Connecticut students earned higher marks in math on the state test in 2016 than they did in 2015. 

The achievement, for students in grades 3 through 8,  drew praise from state and local education officials, saying the figures are proof that a recent focus on math and science is working.

Connecticut Education Commissioner Dianna Wentzell said more teachers are teaching concepts in ways that can be communicated in the real world.

"That demanded a whole different way of teaching, a whole different way of thinking about a student’s progress through the curriculum and while those shifts are difficult are also kind of fun because they ask kids to do things like justify their reasoning, talk about their learning," Wentzell said. 

Compared to 2015, overall math scores were up to 44 percent of students who took the tests exceeding or meeting the state standard, which was up by nearly four points.

In English, while overall scores were lower statewide, there was some improvement shown in what are known as Alliance schools, which are given priority for resources and training because they're in some of the state's lowest performing school districts.

Janet Brown-Clayton, the principal of the Lincoln Bassett Community School, said she thinks much of the progress in her school was made because of the attention paid to reducing the number of absences. They reduced no-shows by more than 50 percent compared to the previous year.

“I think it’s a combination of the work to keep children in school, hence our attendance data," she said.

The most troubling data shows something Connecticut and many other states have dealt with for decades, which is the achievement gap between different races of students.

White students far outperform their black and Latino counterparts. White students met the mat standard with a nearly 57 percent success rate, while black and Latino students tested at 17.6 percent of standard and 21.2 percent of standard, respectively.

New Haven's Superintendent of Schools Garth Harries said those figures show the state still has much progress to make.

"They show us so much of what we have to be proud of but also that we have so much left to go so by no means are we finished with our journey," Harries said.

Holding defendants in jail because they can't afford to make bail is unconstitutional, the Justice Department said in a court filing late Thursday — the first time the government has taken such a position before a federal appeals court, NBC News reported.

It's the latest step by the Obama administration in encouraging state courts to move away from imposing fixed cash bail amounts and jailing those who can't pay.

"Bail practices that incarcerate indigent individuals before trial solely because of their inability to pay for their release violate the Fourteenth Amendment," the Justice Department said in a friend of court brief, citing the Constitution's guarantee of equal protection.

The emotional moment when doctors delivered the baby of a Syrian woman injured by an airstrike in the besieged city of Aleppo has been captured on camera, NBC News reported.

The boy's mother was seriously injured as she walked to the hospital to give birth.

Her right arm and leg were broken and surgeons had to pick shrapnel from her body before performing an emergency cesarean section.

The video was filmed by Waad al-Kateab and aired by Britain's Channel 4 News. It shows the agonizing moment when the boy was pulled, lifeless, from his mother's womb.

After several minutes, the boy suddenly shows signs of life. Eventually his cry echoes around the makeshift emergency room.

The footage was recorded in July and aired on Thursday.

Things are starting to get a bit weird in the Olympic Village.

Now that a lot of the athletes’ events are over and they have some time on their hands, well, strange things can happen.

Look no further than Benn Harradine, who threw discus for Australia. He finished eighth in the event, which was held last Friday.

Fast-forward a week and Harradine is still hanging out in the Olympic Village, and he still wants to throw things.

Hey, you gonna eat that?

Believe it or not, a cheeseburger isn’t the most unusual object Harradine has ever thrown.

If you guessed Australian Paralympian sprinter Scott Reardon’s prosthetic foot, you would be correct.

According to the video, the idea to toss the foot was Reardon’s, and it was all to gain support for Paralympic athletes.

Harradine has an entire YouTube channel filled with random objects he has thrown like a discus (hashtag #WillItThrow), and includes everything from baked beans to a hummus-filled sock. You can watch all of them by clicking here.

Driving on I-95 passing through Waterford early next week may be a major headache as construction on a bridge replacement could cause a major traffic.

Department of Transportation crews will replace the north and southbound bridges located at the junction with I-395 starting on Monday.

The project is going to be done in four separate phases, where one of two lanes will be closed for a 34 hour period.

Crews will first start work on the northbound bridge in Waterford beginning Monday, followed by construction on the southbound bridge in the fall.

Northbound lane closures:

• Mon. August 22 at 8 PM - Wednesday August 24 at 6 AM
• Mon. August 29 at 8 PM - Wednesday August 31 at 6 AM

Southbound lane closures:

• October but dates have not been scheduled

DOT officials recommend commuters who drive that stretch of road find an alternate route.

Waterford and East Lyme Police officers will also be on hand to help re-route traffic during construction.

