A pedestrian was struck by a truck and car in Hartford on Tuesday afternoon.
A 53-year-old man is in critical but stable condition after he was hit by one or two vehicles on New Britain Avenue.
Witness tell NBC Connecticut that the man was first hit by a truck and another car ran him over before taking off.
Hartford police said the truck stayed and they have found the driver of the car that fled.
No other details were immediately available on this developing story.
A train derailed in New Britain on Tuesday.
Police said the train derailed outside of a shopping plaza at 150 Columbus Blvd.
New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart said an on-duty police officer was in the CVS parking lot when they saw seven train cars tip over and onto its side.
Stewart said officials on the scene are concerned about one care that is still teetering.
Columbus Boulevard is shut down between Chestnut and Main Street. Officials are asking drivers to avoid the area.
State police said Route 9 north exit 26 off-ramp in New Britain near the accident is closed.
There were no reported injuries.
DEEP and Pan Am railways are on the scene. Some of the cars were carrying odorless propane.
Crews are expected to be at the site all night.
Connecticut Comptroller Kevin Lembo is the recent target of an aggressively anti-LGBT group.
Lembo has been inundated with thousands of calls and emails from people from out-of-state locations after the state comptroller challenged the American Family Association's "charitable" status.
"The state of Connecticut, once a bastion of religious liberty, has now become the epicenter of blatant anti-Christian discrimination," Bryan Fischer, former AFA director and current radio host, said on the group's website.
The messages to Lembo criticize his patriotism because last week the comptroller launched an investigation into determining whether or not the association should be disqualified from receiving donations from the Connecticut State Employee Campaign for Charitable Giving. The rules require that groups abide by anti-discrimination requirements to receive donations.
The Mississippi-based association is considered an extremist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Fischer says the association was "officially approved last spring by the state as one of the many non-profits state employees can donate to."
In August, the group encouraged followers to boycott Target after the company said it would allow transgender customers and employees to use the bathroom in accordance to their gender identities. Target later announced that it would spend $20 million dollars on single stall bathrooms.
"We're confident that our boycott has played a significant role in Target's financial results," said Walker Wildon, assistant to the president of the AFA, in an interview, NBC News reported.
On Tuesday, Lembo said he reached out to the group with some questions, while noting that he is a gay father, in order to verify that it is in compliance with all state and federal laws that prohibit discrimination.
"The AFA is calling on Mr. Lembo to retract the accusatory letter he has published and to issue an apology to AFA for his religious prejudice and bigotry," Fischer wrote.
The man who founded and ran the artists' collective at the Ghost Ship warehouse in Oakland said he is grief stricken and "incredibly sorry" after the tragic fire that took his home and many of his friends.
But in speaking out about the tragedy he refused to answer questions about safety concerns, telling NBC's "Today" show that he would rather "get on the floor and get trampled by the parents" or "let them tear at my flesh than answer these ridiculous questions."
Derick Almena is the lease holder of the converted warehouse in Oakland that caught fire Friday night, killing at least 36 people who had gathered there for a dance party.
"I'd gladly would give my entire life of fortune, of wealth and experence again and again," Almena said first in an interview with NBC Bay Area. "There's nothing more important than the lives lost there."
Almena, 46, said he did not organize or attend the event, which he described as a fusion of art and culture. Instead, he decided to rent a hotel for the night for his wife and three children.
City officials said the space was not permitted as a residential building, but Almena said about 20 people lived there. Almena said the group was a collective of young artists called Satya Yuga, and that he was like the group's grandfather.
"The center we all lived there, and was one of creativity, and beauty, and optimism," Almena told NBC Bay Area.
Almena, who was convicted in January of receiving stolen property and is now on probation, said police had been in and out of the East Oakland building through the past few years to respond to break-ins and other concerns of the people who lived there.
"They'd come in and walk through our space, and they'd always say, 'Wow, what an amazing space,'" Almena said.
In a follow-up interview on NBC's "Today" show, Almena said he was "only there to say one thing -- that I am incredibly sorry and that everything that I did was to make this a stronger, more beautiful community and to bring people together."
