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How to Stop Terrorism, From a Jihadi Who 'Likes the US'

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Clean-cut Albert Berisha doesn't look like a man who moved to Syria to fight alongside ISIS, whose militants he calls murderous psychopaths, NBC News reported.

But the "jihadi who likes the United States," as he says, embodies a crucial question facing security officials in the West: Can a jihadi who fought in Iraq or Syria be peacefully reintegrated into society?

Berisha said he only ended up in an ISIS unit by accident, spending only nine days in Syria in 2013, including time with commanders "ready to commit attacks in Europe." But a court in Kosovo sentenced him to more than three years in prison for traveling there.

"It is hard to convince people to come back if they have two choices: stay and die inside Syria, or another bad choice, which is to end up in prison," he told NBC News in Kosovo's capital, Pristina. "Our state, our society, needs to give them a third choice, which is reintegration."



Photo Credit: Armend Nimani / NBC News

Esty to Introduce Bill to Limit High-Capacity Ammo Magazines

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U.S. Representative Elizabeth Esty will introduce legislation this afternoon that would limit high-capacity ammunition magazines in the wake of the mass shooting in Las Vegas. 

The bill, called the Keep Americans Safe Act, would prohibit the transfer, import or possession of magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. 

Esty, who represents Newtown, Connecticut, will introduce the bill in Washington, DC at 1 p.m. and will be joined by several colleagues, including U.S. Rep. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), U.S. Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV), U.S. Rep. Ruben Kihuen (D-NV) and U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL).  

The national rifle association last week released a statement saying it was open to new rules on rapid fire accessories, such as bump stocks. 

On an ABC News podcast, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy said the NRA’s statement was significant and that they have shown a willingness to budge on gun laws. 

The NRA did say that banning guns from law-abiding Americans won’t prevent future attacks. 



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Rocky Hill Police Investigating After Car Break-Ins

Bridgeport Homicide Victim Was Naked, High on PCP: Official

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A 24-year-old man who was shot seven times in Bridgeport around 5:30 p.m. Thursday has died, according to city officials.

Police said the homicide was at the Greene homes building. They said the victim was naked and appears to have been high on PCP.



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Driver Flees After Crash With School Bus in Columbia: Police

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A driver fled after a collision with a school bus in Columbia Thursday morning, according to the Columbia Resident State Trooper’s Office.

Police said the driver of an early 90s green Ford Explorer hit a school bus on Route 6 by Edgarton Road and no children were injured.

The Ford Explorer has front right side damage, a broken right side view mirror and a broken right front window, police said.

Anyone who sees a vehicle matching this description should call Troop K at 860-465-5400.




Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com

American-Canadian Family Out of Captivity After 5 Years

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American Caitlan Coleman, her Canadian husband Joshua Boyle and their three children have been released by a Taliban-linked group after being held captive for five years. The couple was captured while hiking near Kabul, Afghanistan in 2012 and held by the Haqqani network. Coleman was pregnant at the time and gave birth to three children while in captivity.

Teen Shot During Robbery in Bridgeport Dies: Officials

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An 18-year-old Bridgeport man is dead after he was shot during a robbery in the Green Homes housing project in Bridgeport Thursday afternoon, according to city officials.

Officials said it appears Jeri Kollock was robbed in the stairwell of building one around 4:30 p.m. and forced to strip naked and remove his jewelry.

Kollock was shot several times. 

Officials said he fled down the stairs to the basement, where he collapsed, but managed to drag himself over the next 45 minutes to the door, where he emerged, yelling for help.

Officials said he died before medics arrived.

Anyone with information should call Detective Winkler at 203-581-5224 or call 203-576-TIPS.



Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com

Police Investigate Shooting Threat at Wamogo High School

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State police are investigating after a student at Wamogo High School reported a possible threat of a shooting at the school.

The student told administrators at the Litchfield school on Wednesday about overhearing an unknown student say "Don't come to school tomorrow, there's going to be a shooting."

State troopers were at the school Thursday morning, according to state police.

