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Greg Hardy Arrested on Drug Charges

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Former Dallas Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy faces a felony drug charge after he was arrested Sunday night in Richardson, police say.

Hardy, who is an NFL free agent after playing for the Cowboys in 2015, allegedly had 0.7 grams of cocaine in a wallet in his car. It was discovered after a traffic stop for failing to use a turn signal, a police affidavit states.

Hardy was stopped about 11:22 p.m. after turning onto Midway Drive from the 300 block of North Glenville Drive. The officer gave Hardy a verbal warning for the traffic violation but asked for his consent to search his 2010 white Dodge Challenger, the police report says.

He told the officer that he didn't know what the substance was and said he believed he got it while he was at a party Saturday night, according to police. Hardy said he passed his wallet around at the party because he was paying for everybody, and he said that must have been when someone put the substance in his wallet.

Hardy was booked into the Richardson City Jail, where he remained Monday afternoon. Bond was set at $5,000.

Hardy spent the first five years of his NFL career with the Carolina Panthers, before joining the Cowboys in 2015.

Hardy hasn't garnered much attention in free agency since he and the Cowboys parted ways after the 2015 season. He recorded six sacks in 12 games while playing for Dallas.

The defensive end made news stemming from a 2014 arrest for assaulting an ex-girlfriend and threatening to kill her. The charges were eventually expunged from Hardy's record.



Photo Credit: NBC 5 News/Richardson Police Dept.

Obama's Hard Stance on Ketchup

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In this uncertain election season with its scandals, attacks and bald-faced lies, it’s refreshing when a politician takes a hardline stance on the world stage’s most pressing issues.

That’s exactly what President Barack Obama did when pressed by chef and television star Anthony Bourdain on how appropriate ketchup on a hot dog is.

“Is ketchup on a hot dog ever acceptable?” Bourdain asked the president on the season premiere of his television show “Parts Unknown.”

Obama’s response was a swift “No.”

Well… “It's not acceptable past the age of 8,” the president relented.

“My hot dog question might have been diplomatically problematic for a first-term president. He answered without hesitation -- like a Chicagoan,” Bourdain wrote of his recent bun cha meal with the president in Vietnam.

Bourdain also recently rattled off his favorite places to eat in Chicago during a Reddit AMAA.



Photo Credit: AP
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Mosque, Conference Center Attacked in Germany

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Two home-made bombs hit a mosque and a conference center in eastern Germany late Monday in what officials called a "xenophobic" attack, NBC News reported.

No one was injured by the blasts in Dresden, birthplace in 2014 of the anti-Islam PEGIDA movement, whose name is an acronym for Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West.

The city's police chief said officials were "now in crisis mode."

"Even though there has been no claim of responsibility, we have to assume that there is a xenophobic motive," Dresden police chief Horst Kretzschmar said in a statement.

A recent government report warned that xenophobia was rising in ex-communist eastern Germany.



Photo Credit: AP

Labor Dept. Sues Tech Firm

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The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit accusing a high-flying Silicon Valley software company of systematically discriminating against Asian job applicants over the last five years.

Palantir Technologies was co-founded by prominent tech financier Peter Thiel, with backing from an investment arm of the CIA. The Palo Alto, California, company makes data analytics software used by the U.S. military and law enforcement agencies, along with banks, insurance companies and other private clients.

The lawsuit claims Palantir routinely eliminated Asian job candidates during the resume-screening and telephone-interview stages of the company's hiring process. The claims are based on a statistical analysis conducted by federal officials responsible for making sure government contractors comply with anti-discrimination rules.

Palantir denied the allegations, saying the government's analysis is flawed.

Palantir's chief executive is Alex Karp, who also co-founded the company.



Photo Credit: Getty Images file

Boy Sent Inappropriate Emails From Teacher's Account: Police

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State police have arrested a 15-year-old boy who is accused of sending inappropriate emails from a teacher's account.

The mass emails went out from a Lyme-Old Lyme High School teacher's account on Sept. 7, according to state police, who have not identified the teen because of his age.

Troopers arrested him on Sep. 22 and he has been charged with fifth-degree computer crimes, second-degree harassment and breach of peace. 

Families of students who received the emails said they were filled with sexually-explicit language.

