A Hartford, Connecticut, resident who facing charges after police found skeletal remains from five bodies believed to be stolen from a cemetery in Worcester, Massachusetts, told police that he had the bones in his South End home for religious reasons.

Amador Medina, 32, of Hartford, was arrested by Hartford police Friday on fugitive from justice charges because Worcester police have a warrant out for his arrest, according to Hartford police.

Officers responded to 245 Preston Street on Friday after receiving a report about stored human skeletal remains. After making contact with the tenant, Medina, officers were permitted to enter his second-floor apartment.

Medina cooperated with police and showed them where the skeletal remains were in the apartment, police said.

“He is a practicing Santeria priest which is a religion in some Latino communities that you see. It’s rarely seen actually," Hartford Police Deputy Chief Brian Foley said. "The bones or the remains of the skeletal remains that were taken from the cemetery are used in this religion for medicinal purposes....The age of the deceased as well as how long they have been deceased is relevant in how they use those remains in their medicinal value."

Police seized bones found in his apartment that turned out to be from five bodies. Those bodies are believed to be from a mausoleum at the Hope Cemetery in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Worcester police say the remains were discovered missing back on Oct. 9, when a visitor to the cemetery noticed the mausoleum, which has the name “Houghton” inscribed on the front, showed signs of a break in. Police responded and found several crypts forced open and five bodies missing.

Investigators tried to find family members of the deceased but were unsuccessful. Police estimate the last person was laid to rest in the mausoleum about 71 years ago.

Police haven't released information at this time as to how the skeletal remains of five people ended up in Medina's Hartford apartment.

Some Hartford residents who spoke to NBC Connecticut were stunned to hear the news.

"Kind of crazy. Kind of creepy, yeah," Jose Mercedes, of Hartford, said.

Neighbors said they've seen Medina around, often dressed in white.

"Like one of those people who do voodoo and type stuff like that but I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary," Mercedes said.

Hartford Police Department Major Crimes Division officers are investigating the case and working with Massachusetts law enforcement and the Connecticut State's Attorney's Office.

Worcester police will charge Medina with five counts of disinterment of bodies, conspiracy to commit a crime (disinterment of bodies) and Accessory Before the Fact (Breaking and Entering with Intent to Commit a Felony). Investigators are working on rendition proceedings.

Medina is due in court on Monday.

He has a minor criminal background, but he's been cooperative with police, Foley said.
 

From the beginning, Tin Nguyen's family had hoped she wasn't at work.

They knew her boyfriend, Hansin Trinh, was celebrating his birthday Wednesday and wanted desperately to believe Nguyen was with him and not at the holiday party at the Inland Regional Center.

"That day she never called me," Vanessa Nguyen, Tin's mother, said. "I called her a lot but she never answered."

Vanessa said her daughter's phone just kept ringing after Vanessa heard that there was a shooting at the San Bernardino center for developmental disabilities.

After the shooting, busloads of survivors arrived at the Hernandez Center. But 31-year old Tin wasn't there.

"We called to every hospital hoping that maybe she might be there or maybe not be there, but we didn't know," Trung Do, Tin's brother, said.

Tin's family said she had her life planned out.

She was to be engaged to Hansin Trinh by the end of the year. They talked about having children, and inviting her mother to live with them just as she had been raised.

Tin was later identified by her fingerprints.

The mass shooting that the FBI was investigating as an act of terror left 14 dead and 21 injured.

It was one of the deadliest shootings since 27 children and adults were killed in Newtown.  

More than 100 mourners chose to remember the fun times with Daniel Kaufman on Saturday, a man believed to be alive by his boyfriend for the 22 hours after the San Bernardino mass shooting, but was later confirmed to have been killed.

Laughter filled the crowd of friends along with the tears and hugs at the Santa Fe Recreational Dam area, where Kaufman frequented the Renaissance Faire.

"You don’t have to be close to feel the effects of what’s happened," Amanda Burke, friend of Kaufman, said.

Kaufman's friends said the job trainer at the Inland Regional Center was funny and always smiling.

