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Payless Pulls Light-Up Shoes Suspected of Sparking Fire

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Payless ShoeSource said Tuesday it's pulling all of its boys' Jake Lighted Runner light-up shoes from store shelves while authorities investigate a report that the shoes sparked a fire inside a Texas family's SUV.

Attila and Jovan Virag of Katy, Texas, told NBC affiliate station KPRC of Houston that their 2-year-old son left his Jake and the Neverland Pirates shoes in the SUV Friday. 

They found the backseat charred on Saturday morning. 

"I saw the shoe on the ground with the wires sticking up and it was a lightbulb, I knew immediately that's what it was," Jovan Virag told KPRC. 

The family believes the shoes' penny-sized lithium battery sparked the fire. The cause is still under investigation, Captain Dean Hensley with the Harris County Fire Marshal's Office told NBC News on Wednesday. 

Payless said in a statement: "Out of an abundance of caution we have removed the Boys' Jake Lighted Runner from our shelves until we can thoroughly investigate a customer claim regarding that shoe. First and foremost, safety is always a top priority at Payless and we take the claim made by the customer seriously. We have contacted the family, and we will work with them and local authorities to better understand the circumstances of the fire and what may have caused it."

Payless told NBC that this is not a full product recall.



Photo Credit: KPRC

WATCH: School Bus Runs Red Light

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Dashcam video recorded in New Jersey appears to show a school bus cross into a lane of oncoming traffic and blow through a red light. 

The wild maneuvers were captured on camera Thursday morning in Jersey City near Hoboken, according to Dominick Lombardo, who posted the video on social media. 

"A school bus drives on my left down a large hill on the wrong side of the road. The bus then passes my left on wrong side and runs the red light I'm stopped at while cutting into the traffic at light," Lombardo captioned the video on Instagram. "The school bus then MAKES THE CRAZIEST DECISION to go into the wrong lane again and run another light."

The footage shows the bus pass Lombardo's car, along with several other stopped vehicles, before running a red light on the wrong side of the road. The bus continues in the opposite lane of travel and crosses railroad tracks as the footage ends. 

"It was insane, completely insane," Lombardo said. 

It's not clear if any students were aboard the bus at the time, or whether authorities are aware of the video. 

"I have two boys, and if somebody told me they saw a bus do that, I'd be a real concern for that city," Lombardo said. "I would say this person has got to be removed."

NBC 4 New York has reached out to the Jersey City Police Department seeking comment. 

The company thought to own the bus told NBC 4 New York it is investigating the video. 



Photo Credit: Dominick Lombardo/Instagram

23-Year-Old Man Dead After Medical Emergency in North Haven

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A 23-year-old man is dead after a medical emergency in North Haven on Tuesday evening. 

Police said they responded to Hartford Turnpike and School Lane at 4:58 p.m. after receiving reports that a 23-year-old passenger was having a medical emergency and found the man unconscious. 

Officers tried to save him, but he did not respond and emergency crews brought him to an area hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. 

The cause of man’s death is not known and his name has not been released. 

The North Haven Police Department’s Investigative Services Division is investigating.



Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com

Puppy Therapy Opens at MIT

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Students, faculty and staff now have an opportunity to de-stress with therapy dogs, thanks to the MIT Puppy Lab.

Dog owner and graduate student in the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology, Stephanie Ku, created the proposal this past fall.

After receiving a grant from the MindHandHeart Innovation Fund, Ku started the project.

Visit sessions will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons (3-5 p.m.) on May 10, 11, 17 and 18. The lab can be found in the Lobby 10 Community Lounge.

Playing with puppies is said to be a stress-reliever and nerve-calmer.

The opening of the lab coincides with final exams and National Mental Health Awareness Month.



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Chimp Attack Victim: Face Transplant a 'Success' Despite Setback

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The Connecticut woman who underwent a face transplant five years ago after being disfigured by a chimpanzee attack in February 2009 said she's come a long way in her recovery and hopes to one day ride horses again.

Charla Nash lost her nose, lips, eye lids and hands after her employer's chimpanzee, Travis, mauled her in Stamford. After what doctors have called a miraculous recovery, she received the country's first double face and hands transplant at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital. Nash's hands failed to thrive, but her face transplant was a success.

