Hamden Police are investigating whether a robbery of a Pizza delivery driver on Wednesday is related to a similar incident on Thursday.

On Wednesday, a driver from Legend Pizza was making a delivery on Fourth Street around 8:30 p.m. when she was distracted by a female in her early teens with braided hair, according to police.

The driver was then surrounded by four teen-aged males, one with a knife, who stole two cell phones and money from her.

The following night, a Chinese food delivery driver was on North Street around 9:15 p.m. when he was warned by a person that there was a group of suspicious males walking around. The person was aware of the robbery of the delivery driver a few streets over on Wednesday, according to police.

The driver drove off, but as he pulled up to a stop sign, three males tried to force their way into his car, police said. The driver sped away before anything was taken.

Police are trying to determine if the two incidents are connected.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Joseph Liguori of the Hamden Police Department Detective Division at (203) 230-4040.

A tractor-trailer fire that closed part of Interstate 84 in Tolland early Friday morning and caused traffic issued for several hours.

A tractor-trailer caught fire under a bridge on I-84 West, between exits 68 and 69, just before 5 a.m., which was a challenge for firefighters who were working to avoid spraying the bridge.

The highway was initially closed in both directions but the eastbound side of the highway reopened just before 6 a.m.

State Police said the heavily damaged trailer was carrying canned goods for Goya. 

No injuries have been reported.

Tolland Fire Chief John Littell said it appears the fire started at the brakes and spread to the tires, but an investigation is underway.

He urged drivers to avoid stopping under bridges in the future to protect the structural integrity of overpasses.

Tuition could be increasing at state colleges and universities across Connecticut. 

The president of Connecticut State Colleges and Universities, which includes 17 state colleges and universities other than UConn, said in a statement to students and families that he is recommending a tuition increase at all schools in the system. 

“We are working hard every day to put our students first. That is why, like last year, I want you to hear this news directly from me. I am recommending a tuition increase at all of our schools. It is a smaller increase than the previous two years, and for the first time I am suggesting a two-year time frame so that students and families can plan better for their educational costs,” Mark Ojakian said in a statement.

Following is what he is recommending for all students at the four state universities, 12 community colleges and Charter Oak State College: 

Universities:

• Tuition and fees: $10,079
• Increase: 4 percent or $403 to $10,482 for fiscal year 2018 and $10,901 for fiscal year 2019 

Community Colleges:

• Tuition and fees: $4,168
• Increase: 2.5 percent or $104 to $4,276 for fiscal year 2018 and $4,384 for fiscal year 2019

Charter Oak State College

• Tuition and fees: $7,611
• Increase: 4 percent or $304 to $7,915 for fiscal year 2018 and $8,234 for fiscal year 2019

Ojakian said the increase will be the exactly the same next year. For community colleges, this represents an increase of approximately $50 per semester and $200 per semester for the universities and $150 at Charter Oak for the next two years.

He added that this does not close the deficit.

“We would never look to tuition to do so,” he said.

The Board of Regents Finance Committee will meet on Wednesday, March 29, to discuss this recommendation and the full Board is scheduled to vote on April 6.

“I am fully aware that an increase is still an increase and this will impact you and your families. As a public higher education system, we will work hard to provide you with the affordable high quality education you deserve and expect,” Ojakian said in the letter.

The 17 Connecticut State Colleges and Universities in the system include:

• Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield
• Capital Community College in Hartford
• Central Connecticut State University in New Britain
• Charter Oak State College
• Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic
• Gateway Community College in New Haven
• Housatonic Community College in Bridgeport
• Manchester Community College in Manchester
• Middlesex Community College in Middletown
• Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury
• Northwestern CT Community College in Winsted
• Norwalk Community College in Norwalk
• Quinebaug Valley Community College in Danielson
• Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven
• Three Rivers Community College in Norwich
• Tunxis Community College in Farmington
• Western Connecticut State University in Danbury

Two lanes are closed on Route 20 West in Windsor Locks because of a tractor-trailer fire.