He was one of 14 killed in the attacks Wednesday after Ryan Reyes, Kaufman's boyfriend, was initally told Kaufman was only shot in the arm.

"My day didn't start until we shared a story, until we shared a hug, until he told me usually a very off-color joke," Ron Sharp, a friend, said. "I feel like if I walk around the corner I might run into him. That's one of the tougher things, knowing I won't ever get that chance."

Men from a mosque in San Bernardino made the trip to Irwindale specifically to meet Kaufman's friends and express condolences.

"Regardless of race, regardless of religion, he's still a brother in humanity to us," Raheman Ali said.

Kaufman's family has asked for privacy at this time.

His boyfriend told NBC4 that they will be holding a "celebration of life" service in the next two weeks.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson wants some other police officers arrested, saying they gave false statements about the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald that don't match up to the video, NBC News reported.

According to the full police report released Friday, Chicago officer Jason Van Dyke said the teen was armed with a knife and believed McDonald was trying to kill him.

Van Dyke’s partner, Joseph Walsh, said in the report that McDonald got within 12 to 15 feet of his partner and swung the knife before he was shot.

Dashcam video released last month shows McDonald moving away from the officers when he was shot. Van Dyke was the only officer on the scene at the time, NBC News reported.

Van Dyke has pleaded not guilty to the shooting that took place Oct. 20, 2014.

Officials are investigating what they say may be a possible “terrorist incident” in a London underground station, where two people were stabbed Saturday evening by a 29-year-old man, NBC News reported.

The victims were stabbed at Leytonstone underground station by a male suspect, police said. Officers used a Taser stun gun on the suspect, who was reportedly threatening other people with a knife, they said.

Officials haven’t determined a motive, but said they’re treating it as a “terrorist incident” and not a terror attack. They're urging the public to remain calm, but alert and vigilant.

Police originally said three people were injured, but reduced that number to two. None of the victims were thought to have sustained life-threatening injuries, according to police.

“This is not Redlands,” was a common refrain from residents on Saturday, just a few days after a seemingly ordinary couple carried out a shooting rampage that killed 14 people and left 21 others injured.

Redlands, a town of around 70,000, is east of San Bernardino, and is where Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, opened fire during a luncheon at the Inlands Regional Center.

Residents described the town as sleepy — a community that was once buoyed by a citrus industry that has since faded, NBC News reported. But the massacre has ignited political arguments over gun control and the security of Americans.

"My personal feeling about it is: Each of us as individuals need to get out and get to know who we're living next door to because that's how a community grows," one resident told NBC News.
 

A little-known virus spreading from Brazil into Central America may be causing deadly birth defects, NBC News reported.

The Pan American Health Organization, a branch of the World Health Organization, has issued an alert about the Zika virus, which health officials believe may be linked to the birth defect microcephaly, a medical condition in which the brain stops growing or fails to develop properly, according to NBC News.

NBC News reported that the number of microcephaly cases has doubled this year in Brazil.

The Zika virus is carried by the same mosquitoes that carry dengue and yellow fever and can also cause fever and muscle aches.

A series of airstrikes on the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa, Syria, killed at least 32 ISIS fighters and wounded some 40 others, NBC News reported.

The airstrikes, believed to have been carried out by a U.S.-led coalition, resulted in more than 15 explosions targeting ISIS positions in the Raqqa countryside and capital city, NBC News reported, citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The coalition said it struck Raqqa and other parts of northern and eastern Syria on Sunday.

It's part of an effort to drive ISIS from territory it controls in Syria and Iraq.

Former President Jimmy Carter announced Sunday that his brain cancer is gone, NBC News reported.

Carter, 91, said an MRI earlier this week revealed the good news, which he broke to a Sunday school class he teaches in his home state of Georgia, according to NBC News.

The former president revealed in August he wound undergo radiation for melanoma spots on his brain and liver after a mass removed from his liver turned out to be cancerous.

The 39th president said last month he was feeling well and the cancer had not spread.

All United States and Connecticut flags will remain at half-staff in the state on Monday, Dec. 7 to recognize Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, per the direction of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

The national observance annually honors the victims killed in the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.

