A Waterbury man is accused of chasing his girlfriend's car around town and threatening her, police said.

Thomas Anderson, 34, drove to meet his girlfriend somewhere in Middletown and the two began to argue on Monday. When the argument escalated, Anderson allegedly rammed his car into his girlfriend's car, police said. 

Damaged to the girlfriend's car was estimated to be over $1,500 in damages, according to police documents. 

Police said the victim called 911 when she was trying to maneuver her car to prevent Anderson from taking it. Anderson pursued the victim's car and was reportedly driving "with disregard and indifference to the safety of the victim and other motorists," according to police. 

 The pursuit occurred in Middletown and Portland where the suspect didn't stop for police. Anderson crashed his car and left the scene. He was taken into custody on Mar. 1. 

Later, Anderson allegedly texted the victim and said she "better kill herself before he does," the police said. 

Anderson is accused of first degree assault, reckless endangerment/intimidation, attempt to commit a crime, first degree harassment and operating a motor vehicle without a license. 

He was held on a $100,000 bond.

Three people were arrested in connection to heroin possession in Groton on Tuesday, police said.

Police seized 10 ounces of heroin that tested positive for Fentanyl, over one ounce of cocaine, crack-cocaine and a large jar of marijuana. 

A witness said the arrests came during a time that children were getting off the bus from school. 

"When I realized there were children around and mothers were freaking out, I felt really bad," a witness told NBC Connecticut. 

There were no other immediate details. Police will be releasing more information soon. 

Cities and towns receive roughly 15 percent of all spending in the state of Connecticut.

Mayor Mark Boughton, who leads the group that represents almost all of the 169 cities and towns in Connecticut said Tuesday that local governments are providing a better example of sound budgeting than state government.

“Our message here today is, we’ll work with you to get your own house in order. Get your own house in order. We don’t have deficits in our budgets" Boughton said.

Members of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities held their annual day at the State Capitol Tuesday where they pushed their legislative priorities. Though have several pressing issues, dealing with the state budget crisis was front and center.

Boughton argued on behalf of CCM members that cities and towns have been cut enough after years of increased and flat funding, while other parts of the budget were cut.

“We’ve had to make those tough choices and we know they have to do them here but we certainly don’t want to be dinner time, we don’t want to be on the plate," he said.

One of the most powerful members of the General Assembly, despite Boughton's cries, has been looking to trim municipal spending in some ways for years.

Rep. Brendan Sharkey, the Democratic Speaker of the House, told NBC Connecticut that cities and towns should be sharing services for local taxpayers. Simply put, Sharkey said every city and town shouldn't be individually providing all services in each municipality.

“It has to go well beyond their own individual budgets," Sharkey said.

"We have to start looking at how towns can work cooperatively on a regional basis both on the municipal side and particularly on the education side to help regionalize services and create those efficiencies that we all that I think every taxpayer is expecting that.”

The speaker even pointed the example in Boughton's own city of Danbury, that has the capacity to handle multiple towns 911 calls, but neighboring towns have decided they would rather handle such calls on their own.

"If a town chooses to do that on its own then fine but the state shouldn’t be subsidizing that inefficiency," Sharkey said.

Sharkey wants to tie municipal efficiencies and the ways they're saving money through sharing services to how much money the state provides to individual cities and towns.

Boughton said municipalities have already done much of what he's describing and doesn't like the idea of such ultimatums.

"We’re already performing. We perform every day. If we don’t perform, we don’t have a job next election," he said.

Sharkey said it's owed to taxpayers to know that cities and towns are doing everything possible to use money wisely and not be redundant.

However, the speaker said he's not proposing a new level of government like counties. He said it's about regional sharing.

"All that does is put another layer of government in place. We don’t want that. But there are clearly ways and we’ve laid the foundations for all of the efficiencies for towns and cities, and boards of education for these to occur."

Hartford police are searching for the man they say pulled the trigger in the parking lot of the Progressive Community Baptist Church on Acton Street Tuesday night.