"He had read all the emails, and he said, 'Mom, they were just so inappropriate.' I said, 'What did they say?' He said, 'I can't say it, mom. I can't say it,'" said Holly Cox, the mother of an 11-year-old boy who attends school in the Region 18 Lyme-Old Lyme Public Schools districts

Parents said the superintendent of schools sent out this email about the incident earlier this month:

Dear all,

This evening beginning at 8:32 p.m. someone accessed the e-mail account of one of our high school teachers and sent three highly inappropriate messages to our entire school community. These emails were not sent by the teacher whose account was used. Please be assured that this teacher, while upset by the situation, is safe. Our technology staff is on campus and is working through the night to stop the flow of emails and track the origin of the sender. Should you or your student receive one of these inappropriate emails, please delete it immediately. Do not reply to the e-mail. At this time, we have shut down all student network accounts to allow our technology team time to remove the inappropriate e-mails and subsequent responses from all student accounts. We expect to restore student account access some time late on Thursday. Staff will plan lessons accordingly. As always, our goal is to keep students safe and, in doing so, we will work with local law enforcement to determine the source of these e-mails and take appropriate action.

Sincerely,

Mr. Ian Neviaser
Superintendent of Schools

The district shut down the network, sent out an update to parents and talked to students the next day.

Wethersfield Elementary Principal Arrested, Placed on Leave

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A Wethersfield elementary school principal was placed on leave Monday after he was arrested over the weekend.

John Bean, the 46-year-old principal of Highcrest Elementary School, has been placed on administrative leave as the investigation remains ongoing, Supt. Michael Emmett said.

The principal was arrested at a Wal-Mart on Saturday in Hartford and charged with interfering with an officer and breach of peace, according to police.

The details of Bean's arrest have not been released.

“As always, our most important priority is the continuity of high quality instruction for our students, and we are taking steps to ensure that the high level of instruction at Highcrest School will continue during Mr. Bean’s leave,” Emmett said in a statement.

Bean was released on a $10,000 bond and is due in court on Sept. 28.

It's not clear from the online court docket whether he has an attorney.



Photo Credit: Hartford Police

Truck Crashes Into Branford Liquor Store

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A driver crashed a pickup into the front of a liquor store in Branford on Monday night while trying to free the vehicle after hitting a wire.

Police said they responded to 317 East Main St. at 8:15 p.m. after the crash.

The driver was in the parking lot and backed away from the building, but hit a telephone pole guide wire.

As she tried to free the truck, the truck lurched forward and hit the building, causing significant damage, according to police.

No one was injured.



Photo Credit: Branford Police Department

Pedestrian Struck in New London


Trump Didn't Talk Bill Clinton Because Chelsea in the Room

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Donald Trump told reporters after last night's debate that he held back from talking about former President Bill Clinton's private indiscretions because the former president's daughter Chelsea Clinton was present, NBC News reported.

"I'm very glad that I didn't mention, because Chelsea was in the room, indiscretions by, I didn't think would be appropriate to do even though she's taken all these ads. I thought we did very well," Trump said.

Trump's daughter Ivanka is friends with Chelsea Clinton. 

Trump's running mate Mike Pence said on the "Today" show Tuesday morning that the Republican presidential candidate showed great restraint during the debate after an "avalanche of insults" from Clinton.



Photo Credit: Getty Images

'Unstoppable:' Team Rallies for Runner with Cerebral Palsy

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When 11-year-old Andrew West was a baby, doctors told his mother he would never walk or talk after having a stroke in utero, but he has proved them wrong. He’s become a cross-country runner and his teammates have come together for him in some remarkable ways to show he’s a treasured part of the team.

This year West started 6th grade at Plainville Middle School. West’s mother, Gina Petruzzelli-West, told NBC Connecticut that although the stroke left her son with cerebral palsy, he has never considered himself as having a disability. He loves school and takes a combination of special education and regular education classes. And despite wearing a leg brace, he decided to join the cross country team this year.

“He is unstoppable,” his mother said.

And he has some strong support. At Andrew’s first meet on Monday, he was lagging behind on the wooded trail. Petruzzelli-West said that was when his teammates set out to find him and bring him to the finish line.

“This is what sports are about,” Petruzzelli-West said.

“I was crying,” she added.

It’s not the first time Plainville students have thrown their support behind West. Students at Plainville High School helped the family raise funds to buy a custom-built bicycle two years ago so West could ride with everyone else.

Assistant Superintendent Steven LePage was the principal at Plainville High School and a club adviser at the time. He said students in the High School Interact Club heard about West’s story and wanted to help, so they mobilized and hosted fundraisers to raise the last couple hundred dollars the family needed for the bike.

“We just have great kids,” LePage said.

LePage said when West got the bike he came to the high school to thank them.

“Andrew is a terrific kid, he’s easy to like,” LePage said.

LePage said Plainville is a very accepting community and the school district does everything they can to help all their students succeed on the highest level possible. But he also said teaching that positive attitude start at home.

“We do what we can to help them but it is amazing parents too,” he said. “When you have that partnership with the school and parents you can do amazing things.”

Petruzzuelli-West said she shared her son’s story because she wants people to realize that a disability doesn’t stop children from living productive lives. Their story isn’t just about West, but also about the community and how the support and acceptance of his peers help West live his life just like any other kid, she said.