However, a "moderate" rejection of an experimental drug treatment sent Nash back to Brigham where she has been taking part in a military-funded experiment to wean her off the anti-rejection drugs she had been taking since the 2011 operation.

"Well this one biopsy said a slight rejection," Nash told Meredith Vieira in an exclusive "Today" show interview Wednesday, saying she was not discouraged by the setback. "It would help all the servicemen and women. The study is not a failure, it's a success. You learn so much from all my testing."

The study is designed to determine whether patients who receive arm, hand, leg or face transplants can safely taper off the medications, which come with serious side effects, including high blood pressure and diabetes, according to "Today."

The vicious mauling also left Nash permanently blind. And though she has personal aide Mondays through Fridays, the "fiercely independent" survivor is steadfast on living alone.

"I've always been independent, and as far as the help, I have just what I need," Nash explained. "You feel like you're almost normal."

Nash said she is grateful for everything, but that she struggles with expenses.

"I wish I had more care, but I am thankful for what I have," Nash told Vieira.

In 2012, she reached a $4 million settlement with the estate of chimp owner Sandra Herold, who died in 2010.

But according to Nash's lawyers, the settlement only covers a small fraction of her medical costs. Nash has sought to sue the state of Connecticut for $150 million, but has been denied permission by the state Claims Commissioner J. Paul Vance, Jr.

Nash's lawyers contend that the state had the authority and obligation to seize the dangerous animal and hold the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection responsible for not taking away the chimpanzee before the attack because it was warned the animal was dangerous. State Attorney General George Jepsen said the state shouldn't be held liable for the mauling.

Travis had previously bitten another woman's hand and tried to drag her into a car in 1996, bit a man's thumb two years later and roamed downtown Stamford for hours in 2003 before being captured after escaping from Herold's home, according to Nash's lawsuit against Herold.

Despite unimaginable challenges, Nash's spirit and determination is unbreakable, she said.

"I am ready to ride horses again," she told Vieira. "And I will."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.



Photo Credit: AP
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Worker Gets $7M After Museum Fall

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A local energy-efficiency engineer who nearly plunged to his death when he fell almost four stories through a glass floor at Philadelphia's Rodin Museum in 2012 has been awarded a $7.25 million settlement, his lawyers announced Tuesday.

Phani Guthula was inspecting light fixtures at the Rodin Museum, an outpost of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Ben Franklin Parkway, Nov. 26, 2012 when he fell 38 feet through an unsecured glass attic floor, his attorneys said in a statement.

Guthula suffered numerous fractures and trauma from "head to toe," the attorneys said, underwent more than 15 surgeries and spent more than a month and a half in the hospital as a result. He'll require lifelong medical care, the attorneys said.

"One of the Rodin's most famous sculptures is titled Gates of Hell," attorney Larry Bendesky, a member of Guthula's legal team, said. "The chilling picture of Phani Guthula falling nearly to his death could have the same title; his life has been a living hell every day since his fall."

Guthula was represented by the Saltz, Mongeluzzi, Barrett & Bendesky firm. Named as defendants in the suit were the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Allied Barton Security Services, which contracts with the museum.

Lawyers said the Rodin had recently undergone renovations and that railings to keep people off the hazardous glass floor were not in place. Security officers at the museum were "uninformed and inattentive, and there was no signage to warn against a fall hazard to which everyone — after the accident — agreed existed when he almost met his death," attorney David Kwass said.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art, in a written statement released Tuesday afternoon, said the attorneys' claim that there was no signage was inaccurate.

The museum was open for business at the time of Guthula's fall, and the fall was captured on surveillance video.

Lawyers said the settlement came on Friday just before jury selection was set to begin in the case.

"Mr. Guthula hopes that there are lessons learned by those who are responsible for workplace safety," Bendesky said. "The best plans and precautions are meaningless — as they were in this case — if they are not followed by everyone involved."

