House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, who is still recovering from his wounds after a gunman opened fire on Republican members of Congress in June, said on “Meet the Press” Sunday that he still stands behind the unlimited right to bear arms, NBC News reported.

"Our Founding Fathers believed strongly in gun rights for citizens," Scalise, R-La., told host Chuck Todd in an exclusive interview.

Instead of passing new regulations in the wake of the Las Vegas mass shooting, which thrust the country’s lawmakers into the center of the debate over gun control, existing ones should be enforced, he said.

"Don't try to put new laws in place that don't fix these problems," said Scalise, who was gravely wounded on June 14 when a shooter opened fire on the GOP's congressional baseball team as members practiced in Virginia. "They only make it harder for law-abiding citizens to own a gun.”

Statues of Christopher Columbus in Middletown and New Haven were found vandalized Sunday.

Middletown police told NBC Connecticut that they are investigating after someone vandalized the statue of Christopher Columbus at Harbor Park. The vandalism happened sometime overnight. The graffiti read "kill the colonizer."

A statue in Wooster Square in New Haven was also vandalized, according to New Haven police.

For years debate has raged over Columbus' historical legacy, some arguing that a man who opened the Americas to European domination should not be celebrated. But many Italian-Americans argue that Columbus is a symbol of their ethnic pride.

 This is not the first time the debate has led to vandalism. Last month in New York vandals doused the hands of a Christopher Columbus statue in blood-red paint and scrawled the words "hate will not be tolerated." In August, a statue in Yonkers was beheaded.

Similar incidents have been reported over the years in cities across the country.

Those who spoke to NBC Connecticut had mixed feelings on Columbus.

"I'm not ok with anybody vandalizing any property, I feel that's wrong. However I can understand why people are against a statue of Christopher Columbus being up," said Jersey City resident Tynesha Banks.

"It sucks that people actually have the audacity to do that and take away from a great town like us," said Destiny Rosado of Middletown.

There is no word on whether the incidents in New Haven and Middletown are connected.

Soap company Dove has apologized for a racially insensitive Facebook ad it said "missed the mark in representing women of color thoughtfully," NBC News reported.

The advertisement, apparently for some sort of soap but which has since been deleted, showed a black woman wearing a brown shirt removing her top to reveal a white woman in a lighter top. A third image shows the white woman removing her shirt to show a woman of apparently Asian descent. Unilever and Dove did not immediately respond to NBC News' request for comment.

On Saturday, Dove, which is owned by Dutch-British transnational consumer goods company Unilever, issued an apology on its Twitter page for the advertisement.

"An image we recently posted on Facebook missed the mark in representing women of color thoughtfully," the apology read. "We deeply regret the offense it caused."

Hurricane Maria-ravaged Puerto Rico suffered a setback in its attempt to restore electricity to the island when a substation failed early Sunday, leaving some residents without power and renewing political bickering, NBC News reported.

Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said in an interview with MSNBC that the failure shows "how fragile the energy system in Puerto Rico is."

The substation failure dropped the share of San Juan residents with power through the electrical grid from almost 12 percent to about 7 percent. Rosselló said the station would be operational again Sunday night.

Hurricane Maria plunged most of Puerto Rico into darkness when it hit more than two weeks ago, ravaging the U.S. territory's already-dilapidated energy system. Rosselló told NBC News on Sunday that 38 of the 66 people confirmed to have been killed in the storm died in Puerto Rico.

In the wake of revelations that alleged Russian hackers targeted state election systems, federal and state officials have joined forces to root out weaknesses in state systems before future elections, NBC News reported.

The project, which will give states access to grants to upgrade election technology and tools to run simulations to examine holes in their systems, is a test for how well officials can work together to ward off potential election-related threats ahead of the midterm elections next year and the presidential election in 2020, experts said. 

However, some states aren't convinced the federal government should be reaching into an area that has traditionally been the province of the states — holding elections. Some experts also question whether something in which participation is voluntary can have any real impact.

The 28-member federal-state group is called the Election Critical Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council and includes the Department of Homeland Security, state and local election officials, the FBI, and a federal election council. It will hold its first public meeting this month.

Monday marks over 100 days without a state budget and there are mixed messages on the status of budget talks from legislators and the governor.

Four days ago Governor Dannel Malloy said he wanted a deal by this Friday, but did not want to give false hope. He said there are still hundreds of millions of dollars apart.

On Friday and throughout the weekend, NBC Connecticut is told, top Republicans and Democrats met without the governor.

They could be working on a bipartisan budget that’s veto-proof, but there are no guarantees.

Agreeing on a funding formula for education – from K-12 to higher education -has been a problem. Typically by now, local school districts would know how much they’d be getting from the state and receive that money in October.