"They’re going to be available to intervene in very short order. If there are any traffic back ups at traffic signals etc. they’ll be able to jump right in and supersede those signals just start directing traffic, waving it through keeping the traffic flowing," said DOT Spokesperson Kevin Nursic, who added that several state troopers will be on I-95 in case there are any incidents on the interstate.

Nursic said the bridges are being replaced because they are in poor condition.

"They are structurally deficient they are at the end of their useful life so we need to maintain the infrastructure. This work has to be done if we want to keep these critical highways open and safe for everybody," said Nursic.

The project is an Accelarated Bridge Construction (ABC) operation where a bridge section is built in an off-site location, then moved to it's final location. If the project was done on-site and there weren't any lane closures, Nursic estimates project completion could have taken up to two years.

A showdown is shaping up between New Haven city officials and the firefighters union over a proposal to reallocate resources for fire and emergency services.

The union is waging a campaign saying the proposed changes will leave one of the city’s ten districts without it’s neighborhood fire engine.

In an NBC Connecticut Exclusive interview, Deputy Director of Emergency Operations Rick Fontana denied that claim and said the union is misleading the public.

"Putting fear into them that they’re neighborhood fire engine is going to be leaving, it’s not right," Fontana said. "We’re going to go based on the factual data we have and the need of the entire community."

Currently, New Haven only has two advanced life support (ALS) paramedic units.

"If this unit is out and somebody’s having a heart attack out in Westville or Fountain street area, this unit has to come from Woodward Avenue," Fontana said, pointing to a map showing the distance the paramedic unit would have to travel across town.

A city committee recommends adding two more paramedic units to provide better coverage for the entire city, Fontana said.

To do that, Fontana said the proposal redeploys four firefighters from Engine 9 at the Ellsworth Avenue Station to staff the two new units (two assigned to each). One would be based at the Ellsworth Station and the other at the Whitney Avenue fire station.

"It’s a disingenuous empty promise to the citizens," New Haven Fire Union President Frank Ricci said over the phone. "The problem with adding on two more paramedic units is they are a city wide asset that will not be in the district."

Ricci said he fears the neighborhoods near the Ellsworth Avenue station will be left without a local fire truck.

"The neighborhood fire engine gets their first, initiates quality care and then its backed up by a paramedic service," he said, adding fire trucks respond to any emergency in four minutes.

The Ellsworth station houses both Engine 9 and a city-wide squad company truck. Fontana said the firefighters from the squad company would staff the new neighborhood fire engine company.

“That fire station will still have a fire truck in it,” he said. "Just like the other nine fire stations in the city of New Haven.”

Ultimately, the New Haven Fire Chief has the only authority, according to the union contract, to redeploy personnel. Mayor Harp said Thursday she plans to announce who will fill that vacancy sometime next week after interviewing three final candidates.

The fire union has recently filed a complaint against the city saying that Fontana has overstepped his authority by performing firefighter duties and interfering with department operations.

Fontana is a retired firefighter who spent nearly three decades with the West Haven Fire Department.

Citing poverty, high unemployment and broken education systems, Donald Trump on Friday continued to court African-American voters with the simple question: "What do you have to lose?"

"Look at how much African-American communities have suffered under Democratic control. To those hurting, I say: What do you have to lose by trying something new like Trump?" he read from a teleprompter at a rally in the overwhelmingly white town of Diamondale, Michigan.

The Republican presidential nominee said he would be a better candidate for African American issues compared to Hillary Clinton, and that, if elected, he would win "over" 95 percent of black voters in a potential reelection campaign in 2020.

Most surveys now show Trump polling in the low single digits among African-American voters compared to Clinton. Mitt Romney earned the support of about six percent of black voters in 2012.

An NBC Connecticut Troubleshooter's investigation has discovered that the Department of Children and Families (DCF) has mistakenly shelled out hundreds of thousands of dollars to families that no longer foster children. 

According to the investigaiton, DCF mistakenly paid $200,000 to nine families with subsidized guardianships, but staff members said they did not notice the children in the subsidized guardianships were over the age of 21 or in some cases, living back with their birth parents.

The DCF mistakenly overpaid one family $57,000 and another family got the undeserved payments for six years before officials noticed they were no longer eligible for the money, according to a document NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters obtained from the department.

In a statement emailed to NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters, DCF commissioner Joette Katz said they are, "taking aggressive steps to recoup the overpayments" and that "the agency takes its responsibility with public resources very seriously."