“In six grade, and entering the middle school in Plainville for the first time he was exposed to two other elementary schools that feed into that school. As a parent I was a nervous wreck. But I think parents need to know that the culture of special-education has changed so much since we were kids,” she told NBC Connecticut.

Petruzzuelli-West is a teacher in another district and said she tries to instill the accepting attitude in her students that she sees in her son and his peers.

“My heart is filled with pride, love, and admiration...not just for my son who had a stroke before he was born, but for the 6, 7, 8th graders and PHS high school Cross Country team that have accepted Andrew as a true team mate,” Petruzzelli-West said.



Photo Credit: Gina Petruzzelli-West

Taliban Watches Debate From Secret Afghanistan Location

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Taliban leaders were watching last night's debate between Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump from a secret location in Afghanistan, according to NBC News.

A spokesman for the group, Zabihullah Mujahid, told NBC that they were "very interested in watching," and they had hoped Afghanistan would have been a more prominent part of the debate.

He said that Trump is "non-serious," and said the candidate "[says] anything that comes to his tongue."

"There nothing of interest to us in the debate as both of them said little about Afghanistan and their future plans for the country," Mujahid added.



Photo Credit: AP, File

NYC Firefighter Dead, 12 Hurt When Suspected Drug Den Explodes

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An FDNY battalion chief was killed by falling debris when a suspected drug den exploded in the Bronx Tuesday, leveling a two-story home and injuring at least 12 other people.  

Battalion Chief Michael Fahy was a 17-year FDNY veteran and father of three.

"He was on the rise. He was a star," a visibly emotional FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro told a news conference, adding that he knew Fahy's father - a former fire chief himself - personally.

"It's a sad day. Thankfully, this doesn't happen every day, but when it does, it doesn't make it any easier. We lost a hero today."

Multiple police, civilians and Con Ed workers were injured following the 7:30 a.m. blast at the private home on West 234th Street near Tibbett Avenue in Kingsbridge. About an hour before the explosion, firefighters had responded to a report of a gas smell at the location and found the drug lab, police say. 

A law enforcement source tells NBC 4 New York officials believe the home was a marijuana growing operation. Flammable materials like propane are used to manufacture the drug, but the alleged pot growhouse would be the first such drug lab to blow up in the city, the law enforcement source said. 

The NYPD had an ongoing investigation on that block over the last two weeks, Police Commissioner James O'Neill said.

After the FDNY found the suspected lab, it called the NYPD in to investigate but the house exploded before officers could assess the location, according to police. Correspondence on emergency radio revealed immediate concern.

"We got men down ... with an explosion," a firefighter told a dispatcher, requesting multiple ambulances on a rush. "We got a man down ... firefighter down ... bad shape."

Streets were shut down in the area as utility crews, firefighters and police cordoned off the site. Video from the scene shows the home completely demolished, the roof in shambles, partially collapsed over one of the building's sides. Piles of debris rained onto the street, covering the road and nearby parked cars. 

One Instagram user said the blast "shook my whole neighborhood," adding it "felt like a bomb went off." Another neighbor said her windows shook. Still another said she felt as if there had been an earthquake.  

A photo taken from the 238th Street subway platform showed a plume of smoke rising into the air. 

The DEA was assisting the NYPD in the investigation. 


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Most Memorable Moments From 1st General Election Debate

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Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump squared off in the first presidential debate on Monday night. The candidates traded barbs and accusations throughout the often-tense 90 minute event at New York's Hofstra University; Clinton accused Trump of "a long record of engaging in racist behavior," referencing a justice department lawsuit accusing him of not renting apartments to African Americans. Trump mocked Clinton for her absence from the campaign trail in recent days, to which Clinton shot back that she did indeed prepare for the debate just as she has prepared to be president.

Marlins Remember Jose Fernandez in 1st Home Game Since Tragedy

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Photo Credit: Getty Images

New Haven Superintendent to Resign This Fall

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The superintendent of schools in New Haven, Garth Harries, is expected to leave his post this fall, a year before the end of his contract, and the target date for his departure is Nov. 1.

A statement from New Haven schools says the New Haven Board of Education and Harries “mutually agreed” that Harries’ employment as superintendent will end this fall.

“I am proud of the many accomplishments our education community has accomplished over the last seven years, since I arrived as assistant superintendent, and particularly over the last three years since I became superintendent,” Harries said during a news conference on Tuesday morning.  

Harries said the mutual agreement was made last night and there is not much that he can say, but that he is leaving "in order for the board to be able to select new leadership to ensure that the leadership and governance of the district is pulling in the same direction."

The target date for the end of his time as leader of the city’s school system is Nov. 1, but that depends on the board appointing an interim and “the facilitation of a smooth leadership transition.”

