Southington police are investigating racist fliers that were found on Mt. Vernon Road Saturday morning.

Police said that around 9 a.m. they received a complaint from a resident who found a flier attached to a stop sign at Brentwood Road and Mt. Vernon Road.

The flier showed an image of Abraham Lincoln and the words "We Founded this Nation."

Officers found two other fliers in the neighborhood – a second "We Founded This nation" flier at Jude Lane and Mt. Vernon Road, and one titled "Take Your Country Back" at Beal Drive and Jude Lane.

Both fliers had a "White Whalers Book Club" logo on them, a group not familiar to police. They also contained links to alt-right websites.

Anyone with information about the fliers or the White Whalers Book Club is asked to contact Southington police at 860-621-0101.

Connecticut has some of the happiest cities in the United States.

National Geographic has ranked the 25 happiest cities in the country and the metro area including Bridgeport, Stamford and Norwalk is listed among them. It comes in eighth, due in part of the “endless cultural experiences.”

The magazine took into effect things like healthy eating, learning new things on a daily basis, financial security, dental checkups and more, saying they all “signal happiness.”

Boulder, Colorado comes in first. See the full list.

The death toll from Northern California's destructive wildfires rose to 42 Wednesday after the remains of another person were found in Sonoma County.

Spokeswoman Misti Harris said the county is working on identifying its 23rd victim. 

Others killed in the fire include eight in Mendocino County, six in Napa County and four in Yuba County. A water tender driver was also killed after the truck they were driving overturned on a winding and steep mountain road in Napa County.

Of the 1,969 missing persons reports in Sonoma County, a total of 53 people remain missing as of Tuesday, Sonoma County Sheriff Rob Giordano said. Authorities say they are conducting targeted searches for victims and the work is slow-going.

The wind-whipped fires that started Oct. 8 swept through parts of seven counties, destroying 5,700 homes and businesses, and becoming the deadliest and most destructive series of blazes in California history.

Containment numbers for the Tubbs, Pocket, Nuns and Oakmont fires, which ignited last week and swiftly ripped through neighborhoods and businesses, have been steadily improving over the past several days, according to Cal Fire. Moderate weather and lack of wind aided fire crews' progress, officials say.

Daniel Berlant, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, says crews did controlled burns to wipe out fuel needed by wildfires to spread.

Tens of thousands of evacuees are returning to their homes, although more than 30,000 were evacuated as of Tuesday morning. That number is down considerably from Saturday when an estimated 100,000 people had been forced out of their homes.

As of Wednesday, the Atlas Fire has burned 51,064 acres in Napa and Solano counties and is 83 percent contained; the Tubbs Fire has scorched 36,432 acres in Napa County and is 91 percent contained; the Nuns Fire, which includes the Partrick, Adobe, Norbbom, Pressley and Oakmont fires, has burned 54,423 acres in Sonoma and Napa counties and is 80 percent contained; and the Pocket Fire has burned 12,430 acres in Sonoma County and is 63 percent contained.

Farther north, the Sulphur Fire in Lake County has torched 2,207 acres and is 92 percent contained, and the Redwood Valley Fire in Mendocino County has charred 35,800 acres and is 70 percent contained.

Cal Fire hopes to fully contain the rash of wildfires by Friday.

The progress comes as firefighters elsewhere are working to gain control of a 271-acre fire that erupted late Monday in a heavily-forested area of the Santa Cruz Mountains. 

Days after a deadly wildfire ravaged Sonoma County, a family sitting at an In-and-Out Burger in Rohnert Park, California, recognized their home from the footage of burned-out buildings playing on a laptop.

They had just returned from a visit to their house in Santa Rosa’s Coffey Park neighborhood, a square-mile of middle-class homes and friendly neighbors, which was among the hardest hit in the wildfires that broke out last Sunday. Their two-story house is completely destroyed. They watched NBC Bay Area's footage while eating dinner.

The family was emotional as they looked at the charred remains of their home.