DCF officials said subsidized guardianships are not assigned caseworkers because they are considered low risk, as children are usually placed with family members. However, the agency continues to send monthly payments to families. Foster families receive anywhere from $800-$1500 per month, per child. Subsidized guardianships are usually in the $800 range.

Without a caseworker to periodically check in on the children and the money, there’s an opportunity for things to go wrong.

Zoe Stout, an attorney who advocates for foster children, said the problem is DCF staff levels.

"The case loads are very high and given recent budget cuts, it's only going to get worse," said Stout.

Senator Henry Martin, a ranking member of the legislative Committee on Children sees the $200,000 overpayment as part of a bigger problem.

"Who's not watching the account or who's not watching the family?" Martin asked. "Who doesn't know that children have aged out?"

We asked officials with the agency for more detailed reports of the mishandled money, they said there aren't any.

According to DCF there are about 2300 youths in subsidized guardianship status. Gary Kleeblatt, a spokesperson for the agency said they audit the program annually and now have a backup system in place to check a child’s age. However, admitted it’s possible the agency may discover more overpayments as they review their cases.

The state has closed parts of two rivers to fishing because of the impact the hot weather and drought conditions are having on the fish.

"The biggest problem is the water is too warm. It's in places getting above 75 degrees Fahrenheit," Peter Aarrestad, DEEP Inland Fisheries Division Director, said.

The fish are suffering from heat stress, according to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

"The stressed fish -- particularly trout -- are seeking refuge by congregating at the mouths of a number of tributary streams, where cooler water is entering the West Branch Farmington River and Farmington River," Susan Whalen, deputy DEEP commissioner, said in a statement.

DEEP officials are concerned that fishing for the trout would put an additional stress on the fish and could lead to an increase in deaths of fish in the river. The high temperatures over the past week have already led to some fish kills along the river, according to the DEEP.

"This is the first time in memory that we have found it necessary to take action like this to protect our fisheries on these rivers, and it is not a step we are taking lightly," Whalen said.

The areas closed to fishing are:

• East Mountain Brook (Hallock Brook), New Hartford
• Cherry Brook, Canton
• Rattlesnake Hill Brook, Canton
• Burlington Brook, Burlington
• Hawley Brook, Avon
• Unionville Brook, Farmington
• Hyde Brook, Farmington
• Pequabuck River, Farmington

The DEEP is posting closure signs in the areas and all water within 100 feet of the signs is closed to fishing. Anyone violating the closure will be fined $154.

"Most anglers with any good conscience are not going to go in there and fish on top of concentrated fish so we basically are waiting for conditions to reestablish themselves so the trout can disperse back into the river," Aarrestad said.

The closure is scheduled to remain in effect through September 15, but may be shortened if conditions improve, according to the DEEP.

Some portions of the West Branch Farmington River and the Farmington River remain open, but DEEP officials are asking anglers to avoid fishing during the hottest times of the day or to consider fishing upstream of the Collinsville impoundment, where water temperatures are cooler and the fish are less stressed.

The U.S. men’s 4x100m relay team had won bronze. They had their American flags wrapped around them. But as they headed to the media area to conduct interviews, the worst news possible flashed on the scoreboard: “United States - DQ.”

That's DQ, as in disqualified.

Rio Olympic track officials disqualified the U.S. team because of an illegal baton exchange.

• WATCH: Usain Bolt Wins Gold in Final Olympic Race

According to IAAF Rule 170.7, "the baton shall be passed within the takeover zone. The passing of the baton commences when it is first touched by the receiving athlete and is completed the moment it is in the hand of only the receiving athlete. In relation to the takeover zone, it is only the position of the baton which is decisive. Passing of the baton outside the takeover zone shall result in disqualification."

The U.S. infraction reportedly occurred on the first transfer between Mike Rodgers and Justin Gatlin. Slow-motion video on the NBC broadcast appeared to show the moment where Gatlin may have taken the baton before the yellow line that starts the exchange zone.

The runners, however, disagreed.

“I see him throwing his hand back,” Rodgers said of Gatlin while watching the replay, "but I see when he has possession of the stick, he’s inside the zone. … It’s not a DQ.”

“Obviously I can’t see behind me,” Gatlin said. “I felt like it was a clean exchange going through the zone.”

Gatlin was open to the idea of an appeal.

“If my federation wants to go out and wants to protest against it then we’ll do so,” he said. There was no immediate word from Team USA if an appeal was going to be made.

Rodgers thinks the ruling should be overturned:

With the U.S. team disqualified, Canada was awarded the bronze medal.

