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Man Dies in Chicago High-Rise

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Chicago police are investigating a fatal shooting that took place inside a high-rise Wednesday night.

At approximately 7 p.m., a man was shot in the head in the 8th floor gym in the building located in the 500 block of West Kinzie Street, according to police and witnesses.

The 45-year-old was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition where he was later pronounced dead. His identity has not been released.

Witness Brian Gabriel said a man in a wheelchair started shooting.

"A gentleman that lives in building rolled up 8th floor to the workout room, rolled up to a guy on the treadmill, shot him in back of the head, wheeled himself out of building," Gabriel said.

Aaron Snyder said he saw a man in a wheelchair arguing with another man on a treadmill over a girl, though he "thought it was a joke." When he heard gunshots, he ran outside onto the pool deck, jumped over a fence and hid for 45 minutes.

"You go through a million things, don't know if someone is going to do a mass shooting or anything like that," Snyder said.

A heavy police presence could be seen at the residential apartment building.

Police do not have a suspect in custody, though Chicago Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said late Wednesday detectives know who he is.


Dine-Dash Suspect Dies Running

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A man suspected of ducking out on a restaurant bill died while running from police, authorities say.

Marlon S. Paton was pronounced dead early Wednesday after he and two other people allegedly tried to leave an Applebee’s on Hempstead Turnpike in Elmont, New York without paying their bill.

Authorities say employees called officers to the scene and pointed out the car Paton and the other suspects were in.

The car then turned off its headlights and left the parking lot, hitting a curb, bushes and sidewalk before crashing into a gas station guardrail off of Hempstead Turnpike.

The trio got out of the car and began running, police say. Officers chased down Paton and told him to stop as he jumped over a fence. They then captured the man as he tried to jump over a second fence. 

He was unsteady on his feet and lethargic after the arrest, so cops called an ambulance at the scene and the man was taken to an area hospital. He died later Wednesday morning.

Police said there was no struggle, but the man appeared to be in medical distress.

It's not clear what exactly caused the man's death.

The other two suspects were arrested at the scene.

Paton's death is being investigated by the Nassau County Police Department.

The county medical examiner's office is investigating the case. 

How Ben Carson's Candidacy Flopped

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Just hours after vowing to stay in the race until there was a clear nominee, Dr. Ben Carson all but waved the white flag.

"I do not see a political path forward in light of last evening's Super Tuesday primary results," the retired pediatric neurosurgeon said in an email to supporters on Wednesday afternoon. Carson said he would skip a Republican presidential debate scheduled for Thursday in Detroit. Carson said he would discuss his plans at greater length Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.

Carson's acknowledgment of the political reality of his presidential bid —in which he's earned just eight delegates after the results of 15 Republican contests — comes after weeks of arguing until the final hours that despite the slim odds there was still a place for him in the 2016 race for the White House.

Carson brought to the race a serene and deeply religious demeanor with a rags-to-riches story so incredible it has its own made-for-TV movie; he was an outsider in the year everyone wanted one; a calm voice in a race marked by insinuations about a candidate's manhood; and a health care professional in a race that centered around repealing Obamacare.



Photo Credit: Getty Images

2 Teen Home Invaders Shoot Mace Gun at Victim: Police

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Two 18-year-old boys are being accused of breaking into another teen's home and attacking the victim with a pepper spray gun, New Haven Police said. 

Police responded to a medical call on 210 Exchange Street before 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

Firefighters and EMT began to treat a 19-year-old victim with bloodshot eyes who was having difficulty breathing, police said.

The victim told police that he came home from the corner store when he heard someone inside of his home. When the victim was confronted by two men - one who he knew as "Mike"- a gun was pointed and one of the men demanded his "sh*t". When the victim refused, the man holding the gun shot a chemical at him and stole $700, according to New Haven Police.

According to the victim, he had just sold a dirtbike to "Mike's" friend, police said. 

Police said they used Facebook to identify the one of the suspects as Michael Hunter, 18, of New Haven. When police obtained a warrant to search Hunter's house, they found the young man hiding in his closet.

Hunter was detained after police found a blue Mace gun, five bags of marijuana and two facsimile firearms. He was placed under arrest after the victim identified him as one of the home invasion suspects, police said. 

Hunter identified Alejandro "Louis" Leon, 18, of New Haven, as the second suspect who shot the pepper spray gun at the victim, according to New Haven officers.

Leon told police he went to the victim's house to buy marijuana but was given an amount worth less than the asking price, police said. When the argument began to escalate, Leon said the victim "came at him" and that's when he shot the pepper spray gun, according to police.