The shotspotter system detected the gunfire at 5:47 p.m. Tuesday. One man was shot in the leg and the suspect took off, according to Deputy Chief Brian Foley.

The victim as transported to St. Francis Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, Deputy Chief Foley confirmed.

The men do not have ties to the church, but the shooting happened while others were heading in for bible study.

Pastor Tim McNeil was watching the church’s surveillance cameras when he heard gunfire in the parking lot.

"It’s appalling," Pastor McNeil said. "A guy pulls out a gun and starts to shoot right here looking at the church, knowing what the campus is and understanding where we are."

As the crime scene tape went up, churchgoers were turned away. Bible study and prayer hour was canceled so police could investigate.

"I mean when it comes to the point when you don’t have respect for a church and just come through a neighborhood where people find solace in a place, it’s just awful," churchgoer Revonda Goines said.

While the congregation is in disbelief, they hope the surveillance video can help police catch the suspect. They also plan on meeting with city officials in the coming weeks to discuss how they can make the church more secure.

"No matter if it’s a crime scene or not, we’re not going anywhere," churchgoer BJ Stewart said.

"We’re here and we’re going to be here and we’re here to help. If people are going to try and bring it down, we’re going to help pick it up."

West Hartford town leaders are considering a different way for residents to dispose their garbage, in hope of increasing recycling.

The proposal essentially says the more garbage you put out, the more you would pay.

The "Pay As You Throw" program would charge residents based on the amount of trash they throw out.
Instead of buying commercial bags, residents would have to buy bags from the town.

Town leaders said the program would give residents an incentive to recycle more. Currently, about 7,000 tons of recyclable material is picked up every two weeks. Compare that to the amount of garbage picked up every week: about 20,000 tons.

Town officials said they’re running out of room on where to put the trash and need to find alternatives on how to reduce the amount of trash being thrown out.

Residents' garbage service is paid for through residents' taxes to the town.

Town leaders say the burn plant in Hartford is shifting into a recycling center in the coming weeks. If the proposal passes, they hope more recycling will be sent there instead of filling garbage dumps.

Town leaders in Manchester are exploring a similar proposal for their residents.

One of the girls involved in Monday's brawl at Platt High School that led to a lunchtime lock down said she was trying to protect a friend.

Brittany, who doesn't want her last name used, was charged with breach of peace and suspended for ten days.

"Me and my other friend jumped in to break it up. But then it escalated more and we all kind of started hitting each other," she said.

Too much punishment, said her mother, Leann, who said protecting a friend is something you should do.

"The punishments I think is a little in excess especially some of them it's their first time," she said.

"You know, suspension alright fine. But to be arrested for this I think is kind of, it's drastic."

At least five students were arrested. While Meriden police reported no major injuries, one girl had her arm in a sling for a torn ligament.

According to her mother, Deborah Alers, a police officer breaking up the brawl handled her too roughly.

"He pushed her," she said. "He proceeded to grab her by the arm, flung her. She hit a brick wall and fell on the floor."

Both mothers worry about the damage to their daughters' reputations. One said, "It's high school. Things happen."

 New information emerging about the Zika virus. Research shows a link between the virus and a rare neurological disease.

The World Health Organization has already declared the spread if the virus an international public health emergency. According to a new study, there’s strong evidence that people infected with Zika could develop Guillaine Barre Syndrome.

GBS causes a person’s immune system to attack their nervous system, leading to paralysis and muscle weakness.

Right now there’s no vaccine for Zika but certain insect repellents are strong enough to help ward off those mosquitoes carrying the virus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it is essential that people avoid mosquito bites.

Consumer Reports tests insect repellents for their effectiveness against the Aedes mosquito. That’s the kind of mosquito known to transmit Zika. Products containing the right percentages of deet or picaridan were most effective at preventing bites from aggressive mosquitos.