Monica, a caregiver in Santa Rosa, is a renter who has lived with her family in the house since 2007. She immigrated to the United States from Guanajuato, Mexico, when she was 16 years old has been here for the last 24 years. NBC Bay Area is not using her last name because she is undocumented.

Speaking in Spanish, Monica described the harrowing way her family of eight –her mother, brother, husband and son, as well as her sister, brother-in-law and their kids– escaped the flames.

They lost pretty much everything.

Monica's friend, who was in a wheelchair, died in the fire. The family is currently staying at a shelter in Petaluma. They have no renter’s insurance, and Monica is currently without a job. They have no idea what will happen next.

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Here are some excerpts from our interview with Monica (translated from Spanish), her son and her nephew.

NBC: How did you find out about the fire?
Monica: We fell asleep at 10 p.m. on Sunday and it started to smell like smoke, but we thought the neighbors were cooking barbeque. The windows were a little open and at 1:30 a.m. they came knocking at our door and started yelling at us to leave because the fire was near. My mom got up and opened the door and the smoke just came pouring into the house and we couldn’t see anything.

All the kids ran outside and we didn’t get a chance to grab anything except for simple things on the way out like a sweater. My kids left without shoes, clothes, nothing. My mother began to desperately yell because I wouldn’t come out of the house and I was on the second floor. I was the last one to get out.

We just got into our cars and left, but we returned to save the dogs. My mom kept asking me to save the birds, but I couldn’t. It was too late. My brother couldn’t save his motorcycle. Everything burned in the fire.

NBC: What happened next?
Monica: We left and I didn’t imagine that my house would burn. I left with hope that my house wouldn’t burn down. We waited in a Safeway parking lot, until an officer told us we couldn’t stay there. We then left for a shelter in Petaluma, and that’s where my mom started feeling bad because of her asthma. With all the smoke my mom was really affected, and she didn’t get a chance to grab her medicine.

We stayed at the shelter until Monday night and decided to take my mother to a family member's home in Hayward. We’ve been staying there since Monday night and we’re looking for help since 22 people are staying there right now.[[450795243, C]]

NBC: Were you able to save anything in the fire?
Monica: We lost everything. We didn’t get a chance to grab anything. I feel so grateful to God that at least he kept us alive. I had just bought my kids a new Apple computer, because they’re teenagers who need it for school projects and it’s gone in the fire. The material things don’t bother me as much, but the memories of so many years that I had of my kids, photos, everything, it’s gone. The material stuff can always be replaced, but not our lives.

NBC: Do you have renter’s insurance?
Monica: We didn’t have renter’s insurance. No one ever offered renter’s insurance to us and I didn’t know I needed it. Now that this happened they told me that I didn’t have insurance so they’re not going to pay for anything that I had in my home. It affected us a lot, but I thank God for keeping us alive and that we’re all united and we need to keep pushing forward.

NBC: Do you know where you’re going next?
Monica: Right now I don’t have work, I’m a caregiver, and the people I take care of were evacuated because of the fires. My husband’s the only one working right now. The Santa Rosa Red Cross helped us a lot, they gave us food and clothing. They also helped us fill out paperwork for a home. I’m really thankful for all the help.

We’re on the waitlist for a home. They have given us three rooms for now. We’re not sure for how long we’ll be able to stay in Petaluma – could be one week or even two. But it has affected us greatly. We want to think this was just a nightmare, but this was a horrible disaster.

NBC: Have you gone back to Coffey Park?
Monica: I haven’t been able to return to my home. I don’t have the courage. Just by looking at the photos and videos that my brother sent me it feels horrible. It feels like your heart is falling to pieces. It’s a huge sadness. I had the hope that my house wouldn’t burn down and it’s ended. Our sacrifice of many years ended in an instant.[[450844063, C]]

NBC: What’s next?
Monica: We’re from Guanajuato, Mexico. I’m neither a citizen nor a resident. My kids are the only ones who are citizens. But my mom, my husband and I are not. I couldn’t apply for DACA for a year, but it's cost me a lot. I came when I was 16, so I’ve been here 24 years. I graduated from Monte High School in Los Angeles, and then Rio Ondo College and later Santa Rosa College for a nursing degree. I’ve made my whole life here. It’s very difficult. But with faith in God he’ll help us push forward for our kids - they’re the future.

