A moose was struck by a car on Route 9 in Essex Saturday morning and now Department of Energy and Environmental Protection officials are warning drivers to be on alert.

DEEP officials said the animal was hit by a car traveling southbound near exit 4 around 10:30 a.m. then left the highway for the nearby woods. Environmental Conservation officers later found the animal in the woods. The moose suffered serious injuries and officers were forced to put it down, officials said.

Officials said it did not appear the humans in the car suffered any injuries.

For more information on moose, visit the DEEP website by clicking here.

The state fire marshal is investigating an early morning fire that destroyed a home in Oxford.

Firefighters said a mother and four young children were sleeping when smoke detectors went off around 2 a.m., but all were able to escape the home.

The fire engulfed the entire house at 12 Church View Drive, and caused the roof to collapse.

“I woke up and all I could see were a lot of lights, and then I looked out my live room window and all I could see was a wall of fire," said Lisa Woodin, a neighbor.

Woodin ran down the block and found flames shooting out of the windows.

“The entire roof was on fire. The front porch was melting,” she said.

It took crews around 30 minutes to get the fire under control, and firefighters remained on scene for hours knocking down hotspots.

“We made a desperate attempt to knock it down. We are in a section of town that doesn’t have any municipal fire hydrants so we had to run 1,000 feet of fire hose,” said Oxford Fire Chief Scott Pelletier.

With the help of the Seymour and Southbury fire departments a drafting station was set up at the other end of the street. Pumping pools of water down to the home, firefighters eventually got the flames under control. But, it was too late. The home, which was just renovated three years ago is a total loss.

A neighbor said three of the children were of the couple that lives there and the fourth child was another family member.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Martin Lopez was shot in the hand last Saturday by two thieves who made off with his precious cans of gas in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. He was rushed to Centro Medico, a trauma center in the Puerto Rican capital where in ordinary times he would be quickly treated by surgeons and sent on his way.

But five days later, the 26-year-old cook was still waiting because only a fraction of the operating rooms were available due to an island-wide breakdown in the electrical power grid caused by the storm. He finally got the surgery and the hospital said he was on the mend Friday — but the same can't be said for Puerto Rico's badly stressed medical system.

"Thank God I'm fine, I'm getting better," he told The Associated Press in an air-conditioned medical tent set up by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on the grounds of Centro Medico. "But Puerto Rico is destroyed. It's really sad."

Of all the problems unleashed by the storm, which roared over the island Sept. 20 as a Category 4 hurricane with winds up to 155 mph, the plight of overtaxed hospitals and smaller clinics — and health care in general — is one of the most worrying for officials grappling with recovery efforts.

The health system in the U.S. territory was already precarious, with a population that is generally sicker, older and poorer than that of the mainland, long waits and a severe shortage of specialists as a result of a decade-long economic recession. The island of 3.4 million people has higher rates of HIV, asthma, diabetes and some types of cancer, as well as tropical diseases such as the mosquito-borne Zika and dengue viruses.

In Maria's wake, hospitals and their employees are wrestling with the same shortages of basic necessities as everyone else. There are people who are unable to keep insulin or other medicines refrigerated. The elderly are particularly vulnerable to the tropical heat as widespread power outages mean no air conditioning. And amid the widespread disruption, it's often difficult to get kids to a doctor, especially for families who can't afford to drive long distances on a tank running out of gasoline.

"Whenever there is a disaster that impacts an area to the degree that this one has, then yes, people's lives are going to be in danger," said Dr. James Lapkoff, an emergency room doctor in Waynesville, North Carolina, who was part of the HHS team dispatched to Puerto Rico.

Days before the hurricane hit, 56-year-old retired government worker Damaris Torres tried to find a safe place for her son, who has been bedridden for a decade after a traffic accident and depends on a ventilator, oxygen tank and feeding tube.

She has a small generator at home and a battery connected to an inverter as backup, but she didn't want a rerun of what happened when Hurricane Irma hit just weeks earlier. Back then her son, 30-year-old Manuel Alejandro Olivencia, was transferred to three hospitals in less than 40 hours because his family was told there was no "special place" for someone on a ventilator.

"He's in such delicate condition," Torres said, her eyes welling with tears as she recounted how a hospital in the northern fishing town of Catano finally took him in.

That facility relies on a generator, but officials say they constantly worry about running out of fuel.

