A Hamden police officer was taken to the hospital after he was rear-ended by a distracted driver Saturday morning, police said.

Police said Officer Michael Pantera was driving on Whitney Avenue in his marked police vehicle around 9:15 a.m. when he was waved over by a woman on the side of the road. As Pantera slowed his car, he was rear-ended by the vehicle behind him.

According to police the 32-year-old woman from Cheshire was looking down to adjust her heater when she struck Pantera’s SUV.

Both Pantera and the other driver were taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Anyone who may have witnessed the accident should contact Hamden police at 203-230-4000.

A 30-year-old Bridgeport man has been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for an armed robbery spree in 2014. 

Authorities said Derrick Gilliam, 30, of Bridgeport, and others were involved in a robbery at CVS on Grasmere Avenue in Fairfield on April 26, 2014 and stole $2,376.

The next robbery was on May 3, 2014 at the Mobil Gas Station on Noble Avenue in Bridgeport, followed by a robbery at Webster Bank on Main Street in Bridgeport on May 10, 2014, according to federal officials. On June 1, 2014, Gillam, Lancelot Supersad Jr., of Bridgeport, and others robbed Pizza Hut on Boston Avenue in Bridgeport and stole $250, according to federal officials. 

Gillam, Supersad and Anthony Santiago, of Bridgeport, robbed The Residence Inn at 1001 Bridgeport Aven. in Shelton on June 26, 2014 and stole $200, according to federal officials.

On June 2, 2014, they tried to rob Sikorsky Financial Credit Union on Oronoque Lane in Stratford. and did rob the TD Bank located on Post Road East in Westport, federal officials said.

Gilliam was accused of pointing what appeared to be a gun at employees during all the robberies and was ordered to pay $12,100 in restitution.

Supersad and Santiago were arrested in July, pleaded guilty and have not yet been sentenced. 

A memorial service will be held next week for Thor, a Wethersfield police dog that died from injuries sustained while pursuing a kidnapping suspect.

The service will be held Dec. 8 at the community center on Greenfield Street in Wethersfield from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Wethersfield Police said they were responding to a call about a woman who was abducted from Hartford and being held in a motel on the Silas Deane Highway, near Executive Square and officers found the suspect in a thicket.

Thor started chasing the suspect and his handler lost sight of him, police said.  

Officers found someone matching the suspect's condition in Rocky Hill and a state trooper found Thor in a river, submerged to his chest.  

"He was found in a river, submerged up to the chest," Dr. Ben March, of Pieper Olson Connecticut Valley Veterinary Associates in Middletown, said.

Thor was shivering and had icicles on him, March said.

Thor received a blood transfusion, but somehow he got a blood clot and died, police said. 

At first, police thought the kidnapping suspect might have kicked Thor, but the veterinarian thought he might have fallen in the woods.

A man with multiple warrants was arrested on Monday after fleeing from Hartford police. 

Chauncey Smith, 20, and a group of people were in the area of 20 Wadsworth Street when police responded to a standing complaint about loitering and trespassing at the address, Hartford Police said. 

Smith began walking to the rear end of the building when police approahed. When he was commanded to stop, Smith began running east over several fences, police said. 

Police canvassed the area and found Smith hiding in bushes on Hudson Street. The Hartford man started running from police again and was later found hiding underneath garbage in a dumpster near 69 Wadsworth Street.

After he was arrested, police discovered that Smith had two failure to appear warrants and one Wethersfield warrent for felony charges. 

In addition to his warrants, Smith was charged with trespassing and interfering with an officer. 

Smith was taken into custody by the Wethersfield Police. 

Fares for Metro-North and Shoreline East trains will be going up Thursday.

Officials from the state Department of Transportation said they need more revenue after state lawmakers slashed transportation funding by $37 million when they refused to raise taxes in their latest budget.

As of Dec. 1, a one-way peak trip from New Haven to Grand Central on Metro-North will be $23.25 when bought in advance, or $29 onboard. Off-peak tickets will be $17.50, or $24 on-board. See the full list of fare increases.