The Philadelphia Museum of Art released the following statement Tuesday afternoon:

"The Museum confirms that it has participated in the settlement of a dispute related to the tragic accident in 2012 at the Rodin Museum. Contrary to the press release issued by the lawyers for the plaintiff, the settlement involved several parties in addition to the Museum. Unfortunately, the lawyers' press release contains other inaccurate statements about the accident — most notably the incorrect assertion that the Museum had not provided appropriate signage and other safety precautions in the attic spaces of the Rodin Museum."



Photo Credit: Saltz, Mongeluzzi, Barrett & Bendesky, P.C.

Milford Man Charged With Child Porn Possession

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A 20-year-old Milford man has been arrested on child pornography charges.

On Feb. 2, Milford police received a tip from the Center for Missing and Exploited Children that several images of child pornography were uploaded to a social media site and determined that Luis Daniel Ortiz-Martinez, of Milford, uploaded them from inside of his home, police said.

Ortiz-Martinez was taken into custody on May 6, charged with second-degree possession of child pornography, and held on $10,000 bond.

He was arraigned in Milford Court that same day and released from custody.

It’s not clear if he has an attorney.



Photo Credit: Milford Police

Unlimited Sunshine, Temperatures Well Into the 70s

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High pressure will provide unlimited sunshine through tomorrow.

Temperatures will fall into the 40s tonight with clear skies.

Tomorrow will feature highs in the middle and upper 70s – above average!

The next chance for showers comes as a series of fronts approach Connecticut.

Sun will fade to clouds and give way to showers in the second half of Friday, and as a result, temperatures will drop from previous days to the upper 60s.

The weekend will be cooler and breezy, with beautiful blue sky mixing with large, puffy white clouds.

High temperatures over the weekend will be near 70 Saturday, but fall into the lower 60s by Sunday.

It looks like dry weather sticks around for Monday and Tuesday, with below average highs in the 60s.


Circus Comes to Hartford Without the Elephants

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The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is in Hartford this week and it’s the first visit without elephants, a controversial part of the show that has entertained audiences since circuses began in America. 

In January, Feld Entertainment, the parent company of the circus, announced that they would take elephants out of their shows by spring.

Some animal rights activists said it was cruel for the elephants to be kept outside of their natural habitat and forced to perform.

Kenneth Feld, CEO of Feld Entertainment, said last year that so many cities and counties have passed "anti-circus" and "anti-elephant" ordinances that it became difficult to organize tours of three traveling circuses to 115 cities each year.

Now that they are no longer performing, the elephants will permanently retire to the 200-acre Center for Elephant Conservation in central Florida

Officials from Feld Entertainment said the retired elephants are also going to be part of cancer research.

The circus is at the XL Center from today through Sunday and doors will open 90 minutes before each show so people can see how the circus animals are housed and kept.



Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com

Trump Supporters Boost Sanders in West Virginia

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Bernie Sanders won Tuesday's primary in West Virginia partly because of Donald Trump's supporters, NBC News reported.

A third of those who voted in West Virginia's Democratic primary say they plan to back Trump in November, according to NBC News exit polls. Sanders won those voters by a wide margin.

In fact, 39 percent of Sanders voters said they would vote for Trump over Sanders in the fall. For Clinton, nine percent of her voters say they plan to come out for Trump in the general election.

West Virginia has an open primary, meaning independents can vote in the Democratic contest. With the GOP nomination wrapped up, it's possible mischievous Trump supporters sought to damage Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee, by voting for Sanders.



Photo Credit: AP
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New Haven Officials Report Decline in Crime

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The crime rate in New Haven has been decreasing over the last five years, city officials announced during a news conference on Wednesday afternoon.

“I’m very excited to share with you today’s irrefutable evidence that in New Haven, as far as safety is concerned, we’re moving on the right track, in the right direction,” Mayor Toni Harp said.

She said there is a dramatic across-the-board decline in crime rates and that’s good for people who want to open a business in the city.

“All those who live, work, study and visit here are safer as a result,” Harp said.

New Haven Police Chief Dean Esserman said the department accomplished the order Harp issued when he met with her two and a half years ago, and the department does not “seek to take credit.”

He called the crime decline “a New Haven community success.”

“We do not intend to rest on our laurels. We intend for this to be a beginning of the continued decline in crime in our beloved city of New Haven,” Esserman said. “Crime is down in every neighborhood, in every category, every year.”



Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com

Principal Hurt Breaking Up Fight

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A Chicago elementary school principal was hospitalized after she was injured trying to break up a fight between students.

Chinyere Okafor-Conley was knocked unconscious Monday afternoon while attempting to intervene during an altercation between two students at Jensen Elementary School on Chicago’s West Side, Chicago Public Schools said in a statement.

Family members and authorities said Conley was struck during the fight, fell and hit her head. She was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital for treatment.

Family members said she was awake and responding Tuesday, but still undergoing tests.

"She’s doing a lot better than she was yesterday," said Conley’s brother, Chukwudi Okafor.

Police said the fight involved two teens, both of whom were taken into custody. A 13-year-old girl was charged with misdemeanor battery and misdemeanor reckless conduct and a 14-year-old was charged with misdemanor reckless conduct. 

Their names were not released because of their age. 

A letter was sent home to parents following the incident, but further details on the fight weren’t immediately released.

"CPS’ crisis support teams were on site at Jensen Elementary on Monday, and will offer support to students and staff again today," CPS said in a statement. "Our thoughts are with the principal for a full recovery."

The Chicago Teachers Union said schools need resources for restorative justice programs.

"It's a way to establish relationships, sustain those relationships and, when necessary, repair them, and so I think that this could have been more of a preventative measure to take," said Walter Taylor, a professional development facilitator with the union.



Photo Credit: Family Photo/NBC Chicago

What Zika Virus Infection Looks Like

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As mosquito season starts in the U.S., local outbreaks are possible in areas where Aedes aegypti mosquitoes circulate and a team of New York doctors who treated a Zika patient said they want doctors around the country to know what they look like so they can be on the lookout, NBC News reported.

In a report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association's JAMA Dermatology, doctors said a 44-year-old patient infected with Zika started with a headache. Within days, a red rash started forming on his hands, arms and spread to his body. By the third day, the rash had moved all the way down his body and his feet were on fire.

"The patient also noted that his eyes appeared 'bloodshot.' As the eruption faded on the upper body, it became more apparent on the lower body," they wrote.



Photo Credit: Amit Garg, MD / Department of Dermatology, Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine

America's Oldest Veteran Celebrates 110th Birthday

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A man believed to be America's oldest veteran is celebrating his 110th birthday on Wednesday. 

"I feel good. A little old, but I'm getting around like everybody else," Richard Overton of Austin, Texas, told NBC News on Wednesday.

Overton was born May 11, 1906, making him the oldest living World War II veteran after an 110-year-old Louisiana vet died last week. He fought in the 1887th Engineer Aviation Battalion in World War II, and served as a corporal in Hawaii, Guam and Iwo Jima.

His tips for longevity include chain-smokes cigars, a splash of whiskey in his morning coffee, and a steady diet of fried catfish and butter pecan ice cream, he told TODAY two years ago.



Photo Credit: AP Images for Philips Lifeline

Puerto Rico Debt Bill Delayed, May Come Soon

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The Republican committee working on legislation to deal with Puerto Rico’s debt crisis has delayed its release, NBC News reports. 

The bill, which would deal with the territory’s $72 billion debt, was expected to be unveiled Wednesday. An aide said it could be introduced Thursday because the committee is “still working through technical stuff, minor refinements.” 

The bill would create a financial oversight board, whose mandate would include bringing revenue in line with expenditures and finding efficiencies and to protect creditor hierarchy, according to the aide.  

Puerto Rico defaulted on $422 million in debt payments in May and is facing another large debt payment in July. Unemployment in the territory has been rising and hundreds of thousands of residents have fled to the mainland.



Photo Credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images

Trump Won't Release Taxes Until After November

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Donald Trump will not reveal how much money he makes or how much he pays in taxes despite pressure to release his tax returns, NBC News reported. 

The presumptive Republican nominee told The Associated Press Tuesday he won’t release his returns before November due to an audit. Until Tuesday, Trump signaled he hoped to release them soon. 

"There's nothing to learn from them," Trump said in an interview published on Wednesday, adding that he didn't think they would interest voters. 