School officials said the school is open and classes are going on a scheduled. 

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Trooper Litwinczyk at 860-626-7900.



Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com

Police Seize Nearly 30 Animals From Litchfield Home

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More than two dozen animals were seized from a home in Litchfield on Wednesday.

State police served a search warrant at the house at 365 Beach Street after receiving reports of neglected animals.

Inside, police say they found animals living in deplorable conditions.

On Monday, police assisted the Torrington animal control officer at the home as the officer took custody of two dogs and a cat that were in poor health, according to state police.

After serving the search warrant on Wednesday, officers seized sixteen rabbits, four cats, three kittens and five chickens. They also found two dead kittens in the house, police said.

There were no arrests, but police said the investigation is continuing.



Photo Credit: Connecticut State Police

Sessions Targets Four 'Sanctuary Cities' for Punishment

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Four U.S. cities have a "last chance" to prove to the Justice Department that they aren't "sanctuary cities," before losing millions of dollars in funding, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Thursday.

NBC News reports that Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and New Orleans have "laws, policies or practices" that violate a federal statute requiring that local governments comply with federal immigration officials in deporting suspected undocumented immigrants in local jails, according to a Justice Department news release. They have until Oct. 27 to show they're in compliance.

It's not the first time the Trump administration has vowed to withhold public safety grants from uncooperative cities.

An executive order from President Donald Trump that would have cut off funds to sanctuary cities was stymied by a judge's order in April. Chicago won a ruling over the department last month over an earlier threat to withhold public safety funding.



Photo Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images, File

Volunteers Improve Veterans Cemetery in Glastonbury

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Approximately 75 Home Depot associates volunteered to refurbish the Nipsic Cemetery in Glastonbury on Thursday. 

They teamed up with the Peter P. Monaco Jr. Detachment 40 Marine Corps League to install a new wood fence, cut brush, rake leaves, plant flowers, power wash a vinyl fence, paint rod iron railings and repair cement pillars. 

The event is part of Home Depot’s National Celebration of Service Campaign, where associates volunteer twice a year for projects aimed at improving the lives of U.S. military veterans and their families. 

“It means a lot to us because it’s giving back to the veterans for what they’ve sacrificed for us,” said Ed Boice, the store manager of the Home Depot in West Hartford. 

Associates from nine nearby Home Depots volunteered. 

“It’s a great company to work for and it’s just a great opportunity to help people. For me, it warms my heart to help someone else,” said Lauren Morgan, a store associate at the Home Depot in Enfield.



Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com

Equifax Probing Whether It Was Breached Again

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Equifax, the credit reporting company at the heart of a major hacking scandal, has taken a customer help page offline as it looks into into a report that it has been breached again, CNBC reported.

An independent security analyst found part of the company's website was under the control of attackers trying to install fraudulent, malware-infected Adobe Flash updates, the website Ars Technica reported.

"We are aware of the situation identified on the equifax.com website in the credit report assistance link," an Equifax representative said in an email. "Our IT and security teams are looking into this matter, and out of an abundance of caution have temporarily taken this page offline."

Last month, Equifax disclosed that it had sensitive information from 145.5 million people compromised, leading to multiple investigations and a Justice Department probe.



Photo Credit: AP, File

Kelly: Barring 'Change,' He's Not Quitting or Being Fired

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White House Chief of Staff John Kelly insisted Thursday he's not quitting or being fired — for now.

"Unless things change, I'm not quitting, I'm not getting fired and I don't think I'll fire anyone tomorrow," the retired Marine Corps general and former secretary of homeland security told reporters at the daily White House briefing as reports swirled that he's frustrated as the provocative president's top aide.

"I don't think I'm being fired today, and I'm not so frustrated in this job that I'm thinking of leaving," he said.

The extraordinary statement drew a bit of laughter, but it reflected serious turmoil in the top ranks of the White House that has persisted since the Donald Trump was inaugurated as the nation's 45th president.