Residents have reported the return of sea lice at the state's beaches, according to media reports. 

The Greenwich Health Department is urging people to take precautions against sea lice when visiting beaches, officials told News 12 Connecticut.

Health officials said there hasn't been a large number of sea lice cases reported, but they're still urging residents to remove their bathing suits and shower after being at the beach, News 12 Connecticut reports. 

Signs and symptoms of sea lice include tingling, burning, itchy skin, small reddish pimples and small blisters, according to the CDC. 

According to the Greenwich Time, sea lice is a common name for larval thimble jellyfish, that are small enough to wedge underneath bathing suits. 

It is not clear, so far, all the beaches affected, however, lifeguards at Greenwich beaches said they received reports from swimmers with sea lice stings earlier in the week, according to the newspaper.

The jellyfish are about the size of a pin-head and transparent, making them difficult to spot in the water, experts told Greenwich Time. 

An elderly man seen walking out of a Cape Cod, Massachusetts, home turned out to actually be an alleged drug dealer in disguise.

Police surrounded a South Yarmouth home, where 31-year-old Shaun Miller was staying, on Thursday, and ordered him outside.

Miller tried to elude investigators by walking out dressed as an old man, but authorities say officers pulled off his realistic mask and arrested him.

Weapons and nearly $30,000 in cash were also allegedly found hidden inside the home.

Miller, who has been charged with possession of heroin with intent to distribute, was held without bail pending a hearing later this month.

Usain Bolt won what he called his final Olympic race, boxer Claressa Shields is trying for a U.S. record, and two women hit aces on the golf course. Memorable moments on Day 14 at the Rio Games -- in case you missed them.

Bolt Gets Gold, Again

Usain Bolt won his third Rio gold medal in the 4x100 relay final as part of the Jamaican team Friday -- and his ninth Olympic gold medal overall. Bolt and Jamaica won the relay in Beijing and in London, where the team set the world and Olympic records.

Bolt had already won the gold in the 100 and 200 meters -- and both for the third time. He is the first runner to win those three events three straight times.

The United States team crossed the line third in the 4x100 but was disqualified for an early baton pass.

American Women Win After Second Chance

The U.S. women's 4 x 100 relay team was victorious Friday, giving Allyson Felix the fifth gold medal of her Olympic career -- the most among women in track and field.

The gold in the relay came a day after the women qualified for the final by racing against the clock on an otherwise empty track. Earlier, Felix was jostled by another runner and had dropped the baton, but an appeal gave the American women another shot. 

U.S. Boxer Tries for a Record 

U.S. middleweight boxer Claressa Shields — in a unanimous decision on Friday — moved a step closer to becoming the United States' first Olympian to win back-to-back boxing gold.

Shields, the Olympic and world champion, defeated Kazakhstan’s Dariga Shakimova in the semifinals to advance.

Shields has already clinched the silver medal.

Sunday's gold medal bout will be a rematch between Shields and the Netherlands’ Nouchka Fontijn, whom Shields defeated in the spring to win her second world title.

Aces on the Golf Course

New Zealand's Lydia Ko rocketed up the women's golf leaderboard Friday after making her first hole-in-one.

She made the ace at par-3 8th hole at the 140-year in the third round.

It was the second ace made at the hole that day. China's Xi Yu Lin made a hole-in-one at the 8th earlier that round.

Germany Takes Soccer Gold

Germany's women's soccer team defeated Sweden 2-1 to win an Olympic gold medal for the first time.

A two-time World Cup champion, Germany had previously won three bronze medals.

The silver medal was also a first for Sweden.

When the United States was knocked out of the competition by Sweden last week, goalkeeper Hope Solo called the team "a bunch of cowards," in reference to its conservative play. Her comment immediately drew criticism.

"That's not our team," responded Solo's teammate Megan Rapinoe. The U.S. women needed to handle defeat graciously and humbly, she said.

Another teammate, Alex Morgan, said she did not share Solo's opinion.

Lochte Apologizes for His Behavior

U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte on Friday said he was sorry for his behavior in Rio de Janeiro last weekend when he and three teammates lied about having been robbed at gunpoint while returning to the Olympic Village from an early morning party.

In a posting on Instagram, Lochte said he wanted to apologize "for not being more careful and candid" in describing what happened after he and the others stopped a gas station to use a bathroom — and for taking the focus away from the athletes competing in the Olympics. He had returned to the United States before authorities said publicly that the men were lying.

But his apology was not without reservation. He said it was traumatic to have been out late with his friends in a foreign country — with a language barrier — and to have had a stranger point a gun at him and demand money to allow him to leave.