Trump previously insisted it would be bad for business and that he can’t release his returns because of the ongoing audit. The Internal Revenue Service said nothing prevents an individual from releasing the documents. 

"We stress that we're in tax administration, so we have no stake in any of the primaries going on," IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said in February in response to Trump's insinuation that he could not reveal the information while under audit. "From our standpoint, if you're being audited, and you want to do something else, share that information with your returns, you can do that."



Photo Credit: AP

Fire Damages Historic Derrin House in Avon

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Fire damaged the the historic Derrin House in Avon on Wednesday morning and now the investigation begins into what started it.

A passerby contacted authorities at  8:48 a.m. after seeing smoke coming from the Derrin House, on West Avon Road. 

The site, which is on the State Register of Historical Places, is open to the public to showcase what life was like on a 19th century New England Farm and some renovations were underway inside when the fire broke out this morning. 

The first level was on fire when firefighters arrived and crews managed to contain it to the one floor, but there is damage.

“I got here after the flames had gone away, thank goodness. It was quite surprising,” Terri Wilson, president of the Avon Historical Society, said.

 

For the past couple decades…the society worked to turn this old farmhouse from around 1800 into a historical spot for visitors.
(Terri Wilson/Avon Historical Society President) 10:09 “Through a lot of effort from some very dedicated volunteers and a lot of donated time and effort and materials and grants we’ve been able to bring the house back to life.”  19

 

The historical society has spent the past couple decades working on the 1810 farmhouse.

“Through a lot of effort from some very dedicated volunteers and a lot of donated time and effort and materials and grants, we’ve been able to bring the house back to life,” Wilson said. 

The historical society society was planning a big event in June to celebrate 250 years since the Derrins settled in this area.

Now, they are worried about all the historical pieces that might have been destroyed, as well as the house.



Photo Credit: NBCConnectucut.com

Man Refuses to Run From Fort McMurray Wildfire

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A stubborn Canadian is defying the raging wildfire that’s been devouring the northern Alberta town of Fort McMurray, according to NBC News.

Hartley Bushell’s wife and neighbors fled the area. The Mounties have told him to get out of the city at least a dozen times.

But the 63-year-old is staying put, even though his wife, Chalinee, begged him to get in the car with her before she fled. He’s surviving on the food and water in the house, missing his wife “a lot.” He’s keeping company with a little pug he found when he went into a neighborhood to retrieve a friend’s photos and documents.

"This is not just a house we have here," he told CBC News. "This is our home."



Photo Credit: Hartley Bushell

Woman Tries to Hide Marijuana in Shirt and Fails: Police

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Police have arrested a Cromwell woman who is accused of trying hide marijuana down her shirt, but failed. 

Police responded to Country Squire Drive just before 9:30 p.m. on May 5 after getting a report of a vehicle idling in front of the building. 

Police identified the driver as Dominique Greco, 29, and said she was unsuccessful in hiding a large bag containing marijuana down her shirt. 

When police searched her car and house, police found more than two ounces of marijuana, marijuana packaged for sale, a digital scale, drug paraphernalia and $2,951.00 cash, according to a news release. 

Greco was charged with possession of less than 4 ounces of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to sell and possession of drug paraphernalia. 

He was released on a $7,500 bond and will appear at Middletown Superior Court on May 17.



Photo Credit: Cromwell Polkce

Stefanie Dolson Comes Out as LGBT Athlete

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Former UConn star Stefanie Dolson has come out as an LGBT athlete in the latest edition of ESPN The Magazine.

Dolson, who now plays for the Washington Mystics in the WNBA, revealed the news in the May 23 WNBA issue of the magazine.

"There are a lot of girls who struggle with who they are. We need people who are out so that those girls know it's OK to be themselves, regardless of stereotypes," Dolson said in the article. By being open, I give them someone to look up to, and however they identify, I can inspire them to support equality and LGBT issues."

Dolson said she never considered the possibility of being gay until after her first WNBA season when a woman approached her in a coffee shop in Washington, D.C..

In February, she posted a of her with a woman kissing her cheek and the caption "Love doesn't happen often, but when it does there's no better feeling."



Photo Credit: AP
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