The deadline of Friday, Oct. 13 looms because that could determine how much money the state’s hospitals could receive from the federal government.

Cities and towns are already receiving less money from the state than they did last year because there is no budget in place.

Connecticut State Police are investigating after a person was hit by a car on Windham Road (Route 32) in Windham Sunday night.

Police said it happened near the Valero station at 881 Windham Road.

Officials did not immediately release information on injuries. The road was closed for several hours Sunday but has since reopened.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

The Miami Dolphins said they are aware of a viral video that appears to show their offensive line coach snorting a white powdery substance.

In the video, a man who a Facebook user alleges is offensive line coach Chris Foerster, is seen using a $20 bill to snort three lines of the powdery substance off the table.

"We were just made aware of the video and will have no comment at this time," the Dolphins said in a statement.

The video begins with the man saying to an unspecified woman, "Hey babe, miss you, thinking about you. How about me going to a meeting and doing this before I go?”

After snorting two lines, he says, “It’s gonna be a while before we can do this again. Because I know you're gonna keep that baby. But I think about you when I do it. I think about how much I miss you. How high we got together."

The nearly minutelong video was posted and went viral late Sunday night on Facebook and was shared to other social media sites.

It is unclear how old the video is or where it originated from.

Chris Foerster is in his second season of his second stint with the Miami Dolphins. He was promoted to run game coordinator in February in addition to offensive line coach, which he was originally named as last year.

Foerster has previously coached for the San Francisco 49ers, Washington's NFL team and the Baltimore Ravens, among other teams. He played center at Colorado State.

An alert Georgia emergency room doctor who saw three strange overdose cases apparently related to the drug Percocet sounded the alarm to the Georgia Poison Center this June, NBC News reported, likely saving lives in an epidemic that began when a man arrived in Macon with a batch of little yellow pills.

Over two weeks, health officials dealt with 40 more cases like the first woman's, who took four hours to be revived after Narcan was administered. Six resulted in deaths.

When that first patient came to, she ripped a breathing tube out of her throat. "In the slightest of a whisper, she said she took a Percocet," Dr. Gregory Whatley said.

But after Whatley scrambled the poison center, which alerted local and federal investigators, toxicology tests determined that the pills weren't the opioid Percocet, but a new type of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that can be 50 times stronger than heroin.

Naugatuck police are searching for a driver accused of fleeing the scene of a serious accident on Prospect Street Friday night.

Police said around 9:20 p.m. they responded to a serious crash involving an Audi and an Acura at the intersection of Prospect and Locust streets. According to police, the cars collided when the Acura tried to turn left onto Locust Street while the Audi was traveling east on Prospect.

The occupants of the Acura were seriously injured and taken to St. Mary’s Hospital for treatment. According to police, the male driver of the Audi fled the scene on foot. Investigators later learned the Audio had been reported stolen out of Waterbury.

The suspect is described as male with an average build and was wearing white hat, blue jeans and white sneakers at the time of the crash.

Anyone who witnessed the crash or has information on the identity of the driver is asked to contact the Naugatuck Police Department at 203-729-5221 or the NPD Confidential Tip Line at 203- 720-1010.

A 13th patient who lived inside a stifling Florida nursing home that lost its air conditioning during Hurricane Irma has died.

Cecilia Franco, 90, whose husband, 93-year-old Miguel Franco, also died after the tragedy, has passed away, an attorney for the family confirmed Monday.

Franco was the latest victim to succumb to the sweltering heat inside the Rehabilitation Center of Hollywood Hills.

More than 100 patients were evacuated from the home on Sept. 13 after three patients were found dead. Five more died later that day and others died in the following days. Some who died had body temperatures as high as 109.9 degrees Fahrenheit.

The dead range in age from 57 to 99. No one has been charged but the incident is being treated as a criminal investigation.

Last week, it was announced that the facility had laid off 245 workers.

Both supporters and protestors are expected to turn up at a dedication ceremony Monday for a Christopher Columbus bust that sits outside town offices in Southington.

Italian groups and the Knights of Columbus have been invited to speak, while other residents are planning a silent, peaceful protest with signs while the ceremony goes on.

The bust went up last month after being in the works for six years.

Local Italian groups, the Calvanese Foundation and the Knights of Columbus led the effort to honor Columbus with a bust. There was no way for town officials to predict it would be installed during recent disagreement across the country about the role of public statues and who they honor.

While many in the Italian-American community were aiming to pay tribute to the explorer’s historical contribution, some refuse to honor Columbus for the negative impact he had on indigenous people.