"Diesel is the one thing everyone is asking for," Mayor Felix Delgado said as he visited the hospital on a recent morning.

Maria knocked out electricity to the entire island, and only a handful of Puerto Rico's 63 hospitals had generators operating at full power. Even those started to falter amid a shortage of diesel to fuel them and a complete breakdown in the distribution network.

Patients were sent to Centro Medico and several other major facilities, quickly overwhelming them. The situation is starting to improve, with about half of the hospitals getting direct power or priority shipments of diesel, but that barely addresses the challenges facing the island as a whole.

Jorge Matta, CEO of the nonprofit that runs the complex of hospitals that make up Centro Medico, said progress was being made on restoring power capacity there and finding places to send patients whose homes were destroyed. He said they expected to have all 20 operating rooms at the trauma center back up this weekend. But other parts of the island are in much worse shape.

"Right now we have hospitals (elsewhere) that need diesel, they need water, they need oxygen," Matta said.

Metro Pavia, which operates several hospital campuses across the island, warned Friday that it was closing emergency rooms in Arecibo and Ponce because it did not have enough diesel.

Meanwhile medicines are running low and obtaining fuel is an ongoing struggle, said Dr. David Lenihan, president of Ponce Health Sciences University, the only medical clinic currently serving southern Puerto Rico.

"If these things start deteriorating, there's a significant amount of lives at risk," he said. "We're providing care, but it's not optimal care."

At the Doctors' Center Hospital in the northern city of Bayamon, Dr. Victor Rivera said they are so overwhelmed that he has been intercepting patients in the ER waiting room and even outside while people are still in their cars, and sending them on their way with medical advice or a prescription in non-emergency cases.

Only one of the hospital's four surgery rooms is operating because the others were contaminated when they were used as shelters after Maria ripped off the roof on the fifth floor and blew out the windows on the fourth.

Rivera said the hospital, like many others, is relying on overworked generators.

"They've been hit with an enormous amount of work," he said, noting that the hospital had turned them on earlier during Hurricane Irma and increasingly worries they could fail. "This could potentially be a catastrophe for any hospital."

With capacity maxed out, he has been sending patients who suffer from asthma, diabetes and other conditions to other hospitals nearby.

Hospitals are struggling to treat a wide variety of conditions in Maria's wake. The first wave was people with cuts and other wounds sustained in the storm. There are also people like Lopez, who was robbed after waiting in line five hours to buy a rationed supply of gas, who have the type of non-storm-related injuries typically treated at Centro Medico.

The hospital serves as the main trauma center for many around the Caribbean, and when Maria hit, it was already treating patients from the island of St. Maarten who were injured in Hurricane Irma.

Centro Medico and a couple others are also receiving patients from all over Puerto Rico from clinics unable to handle them, straining the system.

Gov. Ricardo Rossello has ordered that all major hospitals be placed on a priority list for receiving diesel.

The U.S. Navy has also dispatched the USNS Comfort, a hospital ship that has been deployed during previous disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

The vessel's sailing plan was a Friday departure from Norfolk, Virginia, with up to five days before it would reach Puerto Rico.

Toll Gate Road in Berlin is closed after oil was spotted running through a culvert underneath the road, prompting a hazardous material response, police confirmed Saturday afternoon.

The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the EPA have been called in and the situation is contained, police said. Officials are working to determine the source of the oil.

The road is closed between Orchard Road and Saw Mill Drive.

No other details were immediately available.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

The body of Ashanti Billie, a 19-year-old student last seen on a U.S. naval base in Virginia, has been identified, and federal investigators are searching for her killer. 

The body found Friday in Charlotte, North Carolina, is that of Billie, local officials determined, the FBI announced Saturday. 

Billie, a culinary arts student who recently graduated from high school in Prince George's County, Maryland, was last seen Sept. 18 at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek in Norfolk, Virginia.

Her body was found 11 days later and more than 300 miles away, near a church in a residential neighborhood of Charlotte. 

Billie's parents spoke at a news conference Saturday evening. 

"She is home. She's home with God, and we're OK with that," Billie's father, Meltony Billie, said. 

Billie's mother, Brandy Billie, spoke to her killer. 

"To the person or persons that decided they wanted to take our baby away from us and away from everyone that loved her: You're a coward. You don't deserve to breathe the air she breathed," she said.  

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is investigating Billie's death as a homicide. No information was released immediately on how she died. 

Federal officials are searching for her killer, FBI special agent Martin Culbreth said. 