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Excerpts of our interview with Monica’s son, Bradley, 15, and nephew, Kenny, 16.

NBC: What happened that night?
Kenny: So that night it was around 2 a.m., the neighbors came knocking at our door to tell us the fire was close to Coffey Park. I woke up and ran upstairs to wake Bradley up. He thought it was time to go to school, and I was like, ‘No, there’s was a fire outside,’ and he said, ‘Oh really.’

Bradley: I grabbed a shirt, some pants and a sweater, and ran out.

Kenny: I went downstairs to grab my dog and we ran to the car. When we opened the door a strong breeze of wind with smoke came into the house and slammed the door against the wall. My aunt couldn’t even see anything on the floor because the smoke was covering the whole house, so we closed the door. We ran to the car and waited for my aunt as she gathered important papers that we needed. It was a scary moment, we just didn’t know what was going to happen. We didn’t even think it would be that terrible, most of our neighborhood burned down and we didn’t think that would happen.

NBC: Where did you go next?
Kenny: After we took off we didn't know where to go, we went to Petaluma because over here in Rohnert Park you could smell the smoke and see ashes. So we thought it would be better to go further south. When we got to Petaluma, a woman told us there was a shelter and they provided a lot for us: water, blankets and food. And that’s what we did that day, we stayed at the shelter.

NBC: Have you gone back to Coffey Park?
Kenny: We actually went back the next day to go see the house and my stomach just dropped when I saw the house. It was just burned to the ground … Everything was just gone. We went back to see if anything survived and everything was burned down. We couldn’t find anything.

Stuff was still on fire and everything was still hot. We had to go back the next day. We lost everything. I didn’t even grab my phone. I didn’t even think about my phone at that moment, I grabbed my dog and got out. But everyone got out safely.

NBC: What did you have in your room?
Bradley: I had my XBox, my TV and my bed.

NBC: Do you know if your neighbors and friends are safe?
Kenny: One of my aunt’s friends died in the fire. She was in a wheelchair, she couldn’t get out the house.

Bradley: One of my friends, his house actually survived, we take him to school every morning and he was one of the lucky ones. It was like 12 houses out of 500 that got burned survived. It was kind of cool - there was this one man who actually put the fire out on his house, and he stopped the fire from reaching other houses.

We ran into a family at In-N-out who recognized their house from the photos on our laptop. Their house is destroyed https://t.co/nQHxwsYm0k

— Riya Bhattacharjee (@loislane28) October 13, 2017

Monica Brinkerhoff was crushed.

At last sight Monday, flames were licking the Santa Rosa house she shared with her wife, Sam Brinkerhoff. But when the family returned to Coffey Park two days later, only a smoldering husk remained amid an apocalyptic scene.

“I think I needed closure,” Monica Brinkerhoff said. “I honestly started crying after I got through the shock of seeing the house. I wasn’t mentally prepared for it, and I was really defeated at that moment.”

Just then, Sam Brinkerhoff discovered a severely singed jewelry box under debris and ash.

Inside was the pair's engagement rings, burned and blackened but still intact. The women, who are expecting their first child, could even make out the heart engravings on one of the bands while a diamond shone on the other.

"The fireproof safe didn't make it, none of the paperwork made it, but the rings did," Sam Brinkerhoff said. "Just for a moment, in the middle of all that devastation, there was a little bit of hope."

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Monica Brinkerhoff, who is six months pregnant, was overjoyed. The moment provided temporary relief from the anxiety and worry she had been feeling since the fire broke out, sending the couple and their dogs fleeing. 

"We get really emotional when we think about everything we lost," she said. "We bought the house for the baby. We had five years of trying to conceive where we accumulated everything — we had the crib, we had clothes, we had the changing table, we had everything," Monica Brinkerhoff said.

"Now it's gone."

And rebuilding will be a struggle. The pair ran Caring Home Care, a business that provides assistance to seniors in Sonoma County, out of their home. 