After Leon identified the same blue Mace gun found at Hunter's home as the weapon he used on the victim, the suspect was placed under arrest.

Hunter and Leon are accused of home invasion, first degree robbery, second degree larceny, second degree assault, conspiracy to commit home invasion, conspiracy to commit robbery, conspiracy to commit larceny and conspiracy to commit assault. 

It is not clear if they have attorneys. 



Photo Credit: New Haven Police

Body Found Behind Hartford Apartment Complex

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Hartford police said the discovery of a body behind an apartment complex on Woodland Street on Wednesday is related to a PCP arrest at the location Tuesday night and is believed to be related to a missing persons case in New Britain.

Crime scene tape was up in the parking lot behind the Carriage Place West Apartments.

The body was found near a river, according to Dep. Chief Brian Foley.  The department's Major Crimes Division has been called to the scene.

The death is being treated as a homicide, but investigators will wait for the medical examiner to make a final ruling on the cause of death, police said.

The body was found in the same area where police executed a search and seizure warrant on Tuesday night.

Police arrested a man at 7 Woodland Street as part of an investigation into PCP sales from his apartment.

Ronnie Grineyard, 37, was taken into custody and charged with possession of a hallucinogenic and possession with intent to sell a hallucinogenic.

Grineyard was also a suspect in a missing persons case of 23-year-old Lamik Lozada in New Britain, according to police.

According to the missing persons flyer, Lozada was last seen on Feb. 8 and is described as a PCP user. 

Foley would not confirm if the body found was a woman's body but did say that police think the body belongs to the missing woman in New Britain. 

Both police departments are waiting for results from the Medical Examiner's office in order to identify the body found. 



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut
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EX-IRS Head: Audit or Not, Trump Can Release Taxes

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A former head of the IRS is calling on Donald Trump to release his tax returns, saying there is no legitimate reason to withhold them.

"When Americans file their tax returns each year, they declare under penalty of perjury that to best of their knowledge they are true, correct and complete," says Mark Everson, who served as IRS Commissioner during the Bush Administration. "Trump either stands by his returns - which he previously promised to release - or he doesn't." 

But several tax lawyers have said that withholding such information during an audit is prudent, noting that they would advise him to do the "very same thing."

Another former senior IRS official, who requested anonymity to discuss the issue, said Trump's reluctance could be "an ego thing about his wealth," where the taxes suggest his yearly income may be lower than the real estate mogul wants to acknowledge.



Photo Credit: AP

Kasich: Nomination Race May be Headed to Convention

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John Kasich says it's important to "stop Mr. Trump," and predicts that if he wins his home state of Ohio March 15, the GOP primary likely will end with a contested convention in Cleveland.

The Ohio governor says the nomination fight is "probably" headed to a convention, "and it's gonna be the most exciting time."

While he largely declined to go after Trump, Kasich says he wants a "more positive approach" to finding solutions for the country. He's long declined to engage with his rivals, pledging to maintain a positive campaign. Kasich said Mitt Romney's blistering remarks against Trump on Thursday morning amounted to "fair criticism" but said voters who support Trump will not be swayed by people "trashing" the businessman.

He adds that the country is "not going to solve the problems in America by knocking the pieces off the chess board or yelling at somebody."



Photo Credit: AP

Sanders Lookalike, 'Bernie Baby,' Dies of SIDS

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The infant who garnered online fame as "Bernie Baby" has reportedly died of sudden infant death syndrome(SIDS), according to a GoFundMe page set up for the family. He was just four months old.

Oliver Jack Carter Lomas delighted social media followers as a smiley impersonation of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.

His mother, Susan Lomas, shared photos of little Oliver donning a wild white-haired wig and glasses, styled after the Vermont senator.

Lomas even brought him to one Sander's rallies in Las Vegas, where the senator met his youngest supporter. A photo of Sander's holding his mini doppelgänger at the event went viral. 

"Oliver Jack Carter Lomas...I love you dearly, I love you most. I love you with all my heart and soul. I know that God will keep you near since God and truth are here," Lomas wrote in a Facebook post about her son's death.

He passed away on Feb. 25, according to "Today."

A GoFundMe page has been set up by Oliver's Aunt, Anastasia Lomas, and the rest of the Lomas family. Funds are being raised to provide for the boy's "wake, funeral, and burial expenses." 

According to the Center Disease Control and Prevention, SIDS is the leading cause of death in infants one to 12 months old. The CDC says researchers can’t be sure how often these deaths happen because there are no tests to tell SIDS apart from suffocation, which can occur from soft bedding or overlay.