A photo from the scene shows smoke billowing from the back of a tandem FedEx truck.

The right and center lanes are closed just before Old County Road and there are residual delays on ramps to the connector to Interstate 91 North and South.

Firefighters from Windsor Locks are at the scene.

No additional information was immediately available.

An Instagram post claiming 14 girls had disappeared in D.C. over a 24-hour period went viral across social media Thursday. 

But that post is inaccurate. While the disappearance of any child is reason for concern, at no point in recent weeks have 14 girls disappeared from D.C. in a single day, police said Friday.

Since March 19, D.C. police have shared 20 missing person fliers on Twitter; 10 of these people were juveniles. As of Friday, six of these juveniles had been found; four still were missing.

D.C. police have said there has been no increase in the number of missing persons in their jurisdiction. They're just sharing information in a new way. 

"We've just been posting them on social media more often," Metropolitan Police Department spokeswoman Rachel Reid said.

Since implementing the tactic, Commander Chanel Dickerson, the new leader of the Youth and Family Services division, said the department has been able to close cases more quickly. 

But the increased social media attention has caused concern in the D.C. area, especially since most of the teens on the missing-persons fliers were black or Latino. D.C. has long had a large minority population and is currently about 48 percent black.

Derrica Wilson, co-founder of the Black and Missing Foundation, called the police department's new tactic “a blessing and a curse,” WAMU reports.

When News4 spoke with Wilson last year, she expressed concerns about the lack of attention missing people of color get from the media.

But despite increased attention in recent weeks, some of the information being shared on social media by celebrities and bloggers is inaccurate, increasing concern in the community but spreading falsehoods.

Here's what you need to know about children reported missing in D.C.:

What Exactly Is Happening in DC?
According to local police data, the number of missing child cases in the District dropped from 2,433 in 2015 to 2,242 in 2016. The highest total recently, 2,610, was back in 2001.

So far this year, the District has logged a total of 501 cases of missing juveniles, many of them black or Latino, according to the police department. All but a handful have been solved.

Twenty-two juvenile cases remained open as of March 24, according to the department's website. Police only had the photos of 13 of these youth, who are considered “critical missing persons.”

That number changes frequently. The police department updates the number of current missing person cases daily. 

Does DC Have a Human Trafficking Issue?
All of the teens who have reported missing in 2017 left voluntarily, police spokeswoman Karimah Bilal said.

Dickerson said she thinks the department's new tactic has fueled concerns that teens in the city are being kidnapped.

"Because of the number of releases, there have been concerns that young girls in the District of Columbia are victims of human trafficking or have been kidnapped," she said. 

There's no evidence to suggest that D.C. has a human trafficking problem, the police spokeswoman said. 

"We look at every case closely to make sure that doesn't happen, but to my knowledge, that hasn't been a factor in any of our missing person cases," Bilal said. 

So far, all of the juveniles reported missing 2017 left their locations voluntarily, she added. 

Then Why Am I Seeing This All Over Social Media?
Several high-profile accounts, including some belonging to celebrities, have shared graphics containing inaccurate information about the number of missing juveniles in D.C. 

Actress Taraji P. Henson, rapper LL Cool J and hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons were among the celebrities who shared the post claiming that 14 girls had vanished in a single day.

Some people deleted their posts once they were made aware of the inaccuracies. 

"When relaying information about this, we have to be careful we relay the correct info because these are all peoples little girls," singer Kehlani posted on her Instagram account after she deleted the inaccurate photo.

Why Do Teens Run Away?
A number of issues can factor into a child's decision to leave their home. According to the National Runaway Safeline, most of their callers identified family dynamics, peer and social issues or abuse as reasons why they left or were contemplating leaving. 

"We need to find out the underlying reasons that so many young people in the District of Columbia have chosen to leave home voluntarily because they feel they have no other alternatives," Dickerson said. 

Who Is Considered a 'Critical Missing Person'?
Police in D.C. define a “critical missing person” as any person under the age of 15 or over the age of 65.