See the Shoreline East website to see fare increases.

The DOT's fare increase kicks in on Dec. 1 and the sixth of seven consecutive 1 percent fare raises to pay for new train cars is scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 1.

Four kittens that were stuck in a storm drain at Quinnipiac University have been rescued and they will be available for adoption. 

A student, Jen, said a group of people were trying to help get the kittens from the storm drain on campus Monday. The kitten rescue continued the next day. 

Jen said Hamden police and fire told the students that they were "too busy" to respond Monday night.

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A Quinnipiac University spokesman told NBC Connecticut that school workers opened the storm drain grate and got the kittens out on Monday but the kittens went back inside shortly after. School officials said the kittens were not trapped and could come and go as they please.

Rescue group Super Paws Rescue Inc. told NBC Connecticut a student reached out to them Tuesday morning and that they were looking into the situation.

Rescuers were on campus Tuesday afternoon and rescued the kittens and they are at Super Paws in Fairfield. The kittens will be checked out, spayed or neutered and will likely be available in five to six weeks. For information, call 203-578-6396.

The mother cat is still in the storm drain and the rescue has been called off because rescuers believe she can get in and out on her own.

See more pets available at Super Paws here.

Civil rights activist Dorothy Height, who dedicated her life to fighting for racial and gender equality, is among 12 new additions to the U.S. Postal Service's 2017 forever stamps. 

Height will be featured on the 40th stamp in the Black Heritage series, according to a release from the Postal Service. A Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, she was a leading member of the civil rights movement. Height also founded the National Women's Political Caucus with Gloria Steinem, Shirley Chisholm and Betty Friedan in 1971.

She worked with the likes of Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis on civil rights initiatives, too. 

"Although she rarely gained the recognition granted her male contemporaries, she became one of the most influential civil rights leaders of the 20th century," the organization said of Height. 

Also featured on one of the new stamps will be Robert Panara, "an influential teacher and a pioneer in the field of deaf studies."

Panara will be featured on the 16th stamp in the Distinguished Americans series with a photo of him signing the word "respect."

"During his 40-year teaching career, Panara inspired generations of students with his powerful use of American Sign Language," the Postal Service said.

The statehood anniversaries of Nebraska and Mississippi will be celebrated as part of the Statehood stamp series.

"2017 will be an exciting year for the Postal Service’s stamp program," said Mary-Anne Penner, the director for stamp services in a statement. "This amazing collection of stamps features beautiful art, distinguished Americans and historic events."

Other forever stamps feature images of flowers, such as the "celebration boutonniere" and the "celebration corsage." Stamps paying tribute to nature and pollinators, like bees and butterflies, will also debut.

Henry David Thoreau, an acclaimed American thinker and writer, will also be featured on a 2017 forever stamp.

"With his personal example of simple living, his criticism of materialism and the questions he raises about the place of the individual in society and humanity's role in the natural world, Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) continues to inspire readers," the Postal Service said.

Ezra Jack Keats' book "The Snowy Day" will appear in a stamp booklet as well, along with a Christmas Carols booklet. Artist Andrew Wyeth's paintings will also be featured on a stamp.

Steven Mnuchin is expected to be named as president-elect Donald Trump’s top pick for Treasury secretary, said a source familiar with the White House transition. The official announcement is expected to come Wednesday.

Mnuchin was the national finance chairman for the Trump presidential campaign. As the New York Times reported, the financier with deep ties to both Wall Street and Hollywood began his career at Goldman Sachs, before heading to the West Coast to bankroll films such as “Avatar” and various “X-Men” installments. Mnuchin does not have any official government experience.

American investor Wilbur Ross is expected to be named as Trump’s pick for Commerce secretary, an announcement also expected Wednesday. 

A business leader and ardent Trump supporter, Ross made billions restructuring failed companies and was known for his work in the coal and steel companies, two industries that Trump promised to revive on the campaign trail.

Like Trump, Ross is a critic of free trade deals.