The best: Sawyer Fisherman's Formula Picaridin and Natrapel 8 Hour, which contain 20 percent picaridin, and Off Deepwoods VIII, which contains 25 percent deet, the amount of deet Consumer Reports considers safe and effective. Even women who are pregnant or breastfeeding can safely use those insect repellents if they’re applied properly. Here’s what to do:

• Apply repellents only to exposed skin or clothing — never under clothing.

• Don’t apply mosquito repellents over cuts, wounds, or irritated skin.

• When using repellents on your face, spray first on your hands. Then rub it in carefully, avoiding your eyes and mouth.

• Don’t let young children apply insect repellent themselves. Instead, put it on your own hands, then rub it on them. And it should never be used on infants under 2 months old.

In addition to using the right insect repellent, Consumer Reports also recommends wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants when outdoors.

While no cases of Zika have been traced to mosquito bites received in the U.S., experts predict some spread of the disease as weather warms up, particularly in Florida, Texas, and other southern states where the Aedes mosquitoes is most prevalent.

Complete Ratings and recommendations on all kinds of products, including appliances, cars & trucks, and electronic gear, are available on Consumer Reports’ website. Subscribe to ConsumerReports.org.

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton dominated on Super Tuesday but the day had a few surprises. Sens. Ted Cruz, the Republican from Texas, and Bernie Sanders, Vermont's independent running in the primary as a Democrat, won not only their home states but also Oklahoma, while New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie showed up again on the campaign trail.

Here's a look at a few notable moments as 12 states went to the polls.

Where's Christie?

Christie is not only out of the presidential race but if six Gannett newspapers in his state have their way, he’ll be out of a job too.

The newspapers issued a joint editorial Tuesday calling on Christie to resign following his failed presidential campaign and his endorsement of Trump. If he doesn’t, New Jersey should start a recall effort, the papers wrote

"We’re fed up with Gov. Chris Christie’s arrogance," the editorial said. "We’re fed up with his opportunism. We’re fed up with his hypocrisy."

Christie spent part of 261 days out of state last year and later traveled to endorse Trump, the editorial noted.

That was true again on Tuesday, when Christie was in Florida to introduce Trump before a speech.

“America wants to be strong and successful again but they know that to do that they need to have a strong, bold, tough, decisive leader back in the Oval Office,” Christie said.

Christie, who stood behind Trump as the businessman spoke, has denied that he is jockeying for a job in a Trump administration.

Head-to-Head With Trump?

Cruz wasted no time in urging his Republican rivals to back him so that he could take on Trump head-to-head.

“So long as the field remains divided Donald Trump’s path to the nomination remains more likely,” he said. “And that would be a disaster for Republicans, for conservatives and for the nation.”

He said he was the only Republican who had beaten Trump three times — in Iowa, Texas and Oklahoma.

“After tonight we have seen that our campaign is the only campaign that has beaten, that can beat and that will beat Donald Trump,” he said.

Late in the night, Sen. Marco Rubio got his first win, in Minnesota.
 

Taking on Trump

Even before Super Tuesday was over, Clinton was looking ahead not only to the next round of primaries but to the general election and her expected rival, Trump.

“We know we’ve got work to do but that work is not to make America great again,” she said in a dig at Trump’s campaign slogan. “America never stopped being great. We have to make America whole.”

“USA, USA,” the crowd chanted.

“I believe what we need in America today is more love and kindness,” she said. “Because you know what, it works. Instead of building walls, we’re going to break down barriers and build ladders of opportunity and empowerment.”

In his speech Tuesday, Trump insisted the country would build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, a mainstay of his campaign. 

And, he said, "Mexico is going to pay for the wall."

A Lavish Backdrop 

Trump has gone his own way in the contest for the Republican presidential nomination and Super Tuesday was no exception.

Trump chose to give a news conference instead of the traditional victory party.

The Associated Press noted that reporters had assembled hours before in what it described as a Versailles-worthy room at his sprawling Mar-a-Lago estate in West Palm Beach, adorned with gold-leaf detailing, columns, and three enormous crystal chandeliers.
 