"On this day, we recognize the extraordinary sacrifices of all who served in Pearl Harbor nearly 75 years ago, in addition to the over 2,400 people - both military and civilian - who lost their lives in the attack," Malloy said in a written statement. "This day of remembrance is also an opportunity to thank all of those who served our country during World War II, courageously responding to the call of duty. We are grateful to all who serve in our military to protect our freedoms and stand up for democracy."

Flags are already at half-staff per President Barack Obama's proclamation last week to honor victims killed in the deadly mass shooting in San Bernardino, California.

Connecticut's flags will remain at half-staff until sunset on Monday.

Dozens of people were evacuated from two homes after a large fire broke out, destroying a New Haven house Sunday morning.

Firefighters battled a blaze at 153 Clay Street, trying to keep the flames from spreading to nearby homes. When crews arrived, they saw flames and heavy smoke coming from the second and third floor.

The fire appears to have started on the second floor, where there is significant damage and scorched siding visible from the outside. There was also some smoke damage to the home next door, so those residents will be able to return to their home.

Between 16 and 20 people were evacuated from the three-story home and about 10 to 14 were evacuated from the one next door, as the homes are so close together and the homes are made out of wood. Everyone who was evacuated was able to get out on their own.

One resident said that her second-floor neighbor told her he was lucky to escape.

"He said, 'I’m here by a miracle.' He said, 'I was smelling something under my bed, smelling something under my bed burning, but by the time I woke up,' he said the flames were all around the door of his room," Nilda Diaz, of New Haven, said.

Another home on the other side was vacant.

The fire did spread, but the other home only had minor smoke damage, fire officials said.

Crews got the fire under control quickly.

A neighbor who lives behind the home told NBC Connecticut she felt a "boom" and said that she saw the fire at 153 Clay Street when she opened the door.

"It was scary," Lissette Rodriguez said. "We thought it was all the street. It was very scary.”

It's a scene football fans have seen hundreds of times, played out on countless fields: players kneeling hand in hand, united in prayer before doing battle on the gridiron.

But one such scene in San Diego is sparking national debate. It unfolded Saturday before the Air Force Academy Falcons lost to the San Diego State Aztecs 27-24 in the Mountain West Conference Championship game at Qualcomm Stadium.

Multiple players knelt to pray, something they do often with, at times, nearly the entire team.

Mikey Winstein, president and founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, said Air Force players participating in public prayer "is a scandalous outrage."

"It’s a disgrace. It’s a putrid example of fundamentalist Christian supremacy, triumphalism and exceptionalism and it has to stop," Weinstein said. "Those individuals that are dressed in the Air Force uniform; that’s their uniform of the day. They’re members of the military and they are under different rules than the civilian counterparts they’re playing on the field."

That's the root problem in the eyes of Weinstein’s foundation.

It stems from a 1974 Supreme Court ruling in Parker v. Levy, which established what’s known as the Doctrine of Military Necessity or the military-deference doctrine. The doctrine says members of the military — who must have "obedience, and the consequent necessity for imposition of discipline" — require a different application of the First Amendment rights civilians enjoy.

Therefore, if Alabama and Notre Dame want to get all 120 of their players at midfield before a game and pray, there would be no issue. But the fact that members of the military are taking part, according to Weinstein, raises serious Constitutional issues.

The situation found its way to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation this season because a growing number of people associated with the Air Force football program claims these team prayers are not optional. Weinstein said players join in the team prayers, even if they are not comfortable doing so, for fear of potential punishment should they decline.

"We have families of players, we have players, we have girlfriends of players, we have staff and faculty 144 strong at the Academy. They’re terrified to go forward and go up the chain of command or to file an official complaint for fear of facing reprisal or retribution. They should not be coerced in any way, shape or form to publicly sit there and engage in a massive team prayer for one particular version of Christianity," Weinstein said.

Weinstein said he does not know who would be in charge of the alleged forced participation in prayer, but the issue has now gained enough traction to capture the attention of the Air Force Academy. This week, the Air Force announced plans to formally look into the situation.