The circumstances surrounding their disappearance can also result in a "critical missing" designation. Currently, 18 juveniles who were reported missing in 2017 have been listed as critical missing persons, according to the police department's website.  

Why Were No AMBER Alerts Issued for These Juveniles?
Missing children have to meet a set number of criteria to have an AMBER Alert issued. 

The Department of Justice recommends the following:

• There is reasonable belief by law enforcement that an abduction has occurred.
• The law enforcement agency believes that the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death.
• There is enough descriptive information about the victim and the abduction.
• The child is 17 years old or younger.
• The child’s name and other critical data elements have been entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) system.

But none of the cases that are currently open in D.C. meet that criteria, police said. 

"We have no evidence in any of these cases that anyone was kidnapped or is the victim of sex trafficking," Dickerson said. 

What's Being Done to Help These Teens?
The police department's biggest push has been using social media to share information about missing people in the city. Dickerson said the department still needs the public's help. 

"In order to find out the root cause of this issue and ensure that our runaway numbers decrease, then we have to work together," she said Friday during a Facebook Live broadcast. 

Dickerson said adults should not let children stay in their homes without the permission of that child's parent. 

"That's what we found in some cases. We found our missing persons in the home with other adults," she said. 

Dickerson said anyone who sees a child out of school during school hours should get police involved. 

"There may be some issues going on with that child," the police commander said.

A former Connecticut priest who plead guilty to providing a teenager with ammunition and explosives powder in 2012 has been sentenced, the U.S. attorney's office said.

Paul Gotta, a 58-year-old former East Windsor resident who was charged with seven counts of sexual assault two years ago, faces up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of willfully distributing an explosive material to an individual under the age of 21 years old, according to prosecutors. 

He has been sentenced to nine months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for the explosive and firearm offenses. 

In 2012, Gotta aided a 17-year-old with purchases thousands of rounds of ammunition and on two occasions purchased two pounds of explosives powder in East Windsor for the same teenager, according to court documents.

Prosecutors said that Gotta purchased the contents to construct a pipe bomb in the following months. 

Gotta served as administrator of St. Philip Church in East Windsor and St. Catherine Church in Broadbrook until he left in 2012 after being accused of sexual abuse.

Gotta was indicted on six charges, including aiding and abetting the unlawful transport of a firearm in interstate commerce, aiding and abetting the possession of a handgun by a juvenile, aiding and abetting the possession of ammunition by a juvenile, distribution of explosive material to an individual under the age of 21, aiding and abetting the attempted manufacture of a pipe bomb, and obstruction of justice but only plead guilty to one charge, prosecutors said.

Democrats took to Twitter on Friday to mock the failure of the GOP's health care bill, usings GIFs of sinking ships and exploding buildings to mark the failure of the American Health Care Act, the Republican health care plan. 

Tim Ryan, a Democratic representative from Ohio, tweeted a GIF of what appears to be the Titanic breaking in two. He added no commentary. 

The House Democrats were more explicit, tweeting a GIF of an empty multi-story building collapsing, with the text: "The House Republican #TrumpCare health bill." 

Other Democrats were more serious even as they celebrated the failure of what Republicans hoped would be President Trump's first legislative victory. Instead the Republicans' substitute for the much maligned Obamacare was pulled from consideration by Speaker Paul Ryan with Trump's agreement after it was clear that Republicans did not have the votes to pass it.

Trump, who earlier had been insisting on a vote, told the Washington Post's Robert Costa that he did not blame Ryan for the bill's defeat. Trump insisted that Democrats were to blame, according to The New York Times.

Rep. Adam Schiff, a Democrat, tweeted "Art of the Squeal" in reply, playing off of Trump's book, "Art of the Deal."

Democratic Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania asked House Republicans to end their "obsession with repeal, & work in a bipartisan way to keep what's working and fix what isn't?"

New York Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney taunted Trump and Ryan in his tweet, telling them, "We're not tired of winning yet. Ready when you are to talk real solutions to fix ACA for American people."