An Early Night

Sanders came out early in the evening to give a victory speech in his home state of Vermont, where polls were among the first to close on Super Tuesday.

“I am so proud to bring Vermont values all across the country,” he told a crowd chanting “Feel the Bern” and “Bernie.”

By speaking so early, Sanders was able to savor his win despite losses that came later in the evening. He predicted he would win many hundreds of delegates as they were divided proportionately among the candidates.

He did win hundreds of delegates but Clinton won more.

Across the South on Super Tuesday, Ted Cruz beat Donald Trump in two states and ran close to him elsewhere.

NBC News Exit Poll data reveals that GOP voters supporting Cruz want a president who shares their values and those voting for Trump just want change.

About a third of voters on average said they wanted a president who shared their values. And from Cruz's home state of Texas—where he emerged the victor—to states delivering Trump big Super Tuesday victories including Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee, the pattern was the same: If Republicans said it was most important that a presidential candidate share their values, they tended to prefer Cruz.

The senator captured these "values voters" by overwhelming 30-point margins or more in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas, and he bested Trump in this group in every state in the South.

Hillary Clinton's advantage was sealed on Tuesday night by exceptionally strong support from blacks, Hispanics, women and voters over the age of 30, NBC News Exit Polls found.

But she's shown weaknesses with key groups of voters that she will need to win the presidency in November if she is the nominee.

One of those weak points is her lack of support among white men. Those votes went to her rival Bernie Sanders, who gained 55 percent of their votes, according to the exit poll.

And Clinton failed to engage the votes of those 17 to 29 years of age, with Sanders grabbing eight in 10 of their votes in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, and then 54 percent in South Carolina.

 A Roman Catholic priest was arrested after turning himself in for embezzling money from a church in Seymour, police said. 

Father Honore Kombo, 50, of Weston, turned himself into Seymour Police on Monday and faces first degree larceny charges, Seymore Police said.

"This is our church," one parishioner, Jacqueline Sarkes, told NBC Connecticut. "It's sad. We loved Father Kombo."

"Father Kombo was wrong to do this but I dont think he was malicious," Sarkes said. 

Police said they began investigating Kombo in April 2015 after a representatives from the Hartford Roman Catholic Diocesan Corporation contacted them.

The representative told police they suspected Kombo of misappropriating money given to the church by a deceased parishioner. 

Police found that a fifth annuity had been left to the church by a deceased parishioner and Kombo had filed the necessary paperwork requesting the proceeds for this annuity, according to Seymour Police.

In May 2013, a "large sum of money" in the form of a check was made payable to St. Augustine Church and received by Kombo. The priest opened a bank account and deposited the annuity proceeds before withdrawing the "large sum" and depositing it to a personal account, police said. 

According to investigation findings, in Oct. 2013, Kombo had opened a line of credit account at a local bank in the name of St. Augustine's Church utilizing the church's tax identification information. Kombo would take the funds from this link of credit account and deposit a majority into his personal account, police said. 

While it was not disclosed how much money was taken from the church, first-degree larceny is a class B felony with a dollar amount in excess of $20,000. 

Last July, Kombo was removed from the parish.

Kombo has been released on a $10,000 bond and is schedule to appear in the Derby Superior Court on Mar. 14.

It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer. 

The operator of December's runaway Red Line train in Boston forgot to set the emergency brake and accepted full responsibility for the incident, according to a report released Tuesday.

"It was operator error, my fault," said David Vazquez, according to a written statement included in the MBTA's final report on the December incident. "The light was off in the cab I could not see the situation at hand. I forgot and misplaced what I had done after talking to the dispatcher."

The report confirms what necn has been reporting in the months following the incident: that Vazquez tampered with the throttle by tying a public address system microphone cord around it and failed to secure the brake. 

That set the train in motion with no operator on board. The Red Line train from Braintree Station — with 50 passengers on board — traveled through four stations before coming to a stop. No one was injured.

The report also notes that Vazquez had 13 previous rule violations, five of them safety violations.