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help ease the burden. Friends and clients have been rallying around the couple, flooding the page with donations. 

"Every day they selflessly help those in need who can no longer care for themselves," wrote Gemma McKenney, a friend who created the GoFundMe for the couple. "Even this morning after they received the news they had lost their home, their main concern was their clients and making sure they were all evacuated."

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Firestorms raged across a broad swath of the North Bay late Sunday, engulfing trees, homes, and cars and leaving only devastation in its wake. The blazes scorched more than 200,000 acres, claimed at least 41 lives and reduced roughly 3,000 homes and business to rubble.

The Tubbs Fire, which obliterated the Brinkerhoff's home, has scorched 36,432 acres in Napa and Sonoma counties. Firefighters were still working to snuff it out by the following Tuesday. 

Thinking back to the night the blazes sparked, the Brinkerhoffs said they had been so focused on escaping their Coffey Park neighborhood as it went up in flames that they didn't think about gathering important possessions.

"I had 10 minutes to get out," Sam Brinkerhoff said. "I didn't even grab my wallet."

Other than their rings, the only thing that is still recognizable is an oversized jar in which Sam and Monica Brinkerhoff collected coins. Now it is melted and mangled, but they're holding onto the keepsake anyway. 

Whenever sadness creeps in, Monica Brinkerhoff reminds herself that the outcome could have been much worse. As it stands, her wife and their pets are safe, and so are their tokens of commitment that symbolize their eight-year relationship.

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The women say they want to return to Coffey Park when it is rebuilt in the years to come. Until then, they will be staying in a temporary rental. 

"It gives us peace knowing that our baby is going to have a stable home and that we won't be moving around," Monica Brinkerhoff said. "And we've had such strong support from the community. People have been so generous. We don't feel alone in this, and that means a lot."

A Florida congresswoman said she overheard President Donald Trump tell the widow of a Miami Gardens native killed in an ambush while on patrol in Niger that her husband "must've known what he signed up for." 

U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., called the comment about Sgt. La David T. Johnson's death insensitive, but Trump said Wednesday that Wilson fabricated what he said, and that he has proof. The president did not immediately offer it up.

Wilson fired back that she had her own proof, and her account of the call was confirmed by Johnson's mother. Nevertheless, Trump doubled down, saying he "didn't say what that congresswoman said, and she knows it."

The disagreement comes after Trump, asked in a news conference why he'd taken so long to discuss four U.S. soldiers killed in West Africa, boasted that he likes to call the families of fallen soldiers, unlike Barack Obama and other presidents. Obama did call some Gold Star families and made extensive outreach to many. His former aides reacted angrily to Trump's comments. Former President George W. Bush often met privately with families of service members killed in action and wrote letters.

The Associated Press also spoke with families of two fallen soldiers who said Trump didn't call or write a letter of condolence, despite Trump saying Tuesday, "I think I've called every family of someone who's died."

Johnson, 25, was one of four U.S. Special Forces soldiers killed in Niger by Islamist militants on Oct. 4. The casket carrying his body reached South Florida on Tuesday.

Wilson, who represents the Miami Gardens district, told NBC6 she overheard Trump's comment on speakerphone while riding with Myeshia Johnson, the late soldier's pregnant widow.

"Sarcastically, he said: 'But, you know, he must've known what he signed up for,'" Wilson said. "How could you say that to a grieving widow? ... I couldn't believe, and he said it more than once. This man has no feelings for anyone. This is a young woman with child."

"Everyone knows when you go to war, you could possibly not come back alive, but you don't remind a grieving widow of that. That's so insensitive," Wilson added.

Trump took to Twitter Wednesday morning, saying, "Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!"

It wasn't immediately clear what proof he had. The president has previously implied he had tapes of conversations with James Comey, the FBI director he fired, only to reveal after weeks that he did not.

A White House official earlier told NBC: "The President’s conversations with the families of American heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice are private."

Asked about the tweet on CNN, Wilson said, "I have proof, too. This man is a sick man. He's cold-hearted and he feels no pity." She also didn't immediately provide her proof.