The interview grew contentious when Almena was asked about allegations that he was more concerned about making profits than safety. Almena said he didn't want to "talk about me."
"Profit? This is not profit, this is loss," he said on "Today." "This is a mass grave."
“People didn’t walk through those doors because it was a horrible place," he said. "People didn’t seek us out to perform and express themselves because it was a horrible place.”
Almena and his wife, Micah Allison, are cooperating with investigators and want to offer their hearts to the victims and their families, he said.
"We haven't been in any way hiding from this," Allison told NBC Bay Area.
"We're sorry to the families and all the friends that have lost loved ones," Almena said.
Snow and rain will move in after dark tonight, and some towns will see snow accumulation.
The shoreline won't see any problems with snow, as pure rain is expected.
However, just inland and especially in the hills, snow will fall for a good portion of the night.
The precipitation won't be exceptionally heavy, so the snow will have difficulty sticking to the roads in a number of towns.
Despite this, temperatures will be close to freezing and icy spots should be expected, to be on the safe side.
The hill towns will pick up a coating to two inches of snow, but again, it won't all stick to the roads.
Wednesday, the snow and rain ends early in the morning and the sky remains cloudy. Highs Wednesday will be near 40, so any snow that sticks will melt fairly quickly.
Thursday and Friday will be partly cloudy, as temperatures fall. A snow shower is possible both days.
High temperatures will only be in the 30s on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Morning low temperatures will be in the teens Saturday and Sunday mornings, so many ski areas will likely start to make some snow.
The Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge in New Haven was red, white and blue Wednesday morning to mark the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
On Dec. 7, 1941, more than 2,300 U.S. servicemen, nearly half on the battleship USS Arizona, were killed in the attack and 1,100 injured. After the attack, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered a speech before Congress, calling Dec. 7 a "date which will live in infamy," and the U.S. declared war against Japan.
An 18-year-old Clinton man accused of crashing head-on into a school bus on the Haddam-Killingworth line told police he dozed off and it was too late to avoid the crash by the time he woke up, according to police.
The teen was driving an SUV that crossed over the center line near 1206 Killingworth Road in Haddam and hit the bus, according to fire officials. No children were on the bus.
The drivers of the SUV and the school bus were transported to Middlesex Hospital to be treated for minor injuries, according police. Police said the bus driver, a 23-year-old Middletown man, might have a broken foot.
Another teen was also in the SUV, but there are no reports that person was injured.
Police said the SUV driver was cited for failure to drive right.
Killingworth Road is closed and a tow truck is removing the SUV from the scene.
Michelle Obama did not stay out of bed long enough on election night to see Donald Trump pass 270 electoral votes, she said in a recent interview with People magazine.
“I went to bed. I don’t like to watch the political discourse; I never have,” Obama told People in the joint interview with her husband. “I barely did with him,” she added, referring to her husband.
“Once you do what you can do, then you rest easy. It was in the hands of the American people,” she said.
Obama stood by her passionate support of Hillary Clinton during the election, telling the magazine, "anything that I felt about the election I said and I stand by.”
But she reinforced her commitment to help a smooth transition to the new administration so they could be "as successful as they can be."
“This is our democracy, and this is how it works,” she said.
Norwalk police are searching for a masked suspect who robbed the First County Bank Tuesday.
Police said the suspect, dressed in black and wearing a Halloween mask, robbed the bank at 660 Main Avenue around 2 p.m.
Anyone with information on this crime is asked to contact. Norwalk Det. Cisero at 203-854-3034 or leave an anonymous tip at 203-854-3111.
Starbucks announced Wednesday that it plans to open standalone Italian bakeries in three U.S. cities between late 2017 and early 2018.
The bakeries, called Princi, will come to New York, Chicago and Seattle, according to an announcement on the global coffee chain's website.
In addition, Starbucks plans to open "Reserve Roasteries" in Shanghai, Tokyo and New York in 2017 and 2018.
The first Reserve Roastery opened in Seattle in 2014 and was advertised as a 15,000 square foot space, "dedicated to roasting, coffee education and increasing availability of the company’s small-lot Reserve coffees."