As the president churned out tweets that have been factually inaccurate and started or continued feuds, many of his original top aides have left or been fired. Gone is Kelly's predecessor, Reince Priebus; press secretary Sean Spicer, and National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, to name a few.

Reports have emerged that Kelly is unhappy in the job as Trump's legislative agenda stalls, as Trump picks fights with NFL players who kneel during the national anthem and as Trump blames Puerto Rico for its ongoing misery after Hurricane Maria.

Kelly's extraordinary statements are the latest examples of Trump administration officials professing their loyalty publicly to Trump, refuting reports that suggest problems in the chaotic administration.

Last week, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson publicly reiterated his support for Trump after reports that he had called the president a "moron."

Vanity Fair reported Wednesday that Kelly "is miserable in his job and is remaining out of a sense of duty," citing two senior Republican officials.

 

 

 




Photo Credit: AP

Wine Country Wildfires Blanket NorCal With 'Very Hazardous' Air

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As California's wine country burns, smoke from the wildfires have blanketed the Bay Area, drowning out the sun and taking the air quality down to unhealthy levels.

"We're seeing elevated levels of particulate matter (PM) that are higher than we've ever seen since we began measuring that in 2000," Lisa Fasano of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District said Wednesday.

On Thursday, levels of the particle pollution known as PM2.5 hovered at 160 micrograms per cubic meter — or 14 times higher than what federal standards deem safe — around the San Francisco area. In Napa, the air quality index was 174 by 1 p.m. PT and forecast to reach a "very unhealthy" level of 210. 

These tiny particles are about 3 percent of the diameter of a human hair, which makes them even more dangerous because they can be inhaled into the lungs and bypass the body's filtration systems, slipping directly into the bloodstream.  

"This is not the kind of thing that you want to have people out running and breathing in," Fasano said. "It's very hazardous."

Sean Raffuse, an air-quality analyst at the Crocker Nuclear Laboratory at University of California in Davis, told the Reno Gazette-Journal that early estimates project the fires have already produced about 10,000 tons of PM2.5. That is the same amount of pollutants that all of California's 35 million cars produce in a year.

Jim Roberts, a research chemist from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Earth System’s Research Laboratory, told NBC that Rafusse's calculations "sounds about right."

Air quality specialists said such high concentrations of PM2.5 are particularly unhealthy for sensitive groups such as people with asthma and other respiratory conditions, the elderly and kids.

Schools are keeping students indoors, even during recesses, and sports teams were canceling practices and games.

"We've got kids from ages 7 years old all the way up to 19, so we always try to keep the best interests of the children in mind," said Chris Pepe, general manager of Juventus Sport Club, a soccer team in Redwood City.

According to the Enviromental Protection Agency, both short- and long-term exposures to high levels of PM2.5 concentrations have been shown to lead to harmful health effects, including links to death. In addition, the agency says scientists have observed higher rates of hospitalizations, emergency room visits and doctor's visits for respiratory illnesses and heart disease during elevated PM2.5.

To reduce exposure to these fine particles, California's Air Resources Board advises residents to try to stay indoors and consider purchasing an air filter for your home. People in high risk groups are urged to avoid activities that make you breathe faster or more deeply.  

The agency also warned against relying on dust masks for protection. Paper masks are designed to trap large particles, such as sawdust, and will not protect your lungs from small particles such as PM2.5. Scarves or bandanas won’t help either. Disposable respirators known as N-95 or P-100 respirators will help if you have to be outdoors for a period of time. It’s important that you wear the respirator correctly, however. For more information on N-95 or P-100 respirators and how to use one, click here.



Photo Credit: NBC Bay Area

Experts Say Trump Order Could Upend Health Care System

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With Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare stalled, President Donald Trump issued a new executive order on Thursday that could undermine the law without Congress.

Experts say it has the potential to upend the current health care system for small businesses and individuals by opening up cheaper options for some customers, while spiking costs for others and encouraging more insurers to flee Obamacare’s exchanges.

Healthier customers, especially those making too much to qualify for subsidies, could abandon the exchanges for skimpier association plans, prompting insurers to hike premiums for the remaining sicker pool of customers.