Both Mnuchin and Ross are longtime Democratic donors, but they each came out early in support of Trump during this election cycle, NBC News reports. 

On Tuesday, Trump announced former labor secretary Elaine Chao as his top choice to lead the Transportation Department and Georgia Rep. Tom Price, a leading critic of Obamacare, as his top pick for Health and Human Services.

About 2.5 million dehumidifiers were recalled following reports of 450 fires and $19 million in property damage, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said Tuesday.

The recall by manufacturer Gree involves several models of dehumidifiers under 13 different brands, including Frigidaire, GE, and Kenmore.

The recall was first announced in September 2013, updated in October 2013 and expanded in January 2014. The company announced it again Tuesday morning.

This recall involves 20, 25, 30, 40, 45, 50, 65 and 70-pint dehumidifiers with brand names Danby, De’Longhi, Fedders, Fellini, Frigidaire, GE, Gree, Kenmore, Norpole, Premiere, Seabreeze, SoleusAir and SuperClima.

A full list of recalled model numbers and date codes are available here.

The dehumidifiers were sold at AAFES, HH Gregg, Home Depot, Kmart, Lowe’s, Menards, Mills Fleet Farm, Sam’s Club, Sears, Walmart and other stores nationwide and in Canada, and online at Amazon.com and Ebay.com, from January 2005 through August 2013 for between $110 and $400.

The brand name and the pint capacity are printed on the front of the dehumidifier. The model number and date code are printed on a sticker that could be found on the back, front or side of the unit.

The dehumidifiers are white, beige, gray or black plastic and measure between 19 and 24 inches tall, 13 and 15 inches wide, and 9 and 11 inches deep.

CPSC urged customers who have one of these units to immediately unplug and stop using it, and contact Gree for a full refund at 866-853-2802 or online at www.greeusa.com.

The state of Connecticut has some new snowplows and they will be able to clear two lanes of a highway at once. 

Gov. Dannel Malloy and Department of Transportation Commissioner James Redeker held a news conference on Tuesday and said the three plows are 26-feet long and double the width of a single plow truck. 

“The people and businesses of Connecticut depend on an efficient transportation system, and these advanced snow plows will make a difference when it comes to clearing our highways following winter weather events,” Malloy said in a statement. 

He said these plows will be able to clear the roads faster and reduce fuel consumption. 

“It’s our goal to be prepared for severe weather events the best we can, and the addition of these tow plows will increase our efforts to safely clear the roads so that schools and businesses can re-open more quickly and emergency services can reach those who need them,” Malloy said. 

The plows are towed in the back of the truck and DOT tested one under a pilot program during the 2015-2016 winter season. 

“Clearing snow and ice from our roads and highways during winter storms is one of our most critical functions as an agency,” Redeker said in a statement. “With the winter season upon us, the addition of these tow plows to our snow-fighting fleet ensures we can better handle virtually any winter-weather event in an efficient and strategic manner, while reducing costs to the taxpayer.” 

The plows also have rear- and side-mounted cameras, lights to illuminate the plow area and serve as a warning to nearby drivers, and a mounted laser. 

Malloy and Redeker are urging drivers to stay clear of the snowplows while on the road not try to pass a snowplow or snow plow echelon while it is in use. 

The state’s severe service snow and ice fleet includes 634 plow trucks that are stationed at around 50 garages around the state.

Afternoon Update: Let me geek out for a second about the warm front that's moving through the Hartford area right now. There's a very, very shallow wedge of cold air stuck in the Connecticut River Valley north of Hartford. This is nothing unusual and it happens almost all the time we get a storm like this in the cold season. Warmer air is surging north and causing this shallow wedge of cold to mix out - and the temperature jump behind the warm front is substantial. These are mesonet obs across the Hartford area and you can see the difference. It's currently 55F at Brainard Airport but only 44F downtown. Along Rt 44 in the North End it's only 42F! In West Hartford and Newington the difference is dramatic as the temperature goes from 55F in Newington Center to 45F in Elmwood up Rt 173. Always cool to see these really small-scale features evolve. One other update is the back edge of the rain is moving in a bit earlier than forecast - the heavy rain will likely end from west to east across the state between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. This may limit totals a bit in some areas though a widespread 1"+ is still expected. I'm no longer expecting a band of >2" of rain.