"Our mission is to bring justice for Ashanti, and we will be relentless in our efforts to find who did this to her," he said in his statement. "We will not rest until the person who robbed Ashanti of her life, her promise and her future is held fully accountable under the law."

A landscaper found Billie's body Friday morning behind a church on the 1700 block of Griers Grove Road in Charlotte, local police said. The church, East Stonewall AME Zion Church, is about a mile from Interstate Highway 77 and Interstate Highway 85. 

Someone at the church called 911 about 10:35 a.m. 

Police arrived and pronounced Billie dead on the scene.

Billie's family said Friday they had been told a body was found but it was not clear if it was Billie's. 

"As the family awaits further updates, we ask that you continue to keep us in prayer and pray this is not Ashanti Billie," a statement from the family said. 

Billie's body was identified by the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner's Office and Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Police Department. That police department, the FBI, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Virginia Beach Police Department and the Norfolk Police Department searched for Billie, along with her loved ones and volunteers. 

More than 75 people combed two Norfolk, Virginia, neighborhoods Thursday, looking for any clues that would lead them to Billie. 

Billie was last seen about 5 a.m. on Sept. 18 entering Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek in Norfolk, where she was an assistant manager at a Blimpie sandwich shop. But police say she never arrived at work.

Her cellphone was found later that day in a dumpster nearly 3 miles away from the base. Neighbors spotted her car Sept. 23 on a dead-end road in the Ocean View section of the city. They told police the car had been there for several days. 

On Thursday, a volunteer found a pink shoe near where Billie's car was found, The Virginia Pilot reported. A sweatshirt and phone charger also were found during the search, according to the newspaper. It was not clear if those items are related to her disappearance.

Billie's parents, who both are veterans, said earlier this week they remained hopeful that she would be found.

"Just help me bring my baby, Ashanti, home, please," Brandy Billie said through tears in a video posted to Facebook. 

Billie moved to Virginia Beach in August to attend culinary arts classes at the Art Institute of Virginia Beach. She graduated from Henry Wise High School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, in 2016.

Anyone with information for the FBI is asked to contact the FBI Norfolk Field Office at 757-455-0100.

Norwalk police are investigating after one person was stabbed Saturday.

According to police, officers were called to the Dunkin Donuts at 195 Main Avenue around 4 p.m. where an employee reported being assaulted by four suspects. According to police, no weapon was shown during the incident.

Police found three people matching the suspect descriptions a short distance away at 205 Main Street. One of the suspects was heavily bleeding and appeared to have been stabbed. He was taken to Norwalk Hospital with serious injuries.

Both scenes are secure and police are investigating. No other details on what may have led up to the stabbing were immediately available.

In the wake of Hurricane Maria, San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz has been a visible presence on the ground in the Puerto Rican capital. She's been seen comforting nursing home residents, wading in the floodwaters, and pleading for more aid during news conferences and TV appearances.

She also hasn't been afraid to assert herself — a trait the 54-year-old mayor of Puerto Rico's largest city has staked her political career on. Her interest in politics began young, first as president of her San Juan high school student council and school representative at a presidential youth summit.

She left Puerto Rico to study at Boston University and graduated with honors before earning a master's degree in public management and policy at Carnegie Mellon University. She went on to work in human resources and management departments at various companies, including Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Colgate-Palmolive and Cellular One.

But now, Cruz is being put to the biggest test since taking office, as lack of electricity, proper shelter, and dwindling food and fuel plague the island of 3.4 million residents.

On Oct. 1 Connecticut’s new car seat law will go into effect, keeping children in car seats for a year or two longer than the previous law.

The law affects children from infancy all the way up to 8-years-old. Under the new law, children are required to stay in rear-facing seats until they are 2-years-old and weigh 30 pounds. That’s up from the previous law, which allowed forward-facing seats for children 1-year-old and at least 20 pounds.

It also requires children to be 5-years-old and weigh 40 pounds in order to move into a booster seat, and children must stay in booster seats until they are at least 8-years-old and 60 pounds.

“It puts what's best practice and has been for years into law so people might take it a little more seriously,” said Joy Morin, who has a young daughter.

The American Academy of Pediatrics first recommended the changes in 2011. Experts have found a child’s neck isn’t strong enough to handle impact until they are at least 2-years-old.

The purpose of the new law is so that this part of the seatbelt actually comes across a child’s chest instead of up against the neck so in the event of a crash, it does its job and protects them.