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders called the defeat of the "disastrous Trump-Ryan health care bill" a major victory for working families and everyone who stood in opposition.

Finally the spokesman for former President Barack Obama, Kevin Lewis, tweeted out a 2010 photograph of Obama in a fighting stance on the day that the Affordable Care Act passed Congress.

The link to the Instagram account of Obama's former photographer, Pete Souza, was titled, "The Obama White House."

A Torrington man is accused of hacking the system of a mortuary science school and forging paperwork that would qualify him as a licensed mortician, according to court documents. 

Jonathan Ryan, 22, was charged with second-degree forgery and second-degree computer crimes after police said he forged documents to make it appear like he graduated from the Mortuary Science program at Lincoln College in Southington. 

Ryan then helped prepare dozens of bodies for burial at Gleeson-Ryan Funeral Home, which is owned by his father. 

Last year, the director of the school, Dr. Paul Warren, contacted state police to investigate possible forgery at the school in June. 

Warren said that Ryan had created a fake Lincoln College transcript by forging the college seal and registrar's name on a transcript in May 2015. Ryan also created a fake email address for a professor so he was able to get an apprentice embalmer's permit from the Connecticut State Department of Public Health.

Between sometime in 2015 and 2016, Ryan worked embalming or assisting in the preparation of roughly 60 bodies for burial at his family's funeral home in Torrington. 

State police said Ryan's father Christopher Ryan told investigators he did not know his son obtained his credentials improperly.

Ryan said the reason he forged documents to become a mortician apprentice was actually part of a two-person investigative journalism project, according to arrest warrant documents. 

According to the arrest documents, Ryan wrote in a submission to the International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards, in part: 

"I find flaws in unsecure websites and human processes and my partner converts my findings into wonderful articles. We have been working on this little project of ours for over two and (sic) one half years, with little success until stumbling onto your website. It is mind boggling that you would leave such an important form, the Verification of Graduation and Projected Graduation Date forms, COMPLETELY (sic) unsecured. There was no password, there was no authentication, and there was no oversight for 6 (sic) months."  

State police did find that Ryan attended Lincoln College from Sept. 4, 2013 to Dec. 1, 2013, but never got his degree. 

Neither Lincoln College or the Gleeson-Ryan Funeral Home returned NBC Connecticut calls for comment. 

Coach Geno Auriemma, for the UConn Women’s Basketball team, spoke at a press conference during the 2016 Final Four about the importance of values on the court. 

Auriemma’s philosophy has been receiving attention on the internet even a year later, according to the NCAA.

Having won 109 games in a row, Auriemma has much to be proud about. Yet, his words of wisdom from this 2016 conference highlight that he still cares about how his players behave.

"We put a huge premium on body language," Auriemma said. "And if your body language is bad, you will never get in the game. Ever. I don't care how good you are."

Auriemma looked back on a game where he benched Seattle Storm and All-American Breanna Stewart.

"It was because she was acting like a 12-year-old," the coach said."I would rather lose than watch the way some kids play."

He said he doesn't want his players to only think about themselves when they're in the game.

"'Me, me, me. I didn't score, so why should I be happy?'" Auriemma said. "That's the world that we live in today, unfortunately."

Auriemma and the Huskies are currently in the third round of the NCAA tournament and are seeking a fifth straight national title, the NCAA said. His way of coaching emphasizes good sportsmanship from his players. “I’d rather lose than watch some kids play the way they play.”

Three different types of Vecaro brand self-balancing scooters have been recalled, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The recall impacts the Glide 65, Drift 8 and Trek 10 scooters after at least three reports of the hoverboards smoking. Hoverboards have one wheel at each end of a platform and are powered by lithium-ion battery packs.

The lithium-ion battery packs in the self-balancing scooters/hoverboards can overheat, posing a risk of smoking, catching fire and/or exploding.

No injuries or property damage have been reported.