But Johnson's mother confirmed Wilson's account to The Washington Post and The Associated Press on Wednesday.

"Yes the statement is true," Cowanda Jones-Johnson told the AP. "I was in the car and I heard the full conversation. Not only did he disrespect my son," but Trump disrespected his wife, her and her husband.

But Trump reiterated just before noon that he didn't say what he's accused of saying. Asked what proof he has, Trump said, "Let her make her statement again and then you'll find out.

Johnson's body reached the Miami International Airport for a brief ceremony before a funeral procession took the flag-draped casket to a funeral home in Hollywood.

When she heard Trump's comment, Wilson said Myeshia did not react.

"She didn't say anything. She simply listened to what he was saying," Wilson said. 

A GoFundMe page was created Monday in Myeshia Johnson's name to benefit her and the sergeant's kids' college funds. As of Tuesday night, it had more than $120,000.

The cost of gas is heading down after spiking following the series of hurricanes this summer.

Experts say drivers can expect the prices to stay down, and they may drop further during the rest of the year. But Connecticut still the highest average gas price in the Northeast, and is one of the top 10 states with the highest prices.

AAA says the average price in the state is $2.72 for a gallon of regular. That’s higher than the national average, which is $2.47.

Connecticut is seeing this drop for a number of reasons – the biggest reason being, several Texas oil refineries and pipelines are operating again, after shutting off because of the hurricane Harvey.

Peak driving season is also winding down, and now is the time most pumps will be switching to the cheaper, winter gas mixture.

Right now there is tension in the Middle East of Iraqi forces trying to seize oil fields in northern territories of the country. There have been fears of supply disruption after Iraqi forces tried to seize oil fields in northern Iraq but the slight change in price of crude oil isn’t going to translate here at the pump.

State police have arrested a 10th staff member of the Whiting Forensic Division, the state’s maximum security psychiatric hospital, amid investigations into the abuse of a patient.

Michael Presnick, 26, of Cromwell, a forensic nurse at Whiting, was arrested Wednesday and charged with intentional cruelty to persons and disorderly conduct.

Police released the arrest warrant Wednesday.

The NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters previously obtained arrest warrant for other staffers who were previously arrested. Those prior documents said staffers who were arrested were accused of offenses of varying degrees, from as severe as kicking a 59-year-old patient to the point of knocking him off his bed, to putting a soiled diaper on his head, to simply poking him repeatedly.

Presnick is accused of spraying the patient in the face with an aerosol spray and putting a diaper over the patient’s pants, according to the arrest warrant.

He was placed on administrative leave in March 2017 for an unspecified reason, according to police.

When detectives went to his Cromwell home in May, Presnick described the patient as difficult to deal with and said the diaper he put over the patient’s pants was cleaned and unused, according to the arrest warrant.

He also said the spray bottle contained Vaseline, which is applied as a part of the victim’s treatment, and sprayed all over his body, including his face. He told investigators that spraying the man was not done maliciously.

However, when detectives spoke with a doctor about the incident, he said the spray would not be used for fear of causing irritation or damage to the patient’s eyes, the arrest warrant states.

Bond for Presnick was set at $25,000.

The Whiting Forensic Division in Middletown is Connecticut’s maximum security psychiatric hospital.

Many people might not think to look for their next house on Amazon.

But thanks in part to the growing popularity of small space-living, Amazon now sells a prefabricated tiny house by MODS International, Today.com reported. 

The 320-square-foot residence is made out of a shipping container and boasts one bedroom, one bathroom, a living room and a kitchenette. It also includes appliances, heat, air-conditioning, insulation and even french doors. 

You'll need a solid concrete slab or Sonotube footings for the foundation and access to utilities. The unit will set you back $36,000 plus shipping. 

Two juveniles were arrested after leading police on a chase while driving a stolen car, according to East Haven police.

The incident began around 2:15 a.m. Tuesday when an officer spotted a car speeding past him on Hemingway Avenue. The officer ran the plate and found that the vehicle had been reported stolen.

Police tried to pull over the suspect vehicle but the driver fled. An officer eventually cornered the car on Coe Avenue and two occupants got out and fled on foot.