Some people will need more convincing – critics say the law is another example of big government in Connecticut, and for parents who got rid of their car seats, it could add another cost burden.

“For those who can't afford it, both Connecticut Children's Medical Center and our partners down at Yale-New Haven children's hospital have programs to provide free seats to parents who can't afford them,” said Kevin Borrup of Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.

The first violation warrants and infraction – police can fine caregivers up to $199 for the second strike.

For more information on obtaining a free car seat, click here.

The old Kosciuszko Bridge, which connected Brooklyn and Queens for 78 years, was imploded Sunday morning. 

The long-delayed implosion of portions of the bridge began Sunday at 8 a.m. Gov. Andrew Cuomo led a 10-second countdown then the crowd heard big booms and smoke rise from the old span. 

The controlled implosion of the bridge will free up space to complete construction of the second span of the new bridge. 

The old bridge's main span over Newtown Creek was already lowered onto a barge and removed back in July. Twenty trusses that remain, 10 from each side of the bridge, will be recycled as scrap metal — some 22 million pounds of steel in total — following the demolition, according to officials. 

UNCERTAINTY OVER DEMOLITION

Parts of the bridge were originally supposed to be blown up over the summer, but the demolition never happened.

Residents have voiced concern about demolishing the bridge, saying areas near the span are already dealing with poor air quality and pollution.

In February, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams joined local advocates to voice concerns about the impact of imploding the structure. 

"Expedition should never trump safety and health quality," he said at the time.

State officials insist the implosion process is safer and quicker than dismantling the bridge piece by piece and that it won't create a large-scale explosion. 

Gerald Esposito, a member of Brooklyn Community Board 1, had been wondering when the state would dismantle the old bridge, knowing it had been planned for months ago. He says he wasn't happy to find out days before the demolition. 

"It's pretty outrageous you can't give disclosure to people that you're going to do something," Esposito said. 

The governor's office said the state DOT did notify community leaders Wednesday about the plan to use small explosives at joints on the bridge, allowing the bridge to fall onto a prepared landing area without polluting the air — a process called "energetic felling." 

A NEW ERA FOR THE KOSCIUSZKO 

The first span of the new Kosciuszko Bridge opened in April, with traffic going in both directions on it. When the bridge is completed in 2020, there will be two spans, one going in each direction.

Getting the bridge built wasn't easy. It took years of construction and a $873 million price tag.

But Gov. Andrew Cuomo promises the new span will ultimately reduce traffic; the old bridge, which the governor says was built for 10,000 vehicles, handled an estimated 185,000 vehicles per day before traffic was diverted to the new span. 

The new bridge will carry 200,000 vehicles and will also include a 20-feet-wide bikeway/walkway with views of Manhattan, according to officials. 

WHAT TO KNOW

The new Kosciuszko Bridge will be closed from 7:45 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. Sunday for the implosion. 

A number of roads will also be closed from 4 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. In addition to the street closures below, 56th Road in Queens, between 43rd Street and Laurel Hill Boulevard, and Gardner Avenue in Brooklyn, between Meeker Avenue and Cherry Street, are closed and scheduled to reopen a week after the controlled implosion. 

Brooklyn:

• Lombardy Street at Varick Avenue

• Cherry Street at Vandervoort Avenue

• Meeker Avenue at Varick Avenue

• Bridgewater Street at Meeker Avenue

Queens:

• 56th Road at 48th Street

• 54th Road at 46th Street

• 54th Avenue at 46th Street

• 53rd Avenue at 46th Street

In addition, BQE traffic will be stopped 5 to 10 minutes prior to the detonation and it's expected that traffic will resume 10 to 15 minutes after detonation. During the time the BQE is closed, the NYPD plans to detour traffic using Traffic Enforcement Agents (TEAs) at key intersections, as follows:

• EB: exit at McGuiness Blvd to Greenpoint Ave to LIE EB Service Road back to BQE

• WB: exit at LIE to Greenpoint Avenue to McGuiness Blvd back to BQE

East Windsor police have made an arrest in one of back-to-back crimes Saturday night.

Police said 33-year-old Osniel Gonzalez is in police custody for attempting to steal a truck and may be connected to another incident just beforehand. 

According to police, Gonzalez tried to carjack a man’s truck at the Mercury gas station on South Main Street. The driver jumped into the bed of the truck and reached through the back window, punching Gonzalez in the face.