"The United States Air Force Academy is attentive to all religious freedom concerns, and we are conducting an inquiry into the complaint," the academy said in a statement. "The Air Force is dedicated to maintaining an environment in which people can realize their highest potential, regardless of personal religious or other beliefs."

Stopping the practice of public prayer will not be remedy enough if any wrongdoing is found, according to Weinstein.

"Those that are allowing it to happen need to be visibly and aggressively punished," said Weinstein, who said his organization does not have evidence of any non-Christian faiths being banned from similar public prayers.

This issue may go well beyond the football field. In a series of emails published anonymously by the MRFF, both active-duty and retired Air Force officers warn that the sight of Air Force players praying en masse can be used as propaganda by groups such as ISIS and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to drum up more anti-American support.

"The optics are not just bad but potentially deadly," wrote one Air Force general.

MRFF said if the Air Force Academy’s inquiry does not yield results its clients find satisfactory, it will consider a federal lawsuit.

Traffic is backed up near exit 40 on I-91 south in Windsor after a vehicle fire.

The two right lanes have been shut down in the area, according to the Connecticut Department of Transportation.

State police and firefighters are on scene.

It's unknown how long it will take to clear the accident or what sparked the fire.

President Barack Obama is expected to call on Congress to review gun control measures during a prime-time address from the Oval Office on Sunday, Attorney General Loretta Lynch said this morning on "Meet the Press."

It comes in the wake of last week's deadly shooting in San Bernardino, California, which left 14 dead and 21 wounded. Federal authorities are investigating the attack as an act of terrorism, and ISIS has said the husband and wife held responsible were followers of the group.

"What you're going to hear from him is a discussion about what government is doing to ensure all of our highest priority — the protection of the American people," Lynch told Chuck Todd on "Meet the Press."

Obama is expected to speak at 8 p.m.

Crowds of protesters shut down a portion of State Street in downtown Chicago on Sunday and called for justice in wake of the recently released dashcam video showing the fatal police shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald

Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rainbow PUSH Coalition led the protest and rally, which started at 2 p.m. on State and Van Buren.

The group of about 100 to 200 people chanted "16 shots and a cover up" and counted to 16, the number of times Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke shot McDonald.

Protesters ended the march at the Thompson Center and held a rally, calling for the resignation of Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez.

Northbound State Street at Van Buren was closed to traffic during the protest.

No arrests were made, according to Chicago Police News Affairs.

Dashcam footage showing the fatal shooting was released to the public in November. Officer Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder.

On Saturday, protesters gathered along Michigan Avenue, with some staging a "die-in" outside Nordstrom, calling for the resignation of Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Participants chanted "16 shots and a cover up."

Jackson and several community activists and church leaders organized another major protest on Michigan Avenue on Black Friday, a few days after the dashcam video was released to the public.

The Black Friday demonstration drew hundreds of protesters and shut down the Magnificent Mile at the height of shopping time. During that demonstration, protesters attempted to block store entrances at Neiman Marcus, Tiffany & Co., Victoria's Secret and Macy's. Four people were arrested during the protest.

Since the Black Friday protest, Mayor Emanuel fired Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy and demands for the resignation of Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez have grown.

Jackson was among those who asked for McCarthy's resignation, but he says the former superintendent's firing is not enough to fix the "cultural crisis" in the Chicago Police Department. 

"It does very little if you change the head and you don't change the heart and infrastructure. That's not enough," Jackson said before McCarthy was fired. "It must be an all-out inclusive search if he were to step down and a plan to detoxify the police and regain public confidence." 

The FBI is investigating whether the mother of one of the San Bernardino gunmen knew anything about the attack before it occurred, NBC News reported.

Rafia Farook shared a home in Redlands, California, with her son, Syed Rizwan Farook, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, who built more than a dozen pipe bombs and stockpiled thousands of rounds of ammunition on the property, law enforcement officials have said.

"Obviously it's something that we're looking at very, very closely," Attorney General Loretta Lynch told NBC's "Meet the Press," when asked what Rafia Farook may or may not have known prior to the attack.