Over the weekend at least two other Columbus statues were vandalized with red paint – one in New Haven and one in Middletown – presumably in protest. Police are investigating to see if those cases are related.

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The Southington dedication ceremony is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m.

Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock testified in 2013 that he gambled by night and slept by day, taking Valium to treat anxiety, NBC News reported.

His court deposition was uncovered by CNN, taken as part of a civil lawsuit against a casino and hotel where he slipped and fell on his way to a hotel shop. Paddock lost the case.

In the deposition, Paddock admitted having a concealed carry license in Texas and claimed he was the "biggest video poker player in the world," gambling up to $1 million in a night.

It adds to what's known about the reclusive 64-year-old who killed 58 people last week. Paddock's brother Bruce told NBC News he was questioned twice by the FBI, including one session that lasted four-and-a-half hours.

A New Haven man is accused of kidnapping two 19-year-old females at a gas station, police said. 

Police said just before midnight on Sept. 29, Keith Johnson approached to women fueling their vehicle at a Washington Avenue gas station in North Haven brandishing a handgun.

The two teens gave Johnson money after he demanded it but then ordered them into the car, police said.

Johnson, who was sitting in the back seat, pointed the gun on the victim driving and gave directions to travel north on Interstate 91.

The 19-year-old drove until she was ordered to stop and get in the back seat while Johnson got into the driver seat. He drove a short distance before letting both girls out of the car in a Hartford neighborhood, police said. 

Johnson, 53, was charged with two counts of kidnapping, robbery, robbery of an occupied vehicle, threatening and criminal possession of a firearm. His bond was set at $500,000. 

A Wallingford man is accused of touching himself in front of children waiting for the bus, police said.

The father of an 11-year-old girl told Wallingford police on Sept. 26 that an older man living on Yale Avenue was acting suspiciously for several weeks. He explained that on multiple occasions the man, later identified as Edward Buijnarowski, stood outside behind a tarp or car door and appeared to be touching himself while watching children at the bus stop, police said. 

On Sept. 27, the father obtained video of the 72-year-old touching himself in plain view of two children at the bus stop with no attempt to conceal himself, Wallingford police said. 

Buijnarowski was arrested and acknowledged that he could see kids across the street as he touched himself, according to Wallingford police. 

He was charged with two counts of risk of injury to a minor, breach of peace and public indecency. His bond was set at $2,500. 

School districts from Norwich to New Britain are enrolling students from families fleeing hurricane-ravaged areas.

The New Britain Consolidated School District told NBC Connecticut it now has a total of 18 students from Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Florida.

Julie Deterville and her three children left her native St. Croix after the island, one of the US Virgin Islands, was hit by both Hurricane Irma and Maria.

After their home sustained damage to the roof during Hurricane Maria, the family left the island for Connecticut last week and moved in with Julie's mother in New Britain.

It is too early to tell how long they will stay here in Connecticut, but she said she is relieved her kids, 6-year-old Michael, 13-year-old Leah and 15-year-old Julory, started school in the New Britain Consolidated School District last Friday.

Julie said handling tasks like finding supplies and figuring out how to enroll in aid programs has been a challenge, but added her focus has been on "collecting information and still making the best decisions for the kids at this point."

The middle-school English teacher said enrolling her children in school has been a source of relief for her and her husband, who did not make the trip from St. Croix. Their eldest son, Julory explained, "I also wanted to stay behind to help my father but my father told me that education was important for my future here."

Though the three kids are not students in the Capitol Region Education Council (CREC) system, employees of CREC surprised them at an event held this morning with new backpacks stuffed with supplies for school and home.

The gesture meant the world for their mother, who expressed, "This is awesome. Again one thing lifted off of your shoulders. I’m very appreciative. I’m very grateful."

The New Britain Consolidated School District told NBC Connecticut they will not turn anyone away.

A woman who spoke to NBC Connecticut the day before Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico has since left the devastated island and made her way to Connecticut. 

"It was like somebody threw a bomb and everything you saw beautiful," Janette Hernandez said in a follow-up interview. "The beautiful mountains are no longer there."

Hernandez hunkered down in her home in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, and braced for Maria’s impact three weeks ago. She knew it would be bad, but never imagined the damage would force her off of the island she retired to from East Hartford five years ago.

Now back in Connecticut, Hernandez and her husband, Pedro Bermudez, are trying to figure out what’s next.

"We had to come back because we knew here we could get the support we needed," Hernandez said.

They aren’t the only ones trying to figure out what the next steps will be for the island.

On Monday, alongside Latino community leaders and Senator Richard Blumenthal, who just returned Saturday from surveying the damage to the island, were several Puerto Rican families that left and are now in Connecticut.