Gonzalez was arrested and charged with criminal attempt to commit larceny, breach of peace and interfering with an officer. He was issued a $100,000 bond.

Investigators are also looking into whether Gonzalez was involved in an incident just beforehand where an officer was struck by a stolen car trying to approach a shoplifting suspect at Walmart. In that case, the stolen vehicle was found abandoned on Interstate 91 and the suspect fled on foot.

The investigation is ongoing.

A Silver Alert has been issued for a 9-month-old boy from Plymouth.

Brandon Angers Jr. was reported missing on Sunday. He was last seen with his father, Brandon Angers Sr.

Brandon Jr. is described as 2-foot, 20 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a black jacket, red shirt and gray sweatpants.

The pair is believed to be traveling in a black 2014 Nissan Rogue, Connecticut plate 3AMET7.

No other details were immediately available.

Anyone with information on their whereabouts should contact Plymouth police at 860-589-7779.

The Connecticut budget deadline is Sunday and with no budget reached, cities and towns will be hit with some deep spending cuts. On Saturday people voiced their opinions about Gov. Dannel Malloy’s budget veto and what to do next.

On Saturday a group of people, including Bianca Johnson from Colchester, marched and shouted outside the governor’s mansion hoping he and lawmakers would hear.

“Let it be about we the people, not the Democratic party not the Republican party, it should be about us the people,” said Johnson.

As a mother of three who spent her life on a budget, Johnson says no veto, we need a budget now.

“I am hoping to convince these senators and representatives to vote to override the veto,” said Johnson.

Joe Visconti, who plant to run for Connecticut Governor himself as a Republican, organized the rally as a private citizen. He said overriding the governor’s veto is the best solution.

“Trying to form a budget in the next three weeks is like trying to plan your next vacation while you are in the middle of a train wreck,” said Visconti.

Many cities and towns are fearing the impact of the executive order. No budget means payments to cities and towns will get cut down dramatically starting during the first week of October.

After Sunday, 85 school systems will see their entire state education aid eliminated, while another 54 will see major reductions. When to comes to West Hartford, they want fair funding for schools, however, town leaders say they planned ahead.

“I don't know if I would say I was happy he vetoed the budget. I wish that we could come to some sort of a resolution. It is very difficult being in limbo,” said Judy Casperson, who is a member of the West Hartford Town Council.

Casperson said the state funding uncertainty is tough, however, West Hartford has enough fiscal resources to last through the end of the year.

“Come to a resolution that will benefit the people of the state and of West Hartford of course,” said Casperson.

When asked if she thought a new budget was the best solution, she said: "I say we need more work, yes.”

Bianca Johnson said it is time we all work together. “Let’s get out and get some work done,” said Johnson.

The next chance for lawmakers to override the governor’s veto will be on Oct. 10.

A 22-year-old man was injured in a shooting in New Haven Sunday.

Police said the victim was shot at his home at 320 Quinnipiac Ave. around 11:30 a.m. The wound was non-life threatening and the victim was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital for treatment.

The suspect is described as a man wearing a black hooded sweatshirt beneath an orange reflective vest and long grey denim pants. A silver vehicle was also reported in the area fleeing toward Farren Avenue.

Anyone with information on this crime should contact New Haven police.

Federal officials are investigating flutes, possibly contaminated by bodily fluids, that were given to students from school districts across Southern California as part of an investigation of an individual accused of inappropriate sexual conduct.

Several school districts alerted parents on Friday to turn in the flutes to authorities after the California Department of Justice and the U.S. Postal Service launched an investigation.

The flutes are colorfully decorated and painted by students all over Southern California through a program called "Flutes Across the World."

Federal investigators want to test all the flutes, which they believe may be contaminated by semen, from the program's music teacher.

"You have to read in between the lines -- and most likely it's not sweat," said Nate, a concerned parent whose child goes to Courreges Elementary School in Fountain Valley. 

Nate went to the police station Friday night to turn in his child's flute.

"It's disgusting, it's unreal, you can't even really fathom it," said another parent, who wished to not be named.

A statement from the Fountain Valley School District is just one of dozens of alarming notifications sent to thousands of parents in Orange and Los Angeles counties.

"It made me sick to my stomach," the parent said.

A statement from the Los Angeles Unified School District states the allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct may have involved at least 13 school districts across Southern California.