"But regardless of the behavior of anyone else that night, I should have been much more responsible in how I handled myself and for that am sorry," he said.

Brazilian authorities say that a gun was pointed at Lochte during a confrontation with security guards after the men vandalized a gas station and were told to pay for the damage. In a statement to police released on Friday, one of the others, Jack Conger, said that he and Lochte urinated behind the gas station, and that Lochte ripped a board from the side of the building.

Conger and Gunnar Bentz were taken off a plane and detained briefly in Brazil but have since returned to the United States. The fourth swimmer, James Feigen, was ordered to pay $10,800 to a charity before leaving Brazil.

Everyone in the Pool

The U.S. women’s water polo team won its second consecutive Olympic gold medal on Friday, crushing Italy 12-5.

And as has become its custom, the team celebrated with a dunking — of the coach that is.

The victory was likely especially sweet for the coach, Adam Kirkorian, who had to leave the Rio Games before the opening ceremony when his brother, Blake, died suddenly. He returned the day before the tournament began.

The state Department of Motor Vehicles has discovered that registration renewal notices never went for more than 8,000 vehicles that were due in February because of issues associated with major work on the computer system.

The DMV is conducting and ongoing renew and said the discovery came as part of an analysis completed today.

It shows that about 8,340 owners of vehicles whose renewals were due in February have not renewed because registrations flagged for renewal in the computer system were not printed. 

The state agency is now sending a revised renewal notice and notifying the affected vehicle owners on Friday that they have until Sept. 30. 

Late fees associated with the overdue renewals will be waived. 

The DMV is also asking customers to carry the notice in the vehicle to show police and said, if you are stopped, the officer can take the letter into account when determining whether any enforcement action should be taken. 

The DMV has also notified law enforcement agencies and asked them to take the circumstances into account. A copy of the notice to law enforcement is also being mailed to the vehicle owners.

They said this issue affects less than 1 percent of more than 3 million registered vehicles.

"As part of our continuing analysis of our computer issues, we came across and verified today the extent of it. We are notifying these customers right away. I apologize for the inconvenience this causes the affected customers," DMV Commissioner Michael Bzdyra said in a statement.

"While we have made many corrections to our system since last February when this occurred, it is still unacceptable and we will include this as part of our discussions with 3M as we hold its feet to the fire to fix everything wrong with this system," Bzdyra said.

The DMV will be providing an envelope with the notice so you can return it directly to the registration unit for prompt service and avoid going to a DMV branch office.

The renewal cannot be done online.

If you have questions about your vehicle registration, call 860-263-5700 within the Hartford area or outside of Connecticut and 800-842-8222 elsewhere in Connecticut.

It's devastation everywhere you look with flood waters destroying homes and lives in Louisiana. At least 13 people are dead and tens of thousands displaced.

"We're going to be down here for as long as we need to be," said Stefanie Arcangelo, Chief Communications Officer for the American Red Cross CT and RI.

Volunteers from all across the country are rushing in to help. Eight American Red Cross volunteers from Connecticut are there now, assessing homes, delivering much-needed supplies, and showing those affected that they're not in this alone.

"Right now our focus is on providing the feeding, the sheltering," said Arcangelo.

Another connection from Manchester to Baton Rouge is helping too.

Kristine Lajeunesse is an owner of Always Best Care Senior Services of Central Connecticut, an organization providing non-medical home care for seniors. Her close friend owns Always Best Care in Baton Rouge.

"Of her caregivers, 75 percent are without homes and cars, and a lot of their clients they're not able to reach due to the flooding," said Lajeunesse.

Always Best Care in Baton Rouge is meant to help the elderly and now it’s also helping those displaced by flooding by turning the facility into a shelter.

"She is housing currently, I believe, 7 adults. Two of those adults are not employees of hers, 7 children, a dog, and a cat," said Lajeunesse.

To help those in need, Lajeunesse and her husband purchased supplies like clothing and toys and sent them all down to Baton Rouge Friday morning. Now they're hoping to send down even more. They're asking the community to donate.

Items include: toiletries, Walmart gift cards, MasterCard and Visa gift cards, girls pants and shirts and pajamas sizes 16/18, girls underwear size 14, girls shoes size 11, boys shirts, pants and pajamas sizes 12-18 month, 2T, 3T, 6, 10/12 and 14/16, 36/30, boys underwear size 2T/3T and Large, boys 12-18-month-old clothes, and boys shoes size 4, 5.5 and 6. All items can be dropped off at Always Best Care Senior Services of Central Connecticut at 135 Center Street in Manchester M-F 8:30 am - 4 pm.