Midday Update: So far the rain has been light to moderate across the state though it is expected to increase in intensity this afternoon. The latest High Resolution Rapid Refresh model or HRRR brings in pockets of very heavy rain (hourly totals of 0.3" to 0.5") right during the evening commute between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Our current forecast of 1"-2" of rain with localized amounts of 2"-3" seems on track. One trend we've also noticed is that tomorrow's rain may wind up less impressive - but still beneficial. More on that soon.

Morning Update: No change to our morning computer guidance with respect to today's rain. Our high resolution computer models continue to highlight southern Connecticut as the area most susceptible to the heaviest rain (>2") today.

What's amazing is the amount of agreement there is between our high-resolution computer models. The SUNY Stony Brook WRF, the 4km NMM & ARW, and the NCAR WRF Ensemble all show that band of 2" just inland from Long Island Sound across the southern half of the state.

What is the cause of this? Like I discussed yesterday the biggest forcing mechanism for today's rain will be low level convergence at the nose of a powerful low level jet a few thousand feet above our heads. Additionally, low level frictional convergence in the Boundary Layer (strong winds over the ocean and Sound decelerate over land) will aid in this low level forcing coupled with a warm front that sets up right over the coastal plain. This is a classic setup for heavy rain in Connecticut. 

Putting it all together we're still on track for 1"-2" of rain with the rain picking up across the state through the day. There will be a narrow band of heavier rain (2"-3") - which appears most likely to happen in the southern half of the state. The HRRR time lagged ensemble shows good probabilities of over an inch of rain in 6 hours statewide.

Even with all this rain - flooding is unlikely given the very low river levels and streamflows. While the rain will be heavy this is all good news for the state due to our ongoing drought.

There are new warnings from Milford police and also from people who have had their own property targeted, about thieves breaking into backyard sheds and stealing valuable equipment.

At least ten cases have been reported to police in the last ten days, most of which occurred in the northwest part of the city. In some of the incidents, sheds were broken into while the property owners were asleep inside their home.

Phylis Santora said she looked out into her backyard and knew instantly that something about her shed did not look right.

“When I went out there, I realized the doors were busted and things were missing out of the shed," Santora said.

Santora said her newer heavy duty snow blower was stolen. She said the single piece of equipment was valued at about one thousand dollars.

"They busted the whole frame off," said Santora. She said she and her husband were asleep inside their home when someone entered their backyard and forced the shed doors open.

"It’s just scary that people are back there," she said.

Neighbors said nearly a dozen other properties had been hit, with the thieves targeting things like leaf blowers, snow blowers and generators.

Karen Hanson's said a three hundred dollar chainsaw was taken from her shed.

"Sure enough, they had busted open the lock and stole our chainsaw," said Hanson.

No one on Dale Drive where many of the break-ins had been reported wanted to be targeted again.

“We have a bigger lock we put on," said Hanson. "We have motion-detectors in the backyard, just being more vigilant, more aware of what’s going on.”

Milford Police told residents that there would be increased patrolling in the northwest part of the city. The department also warning people on social media to lock their sheds and report any suspicious activity or vehicles in the area.

Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney offered effusive praise for President-elect Donald Trump's "impressive" transition effort and "message of inclusion" following their dinner together Tuesday night — a striking change of heart by a man who once called Donald Trump "a phony, a fraud." 

The dinner was Romney's second meeting with Trump as part of the president-elect's interview process for deciding who to nominate as Secretary of State, NBC News reported. Romney remains a top contender, along with longtime Trump adviser Rudy Giuliani, Sen. Bob Corker and several others. Trump also met with Corker on Tuesday at Trump Tower.

Speaking to reporters gathered at the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Manhattan, Romney gushed about the "wonderful" evening he had with the president-elect, where they were joined by incoming Trump Chief of Staff Reince Priebus as they dined on steak, frog legs and scallops. 