Notifications went out to parents in school districts in Fullerton, Newport-Mesa, Chatsworth and the Inland Empire.

The teacher has not been named due to the pending investigation.

An education source close to the investigation confirmed to NBC4 the teacher was arrested.

Connecticut State Police arrested a passenger after finding marijuana and a gun in a car during a traffic stop Sunday, according to police.

Police said that Pierre Clemat, 27, of Brockton, Mass. was riding in a vehicle traveling 79 mph in a section on I-84 east in Danbury marked 55 mph. A trooper pulled the car over and observed that the call smelled of marijuana.

State Police K9 Favor was called in and detected marijuana in the vehicle. Troopers also found a 9mm handgun in the trunk of the vehicle. Clemat was arrested and charged with weapons in a motor vehicle and criminal possession of a firearm. He was released on a $2,500 bond and is due in court on Oct. 19.

The driver was issued a speeding ticket.

Twelve people were displaced when fire broke out at a home on Irving Street in Hartford Monday.

The fire broke out around 2:18 a.m. Firefighters struck a second alarm. Officials said crews struggled due to overhead electrical wires in the area and had to use their hand lines instead of ladders.

No injuries were reported.

Officials said there is extensive damage from heavy fire on the third and second floors.

Witnesses told NBC Connecticut it looked like a huge ball of flames.

“I was scared because at that time we didn’t know if our family members got out the house yet. So we were trying to call and no one was answering the phone so we were panicking,” said Shaday Hall, who lives two doors down.

Hall said she has family that lives on the first and second floors of the home.

Ten adults and two children have been displaced.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Las Vegas Police said early Monday they were investigating reports of an active shooting at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. Authorities later said that more than 20 people were killed and dozens more wounded. Video showed people fleeing the area.

Anthem and Hartford Healthcare each announced Sunday that the two had failed to come to a new in-network provider agreement, meaning hundreds of thousands of Anthem policyholders will now be treated as “out-of-network” patients in Hartford Healthcare facilities.

The news comes after months of negotiations between the insurance company and the healthcare provider, as their three-year contract was coming to a close at the end of September.

In dueling statements, each did pledge to work with the other to come to an agreement, but a statement released by Anthem, did point the finger firmly at Hartford Healthcare.

“Anthem is seeking for HHC to agree to increases that are comparable to increases accepted by other hospitals in the state,” the statement said. “HHC is requesting a rate increase that is two to three times the rate of inflation and that is not acceptable to us, and not acceptable to our members.”

Hartford Healthcare now being considered an out-of-network provider now means that policyholders will have higher out-of-pocket costs for insurance, and in-network prices on things like co-pays could skyrocket.

David Whitehead, Hartford Healthcare’s Executive Vice President, said in a statement, “We are working hard to resume our partnership with Anthem, and we are committed to reaching a fair agreement with Anthem — one that allows us to operate in a sustainable way while protecting access to caregivers you trust and providing the quality care you deserve. It is our hope that Anthem will work in good faith to agree to a new contract.”

In the meantime, all of Hartford Healthcare’s properties, including the Hospital of Central Connecticut, Backus Hospital, MidState Medical Center, and Windham Hospital among other facilities will all be considered out-of-network for Anthem policyholders. In order for them to have the most cost-effective medical care, they would have to find care in other healthcare systems.

After a gunman opened fire on a country music festival on the Las Vegas Strip late Sunday, killing at least 58 people and wounding 515 others, performers at the event described the "chaotic" and "heartbreaking" scene.

Bullets rained down as Jason Aldean sang onstage at the Route 91 Harvest Festival, forcing performers and concertgoers to flee the area.

Aldean later posted on Instagram that he and his team were safe after the shooting he called "beyond horrific."

Singer Jake Owen was also onstage during the shooting, and he told NBC News it felt "like a movie."

"You could hear it ringing off the rafters of the stage," he said. "Everyone onstage started running anywhere possible. It was pretty chaotic for sure."

"I ran just like everyone else," Owen added. "There was blood on people. ... It was literally like a movie you feel like you’ve seen before that's not real life... It was pretty chaotic for a pure seven to 10 minutes."

Musician Chris Young was at the festival and said on Twitter that he stayed "on the floor of a trailer behind the stage," calling the shooting "heartbreaking."

Other artists reacted to the shooting as well.

Authorities said the suspect, 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, of nearby Mesquite, is dead. The investigation is ongoing.