Vazquez, 53, was fired in the days following the incident. Philip Gordon, his attorney, said Tuesday that he has not had a chance to review the report or talk with his client about whether he will have a response.

A good Samaritan took pity on a Girl Scout and gave her $100 after a man gave her a phony $100 bill in front of a Southern California grocery store this week, the girl's mother and the Girl Scouts of Orange County said Tuesday.

The man made off with $75 on Sunday after paying a Costa Mesa Girl Scout troop with a fake $100 bill at a Stater Bros. grocery store in Costa Mesa, police said.

After the man left with $25 worth of cookies, Launa Archer and her mother realized the bill was counterfeit. The troop was busy making sales, and Archer's mother didn't get a chance to inspect the $100 bill before the thief left, she said.

Police arrived at the grocery store, and a woman who had heard about the thief offered to pay back what the crook had stolen. She gave the troop $100.

"She said, 'I did not want your daughter to have a bad Girl Scout experience, so please take this money,'" said Archer's mother.

Parents and scouts should not take any bills over $20, said the Girl Scouts of Orange County. Troops receive training and information to protect them from counterfeit bills.

"Unfortunately, we occasionally hear that such a bill was received," said the Girl Scouts of Orange County in a statement. "Our hope is that this unfortunate incident translates into a learning opportunity."

The Costa Mesa Police Department has not identified the suspect, said Lt. Paul Beckman.

Chicago has seen the deadliest start to the year in nearly two decades, according to city data.

Chicago police released the city’s most recent crime statistics Tuesday, revealing the city reported 43 murders, 165 shootings and 187 shooting victims last month alone.

So far this year, there have been 406 shootings and 95 murders, the department said. That’s compared to 180 shootings and 48 murders in the first two months of last year.

"The level of violence is unacceptable and CPD continues to aggressively target those responsible, especially in neighborhoods where gang activity is most active," the department said in a statement.

The department has already reported that the number of murders and crime so far this year has far surpassed numbers from the last four years. But the Chicago Tribune reports that murders for the first two months of the year have matched numbers recorded in 1999.

According to the publication, there hasn’t been a deadlier start to the year since 1997, which saw 101 homicides in its first two months and 761 murders for the year.

The police department said the city is facing a “historic challenge with guns.”

"While we have much more work to do, however the Chicago Police Department will not rest until every resident in every neighborhood enjoys the same sense of safety,” Interim Chicago Police Superintendent John Escalante said in a statement. “We will continue to work tirelessly on ways to stop violence, and restore accountability and trust in communities throughout the city.”

Just last weekend, at least two people were killed and 24 others were wounded in shootings across the city.

The latest crime statistics comes nearly three months after the city released footage of a Chicago officer fatally shooting a black teen 16 times in 2014. Since that day, the officer involved in the shooting has been charged with murder, the city's former police superintendent Garry McCarthy has been fired and the Department of Justice has launched a civil rights probe into the police force.

In an interview with NBC 5 Investigates Tuesday, Escalante addressed the concerning crime numbers and what he believes is a hesitation among officers in the wake of the federal investigation. 

He noted that despite the increase in crime, gun arrests are up by 33 percent over the last 28 days and murder arrests were up by 5 percent.

"I believe [officers] are starting to make the effort again,'' he said, "to try to do what they can to bring this violence down.''

Firefighters battled a fire at 485 Edgewood Street in Hartford on Wednesday morning.

The fire broke out around 10:30 a.m., heavily damaging the third floor.

A dog needed to be rescued and reunited with its owner, according to Hartford police.

Five adults and seven children were displaced but not injured, firefighters said. 

The fire was knocked down within ten minutes and under control by 11:30 a.m. It was contained to the third floor, firefighters said. 

Skies will be mostly clear overnight but it will still be breezy. Temperatures will plunge into the teens.

Tomorrow is a bright day, though high clouds increase late ahead of a large coastal storm. High temperatures will be in the middle 30s.

A storm will slide under Connecticut on Friday, grazing the state with snow. The snow won't accumulate, however, given its light intensity and marginal temperatures.