A U.S. Marine Corps fighter jet suffered a mishap Wednesday, prompting its pilot to eject, according to a military news release.
Search-and-rescue teams are looking for the pilot, who ejected southeast of Japan's Shikoku island, the military said. The F/A-18 was part of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing based in Okinawa, Japan and was flying a regularly scheduled training mission.
It's not clear what the cause of the crash was.
Iowa Republican Gov. Terry Branstad has accepted Donald Trump's offer to be named ambassador to China, the president-elect's transition team announced on Wednesday.
Branstad, the longest-serving governor in U.S. history, met with Trump on Monday to discuss the post, NBC News reported. He is a longtime friend of Chinese president Xi Jinping, whom he met during a Chinese delegation trip to Iowa in 1985.
The decision comes just days after Trump broke with decades of diplomatic protocol by speaking directly to the leader of Taiwan, which China still considers as part of its territory.
“Governor Branstad’s decades of experience in public service and long-time relationship with President Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders make him the ideal choice to serve as America’s ambassador to China,” Trump said in a statement.
Trump was an outspoken critic of China throughout his campaign, frequently accusing the country of manipulating its currency and exploiting trade policy.
The state is closing four units at Osborn Correctional Institution in Somers.
The prison, which opened in 1963 as a replacement for the Old Wethersfield State Prison.
Gov. Dannel Malloy and Department of Correction Commissioner Scott Semple held a news conference at 2 p.m. and said they will close four housing units at the prison because of the declining prison population in Connecticut.
This pig can't fly but she can greet people who are about to fly.
San Francisco International Airport introduced “Lilou” the therapy pig this week as the newest member of the airport’s Wag Brigade. And, not surprisingly, she's the first airport therapy pig in the United States, airport spokesman Doug Yakel said, adding that he's sure she'll be a "big hit" with travelers.
Lilou happily let passengers pet her pink snout and her back (all the while wearing a pilot’s cap and a blue tutu) while walking through the busy terminals. At one point on Monday, Lilou did circles and ate treats to entertain the crowds. Lilou wasn't immediately available to snort and oink for an interview, but of course, she has an Instagram page, where she touted her new gig: "City pig & the 1st pig in SF SPCA AAT program."
One traveler tweeted that she was more excited to meet Lilou than any celebrity.
SFO launched the Wag Brigade in 2013 and Lilou is the first pig to join the ranks of friendly dogs, named Bailey and Biggie, to make “passenger travel more enjoyable.” The dogs — and now, one pig — are trained through the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and certified through their Animal Assisted Therapy Program.
SFSPCA spokeswoman Krista Maloney said the idea for the pig came straight from the swine's owner, Tatyana Danilova.
"She was very interested in having Lilou become certified as a therapy animal," Maloney said. So except for the "sit" and "down" commands, Lilou jumped through the same training hoops that dogs do, and passed with flying colors, Maloney said.
"She's friendly and she's pretty well trained," Maloney said, adding that Lilou also visits hospitals and senior homes to give comfort there as well. "She's also housebroken, which is pretty important in an airport."
Naugatuck police have arrested a local man accused of breaking into the concession area of a Little League complex in June and stealing food and money.
Police arrested 19-year-old Colin LeClerc, of Naugatuck, on Monday and charged him with third-degree burglary, sixth-degree larceny and first- and second-degree criminal mischief.
LeClerc is accused of forcing his way into the Union City Little League concession area on June 10 and stealing food and money.
He was held on $10,000.
The Oakland warehouse fire recovery efforts have been completed, officials said on Wednesday, with the death toll of people killed inside during a dance party Friday night holding at 36.
That news came a day after Oakland officials declared a local state of emergency because of Friday night's deadly fire at 1305 E. 31st Ave. The city council is scheduled to ratify the state of emergency on Thursday, which makes the city eligible for state and federal aid as it copes with the worst fire in its history.
Meanwhile, investigators continue to work on determining what caused the fire at the so-called Ghost Ship warehouse, which had been illegally converted into living spaces and was hosting a dance party when the blaze ignited.
Officials indicated a refrigerator or appliance was a potential source of the fire, but it was too early to say for sure.