Harries said there is a lot to be proud of in the district and a lot of challenges remain.

The board is expected to soon appoint a committee to launch a search for the new superintendent.

“The Board of Education thanks Mr. Harries for his service to the New Haven school community. During his tenure as Superintendent, Mr. Harries promoted student learning through a number of initiatives, including strengthening of early grade learning, expanding emphasis on restorative practices and other dimensions of social emotional learning and physical health, deepening the roles and opportunities for teacher collaboration and leadership, and implementing an intense focus on the most disengaged students and historically challenged schools,” a statement from the school department says.

The terms of the separation call for Harries to receive his full salary through the end of the school year.



Photo Credit: New Haven Public Schools

Suspect Harassed Woman by Calling Her 80 Times a Day: Police

Man Acted as Getaway Driver in North Haven Burglary: Police

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North Haven police have arrested a man in connection with a gas station burglary back in May.

David Rigsbee, 54, of New Haven, was arrested by warrant Tuesday and charged with conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to commit larceny.

Police said Rigsbee acted as the getaway driver for a suspect who broke into the Mobil Gas Station on 88 Quinnipiac Avenue on May 4, 2016. According to police, that suspect smashed the glass door to enter to building, stole $1,500 worth of cigarettes then tried to open the cash register, but failed.

He left the store, at which point police allege the suspect got into a vehicle driven by Rigsbee and the pair fled.

Rigsbee was held on a $10,000 bond and is scheduled to be arraigned in Meriden Superior Court Tuesday.

Police said they have an active arrest warrant for the other suspect.



Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com

Risk for Showers Continues Into Weekend

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Up to a half inch of rain fell Tuesday morning, and more showers are expected for the rest of the week.

While increasing sunshine is expected Tuesday afternoon, no day later this week features complete sunshine.

An upper-level low pressure system will impact Connecticut's forecast starting midweek.

While it won't move directly overhead, it will be close enough to spread in cloud cover and deliver a few showers from time to time.

By Wednesday, it will turn mostly cloudy and there will be showers at times.

That weather continues into the weekend.

If there's any hope for a dry weekend day, that would occur on Sunday, but it's far from a lock.

Suspect Found with Handgun, Crack Cocaine in Norwalk: Police

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Norwalk police seized a handgun and drugs from a juvenile suspect Monday afternoon.

Police said officers from the special Services Division were patrolling the Washington Village Housing Complex around 1:30 p.m. when they saw two people loitering. An investigator recognized one of the people as a juvenile who did not live in the complex.

While speaking with the pair, the juvenile appeared nervous and police said they found the juvenile had a loaded .380 caliber handgun. Police said they also found four bags of crack cocaine. The gun and the drugs were seized.

The juvenile was arrested and charged with criminal possession of a firearm, carrying a pistol without a permit, possession of narcotics and possession of narcotics near a school with intent to sell.

Police did not identify the suspect due to the age.



Photo Credit: Norwalk Police Department

Calif. Wildfire in Santa Cruz Mountains Forces Mandatory Evacuations

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Mandatory evacuations were ordered Tuesday morning for Santa Cruz Mountain residents living near the Loma Fire, which had charred 2,000 acres and was 5 percent contained early in the morning.

The new evacuations include all of Croy Road, which includes the Swedish community of Sveadal near Uvas Canyon County Park and Little Uvas Road. Cal Fire officials worried the fire was headed that way. On Monday, the Santa Clara County Sheriff ordered residents to evacuate along Summit Road, Mount Madonna Road and Croy Ridge Road.

Cal Fire officials said Tuesday morning that two homes had burned, and 300 more remained threatened in the rugged terrain with little or no access roads.

This kind of "extreme" fire behavior is the "new norm," according to Cal Fire Battalion Chief Mike Mathiesen. "It's fall, we're coming off a four-day heat wave."

The Red Cross set up three evacuation centers Monday evening for those who needed food and shelter: Soquel High School, 401 Old San Jose Road in Soquel; the Jewish Community Center of Silicon Valley, 14855 Oka Road, Los Gatos; the Morgan Hill Presbyterian Church, 16970 DeWitt Ave, Morgan Hill.

The blaze is in the area of Loma Prieta and Loma Chiquita roads in Santa Clara County, west of Morgan Hill, and is spreading at a rapid rate in the southeast direction toward open space, Cal Fire said.

Fire officials do not know the cause of the fire. They expect the blaze to burn for a few days. It started on Monday about 3 p.m. By Tuesday morning, 350 crews were battling the fire; 500 firefighters were expected by afternoon.

Resident Fred Eggers lives on Summit Road.

"My basic plan is to protect my property and my family," he said on Monday night. "I will be the last one to leave if we have to."

For the latest updates on the fire, visit the Cal Fire website or a dedicated groups.io page.


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