"FEMA and federal agencies are still in the midst of relief and rescue, emergency triage when planning could have been done well before the hurricane. The federal response was too little and it was late," Blumenthal, who went on a one day bi-partisan trip with the White House on Saturday, said.

Once they could leave Puerto Rico, Hernandez and her husband took a one way flight to Connecticut.

They are staying with family until they can get electricity back, which could take months.

So many people with families still on the island are pleading with leaders today for the resources to be distributed more quickly.

"I think they need to unite, work together and like (Blumenthal) said, we can’t look at political parties. As individuals, we have to unite and help each other and work," Hernandez said about residents in Connectict.

In Yabucoa, she saw FEMA officials, but what she did not see was people distributing food and water in her area, Hernandez said. 

As for Monday's meeting with Senator Blumenthal, he said there are now about 80 military helicopters and soon, 17,000 military members deployed there, compared to last week’s 50 helicopters and 5,000 military members.

Hundreds of Connecticut’s foster kids will soon have something to call their own as they travel to new homes.

Volunteers from Mott Corporation worked with the Wheeler Clinic on Monday to put together a special kind of overnight bag.

Assembled with love, the bags are more than just luggage they are known as 'sweet cases'.

Patty Dillon Cruikshanks is one of 15 volunteers from Mott Corporation working with the Wheeler Clinic in Plainville. Their mission is to pack foster kids with overnight bags that are better equipped for their belongings.

"Most of our kids have to travel or even go on visits with a trash bag," Sharon Pendleton-Ponzani, with the Wheeler Clinci, said.

Pendleton-Ponzani said the sweet cases will bring a sense of comfort to kids when their homes are often changing.

"By having these bags, children have something that's nice to take with them, something they can keep their belongings in and something they can call their own," Pendleton-Ponzani said.

Chris Popilowski, also with the Wheeler Clinic, said the 200 bags are packed with blankets, teddy bears, art supplies and toiletries and will soon be in the hands of some of the state’s 4,000 foster kids.

"They are going to love it, it's going to make a big smile on their face and it's really going to make a difference in their day," Popilowski said.

For volunteers like Dillon-Cruikshanks, it's a chance to take her heart off her sleeve and onto these bags.

"It's really fulfilling to do work like this," Dillon-Cruikshanks said.

The sweet cases will be delivered to foster kids in the coming days.

A campus police officer was shot and killed Monday at Texas Tech, prompting a lockdown that ended with the suspect's arrest later in the evening.

A call for a student "welfare check" brought campus officers to a room where they found drugs and drug paraphernalia, leading the officers to bring the student to the station, a spokesman for the school said in a statement.

At police headquarters, the student pulled out a gun and shot an officer in the head, according to the statement from university spokesman Chris Cook. 

The shooting occured around 8 p.m. Monday, NBC affiliate KCBD in Lubbock, Texas, reports.

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The suspect has been identified as 19-year-old Hollis Daniels, Cook said.

The Lubbock SWAT team had been searching for gunman before his arrest.

This story is developing. Please refresh this page for updates as elements may change.

Alan Schneider, like so many of his neighbors, ran outside when he heard the century-old maple next door come crashing to the ground Monday afternoon.

“I heard the wind. It was a tremendous wind gust and I heard like a crunching noise and then a major explosion,” Schneider said.

Schneider, who was in the upstairs office when the storm rolled through, is lucky the tree fell over the street and not into his Waterbury house.

“There was a flash when our lights went out and then this one second boom that shook the house,” his next-door neighbor Christopher Morin said.

"A really loud cracking noise. It sounded like ripping Velcro," added Jennifer Morin.

The neighbors saw a mangled mess of wires hanging over Lexington Avenue and Clinton Street. Below, a tree, with branches that neighbors described as being as large as the tree’s trunk, sat on top of Schneider’s Suburban.

"The roof is crushed and some of the branches went into the tires. It’s major damage," he said.

The force of the tree also knocked a utility pole over onto Ashley Cogswell’s car.

"I literally just heard a crackling sound and then like boom, boom, boom," said Cogswell.

As day turned to night, crews worked in the pitch black to get power restored and the roads reopened. The winds that had brought the tree down were gone, as was the rain. Residents said they were thankful that the power outage occurred on a night that was neither hot nor cold. Although, the evening was exceptionally humid. The sounds of chainsaws could be heard through the thick night air.

“I’m glad nobody got hurt. The cars were unoccupied,” said Morin. “I’m more concerned about the fact that it ripped the wires off of our house.”

Neighbors said the tree was tagged to be trimmed, but Mother Nature got to it first. Eversource said 87 customers were affected by the outage. By nine p.m., only 18 remained in the dark.