"The refrigerator is something that they’re looking at as a potential source of ignition," said Jill Snyder, special agent in charge of the San Francisco Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. "It has not been identified as the smoking gun."
Synder said the fire appears to have started on the first floor and traveled up two stairwells, trapping the occupants on the second floor, who were "consumed by smoke before they could get out of the building."
Oakland Fire Chief Teresa Deloach Reed said that fire crews will be on scene until they can "look family members in the face" and tell them the building has been completely searched, and no more victims have been found.
On Tuesday, families of the loved ones lost in the fire were escorted into the area now being looked at as a crime scene.
Alameda County Sheriff's Office Sgt. J.D. Nelson said some of the victims were found trying to shield each other form the flames.
"They were both on the ground and what looked to be right next to each other," Nelson said.
Nelson said most died from smoke inhalation, and that 35 of the 36 victims have been identified. Thirty families have been notified, Nelson added.
"I hope in my heart it was fast and that they didn't have to suffer," Nelson said of the victims.
In order to access the last 10 percent of the warehouse just before midnight on Tuesday, crews had to knock down walls in an area they already searched.
"We are going to bring closure when they search the rest of the 10 percent," Oakland Police Public Information Officer Johnna Watson said.
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf during a news conference late Tuesday also discussed past complaints about the warehouse. In 2015, the city received three complaints, including constructing housing without a permit and pallets blocking sidewalks, according to Schaaf.
Jose Avalos lived in the warehouse. The 38-year-old artist said he shut the doors of his studio space inside the warehouse Friday night to keep party goers away.
"By the time I got the doors open flames were starting to engulf my space," Avalos said.
Avalos believes the fire started in the back of the 1,000 square-foot building and quickly spread.
"I know people saying they are looking into arson and thinking that someone did this maliciously, but I truly do not feel like this was a malicious act.
Meanwhile, Avalos said he does not blame his friend, Derick Ion Almena or his wife, who ran the so-called Ghost Ship. But Avalos said everyone who lived there knew the dangers inside.
"I don't blame Derick for this. I do not see how this is his fault," Avalos said.
Public records will be shared with other agencies posted to the city of Oakland website on a rolling basis, officials said.
NBC Bay Area's Cheryl Hurd contributed to this report.
Volunteers in Colchester are placing scarves around town for the taking, according to the Office of the First Selectman.
The office posted photos on Facebook of scarves carefully placed around town. The “Kindness Scarves” are tagged and were donated by members of the community.
The tagged scarfs are meant for anyone who may not be able to afford to purchase a warm scarf this season.
A man has died after getting pinned between two trailers at the FedEx facility in Willington on Tuesday night.
State police said 30-year-old Steven Todd Rost, of Killeen, Texas, was pinned between the trailers at the FedEx facility at 350 Ruby Road.
State police were called around 8:15 p.m. and workers were able to free Rost before state troopers arrived.
CPR was administered and Rost was transported to Rockville Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to state police.
State police, OSHA and the State’s Attorney for the Tolland Judicial District are investigating.
The coldest air so far this season will arrive this weekend.
Friday will be partly cloudy, as temperatures fall. A flurry is possible.
High temperatures will only be in the 30s on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Morning low temperatures will be in the teens Saturday and Sunday mornings, so many ski areas will likely start to make some snow.
Snow arrives Sunday afternoon and evening, and eventually goes over to a wintry mix. There is some question as to how long the mix lasts, with some indications keeping it around through Monday and others taking it out of the region by Monday morning.
Tuesday looks dry and seasonable, but another blast of cold arrives late next week.
It will be windy Wednesday as the colder air blows into town.
Thursday appears coldest, when temperatures may not get out of the 20s!
Mayor Rahm Emanuel met with President-elect Donald Trump Wednesday morning at Trump Tower in New York City and delivered a letter from mayors across the country calling for protections for young immigrants.
Emanuel said after the meeting he had a "very good meeting" with Trump, his incoming chief of staff and senior adviser and also discussed transportation, investment in infrastructure and job creation.