Syed Rizwan Farook and Malik left their 6-month-daughter at home with Rafia Farook before opening fire at a state-run social services center, killing 14 and injuring 21 others.

The Wethersfield Volunteer Fire Department  has joined the Twitterverse.

Launching its Twitter handle, @WVFD_PIO, the department plans to tweet out information to the media and public about serious incidents and calls that might affect the Wethersfield community. The tweets will include common details like the location and nature of the incident and safety information for community members.

The department encourages anyone interested in receiving such information to follow them at @WVFD_PIO. They will continue to post information on their department Facebook page.

Sunday marked the first night of Hanukkah and there were celebrations taking place in towns across the state.

On the New Haven Green, Mayor Toni Harp joined religious leaders for the lighting of a menorah.

The Jewish tradition is that a candle is lit each of the eight nights of the holiday, which is also known as the Festival of Lights.

“We take one candle at a time, one little act of goodness and kindness, everyone just does their little bit, and at the end of the day, at the end of the week we have a full menorah lit. All eight nights lit. And every person through we take this step by step will reach the ultimate lighting of the world, making the world a better place,” says Mendy Shanowitz, a volunteer at the New Haven event.

Now after the celebration on the Green there was a parade around the city with menorahs on cars.

On Sunday afternoon there was also a celebration at Blue Back Square in West Hartford.

That featured an ice-carver who sculpted a menorah from a block of ice, a children’s choir, and traditional Jewish food.
 

Interstate 84 eastbound is closed in Hartford due to a crash, according to state police.

Police say the highway is shut down between exits 49 and 50 while they respond to a crash with injuries. There is no word on how many patients are involved or how serious the injuries are at this time.

It is unclear how long the road will be shut down.

Check back for updates.
 

Police announced the arrest of the mother of a newborn baby girl Sunday after the child was found buried alive near a riverbed in Compton in Southern California on Nov. 27.

"As a result of the multiple leads generated due to the public’s and media’s assistance in this case, Special Victims Bureau’s detectives were able to identify and arrest the mother," the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in a statement.

Additional details like the status of the baby, or the woman's identity, were not immediately available to the public. Officials said they would address these questions at a news conference Monday.

Authorities previously said that the person who left the child buried could be charged with attempted murder and child endangerment, but didn't indicate if charges had been filed against the mother in the statement. 

Two women described the moments when they heard the cries as they walked on a bike path near the riverbed that Friday that the child was found buried under rubble.

"She said, 'I hear a baby crying,'" Angelica Blount said of her sister Evangelina McCrary. "I saw the baby, but not 100 percent of the baby's face."

Sheriff's deputies responded to reports of a baby heard crying near the riverbed located between 136th Street and Slater Avenue at 4 p.m. Nov. 27, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

"Anytime you have a helpless newborn child who can't help themselves, it is frustrating," Blount said.

As deputies canvassed the area, they heard a baby's "muffled cry" and discovered a newborn girl buried alive a foot deep under pieces of asphalt and rubble inside a crevice located along a bike path, LASD said.

Deputies had to remove pieces of asphalt and debris to rescue the baby, who was wrapped in a blanket and cold to the touch, officials said.

The newborn was treated at the scene and transported to a hospital. She was in stable condition and remained at the hospital for observation.

According to the Safe Surrender law, parents can drop off their newborn at any hospital or fire station confidentially within 72 hours without fear of prosecution, said Sgt. Marvin Jaramilla of the LASD.

The newborn was 24 to 36 hours old when she was found.

As of Nov. 28, she was two to three days old, which is within the Safe Surrender window.

"They could have done the right thing, and instead they came and dumped it here," said Angel Flores, a nearby resident. "I don't know the situation they have or what's going on, but this is not right. This is not human."

Anyone with information about this crime is asked to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department - Special Victims Bureau at (877) 710-LASD (5273).

Information on the Safe Surrender law can be found at the following sites:

Safe Surrender in Los Angeles at BabySafeLA.org

Safe Surrender in the state of California at BabySafe.CA.gov