About 1,500 infants died of SIDS in 2014, the CDC reports.
 



Photo Credit: Souxsie Lomas
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Idaho Students Suspected of Burning Principal's Home

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Four angry Idaho high school students took revenge on their principal by burning his house while he and his family were inside, according to police, NBC News reported.

The principal, Mark Heleker, escaped with his wife and grown daughter on Feb. 22 when a fire spread to the house from a plastic trash can in they driveway. The fire destroyed their home and three cars parked in the driveway.

The four teenagers, who bragged about the incident on Snapchat, are all in custody. Payette police said they gave information about the fire that had not yet been made public.

Two of the boys face first-degree arson charges. All four are charged with conspiracy to commit arson. 



Photo Credit: Valeria Gonzalez

Manhunt for Miss. Murder Suspect Who Escaped Prison

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A Mississippi man charged with capital murder remained on the lam Thursday morning, triggering a multi-agency pursuit around the Vicksburg jail from which he escaped a day earlier, NBC News reported.

Rafael McCloud, 34, is believed to be armed and dangerous after he used a makeshift weapon to briefly overpower one of three guards on duty at the Warren County Jail before sunrise Wednesday. 

McCloud is accused in the kidnapping and slaying of 69-year-old Sharon Wilson, who police say was badly beaten and raped last June. Her body was found in an abandoned hospital by ghost hunters who noticed a trail of blood, WLBT reported.



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Shot Fired Into Hamden Home

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Hamden police are investigating after someone fired a shot into a home on West Easton Street.

Officers responded to the home at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday night. They found a single bullet had come through a window and lodged in a wall.

There were two people home at the time, but no one was injured, according to police.

Anyone with information is asked to call Det. William Onofrio at 203-230-4040.



Photo Credit: William Hook, Flickr

Body Found in Hartford is Missing New Britain Woman: Police

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Hartford police have identified the body found behind an apartment building as that of a missing New Britain woman.

Officers found the body of 23-year-old Lamik "Queen" Lozada near a river behind the apartments on Woodland Street on Wednesday. They are treating her death as a homicide.

Lozada was reported missing to New Britain police on February 8, but family members said she hadn't been seen since late January.

Her body was found as police were following up on a drug arrest at 7 Woodland Street from Tuesday night. They charged Ronnie Grineyard, 37, with selling PCP out of his apartment.

Grineyard was also a suspect in Lozada's disappearance, according to police.

A missing person flyer issued by New Britain police last month described Lozada as a known PCP user.

An autopsy was scheduled for Thursday afternoon.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut/New Britain Police

Officer Injured by Drunk Driver: Police

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An Enfield K9 Officer was injured after being hit by a suspected drunk driver in Windsor Locks on Tuesday.

According to Windsor Locks police, the officer was on his way to work in a marked police cruiser just before midnight when a vehicle driven by Ibolya Horvath slammed into the rear of the cruiser.

The officer was taken to the hospital with neck and back injuries. The police dog that was riding in the back seat was not hurt, police said.

Horvath, who was not injured, was driving under the influence and texting at the time of the crash, according to police.

She faces DUI and distracted driving charges and is scheduled to be in court on March 14.



Photo Credit: Windsor Locks Police

3 Sports Authority Locations Closing in Connecticut

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 Three Sports Authority locations are closing in Connecticut, according to the franchise's bankruptcy documents.

Locations in Bridgeport, Danbury and North Haven will be shutting its doors sometime in the next few months. 

On Wednesday, the retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy which usually calls for the corporation to reorganize its structure. The Englewood, Colorado, based company cited $1.1. billion in debt after failing to keep up with consumer trends. 

The sporting goods company said it planned to close or sell 140 stores out of its 463 locations across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

Connecticut Sports Authority locations: 

4543 Main Street
Bridgeport, CT

13 Sugarhollow Road
Danbury, CT

180 Universal Drive North
North Haven, CT


 



Photo Credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images

Online Trolls Could Face Jail Time in UK

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The United Kingdom’s Crown Prosecution Service could soon begin laying charges on people who create fake online profiles to harass, humiliate or “troll” others, NBC News reported.

The new rule also extends to users who open an account and impersonate the victim using their name.

Although Facebook and Twitter have systems to weed out “impostor accounts,” it’s estimated that one in four Internet users have been harassed online.

The United Kingdom is also urging businesses to create plans for cybersecurity.  