Insurers and their customers won’t know the full effect of the executive order any time soon. It will likely take months, perhaps even a year or more, for agencies to examine the issues, propose new rules and then finalize them.



Photo Credit: AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Injured Marine's New Challenge: 31 Marathons in 31 Days

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Rob Jones never liked running. He didn’t like running when he grew up on a farm in Lovettsville, Virginia, and he didn’t like it by the time he graduated from Virginia Tech in 2007.

The 32-year old former Marine said he only ran to prepare for the test to join the United States Marine Corps.

All of that hasn’t stopped Jones from embarking on an ambitious journey of running 31 marathons in 31 cities — in 31 days.

Running multiple marathons back-to-back is remarkable but not unprecedented. A couple in Australia reportedly ran a marathon every day in 2013 and a man ran 401 marathons in as many days to raise awareness about the effects of bullying.

But Jones is not only planning to run a combined 812.2 miles in a month. He is doing so without his legs.

After kicking off his first run in London on Thursday, he's set to visit Philadelphia, New York City, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Dallas and other cities in the coming days and weeks. His last run will be on Veterans Day in Washington, D.C.   

Jones’s life changed forever in 2010 when he was critically injured as part of a team of combat engineers, whose primary task was detecting IED’s in a heavily Taliban-controlled area in Afghanistan. He came across a landmine that detonated and resulted in both of his legs being amputated.

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After hours of surgery and a year and a half of rehabilitation, Jones was ready to get back to his life, though he couldn't picture exactly where his recovery would take him.

“I wasn’t sure exactly of the specifics,” he said. “All I knew was that I was going to do everything I could to get back to being able to take care of my own, be self-sufficient.” 

After his accident, Jones rehabilitated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he was fitted with prosthetics. He recalled having to learn to walk again, but this time with bionic knees.

“I also used the time to relearn how to do other things with my new challenge including riding a bicycle, running, and rowing," Jones wrote on his website.

Running a marathon wasn’t something that Jones had on his mind, following his accident. He wanted to do more weightlifting or rowing, which he took a liking to.

After being honorably discharged from the military in 2011, he trained for the 2012 Summer Paralympic games in London, where he won a bronze medal for Team USA in mixed double sculls.

Despite being an Paralympic medalist, he wanted to do something for veterans. He set a goal to raise money for wounded veterans and thought that running successive marathons was a great start.

Jones said it was important to dispel the myth that all veterans are physically and mentally damaged.

“What I’m setting out to do here is to be an example for other veterans and millions alike,” Jones said.

He is a veteran who went to war and is still in the fight, he said.

He started training a year and a half ago by doing running an hour a day, three to four times a week, until he got to a point where he was able to run five back-to-back marathons in as many days.

“There are plenty of people who have done similar stuff and run similar distances,” Jones said. “It’s about preparation.”

Jones doesn’t know anyone who has done this type of ultramarathon, but he’s watched a lot of documentaries on people who have and said he is ready for the challenge.

While most marathoners run nonstop, Jones is taking a different approach once he starts on Oct. 12. He plans to pace himself while completing each leg of his run and could break up his run over the course of a day. He will monitor his distance by using fitness watches with GPS functionality.

Jones said he knows he couldn’t do this alone and is relying on his family for support. His wife, Pam, helps get his story out to the public, and his mother, Carol Miller, will be her son’s massage therapist.

“My wife is my number one supporter,” he said.

He also is working on a way for fans to watch his amazing run online, whether through Facebook Live or other live streaming services.

Jones has also received support from his prosthetists, physical therapist and other runners who were inspired by his story, among them Mirna Valerio, a runner and author of the book, “A Beautiful Work in Progress.” 

“He’s going to get up there and do it and challenge his body and spirit,” Valerio said. “They’re using their bodies and showing the world that despite what somebody might see as a challenge they’re just doing it anyway.”

Jones maintains close friendships with those he served with in Iraq and Afghanistan and knows they back him, even though they may be tired of his antics.

