storm weakened after wreaking havoc on the Caribbean over the weekend, flood warnings remained in effect through much of Florida Monday morning, while rip currents were expected all the way to the Carolinas.

Meanwhile, in the Pacific, Hawaii residents were preparing for high winds, heavy rain and ocean swells as Hurricane Ignacio, downgraded to a Category 3 storm, makes its way toward the islands.  It is scheduled to pass about 200 miles northeast of the Big Island and Maui, Monday and Tuesday, sparing the state a direct hit.

There was a minor collision between the wing tips of two airplanes Sunday night at the Oakland International Airport, according to the airport spokesperson.

No injuries have been reported.

An Instagram photo taken by passenger Manas Gowd shows the tip chipped off. On his photo, Gowd commented that his flight was on the ground taxiing when the accident took place. 

The mother of the suspect in the execution-style killing of Texas sheriff's deputy Darren H. Goforth said her son cannot be the gunman because he was out shopping with her at the time of the shooting.

Before Shannon Jaruay Miles, 30, was charged with capital murder, his mother told NBC station KPRC that the two had had trouble getting home from their shopping trip because police has surrounded their street.

Miles was brought in for questioning and arrested and charged after ballistics tests indicated that the weapon used in the gas station shooting matched a gun belonging to Miles, Sheriff Ron Hickman said Saturday.

Miles is being held without bond pending his arraignment Monday morning in Harris County District Clerk.

Self-help guru Dr. Wayne Dyer died Saturday at the age of 75, his publisher said on Sunday. The cause of death was not immediately reported.

The media sensation was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in 2009 and controversially claimed that he was fighting the illness with positive thinking, daily exercise and "psychic surgery" performed remotely by a Brazilian medium. 

Dyer's writing — including best-seller "Your Erroneous Zones," which built on ideas espoused by Krishna Rau, the founder of Siddha Yoga — made him a regular on the talk show circuit. Oprah Winfrey was one of the media giants to embrace Dyer, featuring the writer and spiritualist on her show numerous times.

Last year, spiritualist magazine Mind Body Spirit listed Dyer as the eighth most spiritually influential people in the world. 

LifeStar is responding to Chester after a cyclist was struck in an accident on Sunday.

A cyclist was hit on Route 148 and emergency crews are on scene.

There is no word on the extent of the injuries.

All roads are open in the area. The call came in at about 1:10 p.m. on Sunday.

No further information was immediately available.

A 22-year-old mother intentionally drowned her twin toddlers in a bathtub Sunday, according to police in Arizona, NBC News reported. 

Mireya Alejandra Lopez also allegedly told investigators that she attempted to drown another child but was stopped by family members.

Police and firefighters responded to a call at a home in the Phoenix suburb of Avondale and found the twin 2-year-old boys lying unresponsive on a bed, the Avondale Police Department said in a statement.

Officers tried to save their lives but both were pronounced dead after being taken to the hospital.

Lopez would be charged with two counts of homicide and one count of attempted homicide, the statement said.