Romney described the dinner's conversation as "enlightening and interesting and engaging," before going on to praise the president-elect for besting him in the race for the White House.

A technician died Tuesday night after an industrial accident during the set-up for the Cirque du Soleil show at AT&T Park in San Francisco, police said, marking the third death for the worldwide acrobatic show since 2009, according to reports and federal records.

At about 6:45 p.m., San Francisco police responded to Lot A at Mission Rock and Third Street on reports of an industrial accident at the Cirque du Soleil Luzia tent, police said.

The employee was transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, police said. He died later.

The worker, who had not been identified pending notification of family, was struck by a lift, according to a Cirque du Soleil official.

Tuesday night's scheduled show was canceled. Emilia Flockhart told NBC Bay Area that "people were of course disappointed, but the atmosphere was generally OK and met with understanding." She said she bought tickets for next Tuesday's show instead.

Cirque du Soleil released a statement about the death late Tuesday night.

"It is with immense sadness that we report a fatal accident that occurred on November 29, during the preset of the show Luzia in San Francisco," the statement reads. "One of our employees, a technician on the show, was struck by a lift and passed away from his injuries. We cannot confirm our employee’s identity at this time as his family has yet to be reached. We are currently gathering more information about this tragic accident and will update you with more details as soon as we are in a position to do so."

According to the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration records, Cirque du Soleil, a Montreal-based company that bills itself as the "largest theatrical producer in the world," has four violations, including one death, cited in the last five years within the United States.

The most notable was on June 29, 2013, when Sarah Guillot-Guyard died during a show in Las Vegas. She had fallen 94 feet in front of spectators after the wire attached to her safety harness shredded during the production, Ka. She was the second death during a Cirque show.

The first person to die on Cirque's watch was in 2009, the Guardian reported, when Ukrainian acrobat Oleksandr Zhurov, 24, died during a Montreal, Quebec rehearsal.

And just three days ago in Brisbane, Australia, acrobat Lisa Skinner was hospitalized, when she lost her grip on a ring during a "Kooza" performance, according to Courier Mail.

The other U.S. violations OSHA has on record occurred in Florida in October, and two others in Nevada, in 2013 and 2014.

Cirque du Soleil had zero violations in California over the last five years, according to OSHA records.

A Farmington middle school bus driver is suspected in a robbery at a Subway restaurant in Farmington and a crash in New Britain on Monday, according to police. 

Farmington police said 27-year-old Kevin Colon, of New Britain, robbed the Subway on Route 4 at 9:12 a.m. and implied he had a weapon, but did not show one.

Colon fled and officers tried to stop the vehicle, a green Honda, as it was leaving the parking lot of the Dunkin' Donuts on the same road, but he fled again, police said.

Officers chased the car through Farmington and Plainville and into New Britain, where the car crashed in the 400 block of Slater Road. Another vehicle was damaged during the crash and one person was injured, police said.

Farmington Public Schools' superintendent Kathleen Greider sent a letter to parents Monday, saying the suspect in the robbery is a bus driver for the M&J Bus Company, which services several school districts in Connecticut, including Farmington. 

Ted Donahue, the principal of Irving Robbins Middle School, said the bus driver was employed by M&J Bus Company in mid-October and passed a background check, which is required by state law.

Donahue said the suspect was a bus driver for IAR bus #17 and West Woods bus #7.

Colon was charged with third-degree robbery, sixth-degree larceny, reckless endangerment, reckless driving and engaging officers in a pursuit in connection with the Subway robbery.

Charges connected to the attempted robbery at Dunkin' Donuts include second-degree criminal attempt at robbery and sixth-degree criminal attempt at larceny. 

Colon is being held on $250,000 bond.

Anyone with information about the case should call Farmington police detective Sergeant Tim McKenzie at 860-675-2411 or leave an anonymous tip on the tip-line 860-675-2483.

Farmington Public Schools, along with the Farmington Police and M&J Bus Company are investigating. 