Photo Credit: Photo by Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images

Sitter Tried to Suffocate Boy: PD

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A 20-year-old baby sitter in the San Francisco Bay Area has been charged with felony child abuse after a hidden nanny camera allegedly caught her trying to smother a child who wouldn't stop crying, court documents show.

Moriah Pulani Gonzales of Livermore, California was charged Feb. 22 by the Alameda County District Attorney. She was booked and released from Santa Rita Jail in Dublin ahead of her arraignment Friday.

According to the police report attached to Gonzales' charging documents, two mothers, identified only as Amanda and Nicole, called Livermore police on Feb. 18 to say their 13-month-old son had been abused, and the act was captured on a secret camera in their toddler’s room.

Footage showed the nanny pacing back and forth, apparently trying to calm the boy, according to the police report. After bouncing him up and down, she lowered him into his crib with her hands near his face.

Her back was to the camera, but the child's "clear audible" crying changed to a "muffled cry," the report states. After a few seconds, the boy began to squirm and kick, then went limp.

Police said Gonzales then picked the boy up and released her hands from his face, at which point he again began to cry. She placed him back in the crib and left the room.

When police interviewed her Feb. 19, Gonzales provided a statement "completely inconsistent" with the video and was surprised to learn a camera had been in the room, authorities said. She "insisted" she didn’t put the boy down for a nap and denied hurting him in any way, according to the report. 

A woman who answered a phone number listed for Gonzales hung up on a reporter Thursday. Someone looked out through the blinds at her home but didn't answer the door.

Neighbor Jim Ward, whose daughter is friends with Gonzales, found the allegations shocking.

"She seems like a normal person," Ward said. "She's a normal girl."

Gonzales advertised her services on the popular baby-sitting website Care.com, which touts itself as the "largest online destination for care." On its website, the company says it is not responsible for the "conduct of any care provider or care seeker."

"Care.com provides information and tools to help care seekers and care providers connect and make informed decisions," the site says.

Background checks are not required. Parents can choose to do their own background checks on baby sitters and must pay for the service. It's unclear whether the mothers in this case checked out Gonzales first. 

In a statement, the company apologized and said it's working with police.

"We are deeply troubled by this incident and our thoughts are with the family," the statement read. "The safety of our community is of paramount importance to us and we have proactively contacted local law enforcement to provide whatever assistance we can in this matter."

NBC Bay Area's Lisa Fernandez, Bob Redell and Henry Mulak contributed to this report.



Photo Credit: Livermore Police Department

CT Lawmakers Take Up Tampon, Diaper Tax Issue

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Some lawmakers and advocates will hold a press conference to support the elimination of sales tax on feminine hygiene products and diapers, according to the Permanent Commission to the Status of Women (PCSW).

Currently, the law exempts certain medical supplies, like adult diapers, and some medical devices from the tax but tampons, sanitary napkins and diapers-- all essential for women and babies--are not excluded from this 6.35 percent sales tax. This inclusion of feminine products in sales tax has been coined the "tampon tax."

"Feminine hygiene products and baby diapers are basic necessities critical to the well-being of women and their families, and their costs can quickly add up,” said Carolyn Treiss, executive director of  PCSW, a public policy arm of the Connecticut General Assembly.

Feminine products and diapers are also not covered under federal assistance programs like SNAP or WIC, according to the programs' websites. 

What's known as the "pink tax" has made it's way into headlines. A report put out by the New York City Consumer Affairs found that women may more in 42 percent of all purchases in all industries, while men only 18 percent.

When it came to personal care products, women paid 13 percent more than men. 

According to PCSW, diapers cost on average $18 a week per child which totals to $963 by the end of the year. All costs associated with menstruating will cause a woman to spend $18,000 on her period in a lifetime. 

An average box of tampons cost anywhere between $4 and $6.75 a month which could be significant for people living under the poverty line. 

The committee, along with advocates, will meet on Monday at noon to support SB 216: An Act Expanding the Sales Tax Exemption to Feminine Hygiene Products. 

"We need to acknowledge the inequity that exists when women are taxed on their biology," said State Rep. Kelly Luxenberg.



Photo Credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images

U.S. Team to Aid Ethiopia's Worst Drought in 50 Years

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A team of American experts is headed to Ethiopia as part of an emergency response to the country’s worst drought in 50 years, NBC News reported.

USAID announced Thursday it would deploy the team to provide the government and other agencies with technical support.

More than 10 million people are at risk of hunger in Ethiopia, and more than 400,000 children face malnutrition. Crops and livestock have died after the failure of two rainy seasons in a row.