The hoverboards come in black, white, red, blue, gold, silver, graffiti print and flame print.

The products were sold at The Audio Shop and Stereo Zone in California and online at VecaroLifeStyle.com from November 2015 through November 2016 for between $300 and $400.

If you have one of these self-balancing scooters, you should stop using them and contact Vecaro for a free repair or a credit toward another product.

If you’re thinking of buying a hoverboard, the safety commission says you need to look for a mark or label that reads "underwriters laboratories standard UL 2272." That's the highest safety standard.

And if you do have a hoverboard that hasn't been recalled, here are three things you can do as a precaution:

• Do not charge them overnight.
• Do not charge them unattended.
• Have working smoke alarms and a fire extinguisher nearby.

For more information on the recalled products, contact Vecaro toll-free at 855-637-4061 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday or online at www.VecaroLifeStyle.com and click on Recall Notice at the bottom of the page for more information.

OK Food Inc. is recalling about 933,272 pounds of breaded chicken products that may have been contaminated with metal and other materials, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

The problem was discovered when the Oklahoma-based company received five consumer complaints that stated metal objects were found in the "ready-to-eat" chicken, USDA said.

The ready-to-eat breaded chicken items were produced on various dates from Dec. 19, 2016 through March 7, 2017. A list of the products subject to recall can be found here.

The recalled products have the marking “P-7092” inside the USDA mark of inspection. The breaded chickens were shipped to retail locations and institutions nationwide.

After and internal investigation, the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service said the objects in all the complaints came from metal conveyor belting.

"There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products," the USDA said. "Anyone concerned about an injury or illness should contact a healthcare provider."

Customers are being urged not to consume these products and should throw away or return them.

For more information about the recall, contact Abby Brown at (479) 312-2409. Media with questions about the recall can contact Jordan Johnson at (501) 944-7891.

Lifestar was called to a serious crash on Route 69 in Bristol.

No other details were immediately available.

Please check back for updates. 

Some Elm City residents are upset to see one of their street’s oldest trees taken down.

But the City of New Haven says it came down after some of their neighbors on Sea Street asked for traffic improvements.

Outside Patricia Reardon’s home in New Haven’s City Point, a sycamore tree still stands tall.

“They’re I’m sure over 100 years old,” she said. "You can see the size of them.”

Reardon has lived on Greenwich Avenue longer than anyone else, so she was saddened to see a crew cut down the sycamore tree three houses down.

“I was told it had to come down because they had to make a driveway for that house,” she said.

A Google Map image shows what the corner of Sea and Greenwich looked like before several trees were removed to make way for a traffic calming construction project by I-95.

“Unbeknownst to most of us I think we did not realize that it was all going to happen so quick,” Reardon said. "Yesterday we tried calling to stop but it was too late.”

“A window for public comment was made available,” New Haven Director of Communications Laurence Grotheer said.

The city’s tree warden determined the older sycamore tree removed for the new driveway was in decline, Grotheer added.

“New Haven is the first city in the United States to have a municipal tree planting program,” Grotheer said. "To suggest the city takes trees down without due process is contrary to its history.”

Reardon is not too optimistic about the new traffic patter changes coming to her neighborhood.

“I think it will tie up traffic more than it is now,” she said.

The City of New London’s school maintenance funds are depleted. With three months left in the school year, the city and the school district are hoping nothing major in the six schools breaks.

The majority of the schools’ building maintenance is funded through the city’s public works budget.

Public Works Director Brian Sear said his department has funding that covers HVAC, roofing repairs, windows, plumbing and more.

According to Sear, the budget for maintenance contracts for the school district was $450,000 this year. About $340,000 has been spent and about $110,000 has already been committed to other maintenance contracts.

“The city doesn’t have resources to cover all the maintenance at the schools,” Sear said.

Some of the building are new, others date back to the early 1900s. But with the budget already tight, officials rather not pull from other areas.

Sear said he’s looked at two rough indexes and between $3.5 million to $5 million should be going toward school maintenance.