The suspects were found a short time later wet, muddy and covered in prickers after running through marshland. Both were arrested.

The driver was charged with reckless driving, larceny, engaging police in pursuit, conspiracy /illegal possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle and interfering with police. The passenger was charged with conspiracy /illegal possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle, possession of less than 1 ounce of marijuana, and interfering with police. Neither were publicly identified due to their ages.

Investigators recovered what they believe is stolen property during the incident. Anyone who has been the victim of a recent vehicle break-in in the area should contact police.

Police remind residents to lock vehicles, especially at night.

North Haven police have arrested a man who is accused of driving under the influence and hitting a pedestrian Tuesday afternoon.

Police officers responded to the area of 1053 Hartford Turnpike at 2:07 p.m. Tuesday after receiving reports of a vehicle hitting a pedestrian and they found a 47-year-old woman on the side of the road with a head injury.

Police said the man who hit her, identified as 39-year-old Joshua Pires, was going south on Hartford when his vehicle drifted to the right side of the road and struck the woman as she was walking toward her house.

Police arrested Pires, charging him with operating under the influence, driving under suspension, failure to drive in proper lane, and second-degree assault with a motor vehicle.

The woman who was struck is hospitalized and listed in stable condition, police said.

Interstate 95 North is closed in Old Lyme because of a vehicle fire and crash around 2 p.m. and state police said there are two life-threatening injuries.

The highway is closed between exits 70 and 71 and state police are diverting traffic off the highway at exit 70

No additional information is available.  We have a reporter headed to the scene.  Check back for updates.

Pets bring joy and love to people’s lives, however they also help keep people healthy. The key, is keeping your pets healthy.

For some dog owners in South Windsor, that healthy solution is to bring their pups to Camp Bow Wow. The doggy daycare helps make vacation or days at the office easier for pet owners who can know their dogs are in good hands.

“They want to come here and play with their friends and socialize. I think it makes them overall happier,” Katherine Foley said Wednesday during a day trip to daycare for her duo, Dunny and Dunkin.

Claudia Conway’s dog, Buddy, was staying at Camp Bow Wow for a few days while she traveled for work.

“He's like my best friend. He's absolutely my best friend and he's my companion and he's just my soul guy, he's my fur baby,” said Conway. “He's just been awesome for my health and my life.”

Tami Sarra-Romejko owns Camp Bow Wow in South Windsor and has also spent her life as a physical therapist. She said, in her experience, dogs reduce stress, reduce blood pressure and make people more active.

“Health and wellness, just the way it all ties together, I mean dogs just make us feel good,” said Sarra-Romejko.

The dogs also get to exercise and play with other pups, so it is great for their well-being. If the owners are missing their animals, they can stay stress-free by watching the dogs play on the daycare’s live-stream cameras.

“I get to watch him from New York City off my app, which is awesome,” said Conway.

Pet parents can see the fun and at pick-up the serenade of barking is proof that a pet and playtime are perfect for people’s lives.

“I just think dogs enrich your life and I think if everyone can have a dog, they would be better off for it,” said Foley.

If you want to rescue a dog of your own, then the NBC Connecticut Health and Wellness Festival is the perfect place. Camp Bow Wow will have puppies available at the festival on Oct. 28 at the XL Center in Hartford. Learn more about Health & Wellness here.

Diwali, the "Festival of Lights" celebrated in India and across South Asia to mark the Hindu new year and which this year falls on Oct. 19, is increasingly celebrated in the United States.

Cities such as New York, Chicago, San Diego, San Antonio and others host celebrations of the festival, often featuring performances from dancers and artists and even Bollywood stars, lighting of traditional oil lamps called diyas, and fireworks.

The growing popularity comes as estimates say there are more than 2.2 million Hindus of Indian origin living in the U.S., according to the Hindu American Association.

"On this actual Diwali Day, many people wear new clothes and go to temples to offer prayers for global prosperity, exchange gifts and entertain neighbors," Murugappa Madhavan, founder and executive director of the San Diego Indian American Society, told NBC. 