The United Nations says $1.4 billion in funding is needed for the response in the country. Only half that amount has been provided by international donors.  



Photo Credit: Getty Images

#MoveOverCT: Trooper James Savage Remembered

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ONE LAST STOP

It’s taken thirty years for Matt Savage to be able to talk about what happened to his father.

“I shut out a lot of my memories just because they hurt,” he told NBC Connecticut’s Heidi Voight.

“Even now I say one word about him, I can feel my heart jumping out of my chest.”

In 1982, Trooper James Savage was one of the first troopers on scene when his colleague Lt. Thomas Carney was killed on I-84 in Southbury. Four years later, he would become Connecticut’s next fallen trooper.

On January 22, 1986, Savage was on the way home at the end of his shift when he made one last traffic stop on Rt 8 in Watertown. He was just fifteen minutes from home.

Police investigation reports detail what happened next:

“TFC James H. Savage, age 42… walking from his unmarked cruiser back to the non-contact car parked behind him. He was holding Claffey’s license and registration certificate in his hand. He was about halfway between the two cars, on the marked shoulder, walking towards oncoming traffic when struck by the right front of Veh. #2 – Williams. He was thrown onto the rear deck of his cruiser.”
Transcripts of the radio calls reveal the frantic first moments: “Trooper is down… we got a Trooper hit northbound, half a mile from 38.”

Another voice responds: “Got to be Savage, doesn’t he have a car pulled over?”

REMEMBERING DAD

James Savage was a father of five, known by family, friends and coworkers for his signature boisterous laugh. The 42-year-old played drums and love metal music, which came as a surprise to some.
“I don’t think he ever once said a curse word,” Matt recalled.

His father, he said, was his idol. So much so that he wanted to follow in his footsteps as a police officer. Matt attended a police academy in southwest Florida until he received a phone call from his mother asking him to reconsider.

“She lost our father, he was gone,” he said. “She didn’t want to lose me that way.”

Today, at 50 years old, Matt has already outlived his father by eight years. He works in carpentry and has moved back to his native Bristol. Holding his father’s portrait in his hands, the resemblance between father and son is striking.

“I think the biggest compliment I get anytime I hear about him is that I look like him. And that’s probably the best compliment I could ever get.”

MOVE OVER CT

There was no Move Over Law in 1986. The driver who hit Savage, a traveling salesman, was described by family in police reports as being a “very safe and conscientious driver” with no prior record. According to Matt, the family requested leniency, and the driver wasn’t charged.

Connecticut’s Move Over Law was passed in 2009 and expanded in 2012. It requires drivers on any road two lanes or wider to move over or significantly slow down for emergency vehicles with flashing lights – not just police cruisers, but fire/EMS crews, DOT trucks and construction crews, and even commercial tow vehicles. Fines start at $188 and range up to $10,000 in cases of injury or death.

Savage says it’s a simple thing drivers can do to help another family avoid the pain of his own tragic loss.

“Slow down, move over. And don't be the reason that that person doesn't get to go home tonight and see their family.”

NOTE: Since stepping up enforcement on February 22nd 2016, as of 9:30 a.m. March 3rd state police have issued 392 tickets for violation of the Move Over Law.



Photo Credit: Savage Family

New Haven Hip Hop Artist Found Guilty of Murder

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A popular New Haven hip hop artist was found guilty of killing a Hamden man in his apartment on Circular Avenue in 2014.

Police and the U.S. Marshals arrested 38-year-old Nicholas Papantoniou, also known by his stage name "Nickel P," was found guilty of murder, first degree burlary with a deadly weapon and criminal possession of a firearm.

Papantoniou is accused of shooting and killing 56-year-old Larry Dildy on Oct. 19.

Police said Papantoniou and William Coutermash, 33, knocked on the door of Dildy's second-floor apartment that October afternoon and got into a fight during which Dildy was shot.

Members of the U.S. Marshal Service Connecticut Violent Fugitive Task Force, along with Bridgeport and Stratford officers, arrested Papantoniou after a month-long investigation in an attempt to track him down.

Coutermash was charged with felony murder after the shooting, although authorities consider him a conspirator and said Papantoniou is suspected of pulling the trigger.

Residents familiar with the city's music scene say Papantoniou is a hip-hop performer who has played concerts in the area for years.

"Nickel P's" public Facebook page says his "music and lyrics are the perfect example of art imitating life" and promotes his performances, including some at popular New Haven music venue Toad's Place.

His sentencing is scheduled for May 26. It was not clear if he had an attorney. 



Photo Credit: Facebook/Hamden Police Department
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