A Tennessee father was searching for his family Wednesday as firefighters continued to battle the state's historic wildfires for a third day, NBC News reported.

The last time Michael Reed heard from with his wife, Constance, and his daughters, Lily, 9, and Chloe, 12, they told him they could see flames across the street from their home in the resort town of Gatlinburg. Reed told them to call 911 and by the time he reached his house, the entire street had been engulfed in flames.

His only hope was that his wife and two daughters got out alive. Reed has been waiting at a local evacuation center in nearby Pigeon Forge hoping for an update.

Since Monday, wildfires have whipped through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Four people have been killed, about four dozen have been injured, about 14,000 have been forced to flee their homes and more than 10,000 have been left without power.

Gov. Bill Haslam called it the worst fire the state has seen in 100 years.

A quick-moving crook capitalized on a 20-second window of distraction by armored truck guards in bustling midtown Manhattan to steal a bucket of gold flakes worth nearly $1.6 million, surveillance video obtained exclusively by NBC 4 New York shows. 

The theft happened in broad daylight on a September afternoon on West 48th Street. Surveillance video shows a man loitering, keeping watch on an armored truck.

Then one guard leaves to make a pickup, and the other guard heads to the front seat to grab his cellphone. Those 20 seconds were long enough for the thief to strike. He goes to grab the 86-pound bucket and makes a run for it, though he clearly has difficulty maneuvering it.

"I think he just saw an opportunity, took the pail and walked off," said NYPD Det. Martin Pastor, who's overseeing the investigation. Police believe the man had no clue what was inside the bucket. 

The video shows the thief setting down the heavy bucket, putting it on his shoulder, then taking a breather. He takes another few steps and pauses again. The normally 10-minute walk takes him an hour. He then jumps into a van at 49th Street and Third Avenue. 

Police believe the man is hiding out in the Orlando or Miami area with the bucket of gold -- something Pastor believes the thief never knew until he opened it up.

"I think when the lucky charm opened up the bucket, he seen the rainbow and seen the gold." 

A 62-year-old woman who was found dead the day after she was reported missing from the Windsor Court public housing complex in Enfield was killed, according to police. 

The medical examiner determined the death of Pamela Cote, of Enfield, is a homicide, according to Police Chief Carl Sferrazza. She died of asphyxiation. 

Police said cadaver dogs found the woman's body around 11:15 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 28 in the wooded area behind Windsor Court.

The case is sealed, but police said this was an isolated incident.

No one has been charged in the case, but police said they have suspects.

Former New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez has sued the company that allowed an unknown person to access his jailhouse phone calls as he was awaiting his first murder trial, according to a report in the Boston Herald. 

“Upon information and belief, and as has been widely reported in the media, during the summer of 2014 Defendant's electronic database was breached, and an unauthorized party obtained improper access to Plaintiff's phone recordings,” Hernandez’s attorneys wrote, citing a Herald article from last month that broke the news of the breach. 

The unauthorized access into a telephone database operated by Dallas-based Securus Technologies occurred during the summer of 2014, shortly after Hernandez was transferred to Boston to be closer to his attorneys who were representing him in the Bristol County murder of former semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd, according to authorities. 

Hernandez is currently serving a life without parole sentence for the murder of Llloyd and is awaiting trial in Suffolk Superior Court for the July 2012 fatal shootings of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado in Boston’s South End. Hernandez has pleaded not guilty.

Severe storms killed five people in Alabama and Tennessee overnight, and big parts of the Southeast were set to stay under a tornado watch until noon Wednesday, NBC News reported. 

In northeastern Alabama, a tornado killed at least three people early Wednesday, authorities said, all in one home. Two people were later confirmed dead in Tennessee.

Three other people were also critically injured in Alabama after a day care center was "completely destroyed" in Ider in DeKalb County, according to the National Weather Service and local sheriff's office.

Images on social media showed a tornado in Atlanta Wednesday, and the National Weather Service said it was investigating damage associated with a tornado warning.