Diwali has great significance in the Hindu culture, symbolizing victory over evil and the triumph of knowledge over ignorance, Madhavan said.

The festival, which falls between October and November each year, runs for five days and is usually celebrated on the third day. This year it lands on Oct. 19, but celebrations take place throughout the fall. Several U.S. cities are planning or have already hosted Diwali celebrations. 

The city-sponsored Diwali festival in San Antonio, Texas, says it draws more than 15,000 people each year. The free event, DiwaliSA, will be held on Nov. 4 this year and features fireworks, Indian cuisine, diya floats and other entertainment.

In New York City, a Diwali celebration in Times Square on Oct. 8 saw Bollywood stars giving free concerts, shopping, dancing and other cultural performances, as well as food and drinks from all over South Asia.

The Rubin Museum in New York City will host “24 Hours of Sacred Sound,” a 24-hour celebration of Indian classical music starting on Oct. 21 at 10 a.m. Visitors can peruse the galleries, participate in meditation and sunrise prayer, and even sleep beneath the artwork. 

For a more active celebration, New Yorkers can head to Queens on Oct. 29 for a dance party with DJ Rekha, a London-born DJ who has been credited with bringing bhangra music to the U.S. A classical dancer will also teach “traditional Kathak dance moves and bhangra folk dances mixed with hip-hop,” according to the website. Cooking workshops, henna painting, Indian handicrafts, and Indian food will also be part of the celebration.

In Chicago, The Federation of Indian Association Chicago rang in the holiday on Oct. 1 with a live Bollywood concert, fashion shows and shopping, bringing more than 3,500 people from the area, said Sunil Shah, founder and president of the Federation of Indian Associations Chicago. Bollywood celebrity Richa Sharma was one of the featured singers.

"In such stressful and turbulent times with so much violence and conflict going on around the world, this festival of Diwali conveys the message of brotherhood and unity," Shah told NBC.

On the West Coast, Seattle will put on “Diwali: Lights of India” on Oct. 21, an indoor festival showcasing artists, Indian dance lessons, face painting, puppetry shows, and of course, Indian cuisine.

Los Angeles will host its own Festival of Lights at City National Plaza on Oct. 19, kicking off at 10 a.m. with a vendor fair and a special performance at noon.

San Diego celebrated its 10th annual Festival of Lights celebration on Oct. 14 in historic Balboa Park, attended by nearly 10,000 people, according to Madhavan of the San Diego Indian American Society.

The festivities began with the opening of 54 large brass lamps representing many faiths, regions and eras. Throughout the day there was dancing, music and drama, and the evening ended with the lighting and procession of 1,008 lights.

"This is one way we share our culture with our brothers and sisters... and use the knowledge to contribute to the society that we are a part of," Madhavan said.

In 2016, the United Nations headquarters in New York City commemorated Diwali for the first time. Some other places holding events to observe the holiday include Chantilly, Va., Irving, Calif. and Jersey City, N.J.

At the White House, President Trump lit a diya lamp Tuesday to mark the occasion in the company of Indian American members of his administration. Former president George W. Bush started the custom of observing Diwali at the White House, but the first president to attend the ceremony and light a lamp was Barack Obama. The lighting of the lamps on Diwali, light cutting through darkness, represents good prevailing over evil.

In the Hindu religion there are several explanations for the origin of Diwali. For some, it celebrates the return of Lord Rama, an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu, to his kingdom after 13 years of unjust exile, Madhavan wrote on the San Diego Indian American Society's website. Others say that Diwali represents the god Krishna killing the demon Narakaasura or that it marks the fall of the demon king Bali, killed by Vishnu.

A crowdfunding campaign honoring the late Philando Castile has raised enough money to pay off lunch debts at public schools across St. Paul, Minnesota, for one year. 

Philando Feeds the Children had raised more than $80,000 by Wednesday afternoon. The original goal of $5,000 is now set to $100,000, and will continue to rise. Campaign organizer and Metropolitan State University psychology professor Pam Fergus hopes to make the fund a permanent fixture, NBCNews.com. 