"I was clear about where I stood on immigrants, that we welcome them because they are achieving and striving to the American Dream," Emanuel said. "But, also then, how to make, as a city and as a country, key investments in both the talent, the training, as well as the transportation to drive economic growth."
Emanuel, along with mayors from New York City, Los Angeles, Houston, Philadelphia and other cities, warned the incoming Trump Administration about the economic impact eliminating the program would have. They cited the potential loss of $9.9 billion in tax contributions over the next four years. Emanuel hand-delivered the letter to the president-elect Wednesday.
Trump reportedly called Emanuel, who worked in the Clinton and Obama administrations, following the November election to discuss the ongoing presidential transition process. According to the mayor, Trump asked for an in-person meeting during that call.
Since Trump was elected, Emanuel has been preparing for a clash over Chicago’s sanctuary city status. Over the course of Trump's campaign, the president-elect promised to deport as many as 3 million immigrants who have a criminal record or are living in the country illegally. Additionally, the billionaire also pledged to cut off federal funding for sanctuary cities.
During a Trump transition press conference Monday, spokesman Jason Miller explained that the real estate magnate who was elected commander-in-chief “has been very direct in where he stands with regard to sanctuary cities, and I expect to see significant action on that front after he is sworn in,” the Chicago Tribune reported.
As a result, Mayor Emanuel and a group of 14 mayors from across the country signed a letter to Trump Wednesday urging him to continue the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program until Congress modernizes the country's immigration system and provides "a more permanent form of relief for the close to one million young people who were brought to the United States before they were 16," according to a release.
Following the meeting, Emanuel pushed to protect DREAMers, a designation given to undocumented young people protected under executive orders signed by President Barack Obama in 2012.
"We are clear as mayors that these are DREAMers who are seeking the American Dream and we should embrace them rather than do a bait-and-switch," Emanuel told reporters. "I also spoke out strongly about what it means to be a sanctuary city, where we support and secure the people that are here, like my grandfather who came to the city of Chicago as a 13-year-old 100 years ago."
The mayor added, "Chicago was a sanctuary city for my grandfather. His grandson today is the mayor of this city, which is a testament to the strength of the values and the ideals of being America."
In an interview with Time released Wednesday, wherein Trump was named the magazine's Person of the Year, the president-elect seemed to soften on his immigration stance, despite continuing to push for a border wall.
"I want DREAMers for our children also," Trump said. "We're going to work something out. On a humanitarian basis it's a very tough situation. We're going to work something out that's going to make people happy and proud. But that's a very tough situation."
Emanuel has recently taken a series of steps to protect Chicago's immigrants, including sponsoring a resolution that calls on Gov. Bruce Rauner to publicly support his efforts to promote Chicago as a sanctuary city for immigrants. The measure reaffirms the 2012 Welcoming City ordinance that cements Chicago’s status as a sanctuary city.
Additionally, Emanuel joined Sen. Dick Durbin and Rep. Luis Gutierrez Tuesday in launching a new "Chicago is With You" task force, which is collaborating on mental health, legal services, employer communications, and education polices to ensure the city of Chicago is delivering comprehensive services to immigrants, refugees and other disenfranchised communities.
Emanuel's meeting with Trump comes just days after Chicago city workers removed the remaining honorary "Trump Plaza" street signs near the president-elect's riverfront hotel and condominium tower. Emanuel and a group of aldermen led the effort to remove the signs as a response to Trump's divisive campaign rhetoric and comments about the city's violence.
Trump also met with Emanuel’s brother, Ari Emanuel, at his New Jersey golf course last month, CNN reported. During the meeting, Trump referred to Emanuel, who is the co-CEO of the powerful WME-IMG talent agency, as "the king of Hollywood."
Emanuel is reportedly not seeking a role in Trump’s administration, but attended the meeting to "discuss some concerns he had," although details remain scarce. Following the meeting, Trump referred to Emanuel as a "great friend."
Emanuel represented Trump in some negotiations with NBC over his reality television show "The Celebrity Apprentice," CNN reported. However, WME-IMG, which bought Trump’s ownership stake in the Miss Universe Pageant in 2015, said it no longer represents Trump.