“We’re maximizing the value of every dime we spend,” he added.

“It’s just a matter of inadequate resources,” said Rob Funk, executive director of finance & CFO for New London Public Schools.

Funk said he’s working closely with public works, plus the school district has $111,576 to allocate toward maintenance as well. But it’s for smaller items, like floor cleaning, and security and plumbing maintenance.

The district has used about $60,000 so far, Funk said. But with funds low, if something major happens to one of the schools, “unfortunately we’d have to take resources from vital instructional areas.”

The district did have to critically replace a boiler system for the high school. Funk said they got the entire cost funded through a state grant.

But the school is in jeopardy of losing its accreditation because it’s not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act compliant, Funk said, adding the district has already asked for an extension because they’re transitioning to a new magnet pathway school and will have a new building.

New London Mayor Michael Passero said he made a commitment to raise the city’s contribution to the school budget by an additional $1,000,000 in his proposed budget. It will be released next week.

Passero called it a “difficult commitment” since Gov. Dannel Malloy’s proposed budget would transfer an additional $4 million in school costs back to city taxpayers.

He said he’s also working for more equitable state support for the schools.

But parents, like Jereidi Alvarez concerned. Her kids attend at C.B. Jennings Elementary in New London. The school is about 10 years old.

“I’m afraid that they will use resources out of our kids’ budget for learning supplies and other things that they do need, like technology and things that they need in the classroom to do well,” Alvarez said.

She’s also surprised because she said taxes for New London residents are high.

Police have captured a man accused of stabbing his girlfriend's mother earlier this week in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Authorities have been searching for 32-year-old Ping Hong, who was wanted for attempted murder.

The victim was stabbed on Howard Street around 11 p.m. Tuesday. She suffered serious injuries from several stab wounds and was transported to a local hospital for treatment.

Hong, whose last known address is in Vernon, Connecticut, was apprehended Friday at South Station in Boston by Waltham police, state police and MBTA transit police.

The chairman of the House intelligence committee has backed down from his assertion that Donald Trump and his aides were "monitored" by U.S. spies — a claim the Republicans have cited this week in emails to loyalists.

As NBC News reports, Rep. Devin Nunes told reporters Friday he can't be sure whether conversations among Trump or his aides were captured in the surveillance that has become a source of controversy since Nunes made it public in two news conferences this week.

A spokesman for Nunes, Jack Langer, asserted that the Congressman did not explicitly say Trump was spied on when he briefed reporters Wednesday that he was "very concerned," that "the intelligence community incidentally collected information about American citizens involved in the Trump transition."

Fire crews were on the scene of a home ablaze in Niantic.

Niantic firefighters were on the scene of the fire at Old Black Point Road and Woodland Drive. 

East Lyme Fire Marshal Richard Morris told NBC Connecticut the elderly homeowner was not at the house at the time the fire broke out. Neighbors and people across the water called in the report to the fire department.

The fire was a challenge to put out given the house's contemporary design, furniture and papers, Morris said. 

No other details were immediately available. 

A 39-year-old man was injured in a shooting in Manchester overnight that appears to have started as a road rage incident, according to Manchester police.

Police said that the victim, who was not identified, was shot multiple times and suffered non-life threatening injuries. He was taken to Hartford Hospital for treatment.

Authorities suspect road-rage initiated the incident, and said that the shooting happened near 63 Clinton Street around 12:30 a.m.

The case remains under investigation.

A driver was seriously injured in an accident on Burlington Avenue (Route 69) in Bristol Friday night.

According to police, a Ram pickup was traveling north on Burlington Avenue near Elaine Drive around 10 p.m. when the vehicle crossed the center line and hit a utility pole on the other side of the road. The pole snapped and came down on the pickup, causing “massive” damage, police said.

The driver was extricated and airlifted to Hartford Hospital with severe but non-life threatening injuries.

The road was closed for several hours but has since reopened.

The accident is under investigation. Anyone who witnessed the crash is asked to call Bristol police at 860-584-3011.