"Mr. Phil will feed his kids for as long as we can raise the money," Fergus wrote on the campaign's homepage.

Castile was known as "Mr. Phil" to the students of J.J. Hill Montessori School, where he worked as a nutrition services supervisor before being fatally shot by a police officer in 2016. 

The fund was established in remembrance of Castile, who would regularly use his own money to pay for the lunches of students in need.

People from around Connecticut reported seeing a bright fireball streak across the sky on Wednesday afternoon.

NBC Connecticut received reports from Manchester, Mansfield, Wallingford, Meriden and Malborough.

People reported seeing the fireball in the southern sky around 3 p.m.

NBC Connecticut First Alert meteorologist Ryan Hanrahan said it was likely a meteor burning up as it entered the Earth's atmosphere. It may have occurred somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean off New Jersey, Hanrahan said.

If you saw it or have video or a photo, send it to us at shareit@nbcconnecticut.com or by using the hashtag #nbcct.

The world's largest earthquake drill will take place on Thursday, with millions set to practice what to do if a massive quake hits — a scenario experts say could likely happen in Southern California in the next several decades.

The "Great Shakeout," an annual earthquake drill that started in Southern California in 2008, will happen on Oct. 19 at 10:19 a.m. local time around the world. Nearly 20 million people will practice what to do if a quake strikes, with more than 10.2 million of them in California, NBC News reported.

"I think we've seen with recent disasters in the past couple of months — these big hurricanes and the Mexico earthquakes in September, and the wildfires that are still happening in California — the need to be prepared is so important," said Jason Ballmann, a spokesman for the Southern California Earthquake Center.

The center collaborated with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and other partners to create the earthquake drill based on a magnitude 7.8 scenario earthquake on the San Andreas fault in Southern California.

A homeless man in Middletown is accused of assaulting a 1-month-old while sitting in the boy's mother's car, police said.

Luis Krom was picked up by the infant's mother on Tuesday afternoon and he got into the passenger seat of the woman's car while the infant was in the back seat, police said.

The boy's mother told police they drove back to her residence so she could get a debit card. She went inside and left Krom and her son in the car. When she came back outside, she said, Krom was in his seat leaning over and hitting the 1-month-old boy several times. 

When she got closer to the car, she said Krom was squeezing the baby's face and saying something about the boy crying. 

The mother brought her baby inside the house before driving him to Middlesex Hospital. She told police 22-year-old denied hitting the baby and even rode along in the car to the hospital. 

Police responded to the hospital about 5 p.m. and found bruises on the baby's eye and right side of his face.

Krom was later arrested and charged with risk of injury, assault and reckless endangerment. His bond was set at $200,000. 

It is not clear if the mother knew Krom previously. 

Three teens in Torrington were arrested after a video found on social media purported the assault of a high school student, police said. 

On Thursday, Torrington police served three arrest warrants to three 17-year-olds for charges related to assault, robbery and breach of peace. 

Police said the warrants stem from a recent Facebook and Snapchat videotaped assault to a high school student on Winthrop Street.

Two of the boys were released to their parents, while the third teen was transported to the Hartford Detention center per a court order.

No other information was immediately available. 

Torrington police want to remind residents and students that if they see criminal behaviors and actions shared on social media, to contact police immediately. 

Hartford police are investigating several recent armed robberies related to a pair of online buy-and-sell applications.

Police have received reports of six robberies related to Offer Up and Let-Go apps over the past month. Four incidents took place in the Blue Hills neighborhood and two more in the area of Deerfield Avenue.

In all of the cases, customers went to a certain location expecting to purchase an iPhone or car but instead, they were forced to give up their personal possessions at gunpoint, according to Hartford police. 

Two of the incidents happened right outside Ron Martin’s home.

"The community is quite concerned about it," Martin said.

Officials said the person or people responsible seem to be following a very specific pattern and in return, police have received consistent suspect descriptions.

So far, no injuries have been reported but the investigation is ongoing.

Hartford police are reminding people to use the police parking lot as a safe place to meet up and make online transactions.