“I think they probably expect it at this point,” he said jokingly. “They’re not that impressed anymore.”

He is glad for his continued relationship with the Marines.

“You know the saying in the Marine Corps is, ‘Once a Marine, always a Marine,” he said. “It remains to be a tight-knit brotherhood for me, and that is what the Marine Corps is all about.”


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First Alert: Frost for Parts of the State

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NBC Connecticut Meteorologists are forecasting temperatures to fall into the low 30s for parts of the state which could result in frost.

Clear skies, calm winds, and low dew points is the perfect recipe for a cold night here in Connecticut and that's exactly what we're expecting. 

Temperatures in the valley locations of the state will fall into the low to middle 30s. Temperatures will remain a bit milder for the city locations and the shoreline. 

A Frost Advisory is in effect for the northern half of Connecticut.


The coldest temperatures are expected through portions of Litchfield, Tolland, and Windham counties.

Take a look at low temperatures around the state.


Temperatuers in northern Litchfield county are expected to fall to near 32 degrees in Salisbury, Norfolk, and Colebrook.


Temperatures in the quiet corner will be cold as well. We're forecasting areas like Quinebuag, Stafford Springs, and Ashford to fall into the low 30s.




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Whatever Harvey Weinstein Is, He Is No Sex Addict: Experts

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It’s happened again: A powerful, famous man is accused of improper sexual behavior and says he's seeking therapy to deal with it.

"Guys, I'm not doing OK," Harvey Weinstein said Wednesday in a video licensed to NBC News. "I'm trying. I've got to get help."

While there's no official confirmation of where Weinstein is headed or what type of therapy he may be getting, experts contacted by NBC News said that whatever Weinstein may have done, he’s not a sex addict. And most say there’s no such thing as sex addiction.

Psychiatrists debated whether to include sex addiction as a diagnosis in the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V), and opted not to.



Photo Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images (File)

Treating Babies in Opioid Withdrawal at Yale-New Haven Hospital

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Nationwide and especially in New England, a growing number of babies are going into opioid withdrawal right after they are born.

"The number of babies who have gone through this around the country has quintupled over the last 10 to 15 years," said Dr. Matthew Grossman, the quality and safety officer at the Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital. "So the babies are born, they’ve been exposed to the opioid throughout the pregnancy and when they’re born they no longer get it."

In newborn intensive care units, DGrossman said the hospital staff would depend on morphine to treat the babies’ withdrawal symptoms until they’d be ready to go home.

But now, he said Yale-New Haven has scrapped that approach of separating the child from his or her parents.

"The most effective treatment for that was not medication," Grossman said. "But having the parents really close by and doing intensive baby care, basically that the parents, particularly the moms were a really powerful treatment."

This new strategy shortens the average length of care from around four weeks to about five days, Grossman said.

"Mostly treating the baby as a baby, and so instead of trying to account all their withdrawal signs it’s trying to make sure they can behave like a baby, that they can eat, they can sleep, that we can calm them down," he added.

The opioid epidemic is not likely to end anytime soon.

"Trying to take the stigma away form this is a good first step, of treating people with respect," Grossman said. "And having the baby and the mom together can help sort of treat each other."



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

Hartford Schools Bracing for Big Budget Cuts

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Hartford Public School leaders are bracing for big budget cuts.

Federal grants have been reduced, the city is heading for bankruptcy, there is still no state budget and the school district expecting an influx of students from storm affected areas like Puerto Rico.

"It’s no question of whether they’re coming we know they will be with some family members here so we have to be proactive in our efforts including making sure that we have bilingual and cultural support for our students," Leslie Torres-Rodriguez, the Hartford Public Schools superintendent, said.

Leslie Torres-Rodriguez is warning school leaders of a possible $4 million cut in funding. She issued a hiring freeze on part time employees, a cut back in overtime, and she’s asking teachers to conserve resources.

"It’s kind of scary because they need their education," said parent Tamaria Sherman. "There’s a lot of things going on out here so they have to stay on track and do what they need to do."

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