To donate to the Red Cross, visit the Red Cross website, call 1-800-Red Cross, or text LAFLOODS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

Data analysis company Leadership Council on Civil and Human Rights and Upturn has evaluated policies of 50 police departments and issued a scorecard on body cameras, according to NBC News. 

The departments were evaluated on eight different criteria including whether they make the footage available to people filing complaints and if they prohibit officers from viewing footage before writing a report. 

The report shows a "nationwide failure to honor basic civil rights and privacy protections," Wayne Henderson, CEO of the council, said.

Cities such as Baton Rouge, Minneapolis and Baltimore don’t make their body camera program policies available on their website, according to the report. Detroit and Pittsburgh don’t make their policies available at all.

And there is no department with a definite limitation on officers reviewing footage before writing reports, according to the report, although six departments, including Washington D.C., have some form of prohibition in place.

The financial entanglements of Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump could pose significant conflicts of interest if either is elected to the White House — and there is no law regulating them, according to ethics efforts, NBC News reports. 

Since federal ethics rules don’t apply to the president, there is nothing stopping Bill Clinton from doing business with interested parties while his wife is in the Oval Office. Donald Trump may be able to demand a tax break for a new golf course from a country that wants U.S. aid. 

"Trump and Clinton are different" from recent past presidents in this regard, said Stephen Gillers, a professor and legal ethics scholar at New York University. "The last time I think we asked these questions might have been Kennedy." 

Experts say the law won’t be much help. That means the Clintons should transfer the assets and programs of the $2 billion Clinton Foundation to another charity. And Trump needs to, according to experts, sell his holdings overseas.

Veteran U.S. track star Allyson Felix helped her team achieve gold by sharing a pair of her fluorescent yellow Nike shoes with teammate English Gardner. 

Before the women crossed the finish line in 41.01 seconds, the second fastest time in history, getting out on the track was its own challenge.

English Gardner, who ran the third leg of the race, told "Today's" Sheinelle Jones that when she looked in her bag just before the final race, she saw only one spike. With just 10 minutes before the race start time, Gardner calmly told a coach she was missing a shoe.

"I’m normally not a person to forget my shoes. That’s kind of like, you know, a soldier showing up to a war without his guns," Gardner said.

"Once again, Allyson, like the vet she is, pulled out an extra pair of shoes," she said. "Definitely was a half size too big but there’s nothing that double socks couldn’t fix."

The missing shoe was the team's second setback on the path to winning a second straight Olympic title in the relay. 

The women overcame a disqualification in the preliminary race after Felix dropped the baton on Thursday. The disqualification was overturned on appeal when officials ruled that a Brazilian runner had bumped Felix's arm. Felix was visibly upset after dropping the baton but pulled herself together and told Gardner to take the baton and just run to make sure Team USA finished the preliminary race, enabling the appeal process. 

The team was determined to defend their gold medal once the appeal ruled in their favor. They ran another preliminary race by themselves to qualify for the final by time. 

"It’s amazing," Gardner said of winning her first Olympic gold medal. "The feeling is definitely something I wished and dreamed for since I was a little girl. This was a dream since I was 9-years-old." 

Felix told Gardner she could keep the size eight shoes after she earned a gold medal in them, according to USA Track and Field. The shoes will surely help Gardner remember those golden childhood dreams.

New Britain police are searching for two burglars who hit cars on the city’s west side.

Police said the suspects were able to get into several cars and able to get away with valuables.

It happened in the early morning of Wednesday last week. Several surveillance cameras captured the pair at work.

In the videos, the men are seen checking to see if vehicles were left open and then entered those that had been unlocked.

“I would have never suspected that someone would try to come to this neighborhood out of all neighborhoods. I would, that shocked me to be honest,” neighbor Chris Maura, said.

“I was kind of freaked out about it. To know that these things are happening while I’m asleep,” neighbor Kevin Desjardins, said. “I keep my doors locked to my house and my car but after seeing the video I’m convinced they tried my car doors too.”

Neighbors say several cars were targeted on the west side of town, on Stanwood Drive and Kerin Drive.

Police were not able to say the total number of cars hit or how much was taken.

People who live in the area say they will be careful.

“I am really precautious so I do generally keep my car locked. But we generally have three to four cars in the park, driveway. So I’ll make sure my friends lock their cars for sure,” says Mauro.

Anyone with information is asked to call police.