With the clouds on Friday, temperatures will be stuck close to 32 degrees.

The weekend looks very nice, with high temperatures near 40 degrees both days.

Saturday will feature filtered sunshine, while Sunday sees morning clouds giving way to afternoon sunshine.

It turns notiably warmer on Monday as high temperatures surge towards 50 degrees.

Starting midweek, 60s are possible several days. Click here for more.

Hours before polls closed in Super Tuesday states, major Republican donors convened a conference call to convince fellow donors to fund an anti-Trump Super PAC in an effort to cripple the GOP front-runner, NBC News reported.

The call was hosted by Chicago Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts, former New Jersey Gov. Meg Whitman and hedge fund manager Paul Singer, who argued that it is not too late to stop Donald Trump. They warned, however: It has to happen fast, before the winner-take-all primaries in Florida and Ohio on March 15 cement Trump's delegate lead.

A key state is Florida, argued Brian Baker, a Ricketts associate who moderated the discussion, according to a call participant. Illinois and Missouri are other places where ads from anti-Trump super PAC Our Principles PAC could make a difference.

The Super PAC plans on targeting Trump on immigration, the failures of Trump University and his controversial comments on race and women.

A former Bridgeport, Connecticut, school principal caught on camera dragging students through the halls will lose her license.

The state Board of Education declined to renew the professional educator certificate of Carmen Perez Dickson on Wednesday.

Perez Dickson, who served as principal of the Tisdale School, was suspended for six months when the video surfaced in November 2013.

Parents were outraged and wanted her fired. Perez Dickson later resigned.

The chief administrative officer for Bridgeport Public Schools said Perez Dickson dragged two kindergarten students through the hallway on separate occasions in the spring of 2012.

Her attorney previously said Perez Dickson’s actions were within Bridgeport Board of Education policy guidelines for use of reasonable force.

The attorney said Wednesday that Perez Dickson will appeal the board's decision.

The son of a San Francisco Bay Area woman who committed suicide after being released from the hospital has filed a claim against the city of Antioch and the hospital that treated her.

It's the first step toward a lawsuit and comes about a year after the April 2015 death of Afroza Chowdhury, who was brought to the Contra Costa County's Regional Medical Center in Martinez for a psychological evaluation. 

According to an Antioch police report, Chowdhury was cleared and put in a cab to go home — a place where she did not want to return. 

She never made it. Authorities said Chowdhury jumped to her death from a rolling taxi along Highway 4.

Police were earlier called to Chowdhury's home after she got into an argument with her ex-husband.

Her son, Tony Ahmed, said he had asked the responding officers to call him with updates. Worried but satisfied police had the situation under control, Ahmed stayed home.

The next thing he knew his father called him sobbing, telling him his mother was dead, according to Ahmed.

"I don't know how a hospital can release a patient without calling me, my dad or the cops," he said.

Kathleen Krenic, a domestic violence advocate, said the incident could have been prevented.

"To put her out in the same area that was dangerous to her to being with in my eyes is negligence," Krenic said.

Kristine Girard, chief psychiatrist at Contra Costa County's Regional Medical Center, said hospital officials were unable to speak to details of the case, citing patient confidentiality.

In general, however, efforts are made to contact family or a therapist when a person is on a psychiatric hold, Girard explained.

"All they have to do is call somebody," Ahmed said. "If they had called the right person, today my mom would be alive. Simple as that."

The American Civil Liberties Union is filing a "friend of the court" brief in California on Wednesday supporting Apple in its stand against the FBI, saying a ruling in favor of the government would have "catastrophic consequences."

The prominent rights group is one of many companies, organizations and individuals expected to submit amicus briefs in the case before the end of the week.

"Law enforcement may not commandeer innocent third parties into becoming its undercover agents, its spies, or its hackers," the ACLU argues in the brief to be filed on Wednesday.

Apple has asked the judge in the case to vacate an order that would force the company to help federal investigators crack a iPhone 5C used by San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook.